Date of letter:1992-12-11
Address of author:Miluo City (county-level city), Yueyang City, Hunan Province
Date of event:1941
Location of event:Xiangyin County, Shaoyang City, Hunan Province
Name of author:Zhu Jiandong
Name(s) of victim(s):Li Baosheng, Wang Guisheng, Su Cuiying, He Liu’s and other people.
Type of atrocity:Others, Rapes(RA, OT)
Other details:We support for the claim as well as for the establishment of the organization for the claim. The statistical table of the victims in Xiangyin County is sent here. The victims include: Li Baosheng was killed in the bombing; Wang Guisheng was shot dead; Su Cuiying was raped by the Japanese soldiers; He Liu’s resisted the insult and was killed.
Comrade Tong Zeng:
I’ve received your letter and am sending you a copy of materials I collected for storage. I think the scope of damage claims defined by you is too narrow. I don’t know about laws, but I think the scope of government claims only include war expenses, military casualties and the loss of state property, etc., while the scope of civil claims should include civil casualties, women’s humiliation, unpaid laboring, looting of property and loss of people’s property such as the destruction of houses, killing of livestock and wasting of farmland.
We should make a claim based on public reason instead of international laws. The United Nations was established not a long time ago; the international laws are far from perfection. In the past, the imperialism invaded us, won and demanded our country to cede territory and pay indemnities. What legal bases did they have? They were invaders, killed our people, looted our property, yet they demanded indemnities from us. Do laws permit that? This time, the invaders were defeated. They should compensate us based on public reason. There’s no need to find legal bases. As it’s generally acknowledged that “comfort women” should be compensated, then other losses should be compensated too. I think this is the basis, the public reason is the basis. Apart from claiming for compensation against Japan, we should appeal to the international community and demand other countries to pursue justice for us. I believe we can receive the support from countries across the world because making compensation is a punishment to the invaders, which is of great significance to avoid wars and maintain peace.
To properly carry out the work, we must immediately establish a civil organization demanding compensation against Japan and set up provincial branches and municipal and county-level groups to facilitate communication and collect materials. It is a civil organization and won’t damage the diplomatic relations between governments at all. The biggest goal of diplomatic relations between governments is to maintain world peace, stop wars and ensure a peaceful life of peoples. Our claim cause has the same significance.
My above opinion is just for reference.
Best regards,
Guluo, Hunan
Teacher Zhu Jiandong
December 11
List of people from the former Xiangyin County who died in the Battle of Changsha, 1941
List of women from villages and towns of the former Xiangyin County who were killed in 1941
In 1939, the Japanese army invaded Changsha and reached Xinshi Town, Xiangyin County on September 25. They burned Xinshi to the ground, killed civilians Mao Yunzhai and Mao Qingqiao. Mao Yunzhai was stabbed over 30 times.
On October 22, 1941, the Second Guards (Major Akira MARUYAMA) under the Japanese central UZAWA Troops came from Xinshi and shot dead over 10 farmers with machine guns on a grain yard. Not long after that, they captured over 30 farmers from Wuchang Village, raped young women and forced young men to dig sweet potatoes for the Japanese army. The next day, they tied the farmers up and killed them all near Huangnitang. Someone recalled that the dead victims include Cai Yonglin, Cai Zhenglian, Xu Linsheng, Xu Shunqing, Li Xuxin, Li Ruicai, Huang Jinsheng’s two sons, He Fengping, He Chunlin, He Hesheng, He Yuelin and He Yicheng and those seriously injured include He Huilin, He Binghua, Li Fanzheng, Zheng Shuncheng and Zheng Maohua.
Yingtian Massacre: On September 23, 1939, the Japanese army arrived in Yingtian, Xiangyin. They killed 93 people in Tuishanzui Village near Yingtian and 38 people in Santangwan, where people including Yi Peichun, Yi Hanchun, Yi Baohe, Yi Fengmei, Yi Yongyi, Yi Chunfu and Yi Xilian were tied up and beheated at Liudouqiu, Changtang. Yi Ziqin from Dabianshan was pushed down on a bench, stabbed to death and then chopped to pieces. A young girl from Tianpengliuwu threw herself into a pool and drowned after being raped by 8 men. A young girl from Yingtianjie resisted when being raped, so the Japanese soldiers cut out her face and breasts, took off all of her clothes and beat her to death. After raping three middle-aged women and a young girl from Baixuetang by turns, the Japanese soldiers cut off their hair, stripped off their clothes and forced them to tour around the village. The statistics show that during 13 days from September 23 to September 15, the Japanese army killed over 800 civilians, raped over 100 women and burned over 300 houses; and over 1,200 Kuomintang officers and soldiers died on the battle and were killed.
The Japanese army’s atrocities on Guiyi Street: On September 12, 1939, the Japanese army came to Guiyi Street, where they killed Zhang Zuosheng, his wife and his 70-year-old grandmother. On the same day, Gao Niansheng’s step father, step mother, wife, baby daughter and himself were killed at the same time. Besides, teacher Gao Bingqing, a cigarette shop’s boss Hu Yanshou, a restaurant’s boss Zheng Jilin, a psycho Liu Baolou and residents Jiang Xibing, Xiong Zuoqing, Chou Haifu, Wang Baosheng and his nephew were also killed. The statistics show that a total of 38 ordinary people were killed.
On December 12, 1942, the Japanese army entered Dunshanwuchang, Hongweiqiao, Honghua Village, Guluo City. Zhou Shibin’s 6-member family hid in a burrow. The Japanese army set fire at the cave’s door; the whole family were suffocated to death. Zhou Shibin’s father and cousin Zhou Shien were captured by the Japanese army and shot to death on the way to Changsha. 8 members of the family were all killed.
Collected by Zhu Jiandong, a retired teacher in Guluo, Hunan
