Taipei, 28 Aug (Xinhua) -- At sunset, the setting sun shot out golden light through the corner of the ancient house, illuminating the ancient house of the Lin family in Wufeng, which had gone through a century of vicissitudes. The wind and clouds are changing, the green mountains have not changed, and the sincere love of the Lin family for generations has been passed on to the motherland.
The Wufeng Lin family is a famous family in modern Taiwan, named after its origin in Wufeng (now Wufeng District, Taichung City), and because the family has been defending Taiwan for generations and continuing to resist Japan.
Lin Chaodong, Lin Zumi, Lin Youchun, Lin Zhengheng, Lin Gang... Taking stock of the anti-Japanese ancestors in the history of the family, Lin Guanghui, a descendant of the Wufeng Lin family, felt supreme glory. He said: "The three generations of the Wufeng Lin family have been fighting against Japan for fifty years and have never yielded. As descendants of the Lin family, we are proud of the sacrifice and dedication of our ancestors. ”
In 1746 (the eleventh year of the Qianlong Qing Dynasty), the Lin family opened the Taiwan Zu Lin Shi from Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, across the sea to Taiwan. Since then, several generations of Lin family have worked hard, forged ahead, and produced talents, emerging in different fields. During the Xianfeng and Tongzhi years, Lin Wenta, the fifth generation of the Lin family, was reused by the famous general Zuo Zongtang, and because of his outstanding military achievements, he was sent to Fujian as a land governor, and after his death, he was posthumously awarded the title of Prince Shaobao by the imperial court, and the Wufeng Lin family mansion was thus given the name of "Gong Baodi".
Today, wufeng Linjia preserves the largest and most exquisite ancient building complex in Taiwan, with a width of 300 meters from south to north, with a total area of more than 11,000 square meters. "Gong Bao Di" is an important part of the complex, maintaining a five-in-eleven-bay pattern, the main entrance faces west, the main house adopts a bucket-style structure, and the first and fifth entrance roofs adopt the dovetail roof ridge of the Minnan style building. "According to the ancestral precepts, all the main buildings of the Wufeng Lin family are all sitting facing east and west, facing the mainland, so as to warn future generations: Do not forget the ancestors and hometown." Lin Guanghui said.
Since Lin Wencha, the Lin family has made important contributions to defending Taiwan and defending the country for generations. Lin Zhaodong, the son of Lin Wencha and Lin Guanghui's great-grandfather, was deeply influenced by his father, and he was familiar with military books since childhood and liked to practice martial arts. He participated in the Sino-French War at the Battle of Keelung in Taiwan and made contributions to the defeat of the French army. After the Sino-Japanese War, Taiwan was forced to cede to Japan, and Lin Chaodong wanted to lead the "Dong Army" to hold the anti-Japanese resistance, but was transferred back to Taichung. After the fall of Taipei, the general trend had gone, and he was forced to go to Fujian with his family under the command, and never set foot in Taiwan again, and died of depression on the mainland.
Lin Zumi, the son of Lin Chaodong, sneaked back to Taiwan, sold his property, and funded the island's volunteer forces to resist Japan. At that time, armed resistance to Japan was no longer feasible. Based on the belief that "only when there is a country can there be Taiwan, and love Taiwan before patriotism", Lin Zumi returned to the mainland of the motherland and gave up his Japanese nationality in 1913, becoming the first Taiwanese to apply for the restoration of Chinese nationality. Later, he funded sun yat-sen's revolutionary cause, and sun yat-sen personally appointed him as the commander of the Minnan Army. In 1925, Lin Zumi was attacked and killed by warlords.
"The abandonment of Japanese citizenship led to the confiscation or low-priced acquisition of most of the properties in Taiwan, but my grandfather did not hesitate to do so." He once said: How can the Han nation be humiliated by the slaves? His grandfather's national righteousness made Lin Guanghui proud.
After the outbreak of the Lugou Bridge Incident in 1937, Lin Zumi's son and Lin Guanghui's fifth uncle, Lin Zhengheng, resolutely threw himself into the pen and graduated from the Nanjing Central Army Officer School to participate in the Battle of Kunlun Pass in Guangxi, and then went to Burma with the Chinese Expeditionary Force to fight, and was seriously wounded. Lin Zhengheng's sister Lin Gang (formerly known as Lin Shuangpan), driven by her father's patriotic beliefs, went to the mainland of the motherland alone at the age of 18, and later threw herself into the War of Resistance...
Generation after generation of Wu Fenglin's family have gone forward and thrown themselves into the cause of resisting foreign insults and defending Taiwan and defending the country. In addition to armed anti-Japanese resistance, Lin Xiantang, Lin Chaosong, Lin Youchun, and others continued to struggle against Japanese colonial rule through unarmed anti-Japanese forms.
"In modern times, in the major historical events affecting Taiwan, the Wufeng Lin family has never been absent. The fate of the family is closely linked to the destiny of the country and the nation, and the family history can be described as a microcosm of the history of Taiwan and the Chinese nation. The patriotic heart and national feelings of the Wufeng Lin family were forged by the ancestors with their lives. In Lin Guanghui's view, it is the responsibility of the younger generations to connect the two sides of the strait, inherit the patriotic spirit of the ancestors, continue to play a good role in connecting, and make more contributions to cross-strait exchanges.
"It's my mission to tell family stories, and if I don't, history will be buried." For more than 20 years, Lin Guanghui has frequently traveled across the strait, busy sorting out the family's anti-Japanese historical materials, and tirelessly sharing them with the outside world.
The room where Lin Guanghui lived as a child in the Lin family's ancient residence was full of anti-Japanese historical materials, and on the wall hung a number of portraits of Lin Zumi and his certificate of restoration of nationality, as well as correspondence letters with Sun Yat-sen. In a family photo taken more than 30 years after Japanese colonial rule in Taiwan, all members are still wearing Hanfu. "From this photo, it can be seen that the Wufeng Lin family has never yielded to Japan and has always had its heart set on the motherland." Lin Guanghui said that when the Lin family's ancient residence became the center of the anti-Japanese resistance, anti-Japanese people on the island often gathered here to discuss how to fight against Japanese colonial rule.
In 1946, after the restoration of Taiwan, Lin Huihui's great-uncle Lin Xiantang led the "Taiwan Guangfu Tribute Group" to Xi'an Gurudwara, but on the way, it was blocked by heavy rain and could not arrive, so it had to be relocated to Yao County, Shaanxi Province. 60 years later, Lin Guanghui and the descendants of the "Tribute Group" completed the unfulfilled long-cherished wish of their ancestors, and then made sacrifices every five years. "Compatriots on both sides of the strait share the same ancestry and ancestry, they are all Chinese, and we all express our hearts for returning to the motherland with actions." Lin Guanghui said.
In order to let more people remember the indomitable history of Taiwan compatriots in the past 50 years of resistance, in 2007, Lin Guanghui organized the descendants of the anti-Japanese soldiers and established the "Taiwan Anti-Japanese Relatives Association", and served as the first chairman. Over the years, the association has often gone to the mainland for exchanges, shared the history of Taiwan compatriots' resistance against Japan, and continued to contribute to the historical connection between the two sides of the strait.
Talking about family history and Taiwan history, Lin Guanghui, who is nearly seventy years old, is full of vitality and vitality. He said: "Taiwan independence" is most jealous of him talking about history, because his family history proves that the two sides of the strait belong to China, and no one can deny this history, and anyone who has been linked between the two sides of the strait has been constantly cutting off.
20 years ago, the wufeng Lin family's ancient home was seriously damaged by the "9.21" earthquake. After renovation, parts such as the "Gongbaodi" and "Big Flower Hall" are now open to the public. They hope that through the revitalization and utilization of historical sites, more people can understand the history of this century-old family in Taiwan.