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Former invaders and invaded players played on the same stage in Qingdao - Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

A few days ago, an old friend invited me to his house for tea, because of the new crown epidemic and other reasons, I have not met my old friend for several years, so I was invited to visit his house. Although we greet each other through WeChat every three to five days and talk about some issues, we have not met each other, and we do not feel that we have been cold and hot for several years.

As soon as I entered a friend's house, I heard a piece of music playing that seemed to have some memories but was unfamiliar. After taking a seat, I tasted my friend's newly built black tea and suddenly remembered that this music was Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Former invaders and invaded players played on the same stage in Qingdao - Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

Admiring the majestic and exciting melody of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony always resonates with the heart, which is a magnificent ode full of philosophical reason and heroism. In this immortal symphony, Beethoven deeply expressed the will of mankind to struggle for freedom, firmly believing that mankind would achieve the final victory, and praising the joy and unity and fraternity of mankind after victory.

While enjoying this world-famous and monumental piece of music, I have a different feeling than many others. I always feel an inexplicable bitterness in my heart, or it can be said that it is a complicated feeling that is difficult to express, so that there is a slight faint pain in my heart.

Former invaders and invaded players played on the same stage in Qingdao - Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

In fact, I am a proper music illiterate, and I can't even talk about a little bit of knowledge. The reason why I know Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is also on a special occasion and a chance that I got to know this great musical work.

In the early 1980s, the mainland truly opened its doors to the outside world, and exchanges with foreign countries began to unfold rapidly. At that time, some clear-headed, observant and actionable foreign companies began to quickly enter China. There were only a few foreign companies that initially set up offices in Qingdao, of which the first Japanese companies to set up offices in Qingdao were Marubeni Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, Nomura Trading Co., Ltd., and Hyogo Prefecture Trading Co., Ltd.

At that time, I was recruited to join the Qingdao office of Nomura Trading Co., Ltd., which was still in preparation, and became a Chinese employee of the first batch of foreign companies in Qingdao, and together with Mr. Hou Ping Xiuming, the first director of the Qingdao office, I handled all the procedures for the establishment of foreign offices, and held a reception for the establishment of the office at the Huiquan Hotel where the Qingdao office was located, and then officially launched economic and trade exchanges with the Chinese side.

During this period, at the Shandong Provincial Foreign Trade Fair, due to the efforts of the Qingdao Office, Nomura Trading achieved impressive results in Japan Brothers Co., Ltd., which is the general agent of China, and surpassed Nippon Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd., which is a competitor, for the first time in terms of sewing equipment.

As a representative and interpreter of the Qingdao office, I accompanied a delegation of 10 people sent by the Shandong Provincial Government to Nagoya, Japan, to the sewing equipment headquarters of the Japanese brother company for training.

This was my first visit to Japan, and during my visit to Japan I met Mr. Hayashi Keisuke from Naruto City, Tokushima Prefecture. Mr. Lin Qijie is a historical research expert and writer in Naruto City, and he was very happy to learn that I was from Qingdao City, China, Mr. Lin was very interested in everything in Qingdao, inquired in detail about all aspects of Qingdao City's past and present situation, and I also seemed to pour out my poor and limited historical and humanistic knowledge like a few treasures, and we talked very happily and agreed to have the opportunity to see you in Qingdao or Tokushima.

Shortly after that, Mr. Lin Qijie really came to Qingdao as promised, and after meeting and greeting, Mr. Lin said that he had been doing a research related to Qingdao and was honored to know Mr. Cheng, so he hoped to visit Qingdao as soon as possible and discuss some interesting things with the help of Mr. Cheng's landlord.0

During Mr. Lin's stay in Qingdao, on the one hand, it was the friendship of the landlords, mainly Mr. Lin who came to Qingdao to meet with me, and I accompanied Mr. Lin to visit the relevant places I knew, especially some related relics and sites during the German occupation period and the Japanese occupation period, as well as some famous scenic spots in Qingdao.

Jiao'ao Governor's Palace, Governor's Residence, Prince Henry Hotel, Bismarck Barracks, Sailors Club, Qingdao Mountain Fort, Former German Prison Site, Guantao Road German Building Street, Zhongshan Road, Badaguan, Catholic Church, Christian Church, Ruins of the Cemetery of All Nations, Japanese-style buildings around Shuishuishan Road, climb xiaoyushan Park to overlook the scenery of Qingdao, overlooking the racecourse of the year.

Former invaders and invaded players played on the same stage in Qingdao - Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

Qingdao is a broad-minded historical city that can accommodate hundreds of rivers, and after a long period of historical changes, it still retains the historical traces of the many German and Japanese occupation periods. Accompanying Mr. Lin to explore these historical imprints also evoked distant memories in the depths of my mind, whether it is those well-preserved German-style buildings or those Japanese-style buildings that have become old and old, they make me feel a lot of emotions.

In particular, the Japanese architecture that is almost difficult to distinguish the original appearance is full of the vicissitudes of the years, every paint peeling window, every dark and deep door opening, seems to exude an endless mysterious smell, as if whispering a story that can never be told.

After exploring these historical relics, Mr. Lin was full of emotions and had several long conversations with me. It was in several long conversations that I learned why Mr. Lin was so obsessed with exploring the history of Qingdao, and for the first time I heard the introduction of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in more detail, and thus had a certain intersection with this immortal symphony. There are so many excellent musical works in the ocean of music, why Mr. Lin only loves Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, I don't know, it has become a problem that has never been solved.

In October 2001, I took up a position at Tokushima Chuo Cable Tv Co., Ltd. and received Ms. Mu, the principal of Awa Japanese Language Training School in Qingdao. President Yoshiaki Matsumoto, the cable company I work for, is the founder and main funder of the Awa Japanese Language Training School in Qingdao, so I received a special reception.

During the visit to Tokushima Prefecture, he visited the relevant schools for exchanges on teaching school management, and then visited Naruto City, where he was contacted by Mr. Hayashi Kisuke and visited the Mayor of Naruto City, Mr. Toshiaki Kamei, and was warmly received by Mayor Toshiaki Kamei.

Former invaders and invaded players played on the same stage in Qingdao - Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

Lingshan Temple in Naruto City

After that, I accompanied Ms. Mu and her party to Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya for sightseeing, and on the way, Mr. Hayashi called me and asked me to send Ms. Mu and her party back to Narumon City. With President Matsumoto's consent, I went to Osaka Kansai Airport to bid farewell to Ms. Mu and her party back to Tokushima, and drove straight to Naruto City in a car stored in the parking lot of Tokushima Station.

After meeting Mr. Lin, I followed Mr. Lin's car straight out of the city and soon arrived at the Bandong German Prisoner of War Camp Memorial Hall, which is beautifully designed and displays a large number of objects from that time and sculptures showing the life scenes of prisoners of war at that time. Mr. Lin said as he walked, this is a prisoner of war camp dedicated to german prisoners during World War II, and the Japanese army broke through the German defensive front in Qingdao and sent all German prisoners of war to the German prisoner of war camp in Naruto, Japan.

Former invaders and invaded players played on the same stage in Qingdao - Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

A corner of the Battle of Japan and Germany in Qingdao

During the period of detention, perhaps in order to show the international community Japan's preferential treatment of prisoners of war, it deliberately provided a relatively relaxed living environment for prisoners of war. Prisoners of war not only lived in relative comfort and freedom, but also organized various activities according to their respective preferences. At that time, some prisoners of war practiced Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, played them many times at events organized by the camp, and were welcomed by many prisoners of war and the Japanese guards in the camp.

At this point, I seemed to suddenly understand the reason why Mr. Lin was concerned about The Ninth Symphony of Beethoven, and at the same time, I vaguely felt an indescribable sense of discord in my heart, like a long hard fish thorn stuck deep in my throat, and the deep sting made me feel uncomfortable. At this time, the president of the farewell party called me and told me that naoto Suga, the head of the Democratic Party, had to return to the club on time the next afternoon. I took this as an opportunity to immediately say goodbye to Mr. Lin and drive back to the club.

Shortly after I returned home from my work at Tokushima Limited Television Co., Ltd., Naruto Mayor Toshiaki Kameda led the Japanese Symphony Orchestra to visit Qingdao, and the German Symphony Orchestra also visited Qingdao almost at the same time, and the professional symphony orchestras of the three countries of Qingdao, Germany, played Beethoven's Ninth Symphony together. Mayor Kameda specifically contacted me to attend, and Mr. Lin will also be present to enjoy the performance.

The artists of the Sino-German-Japanese Professional Symphony Orchestra performed perfectly in the Grand Theater, so that music lovers in the island city were excited to taste the unique charm of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Former invaders and invaded players played on the same stage in Qingdao - Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

At the end of the concert, the audience walked out of the grand theater contentedly, but I felt as if a mixture of five tastes was rushing up to my throat and generating a trace of disgust.

The perfect performance of excellent professional artists in three countries has interpreted great artistic masterpieces, but it is not known whether some politicians have other considerations, at least I am doubtful.

Although Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is undoubtedly a great musical work and is widely loved by music lovers, those who play on the same stage with the invaded and the invaded are a kind of blasphemy against this great musical work, especially for the Chinese people, it is tantamount to a great irony, which deeply stung the sensitive nerves of countless Chinese people.

Although the times have changed and the vicissitudes have changed dramatically, things have long been right and wrong, and the world seems to be a quiet and peaceful place, how can our people forget the humiliation they have suffered under the iron hooves of the great powers!

Only when our people work together with one heart can the country become rich and the people be safe, the soldiers are strong and strong, they are proud of the world, and they can truly stand up the backbone of the nation.

Back home, I brewed a light cup of black tea and leaned my tired body feebly against the couch. A few mouthfuls of mellow warm tea slowly passed through the throat, the beard, the mood began to calm, the mind gradually cleared, I remembered a lot of distant but seems to be as close as yesterday, but as a Chinese people should not and can not forget the dusty history.

The past is like smoke, the clouds and mud have changed dramatically, may the people of our country not forget the century-old national martyrdom, and strive to be strong towards the future.

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