Blood Memory of the Most Remote City on the Edge: The Record of Tengchong's War of Resistance Against Japan (Volume 1 and 2): The Record of Tengchong's War of Resistance Against Japan

Author: Publicity Department of Tengchong County Committee of the CPC
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-04-01
Features: This is the name of a new book. The term "extreme border" refers to the border of Yunnan Province in the southwest of our country; the term "city" refers to Tengchong County today. Tengchong City has been a cultural and military stronghold on the southwestern frontier of China for over 2,400 years. The term "bloody memory" refers to the memories left behind by the War of Resistance against Japan in Tengchong. — Friend, don’t you want to learn about Tengchong during the war? The Japanese invasion of Tengchong lasted for two years, four months, and four days, yet they killed 21,467 civilians in Tengchong! They burned over 24,000 civilian houses, looted more than 60 million jin of grain, over 50,000 head of livestock, and private and public property worth 5 billion national currency. They also violated over a thousand women. These innumerable crimes were endured by the people of Tengchong with tears held back in their eyes, and are now recorded in the historical ink and photographs of today’s Bloody Memory. The battle to liberate Tengchong is also rare in the history of China’s War of Resistance: in the sky, American planes bombed it for months; on the ground, Chinese troops attacked stubbornly, even fighting side by side with American soldiers who bravely sacrificed. Behind the Chinese troops attacking Tengchong City were the people of Tengchong, who cheered for the soldiers amidst the gunfire and bullets. Especially the young and middle-aged women of Tengchong, they sang Chinese songs in unison, facing the Japanese artillery fire. This is unique in the history of China’s War of Resistance. To compete for the chance to carry stretchers and rescue wounded soldiers, Tengchong merchants even knelt down to each other! During an interview with a 89-year-old major who remained in Tengchong after the war, he still tearfully and passionately recounted the thrilling history. Since Bloody Memory was written by the people of Tengchong themselves, it perfectly records the entire scope of this battle to liberate the homeland. Tengchong was later reduced to ruins. During the war, Tengchong destroyed 6,344 Japanese invaders, while 17,075 Chinese soldiers sacrificed in Tengchong. Fourteen American air and ground soldiers who fought alongside the Chinese also died. Studying the history of the war at the county level, Tengchong should be unique. Across China’s vast land, only the people of Tengchong solemnly built a tomb for the Japanese invaders, called the Japanese Tomb. Want to see it? Another unique aspect of Bloody Memory is that during the great War of Resistance against Japan, 632 American fighter planes that aided China crashed in Yunnan, and 76 of them crashed in Tengchong County alone! The people of Tengchong rescued dozens of American pilots who fought alongside China. These heartwarming scenes of Chinese and American people fighting hand in hand against fascism have been frozen in Bloody Memory. Even today, the bell struck daily in Tengchong schools is made from the hub of an American plane—a sound that should be unique in the world. Bloody Memory is astonishingly detailed. The correspondence between former County Magistrate Zhang Wendé and the head of the Japanese forces invading Tengchong is a masterpiece that can be celebrated for generations. Similar stories are also told in Northeast and North China, but in Tengchong, they are documented in black and white! Photos of American soldiers aiding China during the war are captured in every scene, down to details like exchanging cigarettes with Chinese elders and their romantic relationships with Chinese ethnic minorities in Yunnan Tengchong. American humanity. The details of the Japanese invaders looting pigs and sheep, fighting, and marching are captured on their own camera film. The naked photos of comfort women were also taken by the Japanese themselves. Only pity those Korean women whose lives were reduced to that of beasts, recorded on the film. The regret expressed in Bloody Memory is also a timeless masterpiece: Former County Magistrate Qiu Tianpei, when the Japanese arrived, abandoned the people and fled at night, leaving Tengchong in chaos and leaderless. As a result, 292 Japanese invaders took the city without a fight, capturing Tengchong with just the edge of their swords. This history is called a great humiliation by the Tengchong people, who have guarded the border for thousands of years and whose generations of soldiers have been called upon by Chinese emperors. Even today, they still beat their chests and cannot forget it. Later, Qiu County Magistrate’s daughter brought honor to the country by winning several table tennis medals. That’s a later story, not included in Bloody Memory. Photos of the shameful downfall of the Japanese invaders are rare in the records of China’s other battlefields against Japan. However, photos of the Japanese invaders burying Chinese people, shooting Chinese people, bombing Chinese people, retreating from Chinese territory, harassing Chinese women, humiliating Chinese people, enslaving Chinese people, and occupying vast Chinese lands are everywhere. Most of these photos were taken by the Japanese invaders themselves in Northeast, North, and Central China. Bloody Memory fills this gap, truly making the Chinese people proud. The Japanese invaders suffered 1.54 million casualties on the Chinese battlefield, and Bloody Memory records the state of 6,344 Japanese invaders after the battle in Tengchong City.