China Heroic Spirit 78 Women Jump into the River
Among the eight female heroes, only three have had their life experiences passed down. They are Leng Yun (1915-1938), originally named Zheng Xiangzhi, later renamed Zheng Zhimin, from Huachuan County, Heilongjiang Province. In 1934, she joined the Chinese Communist Party and engaged in secret anti-Japanese activities in Jiamusi. In the summer of 1937, she joined the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army's Fifth Army and worked in the cultural education department. In the summer of 1938, she followed the Fifth Army's First Division on a western expedition, serving as a political instructor for the women's team, and sacrificed heroically that October.
Yang Gui Zhen (1920-1938) was born into a poor peasant family in Linkou County, Heilongjiang Province. In 1936, she joined the "Anti-Japanese United Army", and in 1937, she participated in the war. In 1938, during the western expedition, she served as a squad leader.
An Shun Fu (1915-1938) was from Muleng County, Heilongjiang Province, an ethnic Korean, and a member of the Communist Party. She was originally the factory director of the Fourth Army's uniform factory in the "Anti-Japanese United Army".
The other five comrades have only left behind their names: Squad Leader Hu Xiu Zhi, soldiers Guo Gui Qin, Huang Gui Qing, Wang Hui Min, and Li Feng Shan (ethnic Korean).
1. Following the army on its western expedition
In the spring of 1938, the Japanese invaders gathered a large number of puppet troops to tighten their siege on the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army in an attempt to annihilate it. The enemy's military "punishment" against the "Anti-Union" troops intensified day by day, and they attempted to use their powerful forces to push the "Anti-Union" to the northern border area, and to concentrate and annihilate the "Anti-Union" troops operating in the lower reaches of the Songhua River.
In order to crush the enemy's conspiracy and break out of the encirclement of the Japanese puppet army, the Jilin Provincial Committee and the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army Second Route Military Command decided that the main forces of the Fourth and Fifth Armies would march southwest to the Wuchang area, making contact with the First Route Army operating in the Jilin area and the Tenth Army under the Second Route Army, opening up a new guerrilla zone.
In April 1938, the Western Expedition Army began to take action. There were many female comrades in the Western Expedition Army who, like male soldiers, marched through mountains and rivers, fought shoulder-to-shoulder, played a combat role in battles, served as propagandists after battles, and took care of wounded soldiers on the march, playing the role of service personnel.
On July 12, the Women's Detachment participated in the battle to capture Loushan Town and won a victory, enraging the enemy. As a result, the enemy frequently mobilized troops, attempting to surround the Western Expedition Army and annihilate our army on the western expedition route. To shake off the enemy and crush their plot, the Western Expedition Army decided to take separate routes. Commander-in-Chief Chi Shou-rong led the Instructional Regiment and some troops back to the Duanfen area for operations, while the 4th and 5th Armies split into two routes to continue advancing westward. The women's detachments of the two armies merged, with the female comrades originally belonging to the 4th Army joining the Women's Detachment led by Leng Yun in the 5th Army, following the actions of the 1st Division of the 5th Army.
In August, after the Western Expeditionary Force entered Wuchang County, they were surrounded and pursued by a large number of Japanese and puppet troops. Enemy planes scouted, strafed and bombed from the air, while on the ground, more than 3,000 Japanese and puppet troops attacked, causing heavy casualties to the Anti-Japanese League forces. In this critical situation, the remaining 100 or so soldiers of the First Division of the Fifth Army returned to the Xiaolong area downstream of Mudanjiang River to search for the military department and reorganize. At that time, the original Women's Team, which had more than 30 people, had lost most of its members after many fierce battles, leaving only instructor Leng Yun, squad leader Yang Guizhen, Hu Xiuzhi, An Shunfu (Korean), soldiers Guo Guiqin, Huang Guiqing, Li Fengshan (Korean) and Wang Huimin. The oldest was 23 years old, and the youngest was only 13 years old. After a long period of arduous battle tests, the eight female soldiers had become very strong.
Leng Yun was originally named Zheng Xiangzhi, and Leng Yun is the pseudonym after joining the army. After graduating from elementary school, she was admitted to the Huachuan County Women's Normal School in Jiamusi City, where she was educated under the influence of revolutionary teachers, her ideological awareness greatly improved, and her patriotic thoughts became more intense. She decided to follow the example of Qiu Jin and other heroic women, contributing her own strength to China's independence and prosperity. For this reason, she solemnly changed her name to "Zheng Zhimin", sometimes also written as "Zhimin".
After the September 18th Incident in 1931, patriotic people from all walks of life in Jiamusi and Huachuan County held meetings and demonstrations to expose and protest against the aggressive actions of Japanese imperialism. Zheng Zhimin actively carried out anti-Japanese propaganda activities on the one hand, and planned to join the anti-Japanese armed forces operating in nearby areas on the other hand, but ultimately did not go due to lack of recommendation. However, during the anti-Japanese propaganda movement, Zheng Zhimin received good training. After Jiamusi fell, Zheng Zhimin continued to actively engage in anti-Japanese work. In the summer of 1934, Zheng Zhimin joined the Chinese Communist Party under her teacher's introduction and secretly carried out anti-Japanese struggles. By the end of 1935, Zheng Zhimin graduated from the Women's Normal School and was assigned to Yuelai Town as a primary school teacher, continuing to engage in anti-Japanese activities.
Zheng Zhimin went to the Fifth Army and changed her name to Leng Yun, which was inspired by the Tang poem "Leng Yun Xu Shui Shi". This expressed her lofty ideals and determination to fight to the end. At the same time, Ji Nai-cheng changed his name to Zhou Wei-ren and also joined the army. After obtaining organizational approval, the two got married and became like-minded comrades-in-arms.
Leng Yun began working in the military department's secretariat, engaging in cultural education work. During this period, she actively worked on compiling and printing literacy textbooks and propaganda materials for soldiers, enthusiastically lecturing to them, teaching them songs, and enlivening the army's culture, which greatly boosted the soldiers' morale.
Later, at her request, she was transferred to the Fifth Army Women's Corps as a squad leader and instructor, throwing herself into frontline combat.
In the spring of 1938, Leng Yun gave birth to a girl in a secret camp, but due to the harsh war environment and lack of nutrition, she was extremely weak after childbirth; soon after, news arrived that her husband had sacrificed himself in battle, causing her great pain. However, she endured the heavy emotional blow and continued to work hard.
In May, the 4th and 5th Armies began to assemble. Due to constant blocking by the Japanese army, they did not arrive at the assembly point in Mudanjiang until late June. The Women's Corps of the 5th Army also participated in this expedition. Leng Yun had to painfully part with her two-month-old daughter for the convenience of the expedition and asked Vice Officer Xie Qinglin to hand her over to a Korean farmer in Tuchengzi, Yilan County, for care.
After going through thousands of hardships and difficulties, the eight comrades of the women's team finally returned to Mudanjiang with the army.
They intercepted three enemy ships in Hailin, crossed the Mudan River, and then headed north along the mountain road. On a night in late October, the troops arrived at the Wusongkou River and camped on the west bank of the river near the village of Sanjiazi (now Lin口 County) under the hillside of Zao Mu Gang. The Wusongkou River is a tributary of the Mudan River, only 7 or 8 miles from the entrance of the Mudan River, and is a crossing point for the river. Normally the water is shallow, and people, horses, and carts can all wade across. They planned to cross the river here and then take a detour to the Kuske Mountain to search for the Fifth Army headquarters.
In the depths of autumn, cold winds blew in waves, and the chill was oppressive. Some puddles had already frozen into thin ice. The troops, to warm themselves up, scattered and lit up over a dozen bonfires, and everyone rested around the fires. Due to prolonged hunger and marching battles, the soldiers were extremely weak and exhausted, and as soon as they lay down, they quickly fell asleep.
18-year-old girl Wang Huimin, due to a hard life and severe malnutrition, was extremely weak, and couldn't withstand the cold night. Despite being in front of a fire pit, she still curled up her body and shivered with fear. Leng Yun pitied this little sister and wrapped her in his arms, putting her two thin hands into his chest to warm them up. Wang Huimin's father was originally a deputy officer at the Fifth Military Department, their house was burned down by the Japanese army, and she joined the army not long after her father sacrificed himself. She hated the Japanese robbers even more and fought very tenaciously.
Yang Guizhen was only 18 years old, from Xiliuhe Village, and had lost her mother at a young age. She married at 17 but soon became a widow after her husband's death. Her in-laws treated her cruelly and sold her to someone else. When the Fifth Army Women's Team arrived in her hometown for activities, she joined the army. At home, she didn't even have a name, but after joining the army, everyone gave her a precious name that symbolized her valuable spirit of participating in the revolution - "Guizhen". In 1937, she also joined the Chinese Communist Party and served as a squad leader.
An Shun Fu Qi was the original head of the Fourth Army Uniform Factory, a party member. Her husband was also the political commissar of the Fourth Regiment of the Fourth Army, who died in battle. She endured her grief and participated in the Western Expedition, helping Leng Yun do ideological work for the troops.
Just as Leng Yun and the others were resting around the fire, Ge Hailu, a Japanese spy, happened to be passing by from the nearby Shanggou village to find his mistress. He saw several fires on the riverbank from afar. With his intuition as a spy, he determined that these were Anti-Japanese League soldiers. So he quietly went down the mountain and reported this information to the Japanese army. The Japanese commander inferred from Ge Hailu's report that there were many Anti-Japanese League soldiers based on the number of fires, and that his small unit alone could not win, so he contacted the Japanese commander and mobilized a large number of enemy troops overnight to come and reinforce them, pouncing on the "Anti-League" troops.
Ambushed by the enemy
The next morning, the team that had rested for a night was preparing to set off. The division commander ordered Division Chief of Staff Jin Jufeng, who could swim, to lead 8 female soldiers to cross the river first. When they arrived at the riverside, they found that due to the sudden rise in water level, the original crossing point had been submerged. Chief of Staff Jin had no choice but to wade into the river first, with Leng Yun and others following behind. Before Leng Yun and the others could enter the water, gunfire suddenly broke out on the shore. The enemy who had surrounded them the previous night began to attack the "Anti-Japanese Alliance" troops.
Due to the sudden outbreak of the incident, the "Anti-Communist League" soldiers had to respond hastily and were at a disadvantageous position. As a result, most of the "Anti-Communist League" soldiers retreated westward into the dense forest while fighting. Leng Yun and several other female soldiers were isolated on the riverbank, in order to cover the retreat of the troops to the west, Leng Yun ordered the soldiers to hide in the grass and shoot at the enemy, she said: "Comrades quickly shoot at the enemy, attract the enemy's firepower, let the main force break through!" So they all opened fire on the enemy, attracting all the enemy over.
The leader of the troops who was commanding the breakout suddenly discovered that 8 female comrades were covering the main force's breakout, guarding the riverbank, and were in a very dangerous situation. He immediately led the team to turn back and counterattack against the Japanese puppet army, trying to rescue them. However, it was too late, and under the intense firepower of the Japanese puppet army, the troops suffered heavy casualties. Leng Yun and others saw that the main force had risked death to come back and rescue them again, and were deeply moved. But she also realized that if the main force continued to fight hard against the Japanese puppet army to save them, the losses would be even greater, with the danger of the entire army being wiped out. Therefore, Leng Yun led 7 comrades to shout loudly towards the distance: "Comrades! Quickly charge out! Don't worry about us, keep your guns safe, resisting Japan is what's important!" The main force made several charges but were unsuccessful, and could only painfully retreat to the top of Zuo Mu Gang Mountain.
The Japanese puppet army saw the Anti-Japanese League's large team withdraw and couldn't catch up, so they concentrated their firepower on the riverbank where Leng Yun and others were stationed, attempting to capture them alive. Leng Yun and 8 other female soldiers had few people and little strength, using only light weapons with very little ammunition. Facing the enemy's fierce firepower, Leng Yun clearly knew this was a brutal battle. Each of them had only 20-30 bullets and couldn't engage in a shootout with the enemy to deplete their ammunition. She told everyone: "Comrades, conserve your bullets and wait for the enemy to get close before shooting!" Leng Yun commanded 7 soldiers to disperse and hide well, firing one shot at a time, making the enemy think they had many people. The Japanese puppet army charged up, screaming, and Leng Yun prepared everyone with hand grenades. When the enemy approached, she shouted: "Fire!" A row of hand grenades was thrown out, "Boom! Boom! Boom......" The Japanese puppet army was blown down in one fell swoop, and the surviving enemies retreated in disarray.
The enemy could not make out what was going on in the willow thicket, and did not attack again, but lay down on the ground and fired, with bullets whizzing over their heads.
The sky was about to brighten, and the dawn light appeared in the east. Leng Yun raised her face, which was covered with dust and gunpowder, and her two angry eyes scanned the surroundings. The terrain they were in was very unfavorable, the willow branches that had been hiding them had been flattened by the enemy's machine gun bullets, and some of the wild grasses that could provide cover had also been set on fire by artillery shells, with thick smoke billowing out in all directions. Behind them was a wide river over 100 meters wide, rushing northward with huge waves; on the opposite bank were the large and small Guanmenkouzi mountains, where the frost-covered leaves of the birch trees shone bright red in the morning light, like countless blood-stained battle flags.
Leng Yun looked at the terrain again, then turned back to gaze at the battlefield in front of her. The enemy had suffered losses from the bombing and became even more frenzied, continuously firing pursuit cannons towards the riverbank, causing the willow tree grove and wild grass to burn even more fiercely. After the artillery fire stopped, the enemy launched another charge. Leng Yun shouted loudly: "Fire! Fire fiercely!" They fired intensely at the charging enemy while throwing out several hand grenades. The enemy retreated, temporarily halting their attack.
In the intense battle, Leng Yun turned around to look at his comrades and saw Huang Guiqing and Guo Guiqin injured. He hastily tore off his own sleeve and, along with Yang Guizhen, bandaged them up. An Shunfu, Hu Xiuzhi, Li Fengshan, and Wang Huimin were taking off their clothes to smother the large fire that was approaching them. Leng Yun had them set up a stretcher for the injured comrades and, under the cover of the thick smoke from the burning grass, quickly retreated to the riverbank's earthen platform.
Eight "Anti-Communist League" female warriors had run out of bullets, and only two hand grenades were left. Their comrades were injured again, what to do? In front of them were the ferocious Japanese puppet army, behind them was the surging river, none of the eight people knew how to swim. The only two options in front of them were: being captured or dying in battle. But being captured and humiliated was a path they absolutely did not want to take. Leng Yun stared at her comrades with eyes full of bloodshot, everyone's eyes were also looking at her, waiting for her command. Leng Yun finally made up her mind, firmly telling everyone: "Comrades! We are Communist Party members, Anti-Communist League warriors, we would rather die than be captured! Now we have no more bullets or aid, the only way is to cross the river. If we can make it through, we will find the military department and continue to fight against Japan, fighting to the end; if not, then let's live forever with the Us River water! Dying in battle for the liberation of our motherland is our greatest glory!"
"The instructor is right! We'd rather die standing than live kneeling!" An Shunfu responded firmly.
"Right! Let's cross the river!" The other six comrades responded in unison.
At this time, the Japanese puppet army found that there were only a few Anti-Japanese League soldiers by the river, and they rushed up frantically, shouting: "You can't escape, surrender quickly! 'Catch alive! Catch alive!'
"Comrades, down to the river!" Leng Yun stood up, inserted the empty rifle into her waist, and together with Yang Guizhen, they threw their last two hand grenades at the enemy who were rushing up. The comrades helped each other down to the river. Suddenly, a string of machine gun bullets flew from the far side of the riverbank, and little warrior Wang Huimin fell down, with bright red blood gushing out of her chest. Leng Yun was about to go hug her when a bullet hit her shoulder, and Hu Xizhi quickly supported her. An Shunfu picked up Little Wang, his eyes without tears, only filled with hatred and anger. It turned out that the small pass on the east side of the river, Moutouzi Mountain, had also been occupied by the Japanese army, who used machine gun fire to blockade the river surface, attempting to stop the Anti-Japanese League soldiers from crossing the river.
Leng Yun covered the wound with his hand and said firmly, "Go!" Hu Xiu-zhi supported Leng Yun, Yang Gui-zhen and Li Feng-shan carried the wounded Xiao Huang and Xiao Guo on their backs. Everyone held hands, singing loudly the International Song, heading towards the river. "...The blood in our hearts is boiling, we must fight for the truth..." The water was deep and the waves were rushing, the cold current pierced to the bone, the majestic song echoed above the Wusuli River.
The Japanese puppet army saw that the hundreds of soldiers they had been dragging to the riverbank for three or four hours, and had killed more than a dozen of them, were actually just a few female Anti-Japanese League soldiers. They were so enraged that they became dizzy. The Japanese squad leader, Hashimoto, hysterically shouted: "Kill! Kill them all!" Bullets whizzed past the heads and bodies of the female soldiers, who fell into the water only to struggle back up again. At this moment, a mortar shell exploded beside them, sending up a massive wave that obscured their figures from view, and silenced their deep, majestic singing. All that was left was the turbulent waves, the surging foam, seemingly mourning the heroic spirits.
The heroic deeds of the eight women who jumped into the river have long been spread throughout the country, inspiring people to fight bravely against the enemy. After the founding of New China, in order to carry forward the spirit of the eight female martyrs, on September 17, 1986, Mudanjiang City built a giant "Eight Women Jumping into the River Memorial Monument". At that time, Kang Keqing, who was serving as Vice Chairman of the National Political Consultative Conference and Chairman of the All-China Women's Federation, personally wrote an inscription for the foundation stone: "The heroic spirits of the eight women will live on forever!"
