Linfen in the southwest of Shanxi Province, also known as Pingyang or Woniucheng, was once one of the birthplaces of the Chinese nation. On February 28, 1938, more than 40,000 Japanese soldiers besieged Linfen in three ways, and the ancient city of Pingyang was soon occupied by the Japanese. The following set of pictures was taken during the Japanese invasion of Linfen at that time.
The first is the Linfen City Wall, which is the Linfen West City Gate and the Yimen Gate and the Urn City, which has appeared in the Japanese camera many times because of the complex structure of the city wall and the spectacular scenery. From a distance, you can vaguely see the Fen River flowing endlessly. Next is the scene under the city gate, in addition to the four gates of the east, west, north and south, there are several small gates in Linfen City.
In the photo, you can see that the devil and the puppet army are inspecting the two freight carriages entering the city, and a person pushing a bicycle is standing in the back waiting for inspection. After that, there was the road in front of the city gate, and the streets in Linfen City at that time were basically dirt roads, and the street in the photo was no exception. At noon, there were not many pedestrians on the street, and a tall city gate could be faintly seen at the end of the street.
Then there is a corner of the city, overlooking the ancient city of Linfen from the city wall, a wide and straight road leads straight to the drum tower, near the drum tower are some dilapidated buildings, the whole county gives people a feeling of depression and desolation. Through the doorway of a dilapidated building next to the road, you can see the Pingyang Drum Tower in the distance. Unfortunately, combined with the previous panorama, I did not find the specific location of the photo shooting location.
Next is the close-up view of the Drum Tower, Linfen Pingyang Drum Tower, also called Dazhong Tower, located in the center of Linfen City, built in the Northern Wei Dynasty, 43.76 meters high, is the highest drum tower in the mainland. The photo shows the east side of the drum tower, the upper plaque reads "Ti Ling Xiaohan", the middle plaque reads "Purple Qi Tenglin", and the lower plaque reads "East Linlei Huo". Above the doorway is the propaganda slogan "Lang Sun Yao China" added by the traitor.
There are also three plaques on the west side of the drum tower, the top is written "Window Suzhou Bullfighting", the middle plaque reads "Xiangshan with the River", and the lower plaque reads "Xikong River Fen". In addition, there is also a propaganda slogan erected by traitors "Spring Breeze Hui East Asia" corresponding to the east side. Further down is the view of the market downstairs from the drum tower, where there are some food stalls gathered in the open space on the side of the street, and many people are sitting around the small square table to eat.
There is also a photo of a Japanese soldier in winter clothes holding a gun standing guard on the Dazhong Tower, which is surrounded by rows of dense Linfen market buildings, and the iron stupa of Dayun Temple can be seen in the distance. The Iron Stupa is a six-storey square brick pagoda with a height of more than 30 meters, and the body of the pagoda is inlaid with glazed Buddhist reliefs on all sides, with different shapes and brilliant gold. The bottom of the pagoda is enshrined with an iron-cast head of Shakyamuni Buddha, hence the name Iron Stupa.
This statue of the head of the Buddha is very lifelike, with full cheeks and ears close to the shoulder. Interestingly, when sorting out the old photos, Xiaobian found that there is also a temple near Songpan, there is a brick tower in the temple, and there is also a Buddha head in the tower, both the shape of the tower and the demeanor of the Buddha's head are very similar to that of Dayun Temple, I don't know if the two have the same origin. Finally, there is the Gully Shooting Mountain, located in the northwest of Linfen.
The photo shows a man carrying a heavy stone tablet with the inscription "Shoot the Mountain". Behind the stele is a row of houses with chimneys on the walls of the houses for heating and exhausting smoke. It is mentioned in "Zhuangzi Wandering": "There are gods and men living in the mountain, the skin is like ice and snow, like a virgin, not eating grains, sucking wind and drinking xia, riding the clouds and flying dragons and swimming beyond the four seas."
As a result, the mountain is known as a Taoist holy place and a fairyland sacred mountain. The above are some photos and introductions about the history of Linfen. As an example, similar incidents have happened before. For example, in the center of a certain city, there is a historic building that has been demolished by the local government. Many citizens expressed their anger and dissatisfaction with this, believing that the building was a symbol of the city, representing history and culture.
So, they launched a protest to keep the building. The government believes that the building is too old to be used, and that demolition will allow for the construction of a more modern building that will enhance the city's image and function. This controversy has attracted widespread attention in society and has become a hot topic. Netizens have expressed their opinions and comments on social media.
Some support the government's decision, arguing that demolishing old buildings can create more opportunities for urban development and modernize the city. Others insist on preserving the building, arguing that history and culture should be respected and protected. For example, one netizen said, "This building is part of our city and represents our history and culture. We should do our best to preserve it so that future generations can enjoy this history.
Another netizen held the opposite view: "Cities need to evolve and change, and demolishing this old building can make room for new construction and improve the city's modernization." We should think about the future of our cities. Another netizen gave a compromise suggestion: "Since this building has historical and cultural value, why not keep it and renovate it?"
In this way, the history can be preserved and the needs of urban development can be met. Based on the above views and comments, we can see that this controversy is multi-dimensional, involving history, culture, urban development and other aspects. When dealing with such disputes, we should take into account the views of all parties and try to find a balance that preserves history and culture while meeting the needs of urban development.
This requires the joint efforts of the government, experts and citizens to conduct adequate discussions and sound decision-making. Finally, I would like to ask a question to guide the reader's comments: how do you think the interests of all parties should be balanced in the face of the controversy between the preservation of historic buildings and urban development? What are your suggestions and opinions?