Date of letter:1993-10-31
Address of author:Jiangjin District, Chongqing City, Sichuan Province
Date of event:Not mentioned
Location of event:Sichuan Province
Name of author:Dong Yunqing
Name(s) of victim(s):Dong Yunqing’s parents and their townsmen
Type of atrocity:Other Massacres(OM)
Other details:I can’t remember in which year it happened. Because our village was close to Rao’an Highway, the Japanese soldiers came to our village after they destroyed the highway. They cut off an old man’s head, and hung it on the wire pole. After three days, the villagers were allowed to take it down, but the facial muscle and eyes were missing, eaten up by crows. In addition, the Japanese soldiers hoarded up the strong men in the village, ordered them to take off their clothes and stabbed them to death. My parents were also killed by the Japanese soldiers.
Compatriot Tong Zeng:
How have you been?
I replied your letter last year. I wanted to return to my hometown this year so I could figure out some issues such as the names of other people killed along with my parents and whether they were killed together. But this summer, I suffered from a recurrence of diabetes, a disease I have since 1985. I feel better now after taking medicine and injections for months and plan to return to my hometown next spring. I recalled many things in the past year. I cannot remember the exact year when my village was close to Raoan Road. The road was damaged by guerrillas and then the Japanese came. An old man from my village (I cannot remember his name) was captured by the Japanese and beheaded. His head was hung on the telegraph pole by the road. His family made a coffin for him but the corpse had no head, so they made one with flour and drew eyebrows and eyes on it. I was young then and went to his family. All villagers cried for him. It reminded me of how my parents were killed by the Japanese. I couldn’t help crying. Afterwards, after the old man’s head was hung there for 3 days, the Villagers’ Committee sent someone to beg the Japanese. It wasn’t until then that his head was taken down and put in the coffin. But the eyes and flesh were gone, eaten by crows. After that, when the bowls and chopsticks in this family made a sound at night, they would say the old man’s ghost was back. At that time, the people in rural areas were very superstitious. His daughter-in-law would walk about in the village holding a broom with one of his clothes on it, calling “Father, father…”
There was another man, the village head or the like. One day, the Japanese dressed up as the Eighth Route Army and said “We are back.” Hearing that, the man was so happy. The next day the Japanese came. Seeing the Japanese come, the man turned around and ran away. The Japanese chased him hard. He had no choice but throw himself into a well. The Japanese asked other men in the village to pull him up. Then, he was taken to the center of the village and all other villagers were called to gather there. Several Japanese soldiers took off all of his clothes and bayoneted him to death. His wife and children stood there crying and shouting. I will try to find out the victims’ names after I go back and see whether their children and wives are alive. Countless people from my village were killed by the Japanese, but I was then too young to remember it. So I have to ask the old people in the village because young people don’t know these things. After all, it’s been over 50 years. I will try to find the victims’ family members after I return to the village next spring. I have two younger cousins, my uncle’s sons, living in the village. Patriotic Chinese people will never forget the burning of the Old Summer Palace, the Nanjing Massacre, the imperialists’ aggression against China and killing of the Chinese people, especially the Sino-Japanese war. The Japanese invaded most places in China and caused a devastating disaster to the Chinese people. The war was so enduring, large, cruel and damaging that it was more horrible than all the other wars launched by imperialists against China and was rare in the world.
Through an 8-year hard battle under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people overthrew the imperialist oppression and stood up. But we have suffered from immeasurable losses. Countless Chinese people were killed and numerous properties including industrial resources, agricultural products and farmer laborers were robbed by the Japanese. Many things cannot be measured by money. In the find, Japan surrendered and China won. We should claim for compensation against Japanese militarism. It’s just and reasonable. I am in all favor of it. I’ll stop here.
October 31
Dong Yunqing
