Gao Changgu (left), who saved Singapore's founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew during World War II, thus rewriting the history of Singapore
One is the founding prime minister of Singapore and the other is a poorly educated rickshaw puller. Originally, the two were only patrons, but during the Japanese occupation of World War II, they experienced a period of life and death escape that risked shaving their heads, and became a veritable "friend of life and death".
On the night of the fourth anniversary of the death of Singapore's founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, the video of the sentimental story told by Lee Kuan Yew's younger brother Dr Lee Cheung Yew was uploaded online by the non-profit organization Singapore honour, and was reprinted more than 4,800 times in just one weekend, with nearly 240,000 people watching the video.
Dr Lee Said in English at the beginning of the video:
"Koh teong koo, the rickshaw puller, I think, saved my brother Lee Kuan Yew." "My eldest brother Lee Kuan Yew was supposed to be about 18 years old at the time. There were checkpoints at that time. The checkpoints were guarded by the Japanese army, who gathered young Chinese men together to register. Some of them will be executed by Luo Lizai in this great examination called "purging". ”
Lianhe Zaobao earlier reported that Lee Kuan Yew also described in his memoir "Singapore Story" that this thrilling experience that almost changed his fate and was likely to rewrite Singapore's history.
From February 18 to 22, 1942, the Japanese army conducted an island-wide inspection in Singapore, ordering all Chinese men between the ages of 18 and 50 to go to five designated locations for examination, with the aim of eliminating anti-Japanese elements.
Lee Kuan Yew, who was only 19 years old and still studying, was in line with the age of 39, who was working as a rickshaw puller in his home at the time, and the two went to Jalan Besar together to receive a test.
The inspection site is not far from the Jalan Besar Stadium, and the Maode Road on the side was the gathering place of Fuqing rickshaw drivers, lined with many "Chezai Pavilions", Gao Changgu arrived in Singapore, he lived in chezai Pavilions, so he met many friends.
Lee Kuan Yew wrote in his memoirs that the two of them had come to the inspection area at that time and first settled in the Chezai Hall, which was familiar to Gao Changgu, which was just within the scope of the inspection fenced by the Japanese gendarmes with barbed wire. After staying at CheZaiGuan for one night, the next day when they joined the renlong to try to pass the pass, the gendarmes on duty did not let Lee Kuan Yew pass, signaling him to join a group of Young Chinese who were waiting to be released.
A few minutes of shaving your head were in a hurry
The video features an interview with BBC Lee Kuan Yew in 2002, in which he mentions the situation:
"About 10 days after japan occupied Singapore, we were informed that we had to report to certain centres."
He also spoke of this horrific experience in an interview with Radio Television Hong Kong.
"They said, stand over there. I said, I left my clothes in the room. I had a very bad premonition in my heart. So I went into hiding as soon as I got back into the room and hid with my gardener for a few days. He (the gardener) was in the familiar carriage house, so I stayed there with him for the time being. "The second time I went out, they (the Japanese) had already changed guards, and the new batch let me pass [the big inspection]. It can be said that I was lucky, I was lucky at the time. The men who got into the Rori were later taken to the beach and shot. I have the potential to be one of them. ”
In his memoirs, Lee Kuan Yew wrote that after being signaled by the gendarmes to stand over, he subconsciously felt that it was an ominous omen, so he asked the gendarmes to let him and Gao Changgu return to the carriage boy hall to get his belongings first. The Japanese agreed. After the two returned to the Chezai Pavilion, they analyzed the situation and decided to wait for a day or two before returning.
The two waited for a day and a half before going out, and this time luck did improve. His right arm and shirt are stamped with the word "check", which means that he has successfully passed the test and can go home. Lee Kuan Yew later learned that those who had not passed the customs clearance at that time were sent to Victoria Secondary School for detention, and on February 22, 40 or 50 large Lorries were carried to the Tanah Merah Sea near Changi Prison for massacre!
At that time, about 50,000 Chinese men were slaughtered in the "purging" inspection.
Dr. Li Xiangyao said in the video that he later mentioned the matter in a chat with his eldest brother.
Dr. Lee Cheung Yew
"If that Gao Changgu hadn't helped you stay longer (to keep you out of the limelight) and you had decided to stay there a little longer, Singapore's history might have changed forever." I said this to my eldest brother later, and he laughed out loud when he heard it. ”
Lianhe Zaobao once visited the Chezai Pavilion where Lee Kuan Yew and Gao Changgu took refuge, located at No. 75, Mundru Road, Jalan Besar, which has long been demolished. It is reported that no. 81 Maode Road, not far away, was once the chezai hall where the tricycle drivers of Houlin Village lived. At that time, there were about five or six coachmen living in one room, and laying a straw mat on the bunk was a bed. The monthly rent for beds ranges from 2.5 yuan to 3 yuan.
From Fujian, I came to Singapore to work as a rickshaw puller, and after turning around, I became a tricycle driver
Gao Changgu came to Singapore to work alone from Fuqing County, Fujian Province, in 1934, when he was 31 years old.
After coming to Singapore, the able-bodied Gao Changgu chose to pull a rickshaw, and soon after, he was hired by Lee Kuan Yew's mother, Choi Chung Niang, to transport Lee Kuan Yew's three younger siblings to and from school every day, and gradually gained the trust of the whole family.
Lee Kuan Yew's mother, Choi Tsai, is a mother
Dr Lee Recalls in the video:
"My mother hired Gao Changgu as a rickshaw puller, dragged us to school, and picked us up after school. He can pull a rickshaw and run, it's really magical, he's a very strong man. And he was very kind-hearted, he knew we were hungry, because it had been a long time since lunch and school was over, and he would give each of us a quarter of a penny to buy sliced fruit to eat. It was really a heartfelt thought, he was really kind, he was such a kind person, really great. ”
Gao Changgu was interviewed by the State Archives in 1981 and left an oral history, saying that the real good-hearted person was Lee Kuan Yew's mother, Choi Kuan-niang, who treated Lee Xiang-yew well and others, but only knew how to repay Cai's kindness.
Gao Changgu said:
"To Lee Kuan Yew's brother and sister, I only returned a little kindness [from their mother]. Every morning their mother would prepare bread and coffee for me, and when I got home for dinner, she would prepare rice with beef and potatoes for me to eat. She is such a good person, and I have always believed that I must repay her kindness. ”
For Gao Changgu, Cai Zhiniang is also his "savior".
"I was admitted to the hospital when I was sick, and all the medical expenses were paid by Lee Kuan Yew's mother. At that time, I suddenly had a fever, then a chill, and I was very sick, and I didn't know how to be good. If it weren't for his mother's help, I would have died a long time ago during the Japanese occupation, where am I today? ”
Dr. Li Xiangyao still remembers that his mother not only helped Gao Changgu pay for medical expenses, but also cooked rice herself and asked him to take him to the hospital to give Gao Changgu to eat.
"When Gao Changgu was sick, my mother cooked some food for him and asked me to take it to Bamboo Foot Hospital for him to eat. He later got better, fortunately he recovered, and he was really a very strong person. But that food, he always remembers that we gave him something to eat. Being able to eat food cooked by my mother when he was sick and let us bring it to him, I believe he has always kept this in mind. ”
This trip to the hospital also changed Dr. Li Xiangyao's life.
"When I was in the hospital, I saw a lot of patients lying there, and the doctors were working hard, and I thought to myself, it's good to be a doctor. So then I became a doctor and later opened a private clinic of my own. From time to time, Changgu would come to my clinic to say hello to me. Interestingly, my clinic staff somehow knew that he was a very special person to me and that he did have a very special place in our family. ”
Singapore's first rickshaws were shipped from Shanghai in 1880. At that time, rickshaw pullers were mainly from Fuzhou and Xinghua, Fujian Province, wearing long-sleeved clothes and bucket hats to shade the sun, and running barefoot on the streets to make a living. In 1947, Singapore banned rickshaws, and rickshaw drivers switched to tricycles.
Borrowed money to open a grocery store, and helped the Li family open a vegetable garden
Before going to England in 1946 to study, Lee Kuan Yew took a group photo with his family
In Dr. Li Xiangyao's recollection, a year or two before the Japanese invaded Singapore, his mother Cai Zhiniang had lent money to Gao Changgu, and the two jointly opened a grocery store on Bengulian Street, and he also said that before the Japanese occupation, his mother let most of the grain in the grocery store be hidden in the house of No. 28 Nafu Road, and also let Gao Changgu live in their home. Because of the opening of the grocery store, during the Japanese occupation of Singapore, their family basically did not lack food.
"He (Gao Changgu) had borrowed money from my mother to fund him to open a grocery store, and we were always a little worried about whether he would be able to repay the loan. When the war came, he had to close the grocery store, but he gave us all the food and groceries he deserved, which was really very useful at that time. So my mother told us: there is nothing to worry about, and there will always be good rewards for kindness. ”
During the war, in order to expand the grain, Lee Kuan Yew's parents once thought of raising some chickens and ducks. Li Xiangyao laughed and said:
"During the war, my parents thought it would be nice if they could raise some chickens and ducks. Gao Changgu became the one who taught me how to raise chickens and ducks, how to grow cassava and potatoes. He's really ingenious and I'm amazed. I am responsible for all this farm work. I am in a senior position (at home) as a minister — the Minister of Agriculture. (Laughs)
To this day, Dr. Li Xiangyao remembers that the robust Gao Changgu once dug a well for the Li family. Later, Gao Changgu bought some barbed wire and raised chickens and ducks in the backyard enclosure. During the hard years of the Japanese occupation of Singapore, their family still had eggs and duck eggs to eat.
Li Xiangyao, who was enlightened by Gao Changgu, fell in love with gardening ever since.
"To this day, I still walk around the garden and water and cut the grass. So he (Gao Changgu) left a good set of knowledge, so that I can enjoy growing plants, vegetables and fruits and other agricultural work. ”
Gao Changgu returned to his hometown to marry and have children and then returned to Singapore
Gao Changgu later returned to Fuqing to marry and have children, but immediately returned to Singapore to work. When Gao Changgu was 43 years old, the eldest son, Gao Mingchao, was born. Later, he gave birth to two sons, Gao Minghua and Gao Mingyun.
Gao Mingchao once accepted a trans-oceanic telegram interview with Lianhe Zaobao. He said he had only seen his father for the first time when he was 14 years old. He remembered that when someone pointed out Gao Changgu, he ran over and hugged him, very excited, and the first impression was that his father was very tall. That time, Gao Changgu brought back to his hometown with a lot of things, including bicycles, watches, woolen coats, notebooks, and so on.
Gao Mingchao also said that when he was a child, his father sent 100 Singapore dollars a month to his mother, which was about 42 yuan and 7 jiao, and her mother had to farm to subsidize the family. His father returned home to his relatives in 1960 and 1963, and his two younger brothers followed suit. In 1970, Gao Changgu sent money to his family to buy a house, and they bought a house for 8,500 yuan.
Gao Changgu returned to Fuqing in 1986 to retire and died in 1988 at the age of 85.
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