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BEIJING, Aug. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- China's war of resistance against the Japanese aggression contributed greatly to the victory of World War Two. During the war, China suffered a total of 35 million military and civilian casualties. In today's the Archives series, there are stories of some of the war heroes.
There were many brutal battlefields spread across the continents during the Second World War with many famous army generals, such as Dwight Eisenhower and Bernard Montgomery, leading the anti-fascist fight. But in China, the anti-fascist struggle started much earlier and thousands of Chinese war heroes are still remembered today.
During the Japanese invasion in the 1930s, General Yang Jingyu conducted numerous campaigns against Japanese invaders in northeast China. The Japanese wanted him so badly that they encircled his army in 1940.
After fighting for 5 days, Yang was cornered and killed. When the Japanese soldiers cut open his stomach, all they found was tree bark and grass. He hadn't eaten even a single grain of rice for days. In an attempt at psychological warfare, the Japanese chopped off the general's head and put it on display as a trophy. But that couldn't stop the resistance, and General Yang's guerilla warfare tactics helped the Chinese take the fight to the Japanese in many more battles.
The courage of Chinese women also exemplified the Chinese resistance against the Japanese invasion. Zhao Yiman was born into a rich family in southwest China. But she devoted herself to revolution. After the Mukden Incident on September 18th, 1931, which led to the Japanese invasion, Zhao was sent to northeast China to lead raids against invaders. There, Zhao gained a great reputation as guerrilla leader. In the winter of 1935, however, she was wounded and captured. In captivity, she suffered months of torture before being executed.
In her final moments, she wrote to her son:"My dear boy, I can no longer teach you by my words, but I can teach you by my deeds. When you grow up, please remember that your mother died for our country!"
And there were also many foreign allies who helped China during the war. Among them was Dr. Norman Bethune from Canada. Dr. Bethune effectively brought modern medicine to rural China and treated sick villagers along with wounded soldiers. He performed emergency battlefield surgical operations on war casualties and established training for doctors and nurses.
While operating on a Chinese soldier during the war, Bethune cut his finger and contracted blood poisoning. He died of his wounds in 1939. His selfless commitment to the Chinese people has earned him enduring acclaim. Statues in his honor can now be found in cities throughout China. The prolonged war against Japanese invasion witnessed so many heroes destined to live on in the memories of future generations.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
