One day in the last century, an old man's home suddenly burst into the house of several people.
They rummaged around, found a Robe from the Republic of China period from the old man's home, and shouted to burn it.
The old man's eyes were sharp, and he stood up and asked loudly:
"Do you know what this is?
This is the clothes we wore when we tried foreigners for the first time in the history of Chinese, and they are a testimony to the dignity of democracy! ”
Several people who came to the door were intimidated by the old man's strong voice, and they put down their robes and reluctantly left.
This old man, named Mei Ruxuan, was a justice who was famous at that time.
In 1946, it was he who wore this robe and participated in the famous Tokyo Trial.
The Tokyo Trials were an international trial of Japanese Class A war criminals and the largest and longest trial in the world.
It lasted 2 years and 7 months, was led by judges from 11 countries, and finally successfully sent 7 Class A war criminals to the gallows.
Mei Ruxuan, on the other hand, is the only oriental face among the 11 justices.
Why was Mei Ruxuan sent to participate in this extraordinary trial? What kind of legendary experience did he have behind his growth into a famous justice?
From his story, we can find the answer.
Teenage ambition
One day in the 1910s, in Meijia Village, Nanchang, Jiangxi, a child named Mei Ruxuan suddenly disappeared.
The Mei family's parents turned the house upside down, and only found a letter from their son, which read:
Don't worry too much, I have left home for a long time, and I want to find the old road of Mount Emei, and worship gao ren as a teacher, Yunyun.
There were also several martial arts novels on the desk, which made the Mei family's parents stare angrily:
This child, really reading and reading demons!
At the same time, Mei Ruxuan was still on the train to Tujiabu, relishing the plot of the novel:
Which way the hero has practiced the unique sword technique, and which way the hero has severely punished the bandits and thieves...
Unbeknownst to him, the money in his pocket had been quietly taken away by the thief.
By the time Mei Ruxuan returned to her senses, the car had already driven a long way, and the thief had long since disappeared.
He had to get out of the car and walked home in a daze.
However, although the dream of a hero has come to an end, the feelings of punishing adultery and eliminating evil are deeply rooted in the hearts of teenagers.
At the age of 12, Mei Ruzhang was admitted to the Tsinghua Preparatory Class. Eight years later, he successfully graduated from Tsinghua University.
In 1924, Mei Ruzhang went to Stanford and the University of Chicago for further studies, and was less than 24 years old, and enrolled in the Doctor of Laws.
At this time, China, with warlords at home and invasion by great powers, was still in a state of deep water.
The first thing Mei Ruxuan did when she returned to China was to come to Shanxi University as a teacher.
Why did he go to Shanxi University?
It turned out that, like its alma mater Tsinghua, Shanxi University was also established because of "Gengzi Indemnity".
What is "Gengzi Reparations"?
In fact, in the "Xinugu Treaty", China lost 450 million silver to the great powers.
The reason why foreigners take this money to run schools in China is to cultivate students who are revered in the name of education.
Mei Ruzhang chose to go to Shanxi University in order to teach young students: forget the shame of the country, and learn to serve the country.
At school, he often said to his classmates:
"We must be 'ashamed', shame that China's scientific and technological culture is inferior to Western countries, and shame that our universities are inferior to Western universities."
We must strive to be strong and shame on the snow! ”
Despite receiving a long-term Western education, Mei Ruxuan has not forgotten her roots.
While teaching and educating people, he did not forget to guide students to think about the national situation, from self-examination to self-improvement.
In 1933, because Shanxi was "closed to the province", Mei Ruxuan successively went to Nankai, Wuhan University, Fudan and other universities to work.
For more than a decade, he served as the editor-in-chief of the "Compilation of Current Affairs" and participated in the negotiations of the "Sino-US New Treaty", "Sino-British New Treaty" and "Sino-Soviet Friendship Treaty".
The long-term accumulation has made Mei Ruzhang's full belly and extraordinary courage, making him a big figure in the legal profession.
The spirited teenager of the past has grown up.
Go out for the country
On August 15, 1945, good news came from the coast of Tokyo:
Japan announced its unconditional surrender, and China won a complete victory in the 14-year War of Resistance Against Japan!
As the victorious power, China needs to send a judge to try the 28 Japanese criminals arrested.
And Mei Ruxuan is the person selected by the government and finally designated.
Recall that the Japanese army invaded China for 14 years, slaughtered 36 million people, raped and plundered everywhere, burned and robbed... Crimes are numerous and difficult to describe.
As a Chinese, Mei Ruxuan was eager to slash Rikou with a thousand knives.
But as a judge, he must obey the law.
Before leaving, Mei Ruxuan solemnly assured her father and fellow villagers:
"I have the privilege of being entrusted by the people of our country to do my best to act according to the law and never let those who are responsible for mutilating China escape the law!"
Fast forward to May 2, 1946. On this day, judges from 11 countries rehearse for the pre-trial.
At 4 p.m., President Wei Bo pushed the door in and announced the order of seats.
But after listening to the results, Mei Ruxuan left only one sentence: "absurd" and left the table in anger.
What's going on?
Originally, in the seat arrangement, China ranked after the United Kingdom and the United States, and was the third in the center position.
However, China is the second country in the surrender book, shouldn't it sit on either side of the president?
At this juncture, it is obvious that European and American forces want to unite and jointly suppress China.
Mei Ruxuan knew this, and in protest, he interrupted the rehearsal.
Soon, Wei Bo came to Mei Ruxuan's office.
He explained that the reason why the United Kingdom and the United States sat in the center was because they were more familiar with the legal process in the West and more convenient to carry out the work.
Mei Ruxuan sneered:
"With all due respect, this is an international tribunal, not an Anglo-American court, and such an arrangement is not reasonable."
Seeing that Mei Ruxuan was unwilling to compromise, Wei Bo threatened him:
"This arrangement is the meaning of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, and if you refuse, Sino-US relations may be very unpleasant."
But Mei Ruxuan did not eat this set, and he asked Wei Bo in a righteous and stern manner:
"During World War II, Britain and the United States blindly compromised and retreated, and China fought the longest war and sacrificed the most, so why should it be ranked after Britain and the United States?"
Seeing Mei Ruxuan's tough attitude, Wei Bo could only go out and consult with other judges.
After 10 minutes, he came back and told Mei that the rehearsal was only temporary and did not have to be too real, and that the judges would reconvene in the evening to discuss the order of seating.
Is Webb's statement credible?
In fact, photographers and journalists from all over the world were already waiting at the scene.
In other words, the photos of the seat arrangement will be published in the media of various countries the next day and will be seen by everyone.
Wouldn't it be useless to change the seats at this time?
Of course, Mei Ruxuan understood this, and he clenched his fists and said angrily:
"If I agree to this arrangement, it will be tantamount to insulting my country, insulting the sacrifices, efforts and persistence made by Chinese to resist Japan."
If I do not agree to change seats, I will resign immediately and will never attend the rehearsal! ”
Wei Bo was obviously intimidated by Mei Ruxuan's words, and he knew that the judges of 11 countries were indispensable, otherwise, not only would the trial not be carried out normally, but he, the president of the court, would also be blamed.
Wei Bo had to revise the seating order and arrange Mei Ruxuan on the left hand side of the presiding judge.
A day later, the court officially opened.
On the trial platform, Mei Ruxuan met the 28 war criminals on the other side:
Shuaki Okawa, who pretends to have a nervous disease, Kenji Toihara, who eats fat and round, Hideki Tojo, who has a sluggish and motionless expression...
Several people looked unusual, but the interrogation responses were surprisingly consistent.
Except for Shumei Oikawa, everyone claimed their innocence.
The criminals who killed tens of millions of people around the world actually claim innocence?
Mei Ruxuan looked at them angrily and made up her mind: She must come up with evidence and nail these people to the pillar of shame!
Final mission
In the summer of 1948, Mei Ruxuan was working intensively every day to prepare for the drafting of the judgment.
He once wrote in his diary:
"In those days, we were like bugs drilling through thousands of pieces of evidence and international codes, crawling on them every day, afraid that we would miss important evidence."
Collecting information is a long and huge project.
Every time she flipped through a document, Mei Ruxuan could return to that turbulent and humiliating era: living life was crushed into powder by artillery fire, and demons wantonly ravaged innocent souls.
It is a history written by countless compatriots with blood and tears, and it is the hatred of the country and the family that has to snow.
In July 1948, Mei Ruxuan finally completed the more than 200-page verdict of "Japanese Aggression against China".
Because the evidence was conclusive, the judgement was first adopted by the Council of Judges.
But convicting Japanese criminals is far more difficult than imagined.
In the sentencing process, more than half of the judges did not approve of the death penalty for war criminals.
Indian judges felt that all war criminals should be exonerated with compassion.
French judges argued that the death penalty should not exist in civilized countries.
However, if all the criminals are not put to death, where is the worthy of the tragic deaths of tens of millions of people?
In order to persuade the judges who have different opinions, Mei Ruzhang once again showed amazing ability to argue.
In the face of the Indian judge, Mei Ruxuan said:
"Mr. Barr, I draw your attention once again, you are a judge! The duty of a judge is to try, identify, and punish the crime!
I don't know why you are a judge, you have the great feelings of a Buddhist, but you are condoning sin, if you insist on this, then you are not qualified to sit in the judgment seat, you should go back to the temples of India! ”
Facing the French judge, Mei Ruxuan raised the cup in front of the table and gave him an analogy:
"Sir, if the cup represents humanity and the water represents civilization..."
Just listen to the sound of "beeping", the cup shattered on the ground, and the water splashed.
"You see, civilization is created by man, but if human life is destroyed at will, where should civilization begin?"
The audience fell silent, and many of the judges fell into contemplation.
Mei Ruxuan once again asked deep into the soul:
"What is the death penalty? The death penalty is the most severe punishment of the law for the perpetrator!
In order to expand its territory, Japan killed Chinese, Kill Koreans, Kill Filipinos, Kill Singaporeans, Kill Americans, Kill British;
They rob, they rape, they set fires, they kill, isn't that enough to get them the harshest punishment?! ”
Speaking of this, Mei Ruxuan could hardly control the surging mood, he remembered those compatriots who died tragically in the war, and tears poured into his eyes.
He paused and continued to ask in a loud voice:
"If Japan is not given the harshest punishment, who can guarantee that Japan will not provoke war again?!" Who would dare to guarantee that Japan would not invade other countries again?! Who can guarantee that the specter of Japanese militarism will not be revived?!
Which gentleman here would dare to make such a guarantee?! ”
Speaking of this, Mei Ruxuan's hands were already trembling slightly, and her voice was in tears.
Mei Ruxuan's speech made a qualitative reversal of the situation of the trial.
The final vote, by a narrow margin of 6-5, sent the first offenders to the gallows.
At international conferences, it is not easy to change the minds of judges.
It is a blessing to have this result.
After the trial, the U.S. Justice said to Mei Ruzhang:
"All Chinese should be proud that they have a fighter like you!"
It was he who used wisdom and courage to let the criminals get their due retribution, and also to uphold the dignity of the country in the court of justice.
Back in 1946, shortly after Mei Ruxuan arrived in Tokyo, his Tsinghua brother Gu Yuxuan visited him and gave him a sword.
"The sword is given to the brave", Gu Yuxuan hoped that the master and disciple could punish the adultery and eliminate the evil and bring the criminals to justice.
The long sword came out of its sheath, and the cold light was streaked, looking at it, I wondered if Mr. Mei remembered his childhood.
At that time, the little boy did not know the world, had a pure heart, and longed to fight the sword.
Decades later, the teenager has grown up.
He will go to the East with full of righteousness, leaving a legendary story of symbiosis with the law in the turbulent history of the world.
In "The Condor Heroes", Guo Jing once said to Yang Guo:
"It is certainly the duty of the hero to fight righteousness and save people from distress, but this is only the smallest chivalrous."
I only hope that in your heart, you will firmly remember the eight words 'for the country and the people, the great hero'. ”
For Mei Ruxuan, it is the sincere and vast feelings of home and country that have achieved his great righteousness and shaped his extraordinary wisdom and courage.
Curbing evil and promoting good, and being committed to patriotism will always be the noblest faith in a person's life.
As Mei Ruxuan said:
"I am not an avaunch, and I have no intention of writing the blood debt that Japanese militarism owes us on the accounts of the Japanese people.
But I believe that forgetting the sufferings of the past may lead to future disasters. ”
Sir is dead, but his spirit of envy and hatred, and patriotic feelings, are always worth remembering everyone!
Happy to meet the prosperous world, when not to live up to the road ahead, to defend the prosperous China!
This article is written by Takeshi
Responsible Editor & Planner: Light Green