Date of letter:1993-02-18
Address of author:Longchang County, Neijiang City, Sichuan Province
Date of event:1940-08-02
Location of event:Longchang County, Neijiang City, Sichuan Province
Name of author:Wang Qingping
Name(s) of victim(s):Wang Qingping, etc.
Type of atrocity:Air Bombings (AB)
Other details:On August 2, 1940, the Japanese bombed the Longchang County, Sichuan, causing severe deaths and property damage.
Dear Comrade Tong Zeng,
On December 21 last year, I sent you the claim materials regarding the total destruction of my personal property during the Japanese bombing of Longchang County in Sichuan Province. As requested, attached is the detailed descriptions and supplementation of the devastation with evidence support from, a few dozen witnesses.
Sincerely yours!
Wang Qingping
February 18, 1993
Dear Comrade Tong Zeng,
Recently, I learned that victims sustaining loss during the Japanese invasion into China are entitled to claim compensation from the Japanese government. I am a direct victim of the Japanese bombing..
My name is Wang Qingping, a retired educator, living in the countryside to enjoy the rest of my life.
On August 2, 1940 (June 29 on the lunar calendar), Japanese aircrafts indiscriminately and wantonly bombed Longchang County in Sichuan Province. I was 18 at the time, and worked as a clerk in the Puppet Government Police Bureau in Longchang County. At the sound of the emergency alarm issued by the County Defending Corps at around 11 a.m., I immediately ran out of the Bureau office and when I reached the riverside about 300 meters outside the East Gate, 9 Japanese aircrafts were already hovering in the sky. In the twinkling of an eye, suddenly the sky erupted into crackling sounds, accompanied by ear-splitting explosion from the dropped bombs. I immediately hid myself in the riverside shrubbery. At that moment, I was surrounded by fire balls from incendiary bombs, and crackling sound from the burning of green grass and leaves on the ground. The houses in the middle section of Shuncheng Street about 100 meters away from me were already engulfed in burning flames, thick smoke billowed. Because the personnel of the Defending Corps had evacuated, no one was around to fight the fire, the entire street was buried in dust and smoke. In the center of the river about 50 meters away from where I stood, one bomb exploded, bursting into ten-meter high water columns. After a while, the aircrafts left. I thought the place was unsafe since it was too close to the county town, and wanted to flee to somewhere farther to take shelter. Unfortunately, the moment I ran to the nearby paddy fields, the second batch of bombers resumed bombing. I immediately lay down beside the rice paddy field, with belly touching the field ridge, and totally soaked in water, drowned by the noise of another round of bombing explosions and continuous machine gun firing. Extremely scared, I no longer dared to raise my head and watched the aircraft formation, and just kept stand-still in the field. Soon after the departure of the second batch of aircrafts, the County Defending Corps issued the “all clear” signal. I immediately returned to the town to check the damage after the bombing. The moment I walked into the East Gate, I saw that at the right side of the opening of Yaojia Lane, a bomb had destroyed the city wall for a length of more than ten zhang. [about 35 meters] Scattered around the wall and on the ground were bloody flesh mass and splintered human bodies of the compatriots being killed, it was really a horrible scene. The Town’s God Temple theater stage at the crossroads of East Street was ripped off in half by a bomb, the shell crater beneath was in the shape of a small pond. Just at that moment, I met my father who lived in the countryside and had walked over 30 li anxious to check if I was still alive. On the street side opposite the Town’s God Temple, a bomb weighing several kilograms was still unexploded, it was later removed cautiously by members of the Defending Corps. I hurried back to the Bureau to take a look, my God! All the bungalow buildings of the Bureau plus all the nearby connected residences were reduced into debris, the ground was covered by broken tiles and wood chips. Since the Bureau dormitory was destroyed, there was no place to accommodate the 30 plus Bureau personnel, they were relocated to the rural normal school outside the East Gate for temporary residence. Areas with heavy bombing damage and loss included: Yaojia Lane, Crossroads, North Street, Wenmiao Dam, River Street, Shuncheng Street, Police Bureau, Guanjing Lane, etc. Everything on the 200-meter-long riverside street was completely burned down. The suburbs of the county town were under heavy bombing as well. Dead bodies, shell crater and damaged houses could be seen everywhere. There were about 200 bombing victims in the county town and several thousand houses were destroyed or burned by this bombing catastrophe. Fortunately, I was uninjured. But my personal belongings were all destroyed. The loss included one cotton overcoat, one quilt cover, one mosquito tent, one blanket, one clothing trunk (containing two standby uniforms and two shirts), one pair of leather shoes and some miscellaneous odds and bits for daily use. Converted into currency today, they are worth approximately RMB 500 yuan.
The invasion atrocities by the Japanese army remain fresh in my memory. The huge loss sustained by us innocent victims should all be compensated in full amount by the Japanese government.
Best Regards
Wang Qingping
February 18, 1993
We, the undersigned, hereby certify that on August 2, 1940, when the Japanese aircrafts bombed Longchang county town, Wang Qingping was at that time a clerk at the Puppet Government County Police Bureau, all his properties suffered huge loss. Now while strongly condemning the invasion crimes of the Japanese imperialism, we also support him to solemnly claim compensation from the Japanese government.
Yang Jianhua Wang Heshu
Wang Xinzhi Zhong Guixian Li Xiangming She Sufang
Lan Zhenghua Cun Yuxian Liu Xingde Xie Kaiguo
Zheng Jian Huang Zhiyou Zhong Guangkui Yu Shili
Zhang Yonggang Li Ziyuan Zhang Shiming Xie Shiying
Zhou Yehong Wei Shenwen Wang Daiping Xie Shiping
Guo Hengfang Huang Shiji Li Changhong Zhang Taihe
Zhang Shiquan Cun Kaizhi Zhang Shiliu Li Ziheng
Zhang Mingming Ma Xinmin Liu Zuogang Wang Weizhong
Zhang Xueyi Wang Xinchun Zeng Guanghua Fan Xianyu
Li Zide Wu Rongchang Liu Zuoxiang Xu Huaqing
Liu Guangyou Zheng Honglie Jiang Zhuliang Li Yingen
Xia Zhongchang Huang Shikun Xie Shiyang
