Date of letter:1993-05-08
Address of author:Jianhu County, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province
Date of event:1941-1944
Location of event:Jianhu County, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province
Name of author:Gu Ruliang
Name(s) of victim(s):Gu Ruliang
Type of atrocity:Murders, Rapes, Others (MU, RA, OT)
Other details:From 1941 to 1944, the Japanese army raided Gu Ruliang’s hometown and committed atrocious crime by burning, killing, robbing and raping. Gu’s food was robbed, house burned down, and his father was stabbed to death. Gu was also locked up and forced to give ransom. Gu Dingmin and Gu Erfu were shot.
Dear Senor Mr. Tong:
Wish you good health, vigorous energy, and all the best in life!
I wrote this letter to give you an account of the atrocities committed in terms of both economic loss and physical persecution in relation to Japanese invasion of China, including personal injury and loss of grain, clothing, and cattle, burnt houses and destroyed families, depleted assets with nothing left!
It was not until February 10 this year that I learned you were calling for war victims to demand compensation from the Japanese to carry forward Chinese national integrity and claim compensation for the debt owed.
The resentment and hatred buried deep in my heart are given the chance to be released today, and my debt circumstances are as follows:
Name: Gu Ruliang, age: 68, farmer, Han Nationality, resides in Gaofeng Village, Qingfeng Town, Jianhu County, Jiagnsu Province, located northwest of Yancheng and southwest of Shanggang, north of Longmen Town, east of Jianhu County, surrounded by enemy blockhouses in the perimeter. Excluding Dashi Town, there were outposts in Qingfeng Town, with Little Fuhua in the south, and the Picha River in the southwestern direction, Pilu Temple and Guji Temple in the west, Liaojia Town in the northwest, and Shiqiaotou in the north; within a small circle of 80 li in the surrounding area there were seven enemy blockhouses! Between 1941 and 1944, there were guerillas in Wenhua Town of Qingfeng District, and the Japanese army often led the puppet army to go to the countryside on the excuse of finding and wiping out the communists, but actually they committed numerous atrocities; they killed people, set fire, and robbed us of grain, took away cattle, and chicken, geese and ducks with nothing left behind, robbed us of clothing and raped women, and plundered civilians’ valuables. I was one of the victims, back then my family had only four people, with over 1,000 kilogram of wheat. The Japanese army occasionally came to rob grain, and carried away over 1,000 kilogram of grain with jute bags, using a boat brought from Shanggang; they took away a fat pig weighing 90 kilograms, eight egg-bearing old hens, four suites of men’s and women’s clothing, two quilts and said shamelessly that my father was associated with the New Fourth Army, set fire to my three thatched houses; my 53 year old father knelt on the ground to ask for mercy of not burning the house, and pulled down the burning grass carpets with both hands. However, the Japanese army cursed and hit my father in the chest with gun stock, which injured my father’s internal organs. My father died from the injury after a number of days due to lack of money to treat the wounds. After that the Japanese brought me to Shiqiaotou outpost and imprisoned me for eleven days, and exhorted over 500 kilograms of wheat as ransom, 53 egg-bearing old ducks, which added insult to injury, and I was barely able to survive. They also killed Gu Dingmin and Gu Erfuzi, killed two persons; they found a small village and robbed 2,5000 kilograms of grain, nearly 1,000 chickens, geese and ducks, more than 1,000 pieces of garment and quilt! The above facts are true, I look forward to your acknowledgement!
Sincerely yours
Citizen Gu Ruliang
1993.5.8
