Japanese veterans rescued by Bethune, where are you?
Author Wang Lu Zhang Ming
Introduction: On September 29, 1972, the Chinese and Japanese governments officially signed the " Sino-Japanese Joint Statement ", realizing the normalization of diplomatic relations. To commemorate the 350th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, we have written this article. This is a magical fate that connects China, Japan and Canada, spans more than 80 years of vicissitudes.
Still the small mountain village, the small courtyard, the stone tablet of "General Nie Rongzhen sent me the orphanage"... Twenty years later, I walked into the Honghecao, Taihang Mountain Village, which I was dreaming about, and came here to revisit that unforgettable memory.
In 2002, when I was accompanying the Japanese girl Mihoko and returned to the old revolutionary base in Shijiazhuang as a accompanying reporter, every mountain, water, grass and tree here seemed to be spreading their arms to welcome the children who had been away for a long time. What is Internationalist spirit , what is revolutionary humanitarian , in the place of Mihoko's rebirth, in front of the monument of Honghecao, you will truly understand the most shining thing in human nature, and all of this is much more real and touching than in textbooks and films and TV dramas!
"Japanese girl, where are you? 》This article that was shocking and sensational in China and abroad back then is believed to be familiar with the content of this article, even remember it.
After returning from the command of Nie Marshal Nie in Honghecao, for several days, I was immersed in my memory of those war years, from the Zhengtai Road attack battle that fired the first shot in the Hundred Regiments War, to the anti-Japanese model county of Jin-Cha-Hebei ; from the Japanese girl who was reborn as a thankful Chinese military and civilian in the ashes, to the great internationalist fighter who was buried in Shijiazhuang.
Bethune, an extremely glorious name, a hero who is well-known in China. If someone asks: Where is Dr. Bethune from? People all over the world will answer in unison that he is Canadian. But only my answer is different from everyone. Because, in my heart, Dr. Bethune is from our village.
Because as early as the early 1950s, Comrade Bethune was moved to the North China Martyrs Cemetery in Xili Village, my hometown. From then on, this great internationalist fighter accompanied the villagers of the village for seventy years. In addition, Bethune International Peace Hospital, Bethune Medical College, and Bethune Memorial Hall are also built in the west of our village. Whether these spiritual or material wealth left by Bethune, not to mention how much glory it has brought to our village, even the people who seek medical treatment have benefited from Dr. Bai. Gradually, the villagers regarded him as the guardian saint of the village.
The story of Bethune saving the wounded officers of the Eighth Route Army has wonderful descriptions, whether in novels, movies, memoirs, or even in comic strips we read when we were young, so there is no need to repeat them. However, the story of Bethune's treatment of Japanese wounded soldiers in Hirayama was probably little known.
This is a magical fate that connects China, Japan and Canada, spanning more than 80 years of vicissitudes. This is a story that is even more legendary and thought-provoking than a Japanese girl.
It is understandable to rescue weak foreign children, because the Chinese nation has always been kind since ancient times; however, rescuing the brutal Japanese prisoners of war requires greater courage and broader mind, which can better highlight the great love in the world in the war! The cause of the incident has to start with Huamu Village, Pingshan County. This is a small mountain village with beautiful mountains and rivers and pleasant scenery. It is located in the depths of the Taihang Mountains, about 35 kilometers away from the revolutionary holy land of Xibaipo . It is such an unknown small village that is closely linked to Bethune.
It turned out that in October 1938, due to the Japanese raid, the Eighth Route Army Shanxi Chaji Military Region Hospital moved from Songyankou, Wutai County, Shanxi Province to Huamu Village, Pingshan County, where the terrain is hidden and the folk customs are simple.In the following five years, the Hanumu Village rear hospital received more than 5,000 wounded people. Dr. Bethune came to Huamu Village twice and worked tirelessly to treat the wounded. The villagers admire this foreign doctor very much. They came from a foreign country from afar to a small hill in remote areas and helped us cure diseases, save people and fight against the Japanese. How can you not give a thumbs up?
All the young and old men and women in the village took spontaneous action to take care of the injured and sick, cooperate with Bethune and the work of the rear hospital, especially the women, cooking, washing clothes, simple bandaging and changing dressings for the injured. There is a woman rescue director in the village. She always strides hard when walking, but she looks a little inconvenient to move and looks painful.
As a doctor, Dr. Bethune is also very attentive. Seeing that her face was wrong, she took the initiative to ask. After asking, she realized that there was a tumor on her chest that had cracked and ulcerated. This matter cannot be careless, so Bethune gave her anesthetics and had surgery. After the wound healed, it never recurred again.
The director of the Women's Rescue Association admired Bethune's medical skills and said to everyone, "Doctor Bai is a miracle doctor, who saved my life."
But unexpectedly, not long after, the director of the Women's Federation turned his face and said that Bethune was a "bad person". Why did he become an enemy who was originally grateful but could not be grateful to him?
Because no one expected that Dr. Bethune would save the lives of two Japanese wounded people with his own hands. It turned out that the rear hospital had just moved to Huamu Village, and the soldiers carried back two injured Japanese prisoners. Dr. Bethune personally performed surgery on them to save their lives.
However, these two Japanese prisoners were saved, but the villagers were a little angry. They said angrily: "We are the Eighth Route Army hospital, how can we save the Japanese? That's the enemy! Also, our medicine and food are limited, so we have to give them food and take care of them. Why!"
Not only did the villagers not understand, but even the director of the Women's Federation could not understand at first, so in anger, he thought that Dr. Bethune was inseparable from the enemy and even ignored Dr. Bai for a while. It was not until later that she gradually understood the great truth.
So, what did Bethune himself think? In fact, according to my opinion, Bethune was just a doctor's duty at that time. The Japanese soldiers put down their weapons, and they were wounded, so they must do their best to save the patient's lives.
Of course, no matter how reasonable the future generations imagine it, it is just a speculation. The most accurate thing is to look at the parties involved’s own records. How did Bethune record the rescue of Japanese soldiers? Let’s take a look at the report he wrote to the Jin-Cha-Hebei Military Region Command on November 2, 1938.
The report said: "These two prisoners of war understood that it was the Chinese who saved them. Although they did not understand Chinese, they still managed to express their gratitude to the hospital staff for their humane treatment. Before leaving the flowers and trees on October 27, I took some photos of the two prisoners of war and Dr. Lin and others. Dr. Lin was wearing a long shirt of medical staff, wearing the Red Cross and Eighth Route Army armband. I myself was with them. Take a look. We suggest that the two prisoners of war send a Japanese translator to write to their relatives in Japan and attach the above photos. In addition, we need to add an explanation when printing and distributing their family letters and photos as propaganda materials distributed in enemy-occupied areas and abroad. "
From this report, what touched us is not only the precious humanitarian spirit of Bethune, but also his keen political vision and advanced propaganda consciousness.
Doctor Bethune not only treated two injured Japanese prisoners, but what is even more rare is that he actually took a photo of the prisoners of war and the Eighth Route Army doctor, recording this scene forever.
However, this is far from enough. Dr. Bethune even thought of using photos as propaganda materials and disseminated the enemy's false words of slandering and slandering the Eighth Route Army, thus playing a role in influencing the Japanese army and educating the Japanese people. Therefore, Dr. Bethune's thoughts are indeed very keen and profound!
Of course, people can't help but ask, who will save the photos later? Also, has this photo really been circulated abroad? Unfortunately, after Bethune passed away, this photo disappeared.
Also, who is the Eighth Route Army Doctor Lin in the photo? Could it be that even he was unable to save that photo? His name is Lin Jinliang, from Shanghang, Fujian. He participated in the Red Army at the age of 18 and was injured many times in the anti-"encirclement and suppression" battle. Later, he was selected to study at the Red Army Health School and became a doctor. After the Pingxingguan Battle, he was left to work in the rear hospital of the Jin-Cha-Hebei Military Region. He was fortunate to fight and live with Bethune for 18 months. He should be considered Bethune's right-hand assistant.
Doctor Lin remembers the whole process of taking a photo very clearly, but he has never seen a photo after washing it out. However, because this was taken by Bethune himself, he has been searching everywhere, but unfortunately, he has never found it for so many years. In June 1982, after Dr. Lin passed away, the hope of finding this photo became increasingly slim.
However, the roundabout way was changed. More than 70 years later, this photo that made Doctor Lin search for and regret for his whole life actually reappeared in the world. So, how did this photo resurface?
It turns out that the Hebei Party History Research Office is going to publish a book called " Anti-War Documentary in Chinese Japanese". The book intends to include a large number of historical pictures. In order to verify the source, author, origin, shooting time, etc., they sent some pictures to Wang Yan, the daughter of the famous anti-Japanese war photographer Sha Fei , and asked her to identify it, including this photo.
Wang Yan is very familiar with her father's photography works. At the same time, she also knows that Bethune mentioned the detailed content of taking photos of Japanese injuries in the "Report" that year. She concluded that the photo was taken by Bethune, so she immediately replied: This photo was not taken by Sha Fei, but there is indeed a story behind the photo.
Then, Wang Yan sent the photo to Dr. Lin’s son Lin Gong from the Internet. The moment Lin Gong saw the photo, his eyes suddenly lit up. The Eighth Route Army doctor in a white shirt in the photo was clearly his father Lin Jinliang. This photo is a photo that my father has been looking for and thinking about for the rest of his life! This is the only photo that Bethune, who has survived so far, took himself!
More than eighty years later, let us take a closer look at the unusual shot taken by Bethune at that time. The Japanese prisoner in the photo was wearing a strap-style hospitalized uniform, showing a stable expression in the sun. Dr. Lin was wearing a white shirt for medical staff, decorated with red cross signs and Eighth Route Army armbands. He held the Japanese officer with his right hand and stood sideways. It can be seen that the relationship between the Japanese prisoners, Dr. Lin and photographer Bethune, has been very harmonious and has no hostility at all.
Moreover, from this photo, you can still vaguely see the traces of Bethune's unique director. Usually the Eighth Route Army's armbands are usually not on the sleeves of the military uniform, but in this photo, in order to achieve better publicity effect, Dr. Lin deliberately put the armband and badge on the white shirt. These scenes are exactly consistent with the content of Bethune's report, and undoubtedly confirm that the photographer of the photo is Bethune himself.
He rescued Japanese wounded in order to awaken the awakening of Japanese prisoners, expand propaganda against the enemy, and promote anti-war ideas to the Japanese army and the Japanese people.
Maybe someone is going to ask, what was the final fate of the two Japanese prisoners rescued by Dr. Bethune? Where did they go after their injuries healed? There are two possibilities for
.First, they may have returned to their own troops; second, they may have volunteered to participate in the anti-war alliance in China established in , Jinchaji Military Region, .
But at that time, there was a situation where Japanese soldiers lost contact for more than a week after the battle would be shot and killed. Given this possibility, we speculate that these two Japanese prisoners should not return to their original troops by seeking death, and are likely to choose the second route to participate in the anti-war alliance of Japanese people in China established by the Jin-Cha-Hebei Military Region.
The photos taken by Bethune himself have reappeared in the world decades later, which is very fortunate. However, the story is not over yet. The camera used by Bethune has a new destination after his sacrifice.
As an amateur photography soldier, Bethune also made a foreign film friend in Shanxi, Chaji, and Ji, who is Sha Fei, the head of the News Photography Section of the Jinxi, Chaji Military Region. Because Sha Fei can speak English and it is very convenient to communicate with Bethune, the two of them naturally talked about photography together and established a deep friendship.
However, something unfortunate happened. In late October 1939, when Bethune was performing surgery on the Eighth Route Army wounded, his middle finger was cut and infected, and turned to sepsis. He unfortunately died in the early morning of November 12. Hearing the bad news of his good friend's death, Sha Fei rode over on his horse overnight and said goodbye to Bethune.
In the sadness, Sha Fei also learned about Bethune's will. It turned out that Bethune left his camera to Sha Fei as a souvenir.
A very coincidental history is that not long after, in August 1940, Sha Fei used the camera of a Japanese wounded soldier to take pictures of the world-famous "General Rescue Orphans". After more than 40 years of this set of photos, after being published in major media in China and Japan, a craze was set off for searching for Japanese girls, and finally a touching scene of Mihoko and Magistrate Nie re-renewing the great love.
A 42 years ago, a Japanese girl was found again. Then more than 40 years later, we can't help but issue the same question: "Japanese veterans, where are you?"
If these two Japanese veterans are no longer alive, if their descendants can see this article, we will also send a sincere invitation to invite them to Huamu Village in Pingshan to see the operating room where Bethune treated their fathers, and touch the blood-soaked inscription on the monument of the nameless martyrs in the Anti-Japanese War next to the village.
Huamu Village, this most ordinary small mountain village in the old Pingshan area, Bethune and the Eighth Route Army doctor gave two Japanese wounded soldiers a new life, writing another historical monument to revolutionary humanitarianism.
However, what we cannot forget is that in this land of "one inch of mountains, rivers, one inch of blood", there are always the heroic souls of hundreds of wounded Eighth Route Army soldiers in slept forever.
More than a year ago, when I was paying a visit to the nameless martyr's monument in the hospital behind Huamu Village, I was mixed with emotion and wrote a poem:
"Sad wind and rain fall and cry for the loyal and injure,
Hundreds of creatures sleep in a hole.
Like the teaching inscription does not fade,
Purple hair dipped in blood and write pill!"
Japanese wounded soldiers were reborn because of the great love of the Communists, but Chinese martyrs fell down because of the cruelty of the invaders... Justice and evil, vastness and insignificance, human nature and animal nature have been given the most unforgettable interpretation here.
"The teacher who never forgets the past and the future" is the best textbook. Let us pray together that China and Japan will never fight again and that the world will be permanently peaceful!
( Author : Wang Lu, speaker of Hebei Radio's "Yanzhao Legend" and vice president of Hebei Provincial Party History Figure Research Association)
