The atrocities of the Japanese army that I know of in the invasion of Mengxi Temple
Xiong Bishou
Mengxi Temple is one of the more famous rural market towns in Li County. Long ago, there was a lively market and a thriving business here. In 1943, the iron hooves of the Japanese invading army stepped into Mengxi Temple. At that time, I was 35 years old, and I hated it to the bone when I witnessed the Japanese army's misdeeds. Here is only a brief description of the atrocities committed by the Japanese army that I am aware of:
Old man Guan was stabbed to death with a knife
One day in May 1943, a group of Japanese logistical soldiers headed by Hachiro Shimamura rushed to Mengxi Temple to loot property and broke into Guan Chubai's Nanza shop. Several Japanese soldiers first threw away while eating, and then knocked over the containers and smashed the glass bottles. After a while, two devil soldiers grabbed Guan Chubai, who was hiding in the inner room, and many Japanese soldiers immediately formed a circle, stabbing at the old man Guan with a knife and I stabbing at the old man for fun. Poor old man Guan left the world with hatred amid repeated screams.
A devil stands in front of the mutilated remains of a Chinese civilian and takes a photo
Image from: Photographs of the Battle of Songhu and the Nanjing Massacre in the Yenching Library of Harvard University
The blind bear spilled blood all over the ground
On the same day that Old Man Guan was killed, Xiong Biqing, a middle-aged man who was blind, closed the door and hid in his house when he heard that the Japanese devils were coming. They broke down the door and at once caught two hens raised by the blind bear and put them in cloth bags. A devil screamed "open the way" to indicate that he was leaving. At this moment, the two devil soldiers pulled and pushed the blind bear down under the eaves, and plunged a bayonet into his throat, and in an instant blood was spilled on the ground, and the blind man died before he could cry out.
Chinese civilians killed by devils
The picture is from the Yenching Library of Harvard University, USA, with photos of the Battle of Songhu and the Nanjing Massacre
Children under the age of one were impaled in the intestines
One day in the late winter of 1943, the devil soldiers came, and the people on the street ran out. After the devil ransacked the streets, he fled to the countryside. When a couple surnamed Wu heard that the devil was coming, they were so frightened that they left behind a boy who was not yet a year old sleeping in the cradle. After the two went out, they wanted to turn around and get the children to go, but the devil had already entered the village, and it was impossible for them to return home. Thinking that the Japanese would be kind to children, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief. Who knew that the Japanese fascist murderer would not let go of this nursing child. The three devils rushed to Wu's house, ate the rice bubbles in the jar, and pulled in the jar. When a devil soldier saw that there was a child sleeping in the cradle, he thrust a bayonet on the butt of his rifle into the child's abdomen and lifted it up as if he were picking a straw handle. The children screamed desperately, but the devils killed people for fun and laughed. In the end, the child was thrown to the ground, and the child's stomach was pierced and his intestines flowed out of the stomach.
The old woman was gang-raped and cremated
On the same day that the child was brutally murdered, some Japanese soldiers rushed to the Ranjia Dayan, not far from Mengxi Temple, where the men and women were almost gone, except for an old woman in a thatched house. Because she is old and has small feet, it is difficult to move. When the three Japanese devils saw her, they pressed her down on the bed, stripped her of her rags, took turns raping, and then thrust her pussy with a bayonet and killed the old woman. Then, the house was set on fire and the corpses were burned. It's really cruel and unconscionable!
In September 1937, the tragic scene after the fall of Luodian Town, China. This photo was "not permitted" by the Japanese authorities because the body of a Chinese was lying on its back on the street. "Japan's War Calendar: From the Manchurian Incident to the Pacific War 20 Years of Hidden Battlefield Photo Collection", Japan Mainichi Shimbun, August 1, 1965, published in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Japan's defeat
Chen Benxiu was forced to drown
The day after the old woman was killed, Chen Benxiu, a young woman from Mengxi Temple, was chased by Japanese devils to a small pond on the way to escape. She was out of breath and exhausted. Just as she was about to be caught, she jumped into the water, and several devil soldiers threw stones at her, in a vain attempt to force her ashore. But she would rather die than give in to the shore and be humiliated by her. Under the rain of devils, she sank to the bottom of the water, and the devils disappeared and were dumbfounded. After waiting for a while, he saw that he had drowned, and he went away with his tail between his legs in great disappointment.
Arson to Dream Creek Temple
On the third day of Chen Benxiu's murder, that is, on 28 the ancient winter month of 1943, although there was no rain on this day, the sky was full of clouds and the cold air hit people. In the afternoon, the Japanese army circled the street from south to north, and the whole street avoided it. Around dinner time, wisps of smoke and flames rose from the sky above Mengxi Temple. The devil set the fire on fire! People hiding in the jungle wept and became angry as they watched their houses and property burn by the light of the fire. The raging fire burned all night, and the houses and property of more than 3,000 people and more than 500 households in the town were reduced to ashes. (Li Houqian compiled and selected from the 4th volume of "Li County Literature and History")
The text is excerpted from "The Most Tragic Era: The Record of the Atrocities of the Japanese Invasion of Hunan Province" edited by Tian Fulong
Image Credit:
Photographs of the Battle of Songhu and the Nanjing Massacre in the Yenching Library of Harvard University
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I do not advocate ethnic hatred, but only show historical moments. Don't forget the national shame and cherish peace!