介绍:
In 1930s, the northeast China was one of the most developed parts in the country. It produced a large amount of iron, steel and coal, and had an abundance of soy beans, which made the Japanese invaders lick their lips.
Japan&`&s Tanaka Cabinet&`&s Positive Policy of Invasion of Manchuria and Mongolia, which is exhibited in the Museum of the War of People&`&s Resistance against Japanese Aggression, recorded the following content: If we want to conquer Shina, we have to conquer Manchuria and Mongolia first. If we want to conquer the world, we have to conquer Shina first. We should set up our base in Manchuria and Mongolia, make full use of trade and commerce to take the over 400 states in the country. And then take all the rich resources to supply us for conquering India and islands in Southeast Asia, as well as Europe.
Japanese invaders launched the September 18th Incident, a staged event as a pretext for the Japanese invasion in 1931 of northeastern China.
Confronted with a formidable enemy, Chiang Kai-shek, president of then Kuomintang administration, adopted the "Resisting Foreign Aggression after Stabilizing the Country" policy and gave orders to Chang Hsueh-liang, General of the Northeastern Army to fight against the Communists instead of the Japanese.
So, the northeast part of China was occupied by Japanese invaders within a half year, and more than 30 million people there were forced to leave their hometown.
Liu yiquan was the security guard of Zhou Baozhong, commander of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army.
(Soundbite 1: Liu, Male, Chinese)
"Japanese invaders set fire to the village, so that people there had no home to return. We saw it with our own eyes. They had to leave their hometown with their families, dragging their luggage. Many of them even walked with canes. So tragic that some of them were starving to death."
(Am: Song Along the Sungari River)
In 1936, a great number of locals, officers and soldiers from northeast China were wandering on the streets of Xi&`&an in northwest China. They were full of sadness and anger since they could neither go back home or take revenge on the Japanese invaders.
All these had been witnessed by Zhang Hanhui, who was a teacher at No. 2 Middle School in Xi&`&an. He walked into the refugee camps and listened to their complaints and homesickness. Then he wrote the song Along the Sungari River.
Zhang Mantun is the grandson of the composer.
(Soundbite 2: Zhang, Male, Chinese)
"The tune of the song was from a funeral song in Hebei. So if someone sings the song, it&`&s easy to be touched by the tune and have tears in your eyes."
After he finished composing the song, Zhang Hanhui led his students to sing it in the streets, moved tens of thousands of officers and soldiers to tears. Many students and intellectuals petitioned Chiang Kai-shek to defend the motherland.
Xu Jiwu is a witness of The Xi&`&an Incident.
(Soundbite 3: Xu, Male, Chinese)
"Not only people from northeastern China, but also local people also demonstrated on the streets. They cried out the same slogan: Restore our lost territories! "
(Am: Song Along the Sungari River)
The protest was stopped by General Chang Hsueh-liang so someone began to sing Along the Sungari River, which moved the General deeply. Chang asked people to believe him that he was very supportive of the anti-Japanese movement in his heart.
(Soundbite 4: Xu, Male, Chinese)
"Chang Hsueh-liang stopped the students at Baqiao, promising to give them an answer within a week. And the Xi&`&an Incident happened within a week. "
Chinese nationalism had been aroused by the Japanese invasion, but potential Chinese resistance was strengthened by the Xi&`&an Incident. And the song Along the Sungari River was rapidly spreading all over the country.
Li Xiangcai was a student in Hubei when he first heard the song.
(Soundbite 5: Li, Male, Chinese)
"There came a guest at Grandpa Lu&`&s, a next door neighbor. She was a middle school student from Wuhan. She was singing and crying. We said that a province of China had been occupied by Japanese invaders. She told us that they occupied, not just one province, but four. She cried, so did I. At that time, I decided to join the army."
(Am: Song Along the Sungari River)
The sentiment of "Family-country" conveyed in the Along the Sungari River encouraged Li Xiangcai to join the army in 1942. The then 20-year-old boy picked up weapons to protect the motherland. The next year, he fought in the well-known Shipai Battle in west Hubei province, which had a profound strategic influence in the war against Japanese Aggression.
Li recalled, the battle turned out to be a bayonet-fight in the end. All soldiers of a whole division rushed up to the enemy, but only about 700 survived. They repelled the enemy&`&s attacks for over a hundred times and destroyed Japanese invaders&`& plan to occupy Chongqing, the then second capital of China.
(Soundbite 6: Li, Male, Chinese)
"At that time, no one cared about life or death. Anyone who thought about the question was a coward, the ugliest soldier."
While in northeast China, the song was encouraging to the soldiers in the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. Under the direction of the Communist Party, the force continued the struggle against the Japanese pacification of Manchukuo.
Liu yiquan, the security guard of the force, again:
(Soundbite 7: Liu, Male, Chinese)
"As long as we put our country first, we could have a family. People there hated the invaders very much since so many families were broken up and so many compatriots died. But we could not have our families back without defeating the Japanese invaders."
(Am: Song Along the Sungari River)
Soldiers in the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army sang Along the Sungari River in their trenches together. Their voices even moved puppet soldiers of Japanese invaders.
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