In 1944, the atrocities of the Japanese army in Chinese mainland had reached the point of madness. In the Yuanjiang area of Hunan, a number of heinous tragedies have occurred. An old man who witnessed the tragedy couldn't help but burst into tears every time he recalled those cruel scenes. He pointed to an old door panel with a deep mark on it, and said in a choked voice: "Look at what is hanging on the door panel? That's the crime of the Japanese army!"
I. Causes of the atrocities committed by the Japanese army
1944 was a desperate year for the Japanese militarists. In the main battlefield of the Pacific War, the Japanese army was losing and retreating, and it was no longer able to do its best. In Chinese mainland, the counteroffensive of the National Revolutionary Army and the People's Liberation Army led by the Communist Party also put the Japanese army in a situation of passive beating.
Once upon a time, the Japanese army, relying on the strength of the largest Asian power at that time, regarded the lives of the Chinese people as if they were a mustard. They have massacred innocent civilians in Northeast China, North China, East China and other places, and committed numerous crimes. However, with the reversal of the tide of the war, the arrogance of the Japanese army disappeared, and was replaced by a kind of desperate madness.
It was in this desperation that the atrocities committed by the Japanese army in Chinese mainland reached unprecedented levels of cruelty. They began to brutally torture any suspected Chinese civilians as a way to vent their powerlessness and anger. The Yuanjiang River in Hunan became one of the targets of the Japanese army's venting.
Yuanjiang County is located in the northwest of Hunan Province and has been a barren land since ancient times. At that time, the people here lived a simple and poor life, and there was no quarrel with the world. However, in the year of 1944, a nightmare befell the land mercilessly.
The news of the Japanese army wreaking havoc in Yuanjiang County soon spread to every corner of Yuanjiang. Some villagers heard about the atrocities of the Japanese army and fled for safety. But there are also some people who have nowhere to run because there are elderly or children in the family. They had to stay at home for fear of getting into trouble.
Four tragic incidents
In that cruel year of 1944, a number of heinous tragedies occurred in Yuanjiang County and the surrounding countryside, which became witnesses to the atrocities of the Japanese army. Among them, the most well-known is the brutal torture and murder of Chen Baisheng, Wu Guangting, Li Guohua and Pi Kun.
Chen Baisheng, an ordinary fisherman who made a living from fishing, joined the Yuanjiang Anti-Japanese Field Service Corps after witnessing the atrocities of the Japanese army in his hometown, specializing in spying on the Japanese army's movements. At noon one day in 1944, Chen Baisheng was ordered to go to the county seat to exchange information, but was discovered and arrested by the Japanese army on the way. Although Chen Baisheng threw the cigarette box containing intelligence into the river, it was still seized by the Japanese army.
The Japanese army escorted Chen Baisheng and the boatman to the stronghold, and after hearing the news, Chen Baisheng's brother and sister-in-law Chen Chusheng and his wife tried their best to rescue them. They even sold their family property and minted a gold medal, hoping to redeem Chen Baisheng's life with money. However, after winning the gold medal, the Japanese army reversed course and refused to release them.
In the end, the Japanese army escorted Chen Baisheng to a small ravine in Sanyantang Town, where he carried out inhumane torture and killing. At that time, an old man named Wang Shigong and his father happened to be grazing cattle on the other side of the small ravine and witnessed all this. The Japanese first split Chen Baisheng's limbs, fixed them with large nails to the door panel, and then began to cut off his flesh with a knife. Chen Baisheng's screams resounded throughout the valley, and it was terrifying. In the end, the Japanese army stabbed Chen Baisheng in the chest and killed him.
After the Japanese troops withdrew, Wang Shigong and his son hurriedly ran to inform the Chen family. When the Chen family returned to the ravine, Chen Baisheng's body had been pulled away, leaving only the door panel nailed to his flesh and skin, on which there was still a palm-sized human skin imprint. The Chen family lifted the door panel back as ironclad evidence of the Japanese army's crimes.
III. The purpose of the atrocities committed by the Japanese army
The purpose of these inhumane atrocities committed by the Japanese army in Yuanjiang County and the surrounding villages was to completely intimidate and subdue the local people and prevent them from continuing to support and join the anti-Japanese ranks.
In the case of Chen Baisheng, who was torn alive, the Japanese army drove local villagers to the scene and let them witness this cruel scene. Similarly, when Li Guohua was executed, the Japanese army deliberately dismembered the 17-year-old boy for public display, so that the villagers could see the fate of the rebels.
This practice of the Japanese army is undoubtedly an attempt to use the most cruel means to deeply instill fear in the hearts of every Yuanjiang person. In this way, they hope to completely break the will of the locals to resist, so that they can plunder and kill the land with impunity.
However, contrary to expectations, these atrocities of the Japanese army provoked more stubborn resistance from the Yuanjiang people. The generosity and tragedy of Chen Baisheng, Li Guohua and others before their deaths made more Yuanjiang people begin to awaken and recognize the barbaric nature of the Japanese army.
In particular, Li Guohua's deeds of throwing a grenade to kill the Japanese army are even more popular in the local area. People followed his heroic deeds and joined the anti-Japanese ranks to carry out a more powerful counterattack against the Japanese army.
The more arrogant and domineering the Japanese army became, the more angry the people of Yuanjiang became. They began to organize self-defense regiments and guerrillas to harass and sabotage the Japanese army in various parts of the city and countryside. The entire Yuanjiang County has gradually become a hot potato for the Japanese army in Hunan.
Even those who originally had a wait-and-see attitude towards the war against Japan, after seeing how brutal the Japanese army was, began to support the resistance against Japan. On the contrary, the atrocities of the Japanese army made the patriotic enthusiasm and will to resist of the Yuanjiang people unprecedentedly high.
Testimony of history
Time flies, and decades have passed in the blink of an eye. However, those tragic atrocities have been forever engraved on the land of Yuanjiang and have become an indelible historical witness.
One of the witnesses was the old man named Wang Shigong. As a person who witnessed Chen Baisheng being skinned alive, this memory will undoubtedly become a nightmare in his heart forever.
Whenever someone mentions the atrocities of the Japanese army in Yuanjiang in 1944, Wang Shigong always can't help but burst into tears. He would point to the door panel where Chen Baisheng's skin and flesh were hung back then, and there was still a deep mark on it, and he choked up and said, "What do you see hanging on the door panel? That's the sin of the Japanese army!"
Yes, that door panel is ironclad evidence of the atrocities of the Japanese army, witnessing their crimes back then. The Chen family carefully preserved it, hoping that future generations will never forget this dark history.
In addition to Wang Shigong, the survivors of those who witnessed it back then have also become witnesses of history. They either witnessed the tragic situation of Wu Guangting being Ling Chi, or saw the cruel scene of Li Guohua's dismemberment. Every time they recall it, they will be heartbroken and hold a grudge against the atrocities of the Japanese army.
Today, most of these Witnesses have passed away, but their relatives and descendants are working hard to preserve this history. They treasured the door panels, photos and other physical evidence of the year, one by one, for fear that one day it would be forgotten.
In the countryside of Yuanjiang, you can see the relics of the place where the tragedy took place everywhere. There are monuments erected in some places, and statues are erected in some places, all of which warn future generations: never forget the atrocities of the Japanese army and never forget the sacrifices of the martyrs.