In 1936, in the dimly lit underground cell of Harbin Municipal Hospital, Zhao Yiman, a legendary heroine who fought against Japan's invasion of China, lay on a frigid wooden plank, leaving her leg wound festering, with over 40 bones broken. Each breath brought searing pain. As a Japanese interrogator sneered and lashed her exposed wound with a whip, she stared defiantly, repeating only "I can tell nothing."
This is a scene recreated for the Global Times reporter by the docent of a memorial hall on Yiman Street.
Today, as the Global Times reporter stands before the former site of this hospital ward, gazing at Zhao's photographs from different periods lining both walls of the ward, it is hard to imagine that Zhao, who held her head high and refused to yield under torture, was once a young woman born into an affluent family, who should have lived a life rowing a boat on the Songhua River and walking the streets of Harbin in high heels with red lipstick. When her country fractured, she resolutely chose the hardest path.
Eight decades ago, a steel-willed force led by figures like Zhao Yiman wrote one of the most tragic chapters in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. They were China's Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army (NAJUA), who fought for 14 years in extreme hardship.
On September 18, 1931, Japanese troops blew up a section of railway under their control near Shenyang and accused Chinese troops of sabotage as a pretext for the attack. Later that night, they bombarded barracks near Shenyang. Triggered by the September 18, 1931 Incident, Japan's invasion of Northeast China ignited resistance.
By the mid-1930s, the Communist Party of China (CPC)-led Northeast anti-Japanese guerrilla units were joined by volunteer armies and mountain guerrillas to form the United Army, dealing heavy blows to Japanese forces.
During the 14-year period, the NAJUA engaged 760,000 Japanese troops, and killed or incapacitated 180,000 of them, in a display of the valor and unyielding spirit of the Chinese nation. Its campaigns lent strong support to the anti-Japanese struggle nationwide and to the World Anti-Fascist War.
A street witnessing victory, resilience and defiance
Harbin, in May, hums with the damp breeze off the Songhua River. Its streets and parks were steeped in the NAJUA legacy. Last winter, as Harbin's ice-snow tourism surged, visitors braved the chill to snap photos by Yiman Street's signpost, a tribute to Zhao Yiman. In 1932, she organized revolutionary works against Japanese aggression on this street.
On Yiman Street stands a striking three-story building - the Northeast China Martyrs Memorial Hall at No. 241 Yiman Street, established in 1948 to honor heroes of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the Liberation War.
In the memorial courtyard, a vintage tram measures over 9 meters long and 3 meters high, with its white upper body contrasting with red lower panels and black headlamp.
"This is the very tram Zhao Yiman led striking workers in," Liu Qiangmin, director of the memorial, told the Global Times. Preserved intact, it stands as physical evidence of her revolutionary work in Harbin, he noted.
In early 20th-century Harbin - then an international metropolis - Japanese occupiers after the 1931 invasion routinely abused tram workers.
Amid national crisis, the Communist Party of China sent members like Zhao to organize resistance. By September 1932, she mobilized workers to plaster anti-Japanese posters across the city. Facing overwhelming pressure, occupiers capitulated - punishing abusive officers and meeting worker demands.
"Yiman Street" - this particular street sign seems to gleam a little more lustrously than its neighbors. A nearby shopkeeper told the Global Times that people often bring flowers to pay tribute under the street sign.
"This is a heroine's street because of her courage." It was here, too, where she was captured and held at the Police Station of "Manchukuo," a puppet state established by Japanese invaders.
Stepping into the historical site of police station, the basement houses the grim remnants of the so-called "Manchukuo" Harbin police station. Black-and-white photos document the invaders' atrocities.
A cramped cell, with a hard bed and a rusted lock on its iron door, held Zhao after her capture in 1935. Nearby, a torture chamber displays rows of implements - whips, needles, irons - casting long shadows. Here, Zhao endured unimaginable cruelty.
Electric shocks ravaged her nerves, salt was rubbed into her wounds, steel needles pierced her fingers, and chili water was forced into her nose. Yet in lucid moments, she roared: "You bandits can reduce villages to rubble, hack people to pieces, but you cannot extinguish my faith or defeat China's resolve." Her tormentors, enraged, left empty-handed, according to a report by the Xinhua News Agency.
For nine months, from November 1935 to July 1936, the enemy alternated between healing and beating her, deploying every method available. Zhao never betrayed her comrades or the Party.
Today, the very instruments of torture used against this heroine remain preserved at several memorial halls across China. Every visitor paying tribute stands in solemn silence before this cell, their faces etched with reverence.
Grainy footage at the hall captures her final moments on August 2, 1936. Standing tall, head high, Zhao faced the morning breeze and sang defiantly. Nine years later, China, alongside global allies, crushed fascism. Four years later, the People's Republic of China, for which Zhao and countless martyrs shed their blood and made the ultimate sacrifice, came into being.
Eighty-nine years after her death, Zhao's name and story endure. Generations seek her, learn from her, and aspire to her. At Harbin's Zhao Yiman Red Army Primary School, just 300 meters from Yiman Street, children's "letters" to Zhao adorn the walls, sharing their struggles like unfinished math homework or mastering the drums. These letters conveyed the "Yiman spirit" - unyielding courage, never bowing to adversity, never surrendering to the enemy. The school's docent team narrates her deeds, while plays, drawings, and speeches keep her legacy alive. For these students, "heroine" isn't just a word in textbooks - Zhao Yiman is a vivid, inspiring presence.
A street where shadows and valor intertwined
About 5 kilometers from Yiman Street lies Jingyu Street, bearing witness to another hero - General Yang Jingyu (born Ma Shangde), a NAJUA commander.
In November 1931, Yang arrived in Japanese aggression-stricken Harbin to lead underground resistance. The city teemed with spies; one misstep possibly meant death.
Once, carrying vital documents near Zhengyang Street (now Jingyu Street), Yang encountered Japanese soldiers conducting body searches behind barbed wire. With agents watching his back, he calmly destroyed papers, unbuttoned his robe, and strode forward. His impeccable attire and composure disarmed suspicion - the soldiers waved him through. Buttoning up, he vanished into the alleyways, documents confirm.
On February 23, 1940, the NAJUA commander sacrificed his life for fighting in Bao'an village, Mengjiang county (now Jingyu county) in Northeast China's Jilin Province. When enemies dissected his body, they found only undigested bark, grass, and cotton in his stomach - no food, according to the Xinhua report.
In 1948, Zhengyang Street was renamed Jingyu Street in tribute.
Liu Qiangmin told the Global Times that Heilongjiang, the epicenter of Northeast resistance, bore witness to the NAJUA's grueling struggle in 14 years. Of the NAJUA's all 11 armies, 9.5 operated in Heilongjiang, especially after 1937, along the China-Soviet border. The toll was staggering: From 30,000 fighters initially, fewer than 1,000 survived by 1945.
The hardships faced by the NAJUA stemmed, on the one hand, from the brutal aggression and economic blockade by Japanese puppet troops, and on the other, from the long-term forced severance of contact with the Central Committee of the CPC. Despite this, the forces held fast to their beliefs, drawing strength from various sources and demonstrating unwavering loyalty to the Party. "Fundamentally, this reflects the unswerving support of NAJUA soldiers for the Party," said Liu.
As a veteran researcher of WWII resistance history, Liu recalls discovering Japanese military archives documenting severe frostbite casualties at -40C. "It's unimaginable how our ill-equipped Chinese soldiers endured this," he reflects. Today's youth, he believes, need such crucibles of willpower - that is precisely why they need to learn NAJUA's story.
"Their 14-year resolve offers timeless lessons. Their courage in shouldering national duty inspires today's youth to reject complacency, embrace their responsibility, and contribute to China's rejuvenation in the new era, even without facing bullets or bayonets," Liu stressed.
A legacy in bloodline
Eighty years ago, Ma Shangde, known as Yang Jingyu, fought to his last breath for China's independence. Today, his great-grandson, Ma Chengming, forgoes city comforts to serve in Jingyu county in Central China's Henan Province, a former national-level impoverished county and the land of Yang Jingyu's martyrdom, aiding rural revitalization.
"I had job offers in the mega cities," Ma Chengming told Global Times, "but a deep bond drew me here."
As a child, Yang Jingyu was a hero in textbooks and films. In middle school, Ma visited Yang's martyrdom site in Jingyu county and the Jingyu Street in Harbin. In swirling snow, he heard how Yang, out of ammunition and food, fought alone until his final moment. "I pictured him and his comrades, in thin clothes, starving and freezing, battling to their last breath," Ma recalled, eyes reddening. "That was when being 'Yang Jingyu's heir' hit me."
"This land needs youth," Ma said, explaining his return to the homeland. From his role as a young official in Bao'an village, Jingyu county, Ma rooted himself in the countryside, helping 11 impoverished households secure medical reimbursements and housing upgrades until the village escaped poverty over the years.
Retracing the path of the NAJUA is not merely a journey through history, but a quest for a spiritual compass for the future. Forged in the crucible of ice and fire, this spirit holds the enduring strength of the Chinese nation. At its core lies the Communist Party of China's unwavering faith, steadfast responsibility, and defiance of hardship.
As Ma, Yang Jingyu's great-grandson, put it: "My great-grandfather is a beacon, forever guiding my way." That light will continue to illuminate the paths of countless others.
The article first appeared in the Global Times:
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202505/1334426.shtml.
Company: Global Times
Contact Person: Anna Li
Email: editor@globaltimes.com.cn
Website: https://globaltimes.cn
City: Beijing
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