This is a lyric in the theme song of the famous anti-Japanese film and television drama "Bright Sword", which tells the legendary story of soldiers who bravely killed the enemy during Japan's invasion of China.

"If the motherland is violated, passionate men should be self-reliant!" This is a lyric in the theme song of the famous anti-Japanese film and television drama "Bright Sword", which tells the legendary story of soldiers who bravely killed the enemy during Japan's invasion of China.

But around 1937, there was a group of children in Nanjing. They were all humble orphans, helpless since childhood, raised by nuns in temples, and did not undergo any professional training.

However, at the age of being a teenager who should have been protected, they resolutely embarked on the battlefield. Among them are not only heroic and passionate men, but also contemporary "Mulan" who is as good as men.

There is no political party, no organization, no tactical ideas, and no weapons and ammunition urgently needed for combat. However, in such extremely difficult circumstances, they wiped out nearly 200 Japanese and puppet troops, and their average age was only 16 years old when the whole body died.

So, how did they bravely get on the front line against the Japanese invaders? How to use your wisdom to deal with your fierce enemies? What precious spirits did we leave in the end?

(Note: Children participating in the Anti-Japanese Armed Forces)

Let us walk into the story of "Jinling Orphan Volunteers" together.

Jinling "Happy Nest" - Children with Hope

In the early years of the Republic of China, warlords in various places were separatist, the situation was chaotic, and the people were in vain. And a place three miles northeast of Hepingmen in Jinling (Nanjing) is called Xiaohongshan.

Although this place is not far from the city, it maintains a rare tranquility, like a paradise. It is a treasure land in troubled times, and there is an ancient temple on the mountain called Jiashan Temple.

(Note: Today's Xiaohong Mountain in Nanjing)

According to historical records, the temple should have been built during the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty. It can be said that it is winding and secluded. There is also a huge stone wall behind the temple. Originally, the road to climbing to the temple was lush green pines, and climbing was difficult. There were stone Buddhas and Guanyin pavilions along the way, and many literati and poets recited poems here.

But in the bloody early years of the Republic of China, there were almost no people here, and no monks ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddha's name here. They were usually left unattended and gradually became incomplete.

One day, an old nun brought her two apprentices to settle here. Their experience before coming was unfounded, and then the story of the orphan volunteers in Jinling was found.

This time, in a chaotic world, many people are displaced, and adults may be able to rely on their own strength to survive, and the situation of those wandering children is even more miserable.

mians are compassionate, and the old nun and her two apprentices began to adopt orphans from all over the world and were taken care of in the temple. Among these orphans, there are even descendants of martyrs who died in the 1911 Revolution. These children call the old nun "Master" and call her two apprentices "Master's Gu".

For these orphans, it is not easy for them to survive in troubled times without their parents and relatives, and it is not easy for them to fill their stomachs. Meeting these three nuns is even more unexpectedly lucky for them. Here they feel the lack of family warmth.

In addition to their guaranteed life, they also received a good education in the temple and learned to work. Dozens of people went to the fields to work together to grow vegetables and food.

(Note: Children in the Anti-Japanese Army)

In your spare time, you will be organized to read books and learn the excellent traditional Chinese culture. As the saying goes, people are poor and have ambitions. Although the situation is dark, this small temple is full of glory of hope.

is fast. Their righteous actions attracted the attention of all walks of life. Many charitable people extended a helping hand. They gathered funds to build an advanced orphanage here, named "Anle Nest". The source of this name is Soong Ching Ling .

. The arrival of another person brought them more changes and opportunities. This person is called Tao Xingzhi . He is a famous modern educator and thinker, and a great democratic fighter and patriot.

After he learned that there was such a group of children in Jiashan Temple, he often visited here and took some students from Xiaozhuang Normal School he founded here to interact with the children here.

(Note: Today's Nanjing Xiaozhuang College)

And in terms of education, Mr. Tao Xingzhi has devoted a lot of effort. He not only personally taught the children's knowledge, but also invited well-known experts and scholars in society to come through his own relationships.

Although the children of Jiashan Temple did not have the opportunity to enter the real campus, they still felt the joy of being a child and a student here, and more importantly, they learned more progressive ideas.

In that era, there were not many knowledgeable people who could realize that the nation existed in danger and that they should bravely embark on the road of saving the country and safeguarding the people, but fortunately, these children’s teachers were such a group of people.

(Note: Mr. Tao Xingzhi)

Under their guidance, the children accepted many advanced ideas. Although the orphanage was located in a Buddhist temple and was once a Buddhist holy place, after the children arrived, the surrounding walls were no longer Buddhist stories, but new content was found.

Qu Yuan threw himself into the river , which made the children realize the determination to sacrifice their lives for the country; Su Wu shepherded the sheep , which made the children feel the courage to be loyal and unyielding; the mother-in-law's tattooing allows the children to feel the heroic spirit of loyalty and serving the country; Wen Tianxiang's death allowed the children to learn the righteous strength and freedom.

Although life in the orphanage is still comfortable and stable, the children are not blinded by the simplicity in front of them. Through books and teachers' narratives, they learn that the world outside is in chaos.

(Note: Wen Tianxiang Statue)

Their temporary peace was also broken on this day. On July 7, 1937, the Lugou Bridge Incident broke out, and the Japanese army's full-scale invasion of China began, and the children in the "Happy Nest" also embarked on their own journey.

2. Brave and Wisdom - A Hard Fight with the Japanese Army

In fact, as early as 1931, after the 918 Incident, the Japanese army had already begun to infringe on the rights of Northeast China, and the children in the orphanage had already learned about the deeds of the Northeast Volunteers through the teachers' narrative.

Although they yearn for it, they are far away after all, and they are still young, so they have no chance to directly resist the Japanese invaders.

But in 1937, the Japanese army became even more arrogant and invaded all parts of China on a large scale, and the war continued to burn all parts of Jiangnan.

(Note: Lugou Bridge Incident)

Several older children, led by squad leader Zhong Hua, could no longer sit still. They slapped the table and were furious, and decided to contribute their strength to the cause of the entire nation's war of resistance.

It was at this time that they shouted the slogan of anti-Japanese war, and the "Jinling Orphan Volunteer Army" was officially established, and more than 20 people signed up on the spot. In the subsequent battles, the team once grew to more than 60 people.

Shortly after the formation was established, they found that three older girls were missing. After inquiring from multiple sources, they learned that they followed the communications troops to participate in the Battle of Shanghai .

The power of small groups is weak, but the power of large groups is strong. The well-educated Volunteer children did not get impulsive because of their passion. They joined different troops according to their own strengths.

(Note: Students' spontaneous anti-Japanese movement)

After the start of the Nanjing Defense War, some of them went to the security forces, some went to the local service team, and many girls participated in the Red Cross. Although not all on the front line, they all interpreted what they were doing.

Later surviving children recalled several companions who led the way at that time, Shi Qing, Qu Ge and some people participated in the battle at the Zhonghua Gate, Zheng Xing participated in the battle at the Guanghua Gate, and the squad leader Zhong Hua participated in the work of local security.

In another battle, Zhong Hua and his comrade Lei Yue were chased by the Japanese army. Because Lei Yue was seriously injured, they walked very slowly and were about to fall into the hands of the enemy.

When the enemy began to fire with the machine gun , Lei Yue knew that he could not escape death, so he suppressed Zhong Hua with his body and protected him tightly, allowing him to escape the Japanese search.

(Note: Children participating in the Anti-Japanese War)

At night, Zhong Hua saw that there was no one around, so he crawled out of the pile of corpses and limped back to the orphanage. Zhong Hua was still lucky and saved his life.

And many of them fell like Lei Yue in the fight against the enemy. Several girls were killed by the enemy because they did not retreat in time when they were taking care of the wounded in the Red Cross Nursing Society. Most of them were only in their teenage years old.

Although the soldiers who stayed in Nanjing fought bravely and did not fear difficulties, the backward equipment and the lack of personnel could not be compensated for. Soon, Nanjing fell.

The children who returned to the orphanage realized the crisis of the situation. With the fall of Nanjing, they no longer received support and assistance from people from all walks of life. This time, they decided to rely on their wisdom to deal with the enemy.

First of all, they came to the Hepingmen Mosque Primary School, which they often had friendship with on weekdays, found the mimeograph left behind, printed some anti-Japanese slogans and leaflets, and posted them everywhere.

Because they are children, their targets are small, their speed is very fast, and they are very familiar with all the roads in the city. Therefore, although the Japanese army is seeing the momentum of anti-Japanese propaganda grows, they are helpless and unable to capture the children who are distributing leaflets.

Immediately afterwards, the children began to "move" the Japanese army's strategic materials, burned and dealt with many Japanese motorcycles, cars and gasoline, and even burned their garages and granaries.

Although the Japanese army was angry, they still could not catch the children who came and went as if they were like shadows and winds, and could only let them "destruct" secretly.

TV series " Little Soldier Zhang Ga " has a line like this: "County City Japanese Headquarters, I come whenever I want, and leave whenever I want." And the children of the Volunteers in Jinling are simply prototypes in reality.

The Japanese army had a large military warehouse at the foot of Beigu Mountain. The protection was very tight and power grids were built around them. However, a soldier named Jinshazi in the Volunteer Army found out the route of infiltration and escape.

When the Japanese army built a warehouse, many local Chinese people were forced to recruit as laborers, and the golden sand was mixed in it. While he was working, he was conducting investigations.

is under the barbed wire, and he actually discovered an ancient tomb passage leading from Jinling City to this warehouse. Now the children have mastered a secret passage.

At night, they dived into the warehouse through secret passages, then opened the skylight, transported the various guns, ammunition and arms inside back to the orphanage through secret passages, and evacuated before dawn.

In this way, the orphan volunteers have weapons. They no longer blindly deal with the enemy through evasion and detour like before. After self-training, they mastered the methods of using weapons.

So they sneaked into the city, attacked the lonely enemies, and punished the traitors who worked for the Japanese. Although the Japanese army was angry, it was difficult to find their traces.

It turns out that the children have accumulated experience in finding the tomb passage last time. This time they found an abandoned castle, which contains another secret passage leading to the city outside the city.

During the day, they piled bricks in front to serve as a cover. At night, they flocked into the city through this place and carried out their plans.

It is precisely with the efforts of many people like them that although the Japanese invaders occupied many cities with their cruel and advanced weapons, they were unable to truly enslave the Chinese people.

The orphan volunteers in Jinling are just children of the age of students. No organization or troops provide support to them, but they are not lonely, because in many corners of the land of China, there are children with firm ambitions like them, performing heroic stories.

3. The power of youth - Children and students Anti-Japanese Movement

As mentioned above, the Japanese army's invasion of the land of China began in 918 , and the first ones affected were the children in the Northeast. They were also the first students to organize and participate in the Anti-Japanese and National Rescue Movement .

In September 1931, " Northeast People's Anti-Japanese and National Rescue Association " was established in Peiping , and most of the members were students who came from exile from the Northeast.

They used their knowledge and vitality to spread the idea of ​​resisting Japan and saving the country through cultural and political propaganda, and created a strong anti-Japanese atmosphere in northern China, laying a solid mass foundation for the future national war of resistance. They also supported the anti-Japanese volunteers fighting in the Northeast through their own strength, because the Japanese army increased their efforts to mobilize and plunder materials, and the Kuomintang authorities have never firmly resisted the anti-Japanese policy.

So the troops fighting in the Northeast were in short supply in food and medicine, so the students raised funds and materials from all over the country and then found ways to transport them to the hands of the Northeast Volunteers.

In addition, these students have also become the main force in petitioning the government to fight against Japan. The petition activities are mainly in Peking and Nanjing, while the petitioners are Chiang Kai-shek, who lives in Zhang Xueliang and Nanjing National Government .

The students shouted in the carriage and conveyed their opinions and wishes to the people along the way, gaining a lot of support.

Although the ending was very regrettable, the reactionary Kuomintang regime headed by Chiang Kai-shek still adopted a policy of non-resistance, and their petition did not achieve the expected results, it undoubtedly allowed more people to see the determination to resist Japan and save the country.

Similarly, in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region a few years later, there was also a group of organized children. This time their strength was even stronger because behind them was the Communist Party of China, which valued mass work.

Party Central Committee pointed out that different methods should be adopted for children's education, and advocated that "the war of resistance is above everything, and everything obeys the war of resistance", but at the same time, it did not give up daily cultural education.

organized children widely, established the "Children's Group", trained and studied, and carried out a rich anti-Japanese and national salvation campaign.

The children use their own advantages to help the Eighth Route Army soldiers on the front line collect and convey intelligence, participate in activities to destroy the enemy's traffic lines, and help rescue the wounded and carry out nursing work.

In the battlefield behind enemy lines, they bravely took charge of the tasks of standing guard, keeping watch, and checking, and also closely connected with the masses and mobilized the masses. If a victory report came, they would promote it from door to door to boost morale.

On weekdays, they will also help farmers work. Whether they are plowing fields, fetching water or chopping wood, they are obliged to do so. They serve as representatives of the army during the festivals and send condolences to poor families.

. Carrying out cultural propaganda and entertainment activities is their strength. The tradition of our party has always been serious and lively. Although the anti-Japanese struggle is arduous, the spiritual world of soldiers and the people is still full.

Children's League will organize some interest groups and carry out cultural literacy campaigns. They will even hold cultural evening parties during festivals, allowing everyone to develop a strong revolutionary optimistic spirit.

In 1940, the Children's League also honorably participated in the military review of 10,000 people in the border area. At the ceremony, the leaders of the Party such as Zhou Enlai and Wang Jiaxiang gave them high praise.

Children are friendly and closer to the broadest masses of the people. Mr. Tao Xingzhi, who supports the Jinling Orphanage, once said: "Young people sometimes encounter difficulties in promoting propaganda in the countryside. Children's work is popular everywhere and goes smoothly. Some things adults and young people cannot do, while children can do them, and some things adults and young people cannot say, but children cannot say them, but children cannot blame them."

The home was invaded and the motherland was trampled on was naturally painful, but it is these young forces that have given this nation more vitality and spirit, allowing people to forge ahead in the darkness and move towards light.

The spirit of the orphans in Jinling - the awakening of national consciousness

Let us turn our attention back to the children fighting in Jinling. Because of the long-term activities, it caused great trouble to the Japanese army, so the Japanese side has been thinking about how to deal with these children.

Until the Jinling Volunteers blew up a military vehicle in the suburbs, killing many Japanese soldiers. This time, the Japanese army could no longer bear such long-term losses.

They closed the Peace Gate and only opened the Xuanwu Gate pass, which brought great trouble to the children, because Xuanwu Gate is surrounded by water on all sides and it is difficult to fight.

So gradually, the number of members in the battle continued to increase, and some members were unfortunately arrested, and they suffered inhuman torture in Japanese prisons.

But since childhood, they have been familiar with Yue Fei and Wen Tianxiang's story, they have never thought of surrendering. Whether it is coercion or temptation, the Japanese army cannot obtain valuable information from their mouths.

But the strength of dozens of people is limited after all. While reducing staff, you need to recruit new members, and this problem lies in the newly recruited members.

Because some of the new members recruited when developing the organization did not come out of orphanages, the organization's understanding of their information was not very clear and comprehensive, and the review was not very strict.

This allowed the enemy spies to find an opportunity to take advantage of. Finally, in an operation, the intelligence and operation routes of the orphan volunteers of the Jinling orphan volunteers were leaked, and they were surrounded by the Japanese army on Xiaohong Mountain.

is already at the end of the road, but they do not intend to surrender. All the staff retreated to a hole in the mountain and took out the explosives stored there in advance. After detonating, all the staff died for their country.

From 1937 to 1939, for more than two years, the orphan volunteers who were active in the surrounding areas of Nanjing finally ushered in their end, and their average age was only 16 years old when they died.

Brave children passed away in a generous tragedy, but the spirit they left behind will never dissipate with their bodies.

After the Japanese army's iron hooves stepped into Nanjing, these children seemed to have grown up overnight. The patriotic seeds sown by Tao Xingzhi and other gentlemen when they were young took root and sprouted at this moment.

They have interpreted in practice what "every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world", sacrificed their childhood, sacrificed their youth, and devoted themselves to the road to saving the country.

They have not joined any political parties or organizations, have not received any external support and assistance, and it is difficult for them to leave their names after their sacrifice, but they have never hesitated.

What they flows is the blood of the Chinese nation, and they learn from the culture of the Chinese nation that has been of a long history for thousands of years. It is them that have continued the life of the Chinese nation.

As the saying goes, the mighty cannot be defeated. They used their blood to compose the most beautiful heroic hymns. The power they burst out is the soul and spirit of this nation.

And what they represent is the millions of people who awakened consciousness in that era. From the elite revolution in which a few people open their eyes to the world, to the awakening of the whole nation at this time, the Chinese people have experienced many humiliations and struggles.

From ignorance to saving the nation, from the outside to the inside, from shallow to deep, the Chinese nation has achieved a great transformation from freedom to consciousness.

At the moment of life and death, everyone is given a sense of mission. The land is not divided into north and south, and people are consciously committed to the journey of fighting for national liberation.

The landlord class is corrupt, bourgeoisie is weak, and the power of the broad masses of people is infinite. The national spirit of self-improvement awakens the fallen Chinese people.

The establishment of the anti-Japanese national united front , the unity of the whole nation’s resistance to the war of resistance is an epic of national awakening that is encouraging and the key to driving the Japanese invaders out of the land of China.

The war-torn era has been decades, but today we are still on the road of great rejuvenation. We must continue to carry forward the glorious revolutionary spirit, inherit the red gene, and make the Chinese nation self-reliant and the world!

Conclusion

The ancient temple and valley are good, it is really Zen when it comes. The sound of pine trees flows and the rain falls at night, and the color of grass accumulates spring smoke. The story of the orphan volunteers in Jinling starts from a secluded ancient temple where they have their happy and comfortable time, and they are also the birthplace and destination of their spirit.

The country is broken and the mountains and rivers are everywhere, and the city is spring and the grass and trees are deep. When you feel the flowers shed tears, and when you hate the birds are shocked. When cruel enemies ravage their homes, they are brave and fearless, never give up, and use their ordinary bodies to burst out infinite power to fight to protect their homes.

is a hero who is not allowed to be private. Sacrifice your life to the national crisis and treat death as if you are homeless! detonates the explosive that means the end of their lives with his own hands, which requires infinite courage, but just like the characters they read as children, just like the heroic stories told by teachers, and just like the promises they made in their hearts every night, they never regret it.

Is the story of the orphan volunteers in Jinling ended? No, sacrificing their lives for the country is not their end, and the end of the body will not erase their spirit.

Watching today's children enjoy the care of love in their families, learn rich knowledge in the classroom, sweat freely on the playground, and run happily, we seem to see the childish faces on the little red mountain outside Jinling City a hundred years ago, smiling at us, telling us, seeing the life they should have, and continue writing today...

Reference:

Jinling Orphans and Volunteers Shiqiao Nanjing History and Records 1997-06-15

Research on the characteristics and role of the anti-Japanese and national salvation movement of Northeast exiled students after the September 18th Incident Jin Hengwei

Journal of Liaoning Provincial Socialism 2017-06-25

Organization and practice of the Anti-Japanese Children's League in Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Huang Yanan Red Wide Angle 2017-12-20

Analysis of the four dimensions of the unprecedented awakening of the Chinese nation from the perspective of the entire nation's anti-Japanese war Jing Huilan; Jia Ying

Journal of Xingtai College 2022-06-13

Bloody Little Red Mountain: A Documentary of the Orphans in Jinling Anti-Japanese War Cai Huyin 2015

Editor: Shi Han

Editor: Lin Hua