The Fifth Division of China Heroic Spirit 9 Lin Hai Snowfield Yang Jingyu

  Yang Jingyu (1905-1940), originally named Ma Shangde, also known as Shunqing, courtesy name Jisheng, used the alias Zhang Guanyi and Nai Chao when doing underground work. In 1932, he changed his name to Yang Jingyu according to organizational decisions.

  Yang Jingyu was born on February 16, 1905, in Liwan Village, Qu County, Henan Province, into a hardworking and honest peasant family. He joined the Communist Youth League in autumn 1926 and the Chinese Communist Party in May 1927. He led the Autumn Harvest Uprising in Liu Dian and the peasant uprising in Qu County, and worked underground in Kaifeng and Luoyang.

  In autumn 1929, he went to Northeast China and served as secretary of the CCP Fushun Special Branch, leading the workers' movement. In early 1933, he became political commissar of the South Manchurian Guerrilla Detachment, and in September created the First Independent Regiment of the Northeast People's Revolutionary Army, serving as regimental commander and political commissar. He was also elected as a member of the CCP South Manchurian Special Committee.

  In July 1936, he was elected as a member of the CCP South Manchurian Provincial Committee, serving as commander and political commissar of the First Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, and commander-in-chief and political commissar of the First Route Army. He was one of the founders and leaders of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army.

  In December 1937, the CCP Central Political Bureau appointed him as a member of the Preparatory Committee for the Seventh National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.

  On February 23, 1940, he single-handedly fought against the Japanese army's encirclement and died heroically in battle.

  Rushing to the Northeast Anti-Japanese War Battlefield

  In the spring of 1928, Yang Jingyu, still recovering from his gunshot wounds, went to Xishan, Xinyang, Kaifeng, Luoyang and other places to work for the party. During this time, he was captured three times, but managed to escape each time. Afterward, the party organization, concerned for his safety, transferred him to Shanghai to study at the CCP Central Committee. Yang Jingyu had married at 17 years old and had an elderly mother and two young children. His wife, Guo Lian, was left alone to care for their children and work a few acres of thin land, living in extreme poverty and often relying on loans to get by. Yang Jingyu spent many years traveling outside for the revolution and could not take care of his family. In April 1928, shortly after he left home, the Kuomintang reactionaries ransacked his house. The suffering from poverty and illness, as well as persecution by the enemy, led to the deaths of Yang Jingyu's mother and wife.

  In the spring of 1929, Yang Jingyu was ordered to rush to the Northeast Anti-Japanese War battlefield and served as the secretary of the CCP Fushun Special Branch. He carried out a heroic struggle against Japanese imperialism in the Fushun coal mine. Renaming himself Zhang Guanyi, he went deep into the coal mine for propaganda and actively organized trade unions. He treated the miners like his own parents and brothers, working and living with them. Since most of the miners were from Shandong Province, he claimed to be from Shandong as well. The miners affectionately called Yang Jingyu "Shandong Zhang" and regarded him as their closest brother. One time, an old miner came to see "Shandong Zhang" with tears in his eyes, complaining about being unfairly laid off and asking for help. Yang Jingyu comforted the kind-hearted old man with great sympathy and discussed with everyone: "The Japanese devils are bullying us like this; can we just let them urinate and defecate on our heads? Without the coal we dig out with our sweat and lives, the Japanese devils' trains and ships cannot move a single step! If we don't dig coal, the devils will have no way to survive!" His words made the miners see clearly: "Right! Let's unite and not work. Give those little devils some color to see!"

  Under the leadership of Yang Jingyu, a large-scale strike began. Countless workers gathered in front of the foreign-style building where the mining bureau was located, shouting slogans and firmly demanding that the laid-off workers be rehired, that they not be oppressed, and that their wages be increased. The united fighting force compelled the mining bureau to accept the workers' conditions meekly. However, Yang Jingyu's outstanding battle also drew the attention of the Japanese imperialist hawks, who sent enemies everywhere to investigate and arrest people. Due to the betrayal of a traitor, Yang Jingyu was unfortunately captured. The Japanese special agents used all sorts of cruel tortures on him, even calling in the traitor to confront him face-to-face. But Yang Jingyu remained steadfast and unyielding, not revealing any secrets of the Party. The Japanese special agents could only transfer the battered Yang Jingyu to a Chinese court. In court, Yang Jingyu angrily rebuked: "The Chinese government cannot protect the lives and safety of the Chinese people, but instead loses its power and dignity, serving as a lackey for the enemy, allowing them to run amok... You should be ashamed to be Chinese..." The judge, faced with Yang Jingyu's righteous and stern words, was speechless. He randomly sentenced Yang Jingyu to one and a half years in prison on the charge of "damaging international friendship".

  Revolutionaries are everywhere, and Yang Jingyu, who had left the scorching hot mining area and was imprisoned in a dark and gloomy prison cell, began another kind of fighting life. He united with his fellow prisoners, spread revolutionary ideas to the guards, and even won over some of the guards to sympathize with the revolution. In the summer of 1931, Yang Jingyu was released from prison after serving his sentence. A representative of the CCP Manchuria Provincial Committee conveyed the Party's instructions to him, preparing to send him to work in Harbin. Yang Jingyu, who yearned for a fighting life, was overjoyed and prepared to head north to open up a new battlefield... However, due to the exposure of his whereabouts after the enemy destroyed the Shenyang Mutual Aid Society, he was captured again on the third day after his release from prison. It wasn't until after the September 18th Incident that the Party organization rescued Yang Jingyu and Chen Tanqiu from prison by bribing a Japanese judge with 2,000 yuan.

  Yang Jingyu, who had been tortured and weakened, disregarding his own physical condition, immediately went to Harbin after being released from prison, found the CPC Manchuria Provincial Committee, and requested to work. He successively served as Secretary of the CPC Harbin City Daowai District Committee, Secretary of the Harbin Municipal Committee, and later acted as Secretary of the CPC Manchuria Provincial Military Commission. During this period, he actively carried out party work, developed party members, rectified and expanded the guerrilla army, and conducted extensive anti-Japanese national salvation propaganda among the masses.

  Yang Jingyu's outstanding work was praised by his comrades and the superior party organization. In order to strengthen leadership over the anti-Japanese armed struggle in southern Manchuria, the CCP Manzhou Provincial Committee decided to have Yang Jingyu stay in the southern Manchurian guerrilla zone to carry out organizational leadership work for the guerrilla troops. Thus, he ended his more than four years of work in the White area and took to the battlefield of anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare. In looking back on this unusual period of life, he said: Over the past more than four years, he was captured five times, came to understand society, became familiar with the enemy's prisons, attended two universities, one called "Social University" and the other called "Prison University". The severe struggle made Yang Jingyu even more mature and stronger politically.

  Shouldering the heavy mission of organizing anti-Japanese guerrilla forces, Yang Jingyu bid farewell to Harbin and came to Panshi County near the Jilin-Hailong railway line in southern Manchuria. In the deep mountains and old forests of Huadian's Honey Top, he found the guerrilla troops. These guerrilla troops had been repeatedly "encircled and annihilated" by the Japanese enemy, suffered from the sandwiching attacks of the landlord armed forces, and were constantly frustrated. The warriors were worried, the leaders were anxious, what to do? How to continue the guerrilla war? At this critical moment when the future was uncertain and people were exhausted, Yang Jingyu appeared before them, bringing instructions from the Provincial Committee and concern from the Party. In a small party meeting held in the dead of night, Yang Jingyu pointed to an oil lamp and said emotionally: "This lamp cannot be lit without oil. Our guerrilla troops are like a home without a base. We have been fighting for so many years, but we still don't have a base. Why do we want to be a lamp wick without oil?" Yang Jingyu's words enlightened everyone's heart. Yes, without a base, without the support of the people, it is like a lamp wick without oil, and no matter how hard you try, it will not shine! Under Yang Jingyu's leadership, everyone rebuilt the Panshi Guerrilla Zone. The party organization, trade union, and anti-Japanese association of railway workers were established one after another, like mushrooms after a spring rain. Railway workers, farmers in Panshi and Hailong areas, students, and teachers nearby all joined the guerrilla troops. Yang Jingyu also sent many party members to work in the puppet army, and the middle and lower-level officers and soldiers of the puppet army increasingly sympathized with the anti-Japanese struggle, some secretly supporting it, and others defecting to the anti-Japanese army. The original puppet army regiment commander led his troops to rebel and joined forces with the Southern Manchurian Guerrilla Troops, capturing Panshi County in one fell swoop, annihilating the Japanese garrison, and cutting off the transportation of the Shenyang-Jilin railway line. The original Puppet Manchukuo mortar battalion also defected and joined the Southern Manchurian Guerrilla Troops. The Southern Manchurian Guerrilla Troops' prestige was greatly enhanced, their reputation spread far and wide, and the Japanese enemy trembled with fear at the mere mention of them.

  Yang Jingyu did not disappoint the party's trust, opening up the guerrilla work in the Panshan area, and was deeply loved by the cadres and soldiers of the Panshan Guerrilla Detachment. On September 18, 1933, the second anniversary of the Mukden Incident, following the instructions of the Northeast Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, with the guerrilla detachment as the backbone, united with other anti-Japanese armed forces to form the First Independent Division of the Northeast People's Revolutionary Army, Yang Jingyu served as division commander (also known as commander) and political commissar. The whole division had more than 300 people. A year later, on November 7, 1934, the First Army of the Northeast People's Revolutionary Army was formally established, with Yang Jingyu serving as army commander and political commissar.

  Yang Jingyu analyzed the situation at that time and decided to lead his troops to march south, cross the Huihui River, organize the scattered guerrilla forces south of the Huihui River, and severely attack the Japanese puppet enemy, further expanding the guerrilla army. At that time, there were tens of thousands of anti-Japanese guerrilla forces south of the Huihui River, most of whom had risen up without party leadership, so they often failed and were on the verge of collapse. Yang Jingyu wrote letters to the leaders of the scattered anti-Japanese armies, mobilizing them to unite against Japan, and put forward the proposition that "the wolf is at the door, external troubles are more important, we must unite to deal with Japan", which was deeply supported by various anti-Japanese armies. There was a guerrilla team led by Tian Lin, a woodcutter from Changbai Mountain, who witnessed the exemplary discipline and bravery of Yang Jingyu's independent division, heard about Yang Jingyu's proposition to unite against Japan, and deeply realized that only the Communist Party is truly fighting against Japan and saving the country. They asked Commander Yang to send political commissars to their troops and were willing to accept the unified command of the Communist Party. Later, Tian Lin joined the party and served as the commander of the Fifth Regiment of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, and was martyred in a battle against encirclement and suppression. Yang Jingyu united more than 20 anti-Japanese armed forces and established the headquarters of the Anti-Japanese Allied Army in April 1934, and he was elected as the commander-in-chief. Thanks to Yang Jingyu's efforts, the good situation of unity in the anti-Japanese struggle in southern Manchuria gradually took shape.

  In August 1935, in accordance with the spirit of the Chinese Communist Party's "August 1 Declaration" to unite against Japan, various anti-Japanese forces in Northeast China were merged into the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. The First Army of the Northeast People's Revolutionary Army was reorganized into the First Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, with Yang Jingyu as the army commander and political commissar.

  Soon after, Yang Jingyu and Wei Zhenmin, secretary of the South Manchuria Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, convened a meeting of representatives from the South Manchuria Provincial Committee and cadres from the First and Second Armies of the "Anti-Japanese United Army". The two armies were merged into the First Route Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. Yang Jingyu was appointed as the commander-in-chief and political commissar, with a total strength of over 6,000 troops.

  This powerful force fought bravely in Liaoning and Jilin provinces, achieving great victories. The Japanese puppet army was terrified at the mention of "Yang Jingyu", while among the masses, these three words became a symbol of resistance against Japan. The locals called Yang Jingyu "our Commander Yang" and referred to the First Route Army as "Commander Yang's troops".

  Under Yang Jingyu's command, the First Route Army fought dozens of battles from the "July 7 Incident" in 1937 to 1938, killing over 20,000 enemy soldiers and effectively pinning down the enemy forces. This supported the national war effort, just as Yang Jingyu wrote in his own composition, the "March of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army First Route Army":

  "The sound of charging forward, killing the enemy, and capturing their weapons - that is the iron proof of revolutionary victory..."

  The victory of the Anti-Japanese United Army inspired the people, and the people enthusiastically supported the Anti-Japanese United Army. Wherever the "Anti-Communist" troops went, the local people would send grain and grass, report messages and guide the way. Some old farmers called the "Anti-Communist" army "Yang's heavenly soldiers and generals", while others said they were "heavenly soldiers sent by God to save the common people". Every time the "Anti-Communist" army took action, some old people would burn incense and kowtow, praying for Bodhisattva to bless Yang Jingyu to win the battle. Whenever Yang Jingyu arrived at a place, he would hold a mass meeting, spread anti-Japanese propaganda, ask about the sufferings of the people, and be close to the masses like one family.

  In the second half of 1938, the national anti-Japanese war entered an extremely difficult stalemate stage. The Japanese invading army was worried that its rule in Northeast China would be shaken, and it gritted its teeth to decide to eliminate the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, a major threat. Therefore, they mobilized more than 400,000 troops from Japan and Korea, surrounded the "Anti-Union" in Northeast China, carried out a "comb-like" "sweep", and at the same time, implemented the vicious measures of "returning to the village and gathering households" and "protecting the household registration system". The people's clothing, food, housing, and transportation were strictly controlled, and even one inch of cloth, one catty of cotton, and one grain of food were not allowed to be transported out. The Northeast Anti-Japanese Guerrilla War faced its most severe situation.

  To preserve the vitality of life, Yang Jingyu led a detachment to transfer to the eastern Changbai Mountain forest. The Japanese commander, Noyoshi, personally searched by plane. The enemy sent 4-5 planes every day to circle and reconnaissance, low-altitude sweeps. Yang Jingyu and his comrades fought in the icy sky and snowy land.

  In the dense jungle, without food or shelter, they were suffering from hunger and cold, but they sang optimistically: "The sky is our roof, the earth is our kang, fire is life, the forest is our hometown, wild vegetables and tree bark are our food..." showing their high-spirited revolutionary optimism.

  In January 1941, Yang Jingyu led more than 300 people to attack Longquan Town and organized the troops to disperse quickly to predetermined locations. However, due to the betrayal of a traitor, their activity route was exposed. The Japanese enemy hastily assembled forces and madly pursued them across the mountains and fields. Yang Jingyu adapted to the war situation and immediately ordered his direct troops to disperse and confuse the enemy, while he led his unit to leave the western forest area of Mengjiang and prepare to join the Second Route Army.

  One day in February, the weather was extremely cold, with temperatures dropping to below minus 40 degrees. After several fierce battles, Yang Jingyu had only over 60 people left by his side. Just then, a platoon leader defected to the enemy. The enemy had reliable intelligence and the encirclement was getting smaller and smaller, the situation was extremely critical and dangerous. Yang Jingyu decided to disperse the troops, taking only a few soldiers with him, and maneuvering with the enemy in the vast forest.

  Yang Jingyu said to everyone: "The situation is very dangerous now, it's best for us to split up and leave."

  "No, Commander, we live together; die together. Let's fight to the end!" The soldiers were unwilling to leave Yang Jingyu.

  "Let's decide then! The more people who live, the more revolutionary strength we have. What good is it to die together?" Yang Jingyu said firmly to everyone.

  According to Yang Jingyu's arrangement, Huang Shengfa took three wounded soldiers to find a place to rest and recover, while he himself led two guards forward to contact the troops. Everyone knew that in the current environment, going back was safer because the enemy had all gone forward, and they could break through as soon as they found an opportunity. But going forward was more dangerous. At this critical moment, Yang Jingyu once again left a way out for his soldiers. When saying goodbye, Yang Jingyu and Huang Shengfa and the other three shook hands one by one and said in a deeply sincere and firm tone: "For the revolution, we must persevere to the end. Even if we die, we cannot surrender to the enemy. The revolution will always triumph no matter how difficult it is!"

  After parting with the warriors, on February 15th, Yang Jingyu led two guards to move to a mountain valley northwest of Wujin Dingzi in Mengjiang County, and was pursued by 600 Japanese "punitive troops". Calmly commanding the two soldiers to fight while retreating, they retreated to a place with favorable terrain, launched a sudden attack on the enemy, and took advantage of the enemy's confusion to shake off the enemy's pursuit again, moving into the dense forest to make a big circle. In this battle, Yang Jingyu was injured in his left arm, and the enemy followed the bloodstains to pursue him.

  On February 18, Yang Jingyu and others moved to the south side of Chaoyang-Fusong Highway at Qi Jin Dingzi. When two guards went to a nearby village to buy food, they unfortunately sacrificed themselves. In the end, only he was left. The enemy found one of Yang Jingyu's seals on the body of the martyred Anti-Japanese League soldier and was overjoyed, determining Yang Jingyu's location and tightening the encirclement, blocking traffic, and intensifying the pursuit. At this time, Yang Jingyu realized that the two guards were in danger and had to move alone in the deep mountains, without any material support from the outside world, with clothes that did not keep him warm and food that did not fill his stomach.

  On the afternoon of February 23, Yang Jingyu's whereabouts were reported by an enemy scout disguised as a farmer. The enemy identified him from the physical characteristics described in the report and confirmed that he was indeed Yang Jingyu! Although they knew Yang Jingyu was alone, the enemies who had been intimidated by him countless times were still terrified and sent out more than 100 Japanese puppet troops to surround Yang Jingyu at Sandao Bayan around 3 pm on the same day.

  The enemy swarmed in along the footprints left by Yang Jingyu in the snowy ground. Yang Jingyu discovered that the enemy had quietly surrounded him, and he retreated while fighting, his expression still as firm and calm as ever. At this time, he had not eaten anything for several days, only using grass roots and tree bark to quench his hunger with accumulated snow, and his body was extremely weak. When the enemy was about 50 meters away from Yang Jingyu, the enemy shouted wildly: "You can't resist anymore, surrender!" The traitor also roared: "Put down your weapons, preserve your life, and you can still be rich and noble." Enemy Yang Jingyu calmly leaned against a large tree, stubbornly resisting with his double guns. The Japanese army stepped up their pressure, shouting repeatedly for him to surrender, but the only response they got was a bullet of anger. When the enemy officer saw that it was impossible to capture him alive, he ordered the use of machine guns to sweep. The sinful bullets hit the hero's body, and Yang Jingyu fell into a pool of blood, his bright red blood staining the surrounding white snow. On his body, the enemy found only three handguns and some bullets that had not been fired at the enemy!

  One day in February 1940, in the operating room of a hospital in Munchang County, Jilin Province, under the strict guard of the Japanese invaders, a special operation was being performed. On the operating table lay a body riddled with bullet wounds. At this moment, a high-ranking Japanese military officer with a face full of murderous intent shouted loudly at Chinese doctors: 'Dissect immediately! I want to see what's inside his belly!'

  The abdomen of the deceased was opened, and the autopsy results showed that there was not a single grain of food in his intestines, only some undigested tree bark, grass roots, and cotton fibers. It seemed that this person had not eaten for several days before his death. A bystander asked who he was, and a wounded puppet soldier replied in a trembling voice: "He is the one the Japanese offered a reward of 100,000 yuan to capture alive - Yang Jingyu, Commander-in-Chief of the First Route Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Forces."

  It is said that the Japanese officer who witnessed the autopsy of Yang Jingyu's body saw that it was impossible to conquer the Chinese nation, and thus had doubts and shaken about the so-called "holy war" he was waging. In the end, he went mad, poisoned his wife and daughter first, and then cut open his own belly and died.

  In memory of Yang Jingyu, in 1946, Mengjiang County was changed to Jingyu County. In 1958, Tonghua City built the Jingyu Mausoleum. In 1978, at the place where Yang Jingyu died for his country, the General Yang Jingyu Memorial Tower was erected, with the inscription on the front of the tower: "The people's hero Comrade Yang Jingyu will live forever" in thirteen large characters, which is the title written by Zhu De for the public memorial service and burial of General Yang Jingyu in February 1958.