7. Freezing a Historical Moment

In August, 1940, the Eighth Route Army launched a large-scale sabotage operation, namely One-Hundred Regiment Campaign.

Li Nan recalled in 1980: Shafei stayed with the army in the One-Hundred Regiment Campaign. We had to cross the Hutuo River to Jingxing when the flash flood broke out. The river was more than three hundred meters across. Some soldiers were washed away by the raging torrent. Shafei and the soldiers crossed the river by pulling a rope. The only thing he brought with was the camera. Shafei and Yang Chengwu called each other “kid” when forcing the Hutuo River.

Li Tu (original name is Li Hongnian) recalled in 1980: I was in Yang Chengwu’s troop. We were going to cross the river at night when there was only a crescent in the sky. It was dark and the current was swift. Even those who could swim were worried to be washed away. They pulled a rope across the river and waded across the river. The water was up to neck and the intelligence chief next to me was washed away. A small part of us took boat. I was able to cross the river but lost my camera, film and shoes. I told this to Yang Chengwu. He said he would come up with something. He borrowed a 120 6.3 lens camera of eight films. The day before the battle I met Shafei. Although it was our first meeting, we felt we had known each other for a long time. We went to take the new mines with the troop. We succeeded after a night’s fight. The blockhouse was the only left target. We moved around together to take photos. He mainly focused on the blockhouse where the enemy resisted desperately. We agreed that we should go out to shoot pictures. I volunteered to do it and Shafei covered me in the back.

王耀南 时任129师工兵主任,百团大战初期负责指挥工兵爆破井陉矿. (此照片为原工程兵副司令王耀南将军之子王太和于2005年8月晋察冀纪念馆开幕之际赠送,他父亲生前多次告知,照片为沙飞摄于1940冬.原作军博收藏 )

The troop surrounded the enemy in Jingxing Mine. Shafei came when we were looking at the terrain and choosing gap. At two o’clock in the morning of August 20^th, the leader of sixth squad used a big hay cutter with rubber handle to cut at the electric fence. He lied on the ground after one stroke. The two soldiers were also electrocuted when they tried to pull him. Three comrades died in vain while the electric fence was still there. Shafei said, “Find the liaison of the mine. There has to be some way.” We found Lao Li. Hearing we wanted to cut the fence; Lao Li said it was simple. He untied a wire rope in a villager’s yard, stuck one side of the rope into the ground and moistened it with urine. He then threw the other side of the rope at the fence. Seeing the red light was about to be out, he shouted, “Now, cut! The electricity is off!” The day was breaking. We cut off the fence and started to charge. Shafei ran to the machine gun position of the third squad to take photos of the attack.

　　百团大战，1940年8月，沙飞摄。左：围攻井陉矿区之八路军机枪阵地。中：被八路军摧毁的井陉煤矿。右：被八路军摧毁的井陉新矿动力机。

左：正太路前线，妇女担架队（邓拓存）　右： 八路军胜利归来，民众夹道欢迎，向建立功勋的指战员献花。胸前佩花者为夺取堡垒的英雄高成功。 沙飞1940年摄。

河北井陉百团大战纪念碑林

Wei Wei recalled in 1998: The One-Hundred Regiment Campaign was still going on and I saw the photo exhibition from the top of the wall in Pingshan. The pictures were just printed and still wet. It was a timely publicity.

Ji Lianbo recalled in 1998: Shafei told me to report the One-Hundred Regiment Campaign and gave me two films that were out of date. Zhou Yuwen brought me with him and asked me to take care of the camera. A photographer lost his camera was like a soldier lost his gun. In the first phase of the campaign, Zhou Yuwen assigned me the task to take photos. Later I discovered it was Shafei’s instruction. When I arrived at the sixth squad, Chen political instructor told the soldiers that I would take photos of their combat. He said they must win the battle and it was a glory of the whole company to have journalist taking pictures of them. I turned on the camera when the troop got into position. I wanted to record every moment but I couldn’t because of the lack of film. At ten o’clock in the night on August 20^th when the signal flare blasted off, the sound of gunfire went off. It was quite exiting to see soldiers sprung from the fortification and dashed forward. The camera had no flash. And even it had, I couldn’t use the flash during the night so I couldn’t record the heroic images of these brave soldiers. The fighting had been heavy. I took several snapshots in the dawn when some troops got into new positions.

When the war was over, we got to the headquarter of the front on August 25^th. Nie Rongzhen was going to send the two Japanese girls rescued in the Dongwangshe Station by the third regiment back to the enemy. Shafei was photographing and had taken a dozen of photos. Many people were watching. He asked me to maintain the order so as not to affect taking pictures. He told me, “These pictures may have no use right now, but they may have some influence when published in Japan after several decades. As a journalist, without any political vision, he would not predict the effect of his work. What he predicted really happened later.

General Luo Wenfang recalled in 1980: I stayed with Shafei since the beginning of the war. We seized the horse of a Japanese squadron leader. He took photos of me pulling the horse forward. We were close and he taught me to take photos. I was in charge of detection in the One-Hundred Regiment Campaign. The next night after the fierce battle Nie Rongzhen asked me to come back to the command post from Big Taiding. I was there when Shafei took photos of the Japanese girls. Nie Rongzhen said to me, “The steel bridge at Yangquan hadn’t been blown up. Go to the fifth regiment to give command and take the snapshots of the bridge blown up. Shafei was at the headquarter and wanted badly to take photos, but the commander wouldn’t let him go. He taught me how to shoot the picture at night and gave me a camera. He helped me set the aperture and speed. The bridge was five kilometers away from Niangzi Guan. I arrived at the fifth regiment before dawn and gave orders to blow up the bridge. I went to a cave house that was forty meters away from the bridge and shouted “blow up” when the engineers charged blasting. The bridge was blown up to two parts with a loud explosion. My head bumped into the roof when I got out of the command post. I dashed out and pressed the shutter towards the bridge. On the picture the bridge was broken, the steel bars on the piers through the smoke. Shafei gave me the picture after he developed. I liked it but I lost it unfortunately.

Li Yuyin recalled in 1980: Nie Rongzhen wrote to the commander of Japanese Expeditionary Forces in Shijiazhuang. They replied in Chinese and thanked for our humanitarianism to save the girls. They would express their thanks when we made peace. Shafei showed me the letter which wasn’t published.

Biography of Nie Rongzhen: The Japanese army in Shijiazhuang expressed their thanks in letter after the two girls were returned to them.

聂荣臻将军与日本小姑娘。

左：八路军托老乡将日本小姑娘送回日方。中：聂荣臻送别日本小姑娘。右：聂荣臻写给日方的信。

沙飞摄于1940年8月。

On September 14^th, 1940, Jinchaji Daily published Fellow-Villagers, Send theTwo Japanese Girls to the Enemy! Shafei wrote this article after the Japanese army replied. He caught the historical material with the acute insight of a journalist.

Two pictures taken by Shafei published in the second issue of Liberation Pictorial in June, 1941. It was a pictorial in Japanese. The photography section provided photos and the Jinchaji branch of Japanese Anti-War Alliance in China edited the pictorial.

左：《抗敌报》1940年9月14日发表沙飞文章“老乡，把这两个日本女娃娃送到敌人那里去！”

中：1941年晋察冀军区政治部出版《解放》画刊首发照片及信.全部照片沙飞摄

右：《晋察冀画报》创刊号刊登照片。右页右下、左下,左页照片沙飞摄

On July 7^th, 1942, the first issue of Jinchaji Pictorial published Nie Rongzhen’s letter and the photos General and Children.

On January 3^rd, 1947, the photographers of Jinchaji Pictorial held a meeting to exchange experiences in Nan village on Fuping County. Shafei introduced his experience in press photography:

“In 1940 Li Hongnian and I set out to Zhengtai road with the army in the One-Hundred Regiment Camoaign. The army’s major task was to attack Jingxing Mine and blow up the mine. So we decided to follow the infantry and then the engineers.

We shot some close-up photos of the attack when the infantry occupied the Jingxing Coal Mine. The engineers suspended their move for it was dark. It was rainy the next day. We found it was difficult to move to the mine for it was far and the road was muddy. I insisted to take photos in spite of the rain. Li Hongnian thought we should wait until the rain stopped. He held: First, the enemy wouldn’t come so soon; Second, the rain would do harm to the camera and the film. I didn’t agree with him. I thought we must take photos at once. I went alone and photographed the engineers who blew up the mine in the rain. We received the order to withdraw and move to another area. Li Hongnian regretted that he had lost the opportunity and didn’t complete the task. It tells us news photographers should cherish any minute and even second when something important come up. We shall overcome all the obstacles to finish our task like a soldier. It will cost us a lot when we hesitate in our work.

Next I will talk about how to collect materials and take photos when things come up.

Most enemy had run away when our army marched into Jingxing city. We found a lost Japanese child when we were searching. Our soldiers send this child to Commander Nie. Before we moved out of Jingxing, Nie wrote a letter and asked a villager to send the child to the enemy safely. How brave our soldiers are! And how deep is our hatred towards the enemy! But we were kind to the Japanese child, from which we can see both leaders and soldiers have mercy towards captives and understand our policy of captive. It also showed our confidence to win the war.

I have shot some vivid pictures but not enough because I didn’t record the heroic deed of the anonymous soldier. He found the child and sent her directly to the commander. I will pay attention to the similar event.”

(Author’s note: In 2004 Lan Cao who was the editor of People’s Liberation Army Publishing House in Beijing told the author that the soldier named Yang Zhongshan who rescued the Japanese child was still alive. The author got in touch with him at once. The film crew of Anti-Japanese War documentary in CCTV went to Tianjin to interview Yang, which fulfilled my father’s wish.)

Shi Shaohua recalled: Shafei took many photos of the One-Hundred Regiment Camoaign. Later Commander Nie Rongzhen was worried about his safety in the front and sent a telegraph to ask him follow the headquarter. When he arrived at the headquarter, he saw Nie Rongzhen look after the Japanese girls and ask the villagers to send them to the station of Japanese army. He recorded this with his camera. This gave Shafei deep impressions. He once again saw the generosity of communists and felt he could accomplish a lot under the leadership of Communist Party. Soon he handed his application letter of Party membership to the organization.

Shafei once said, “About children there are two similar yet contrary events. One is Commander Nie Rongzhen look after Japanese girls save by our army and sent them back in the One-Hundred Regiment Campaign; the other is in Baiya Massacre the Japanese invaders threw two Chinese children into the boiling pot and boiled them to death. This is the stark contrast between the just war and unjust war.

In 1980 People’s Liberation Army News published Yao Yuanfang’s article Where are you, the Japanese girls? and unsigned photos General and Children. The Yomiuri Shimbun in Japan found the girl—Mihoko who lived in Miyazaki in Kyushu. She has three children. Nie Rongzhen invited Mihoko to visit China in the summer of 1980. She said, “China is my birth place. Chinese people love peace and the general is my savior. I can’t express in words how I feel that I live healthily and come here to see the general. Some Japanese ex-servicemen felt shameful and moved when they knew what happened to me. They are more aware of their aggression against China. These pictures are most precious gifts and I will pass them to my children.” Marshal Nie said, “I am not the only person that would save you. Our army and our people will do the same thing. Let’s turn hostility into friendship. May China and Japan will be friends from generation to generation. Never resort to arms.”

解放军画报1980年9期

Mihoko visited China several times. The next day after Nie Rongzhen passed away in 1992, Marshal Nie’s office received Mihoko’s telegram of condolences: “I deeply lament my father’s death. I respect him all the time. That terrible war made me become an orphan in China. I wouldn’t be what I am today without you…” Mihoko set up morning hall at home and held memorial service according to Japanese tradition to express her love for her father. She wished the friendship between Japan and China could last forever.

On November 14^th, 2003, the eldest daughter of Mihoko Fukuyama Machiko came to Honghechao village in Jingxing County of Shijiazhuang where General Nie Rongzhen saved Mihoko to unveil the statue General Nie Rongzhen and Little Japanese Girl.

(Author’s note: In 1995 at the 50^th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance against Japan, when the author went to see General Xiaoke, he said, “Nie Rongzhen represents the civilization of Chinese people.” In the same year Mihoko was invited to attend the inauguration of Shafei’s photography exhibition in Guangzhou in China. She sent her letter of congratulation and the picture of her whole family.

On August 22^nd, 2004, the author received a call from Yang Zhongshan in Tianjin. He asked loudly: “Do you know what day is it today?” “No, I don’t.” “On this day in 1940 Shafei took the picture General Nie Rongzhen and Little Japanese Girl.” The author shed tears.)

Shafei’s pictures record the history. His prophecy is fulfilled.

美穗子赠送王雁全家福照片

1995年美穗子赠送王雁夫妇合影照片

王雁、王少军姐妹到日本都城市美穗子家做客。 2008.4

在沙飞拍摄的将军与孤女照片前合影。

右起：王少军、王雁、美穗子、都城市长長峯诚。 2008.4

聂元帅与沙飞摄影展于2008年4月在日本都城开幕.剪彩。

右起： 来住新平、美穗子、 王雁、都城市长長峯诚、 王少军。