On the evening of October 5, 1937, moonlit night.
syllable! A sharp gunshot pierced the quiet night sky.
The sound came from the side of the Yan River.
syllable! Another shot.
For a long time, there was no sound again...
Early the next morning, a crowd found a female corpse by the Yanhe River and immediately reported it to the authorities.
It was identified that the deceased was a student of Shaanxi North Public School, Liu Qian, a native of Taiyuan, Shanxi, who was 17 years old at the time.
The huang kegong forced marriage murder case that shocked China and foreign countries occurred in this case.
Movie poster of "The Huang Kegong Case"
Back in 1920, Dong Jinkui, who lived in Taiyuan, Shanxi, welcomed his third child, Dong Qiuyue. This newborn Dong Qiuyue is the heroine of our tragedy and the victim of the Huang Kegong case - Liu Qian.
Dong Jinkui's family was quite well-off, and his father Dong Chongren had a visit with Yuan Shikai when he was young, because he helped Yan Xishan to become the governor of Shanxi, and was sponsored by Yan Xishan as the defender of Jinnan Town, awarded the rank of lieutenant general, and was also a major figure in Shanxi.
Later, Dong Chongren and Yan Xishan were deposed after a conflict, and the Dong family was originally a famous and wealthy merchant in Dingxiang, so Dong Chongren inherited the property left by his ancestors and devoted himself to business, known as "tiger merchants".
Dong Jinkui was the eldest son of Dong Chongren, married his wife Bai Shi, who died of an early illness after giving birth to a daughter for him. Dong Jinkui continued to marry his wife Gao Heqing, and Gao Heqing's stomach was very contentious, and the next year he bore Dong Jinkui a son, named Dong Jiabao.
Just from the name, it is known that Dong Jinkui regarded this son as an heirloom, so he did not like the daughter Dong Qiuyue that Gao gave birth to himself - the son is the heirloom, and the girl is the daughter-in-law of someone else's family sooner or later.
When Dong Jiabao was 5 years old, Dong Jinkui wanted to send his son to a new-style school to study, but his father Dong Chongren was an old feudal, thinking that his grandson "can't enter the foreign school, and if he goes in, he will learn badly", Dong Jinkui, in a fit of anger, took his wife and children away from home, and went to Taiyuan to find a job as a small clerk to support his family.
April 1957 Qualification Examination Form completed by Liu Qian's father Dong Jinkui (photocopy)
Dong Chongren was very angry at his son's actions, scolded him for being rebellious, and made Dong Jinkui dare not return to his hometown for a long time to face his father, but he could not imagine that a few years later, his daughter Dong Qiuyue would also choose to run away from home like himself.
The Dong family favors sons over daughters, and Dong Jinkui is no exception. Brothers and sisters quarreled, parents always blamed Liu Qian after they knew, and Liu Qian's personality was strong and stubborn, every time she had to argue about right and wrong, and it was always she who was scolded and beaten in the end.
In the blink of an eye, Liu Qian reached the age of school, Liu Qian wanted to go to school and study like her brother, but her parents locked her up at home to learn to be a female red, and let Liu Qian cry and cry, that is, not let her study.
After a few years, Dong Jinkui did not have a satisfactory life in Beijing, and returned to Taiyuan, Shanxi with his wife and daughter.
Liu Qian's mother has a cousin Liu Yinghe, who has just returned from studying in Japan, and seeing that Liu Qian is locked up at home and does not go to school, she ignores the opinions of Liu Qian's parents and drags Liu Qian to school and directly reads the third grade of primary school.
Liu Qian is smart, capable, and strong, performs well in school, and is elected as the class president. During her schooling, Liu Qian accepted a lot of advanced ideas, became enthusiastic, confident, progressive, yearning for revolution, and was a famous activist of Youren Middle School.
Liu Qian, the victim of the Huang Kegong case
After the September 18 Incident, the Japanese army invaded and occupied the northeast, Liu Qian actively organized and participated in anti-Japanese propaganda activities, and also served as the head of the national liberation vanguard, and it was during this period that Dong Qiuyue gave himself the name "Liu Qian".
Liu, in order to thank his aunt Liu Yinghe; Akane, is a kind of grass that can be used as a red dye to express the yearning and pursuit of revolution.
On July 7, 1937, the Lugou Bridge Incident broke out, and the fate of countless Chinese people changed accordingly.
After the outbreak of the all-out War of Resistance, Beiping and Tianjin were quickly lost, and Taiyuan was not safe, Dong Jinkui prepared for the whole family to flee, and before leaving, he had to return to his hometown in the countryside to see, Liu Qian insisted on not going, and wanted to stay and watch over his family.
When Dong Jinkui and his wife returned, they found that Liu Qian had gone to the empty building, and Dong Jiabao found a letter left by his sister:
"I'm finally out of the cramped house, and I'm going to get to know the big world... Only those who grasp reality are truly useful people, and now, I bid you farewell! I'm going to be a caretaker, are you ashamed of me? ”
It turned out that Liu Qian had already made an appointment with her classmates to run away from home and pursue freedom, and their goal was Yan'an.
At that time, the Communist Party of China called for a "war of resistance by the whole people," and its reputation at home soared, and Yan'an became a "revolutionary holy land" in the minds of countless patriotic young people. Many intellectual young people, in order to pursue freedom and light, gave up the comfortable life in the big city and came to Yan'an for pilgrimage.
Liu Qian came to Yan'an under this upsurge and entered the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University to study.
Student of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University in 1937 (stills from the film "The Huang Kegong Case")
Yan'an is full of students of the same age as Liu Qian, everyone is like-minded, everything is talking, Liu Qian is like a fish here, in her opinion, here is ideological emancipation, progress, full of vitality, justice, even the air is different from other places.
What Liu Qian did not expect was that even the brightest place in the world would have dark corners, even if it was the sun, there were places that could not be illuminated, and her happy time in Yan'an lasted only 2 months.
Huang Kegong, a native of Kang, Southwest Jiangxi, was born in 1911 and joined the revolution at the age of 16, as old as Liu Qian when she came to Yan'an.
Huang Kegong was meritorious to the revolution; he followed Chairman Mao when he was in Jinggangshan, personally experienced many "anti-encirclement and suppression", and later participated in the 25,000-mile Long March, and has always been known for his bravery and good fighting, especially in the battles of Sidu Chishui and Loushan Pass, Huang Kegong was not afraid of sacrifice, bravely charged, was wounded many times, and performed outstandingly, leaving a deep impression on Chairman Mao.
With his military exploits for the revolution, Huang Kegong went from an ordinary soldier to a brigade commander.
In 1937, Huang Kegong was transferred to the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University as the captain of the 15th team of the second phase, and Liu Qian was his team member.
Huang Kegong (Wang Kai as "Huang Kegong Case Movie Stills")
At that time, when the whole people were fighting the War of Resistance, the Party Central Committee advocated that military and political cadres should attach importance to the great cause, marry late and have children later, and the marriage conditions were called "2857 Regiments", that is, "28 years old, 5 years party age, 7 years military age, and regimental level cadres".
Huang Kegong was 27 years old at the time, and his age did not match, but he was old, and he already had the conditions of party age, military age, and rank, but he did not find the ideal object, so he never got married, fortunately, he was not old, the conditions were good, and he was not in a hurry.
The appearance of Liu Qian made Huang Kegong's eyes light up.
After a short contact, Huang Kegong soon fell in love with this young, beautiful and generous girl, and Huang Kegong's mature atmosphere, handsomeness, and promising career also attracted Liu Qian, who had just opened his heart, and the two quickly established a romantic relationship.
Yan'an in the 1930s was not as backward and conservative as we think. On the contrary, At that time, Yan'an was open-minded, as long as it met the conditions and was sincere, the organization did not oppose military and political cadres to fall in love, and even the age gap was not a problem, and many young women from all over the country fell in love and married with cadres who were more than ten or twenty years older than themselves.
The shelf life of love is short-lived. Not long after, Liu Qian found that she and Huang Kegong had differences in their growth experience, personality characteristics, hobbies, etc., and this difference conflict became more and more obvious, and Liu Qian began to intentionally alienate Huang Kegong.
Huang Kegong and Liu Qian are in love (stills from the movie "Huang Kegong Case")
Huang Kegong noticed and asked Liu Qian, who showed his cards to Huang Kegong and decided to break off the relationship.
Huang Kegong thought that Liu Qian could not open his mind for a while, and further launched a passionate pursuit, but liu Qian politely refused.
Huang Kegong was suspicious, he felt that Liu Qian had changed her heart and liked others, so he wrote a letter to rebuke Liu Qian, did not let Liu Qian associate with other men, and even directly threw a handful of money to Liu Qian, insisting on asking Liu Qian to marry himself.
Huang Kegong's arrogance and domineering made Liu Qian unbearable, and she wrote to Huang Kegong:
"If you love me, this money shouldn't be given to me, please use it for the soldiers ahead!" Let's talk about love in the broad sense! The life and death of the whole country is in front of us, and forty million compatriots are in need of our love! Is that right? Do you love me? And you should love the masses even more. We all have the freedom to fall in love, and neither of us can interfere with each other's dating. ”
Liu Qian's words made Huang Kegong completely disappointed, even desperate, he knew that Liu Qian's heart no longer belonged to him.
Huang Kegong and Liu Qian (stills from the movie "Huang Kegong Case")
For Huang Kegong, this loss of love is the greatest shame of his life, even more humiliating than losing the battle.
Huang Kegong was very angry, and he decided to make a desperate bet and make one last effort.
After dinner on October 5, 1937, Huang Kegong put his beloved Browning pistol into his pocket and walked towards The Northern Shaanxi Public School, and halfway he happened to meet Liu Qian and a group of classmates walking in Yanhe, and Huang Kegong beckoned Liu Qian to go alone with himself.
Liu Qian, unprepared, walked with Huang Kegong and walked all the way to a secluded place by the river beach.
As he spoke, Huang Kegong began to get excited and asked Liu Qian to marry him, but Liu Qian severely refused.
Huang Kegong lost his mind, he pulled out his pistol, and shouted: "If you don't marry me, you will have to bear the consequences!" ”
Liu Qian froze for a moment, then sobered up, still sternly refusing.
syllable! Huang Kegong fired.
Liu Qian immediately fell to the ground, and this shot hit her ribs, and blood flowed out instantly.
Huang Kegong was confused, he had seen the blood of countless enemies, but the blood of such a young girl, he was still seeing it for the first time.
Liu Qian lay on the ground, shouting with all her strength: "Help! Help me! ”
Without stopping, Huang Kegong did not hesitate any longer, aimed at Liu Qian's head, and fired another shot.
Liu Qian was killed on the spot, and the blood stained the river beach red.
After the killing, Huang Kegong was calm, he returned to school, washed away the blood, wiped the pistol, and forged letters.
Early the next morning, the classmate found that Liu Qian had not returned all night, and ran to Huang Kegong to ask Liu Qian, Huang Kegong pretended to be calm and said that he did not know, but the panic between the looks had exposed his inner nervousness, but the classmate did not find it.
But the sin could not be concealed, and Liu Qian's body was quickly found.
Huang Kegong (played by Wang Kai, stills from the movie "The Case of Huang Kegong")
After examination, the body had a gunshot wound under the right rib, the entrance was stained black, there was no exit; there was a gunshot wound on the back of the left ear, which shot through the brain door and the plasma was blurred; there were two wounds on the left leg, purple-black, which were shot to death; two shell casings and one bullet head were found at the scene, which were fired by Browning pistols.
Soon, more evidence surfaced: when Huang Kegong's guards wiped his gun, they found that the pistol had traces of firing recently, and Huang Kegong wore clothes with washed blood stains, and immediately reported it to the security department.
The leading comrades were highly vigilant and immediately found Huang Kegong to talk, and Huang Kegong saw that the matter was exposed and admitted that Liu Qian had been killed by himself.
At this point, the Huang Kegong forced marriage murder case to be officially committed, and the High Military Court arrested Huang Kegong and prepared to try him according to law.
The news came out, causing an uproar.
Huang Kegong was a senior general in our army, and certain newspapers controlled by the Kuomintang took advantage of the opportunity to play a role in the so-called "peach news" and wantonly slandered and attacked; at that time, there was also a foreign journalist group visiting Yan'an, which, if not handled carelessly, would cause international impact.
Huang Kegong was arrested (Wang Kai as stills from the film "The Huang Kegong Case")
The more sensitive the case, the less uniform the opinion.
Huang Kegong deliberately killed people and could not escape punishment, but how to punish him and whether to sentence him to death has become the focus of controversy.
Some people believe that killing people to pay for their lives is natural and righteous, and the heavenly king Lao Tzu is no exception, not to mention that he is a communist party member and a general of the Red Army, so he must execute Huang Kegong for serious military discipline, otherwise the people's anger will be difficult to calm down, and they will not be able to give an account to the deceased;
Another part of the people believe that at an extraordinary time to practice extraordinary methods, at present, the Japanese invasion, the country is in trouble, it is precisely the time to employ people, Huang Kegong, as a revolutionary hero, is brave and good at war, and it is a pity to be executed, it is better to let him wear the crime to resist Japan and atone for his sins.
Although Huang Kegong himself admitted the facts of his crime, he also harbored a hint of illusion, hoping that the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao would see that he would be punished lightly for the sake of his meritorious contributions to the revolution.
"Gong Nai is a member of the Communist Party, and in the face of the increasingly serious difficulties in the country, the country and the nation are in the autumn of their survival, but instead of being able to dedicate themselves to the anti-Japanese battlefield, they are lying in prison, and they are indeed deeply ashamed of the party and the revolution. Therefore, those who have made meritorious contributions to the Party and the court must remember the merits of yu's ten years of struggle in serving the Party and the revolution, and allow them to be punished lightly, and the party's good fortune and merit must also be fulfilled. ”
The Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region High Court discusses the Huang Kegong case (stills from the movie "Huang Kegong Case")
Luo Ruiqing, then vice president of the Kang Da, felt that the case was of great importance and could not be hastily rushed, so he truthfully reported the situation to Chairman Mao; Lei Jingtian, then president of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region High Court and chief judge of the case, also wrote to Chairman Mao to report the relevant situation.
At this time, some leading comrades heard the news and interceded for Huang Kegong, hoping that the organization would take into account Huang Kegong's revolutionary merits over the years, pardon Huang Kegong's death sentence, let him wear the guilt and make meritorious contributions, and leave the last drop of blood on the battlefield of the anti-Japanese resistance.
After Chairman Mao read the letter, he took the case and started:
"What's the problem? What is the problem? If such people don't kill, are we still communist?! ”
However, Huang Kegong did not abandon his efforts to give up the punishment, and he submitted a second statement to the court:
"The court must remember that I have been loyal to the party's line for ten years of hard work, forgive me for committing a crime for a while, and leave me a life, so that I can do the last bit of loyalty to the party in the future, realize the party's good fortune, and also make the last hope of merit."
Seeing Huang Kegong's statements, Chairman Mao did not have no compassion; Huang Kegong had followed him since the time of hitting Jinggangshan, opposing encirclement and suppression, crossing the Red River in four directions, and fighting fiercely at Loushan Pass; there was no shortage of battles, every time he was charging ahead, he never knew how to be afraid; during the Long March, he also served as the head of the guard regiment of the Central Red Army, and now he has committed murder, can Chairman Mao not regret it?
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chairman Mao worked in Yan'an
But when he saw the court's description of Huang Kegong's murder case, Chairman Mao felt deep resentment.
Chairman Mao is familiar with the history books, and of course knows that in ancient times, our country always had the saying that it was a matter of making meritorious contributions to crimes and overcoming meritorious deeds, and many meritorious people could be dismissed from light after committing crimes because of their outstanding military achievements, and even big things became small and small things. Especially at present, when the enemy is a great enemy and the country is employing people, the execution of a revolutionary general who bravely championed the three armies is indeed regrettable.
Chairman Mao lit a bag of cigarettes, and in the smoke, he remembered the recent case of Zhang Lingfu's wife murder.
Just two years earlier, in September 1935, Zhang Lingfu, a nationalist general, suspected his wife Wu Hailan of adultery and shot and killed his wife.
As soon as this case came out, it shocked the whole country, and women from all walks of life in Xi'an jointly wrote to Song Meiling, demanding that the murderer, Zhang Lingfu, be severely punished.
Under pressure, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Hu Zongnan to escort Zhang Lingfu to Nanjing for treatment by a military tribunal, but Hu Zongnan and Zhang Lingfu discussed it and decided to let Zhang Lingfu "surrender on his own initiative" in order to seek a lighter treatment.
After Zhang Lingfu arrived in Nanjing, he was imprisoned in Laohuqiao Prison and sentenced to death at the first trial, but Zhang Lingfu happened to be infected with malaria, and coupled with intercession from all sides, the death penalty was not carried out. When the illness was cured, Zhang Lingfu tried his best to defend himself to the court, and the court listened to his defense, pardoned Zhang Lingfu's death sentence, and commuted his sentence to ten years in prison.
Kuomintang general Zhang Lingfu took a group photo with his wife
A year later, the July 7 Incident broke out, and Zhang Lingfu ushered in the opportunity to change his destiny.
Chiang Kai-shek issued an order that all officers and men serving sentences (except "political prisoners") should be pardoned and returned to serve in the army, and Zhang Lingfu was also within the scope. Wang Yaowu took the opportunity to intercede with Chiang Kai-shek on Behalf of Zhang Lingfu, and Chiang Kai-shek got off the donkey and released Zhang Lingfu, and soon reinstated Zhang Lingfu as a colonel and went to the anti-Japanese battlefield.
With the progress of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Zhang Lingfu's wife killing case became a small matter and a small matter, and no one remembered it anymore, and Zhang Lingfu was then an official and prosperous, and later became the commander of the elite 74th Division of the Nationalist Army. If it were not for Chiang Kai-shek's favoritism, he would have been shot long ago.
After a bag of cigarettes was smoked, Chairman Mao's thoughts also returned to the present.
Chiang Kai-shek made Zhang Lingfu make meritorious deeds, can I make Huang Kegong make meritorious deeds?
No, no! We are Communists, we are the revolutionary army, and we should exercise stricter discipline. Today we indulge one Huang Kegong, two, three... Countless Huang Kegong may stand up, so is the Communist Party still the Communist Party?
Chairman Mao snuffed out the cigarette in his hand, took out the paper, thought about it for a moment, and wrote a long letter.
On October 10, 1937, Chairman Mao personally wrote a letter to Lei Jingtian on the issue of the Huang Kegong case
A few days later, Lei Jingtian received a handwritten letter from Chairman Mao:
Comrade Lei Jingtian: Huang Kegong's past history of struggle was glorious, and today he is sentenced to capital punishment, and I and the comrades of the Party Central Committee regret it. But he has committed such a despicable, cruel, despicable, loss of the party's position, loss of the revolutionary position, and loss of the position of man as a cadre of the Red Army, as a communist red army cadre, if for pardon, there is no way to educate the party, no way to educate the red army, no way to educate the revolutionaries, and no ordinary person to educate. Therefore, the Central Committee and the Central Military Commission had to sentence him to capital punishment on the basis of his criminal deeds and the discipline of the Party and the Red Army. ”
Lei Jingtian felt heartfelt admiration, and his opinion coincided with Chairman Mao's, and he continued to look down:
"It is precisely because Huang Kegong is different from an ordinary person, precisely because he has been a Communist Party member for many years and a Red Army for many years, that he has to do this." The Communist Party and the Red Army cannot but enforce stricter discipline on their own Members and members of the Red Army than on the common people. When the country was in crisis and the revolution was tense, Huang Kegong was despicable, cruel, and selfish to such an extent that his death was determined by his own actions. All Communists, all Commanders and Fighters of the Red Army, and all revolutionaries must take Huang Kegong as a warning to the future. ”
On October 11, 1937, the playground of Shaanxi North Public School was crowded, and the public trial meeting was held as scheduled.
October 11, 1937 Huang Kegong case public trial conference scene (film stills)
At the public trial meeting, Hu Yaobang of the Political Department of the Kang Da, as the representative of the public prosecutor, stated the entire history of Huang Kegong's forced marriage and murder case, submitted a judgment opinion to the court, and presented relevant evidence, and Huang Kegong also truthfully confessed his criminal history.
Finally, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region High Court rendered a judgment: "Liu Qian is sixteen years old this year, and according to the marriage system of the SAR, she has not reached the age of marriage." Huang Kegong was a revolutionary cadre, and it was illegal to ask for marriage to a young girl who had not yet reached the age of marriage, and even more because of the attempt to force marriage, he was shot to vent his anger. Huang Kegong deliberately killed people and was sentenced to death! ”
After the verdict, Huang Kegong recounted his final wish:
"If the death penalty must be carried out, I hope that I will die on the battlefield against the enemy, and if I permit, give me a machine gun, supervised by the law enforcement team, and I will die in the fight with the enemy." If it is not in accordance with the criminal law, then forget it. ”
Lei Jingtian was silent for a moment, took out Chairman Mao's handwritten letter, and read out the original text word by word:
“...... I ask you to announce this letter at the public trial meeting, in front of Huang Kegong and the people present, in addition to announcing the court's verdict. The family of Comrade Liu Qian should be comforted and compensated. Mao Zedong. October 10, 1937. ”
October 10, 1937 Chairman Mao's handwritten letter to Lei Jingtian on the huang kegong case (manuscript)
After Huang Kegong listened, he screamed in the sky and cried bitterly.
Before leaving, he held his head high and shouted: "Long live the liberation of the Chinese nation!" "Down with Japanese imperialism!" "Long live the Chinese Communist Party!"
However, no matter how high-pitched the slogan was, it could not save Huang Kegong's life, nor could it save Liu Qian's young life.
syllable! With a gunshot at the Yanhe River, Huang Kegong was shot according to law.
This shot was not only the execution of a murderer, but also showed the whole of China and the whole world the fairness and seriousness of the laws of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, and the firm determination of the Chinese Communists to strictly administer the party and officials, and the masses of the people in the border area praised them: "It is truly remarkable that the Communist Party and the Eighth Route Army do not commit crimes against others, do not bend the law, are impartial and selfless, and have strict discipline." ”
Mr. Li Gongpu, a well-known democracy fighter, spoke highly of the Huang Kegong case, saying that "it has established a good legal model for the future new China," and the noisy voices of the domestic reactionary forces disappeared without a trace in an instant.
Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border District High Court Trial of Huang Kegong's Forced Marriage Murder Case (Film Stills)
Compared with Chiang Kai-shek's handling of the Zhang Lingfu wife murder case and Chairman Mao's handling of the Huang Kegong forced marriage murder case, the highly similar cases and the completely different ways of handling them also seem to indicate the future fate of the two political parties.
The impact of the Huang Kegong case in the party is extremely far-reaching. At the beginning of the founding of New China, when Liu Qingshan, Zhang Zishan, and other extraordinarily large embezzlers were executed, they still interceded for them, and Chairman Mao thought of the Huang Kegong case and said an intriguing passage:
"We killed a few meritorious men and 'slashed the horse with tears', which was a last resort. To govern is to govern is to govern. Etiquette, righteousness, and shame are the four dimensions of the kingdom; if the four dimensions are not stretched, the kingdom is destroyed. If every official is unscrupulous, corrupt, and mischievous, and the state has no way to govern them, then there will be chaos in the world, and the common people will rebel against Li Zicheng! This is true of the Kuomintang, and it is also true of the Communist Party. If the problem becomes a pile, it is difficult to return! ”
Now, more than 70 years later, this dusty historical case seems to have faded from people's memories, but as long as the strict management of the party and the rule of law are mentioned, the Huang Kegong case, like the Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan cases, will be frequently mentioned by people, while Chairman Mao's impartial law enforcement, not favoritism, and the story of "tears and horses, and no one under the knife" is still endless.
On October 11, 1937, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border District High Court rendered a judgment on the Huang Kegong case
Taking history as a mirror, we can know the rise and fall. This is perhaps the biggest reflection left by the Huang Kegong case.
References: "Huang Kegong Murder Case and Judicial Justice in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region", "Selected Works of Mao Zedong", "The Anti-Japanese Democratic Base Area of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region", "The History of Daily Life in Yan'an" and "The Soul of China".