Date of letter:1993-03-18
Address of author:Chengdu City, Sichuan Province
Date of event:1942
Location of event:Lingchuan County, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province
Name of author:Zhao Guangyi
Name(s) of victim(s):Zhao Guangyi’s family and townsmen
Type of atrocity:Others, Rapes, Other Massacres(OT, RA, OM)
Other details:In 1942 the Japanese practiced the “Burn All, Kill All, Loot All” policy in my hometown. They burnt, killed and raped everywhere. The crops we were about to harvest were ruined, our wooden furniture were cut and used for cooking. Our cattles became the enemy’s food and my sister-in-law was gang-raped for months. As the stubborn resistance against Japanese infuriated the enemy, villagers were killed and their stomach opened, which happened also to my relative. That’s why we now claim compensation from Japan. For that I paid a special visit back to Lingchuan County, Shanxi to collect information about the crimes committed by Japanese.
Comrade Tong Zeng:
How have you been?
Attached is my petition against the invading Japanese army.
You are truly a smart, righteous Chinese and your wisdom is inspiring to our Chinese people who have suffered a lot from the Japanese invasion.
In the 19th century, the Imperialist countries launched a war of aggression against China and tried to divide China up. Those arrogant winning invaders forced China to cede territory and pay huge silver reparations. How unreasonable! When the Imperialist countries were defeated, China unprecedentedly gave up war reparations. But how can we give up compensation for civilian damages?
The Imperialist countries become wealthy through plunder. China’s falling backwards has a lot to do with tolerance. So, we cannot be tolerant anymore. We must fight against the evil. We must get what we deserve.
There is no doubt that your insight, patriotism and sense of national self-esteem will be firmly supported by your compatriots. Personally, I am determined to follow your order and hope to further study the fight method and strategy with you.
How much is the damage to the Chinese people and the country? Japan’s war of aggression against China left northern provinces a barren wasteland. The price is more than 180 billion yuan. Besides, the war made China fall backwards half a century. How much is that damage?
I am the only survivor of my family and there are countless families out there without a survivor. So, the workload is enormous. Thank you!
Yours faithfully,
Zhao XX
Sichuan Petroleum General Hospital
February 20, 1993
Pursuing Justice Against Japan
My name is Zhao XX and my mother used to call me Huyou. My hometown is XX, Luchuan, Shanxi. Decades ago, due to Japan’s war of aggression against China, I lost my father when I was 5 and my mother when I was 9. In November 1942, I just turned 11, when the Communist Party saved me and took me as a member of the revolutionary army. From 1948, with the help of the Communist Party, I studied middle school and continued to study college. 9-year school education is the key for me to get a senior title. What I love and what I hate. The answer is evident.
I will never forget Japan’s invasion against China. I’ve been thinking about this since I was very young. From 1940 to 1942, the invading Japanese army implemented the Three Alls Policy (kill all, burn all, loot all) at my hometown. They raided my hometown repeatedly and wherever they went, they burned, raped and robbed, leaving a tragic sight. All this is still a fresh memory to me and makes me feel creepy. My family, like thousands of other families, badly suffered from Japan’s aggression. Director Tong Zeng is smart and righteous and enlightens me. Now, I will indignantly charge the invading Japanese army with barbaric crimes in front of the Japanese government and people. I demand the Japanese government to genuinely apologize and make compensation. The invaded country actually compensated the invading countries. Only China did that. How weird is that! How could China let that happen? China is too tolerant of the invaders. Now, I charge the invading Japanese army with killing my families and relatives and make it public. It is a truth that invading countries should take the responsibility.
1. During August and September 1941, the Japanese army massively raided villages of my county. The Japanese army barged in my hometown and took my family’s three-mu (1 mu equals to 666.7 square meters) lush land to be reaped. The land was located to the east of Guangong Temple, a perfect harbor for the Japanese army to defend the attack from the anti-Japanese army. All the crops were eaten by the horses of the Japanese army and crushed by the Japanese troops and vehicles. Instantly, all was ruined. We had a crop failure that year. All family members suffered from malnutrition. Even I, a 10-year-old boy at that time, got dropsy. My legs were swollen badly and yellow fluid flowed from the broken skin. The flies buzzed around me. My mother and elder brother were starved to death.
2. All wooden furniture of my family was broken down by the Japanese army to cook meals. The cattle that we bought from a man from He’nan was killed and eaten by the Japanese army. Several Japanese soldiers dragged my second sister-in-law upstairs. They whipped her lower body with a belt and raped her in turns while she screamed. She had an incurable gynecological disease and later died with pain and serious mental trauma.
3. The Japanese army expanded the scope of the raid and raided more frequently. Meanwhile, they became furious at the resolute resistance from the anti-Japanese army. Many people captured from the mountains were stabbed in the chest or cut open the belly by the Japanese army and died in broad daylight, including the over 50-year-old Song Zhengqing who came from He’nan and lived in our house, my nearly 40-year-old unmarried distant cousin Zhao Shuanxi and instant nephew Zhao Bifang.
Although all of this has been gone for dozens of years, I will never forget it. I will make my future generations bear in mind the tragic history.
Today, the Chinese people stand up under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and are no longer the people being easily suppressed. I solemnly demand a compensation of 1 million USD against Japan for the loss of my family and relatives, our cattle, 3-mu crops, wooden furniture and the damage to my health, etc. Even 10 million USD cannot get back my family or national dignity. So, 10 million USD is a small figure and 1 million USD is less.
To achieve the goal, I especially returned Lingchuan, Shanxi to gain a deep understanding of the Japanese army’s crimes and wake up my fellow people who were slaved and couldn’t forget the tragic past. To maintain our national dignity and prevent a repeat of a war of aggression, we must act and fight.
Therefore, I request for national support so I can personally go to Japan to charge the Japanese army with their heinous crimes in front of the Japanese government and people until the Japanese government genuinely apologizes and makes compensation.
Zhao XX
Sichuan Petroleum General Hospital
March 18, 1993
