Site of the Japanese Atrocity Massacre in Xiashanxiong during the Invasion of China

Site of the Japanese Atrocity Massacre in Xiashanxiong during the Invasion of China

The Site of the Japanese Atrocity Massacre in Xiashanxiong is a cultural relic protection unit of Anyi County.

Era: 1939

Type: Important Modern Historical Site

Address: Xiashanxiong Village, Shibei Town, Anyi County, Jiangxi Province

Introduction:

The site of the Japanese atrocity massacre during the invasion of China is located in Xiashanxiong Village, Shibei Town, Anyi County, Jiangxi Province. It is a historical site that records the atrocities committed by the Japanese invaders. In October 1938, after the Battle of Wuhan during the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Japanese imperialists changed their policy toward China. They recognized that the real enemy was [omitted] and adopted a strategy focusing mainly on political inducement to surrender and secondarily on military strikes, proposing the three principles of "good neighborliness and friendship, joint anti-communism, and economic cooperation." Consequently, in January 1939, the [omitted] government convened the Fifth Plenary Session of the Fifth Central Committee, formulating reactionary guidelines of "dissolving the [omitted], preventing the [omitted], and restricting the [omitted]." The [omitted] gradually shifted from resistance to compromise with the Japanese invaders in order to achieve the goal of using the Japanese forces to eliminate the [omitted]'s strength. Anyi, situated on the overland route from Wuhan and Jiujiang to Nanchang, became a necessary first target for the invaders to occupy en route to Nanchang. On the first day of the second lunar month in 1939, Japanese aircraft began bombing the county town of Anyi intermittently for three days. By the fourth day, under the cover of tanks, Japanese troops set foot in Anyi and then unleashed a catastrophe of frenzied burning, killing, looting, and raping upon the local people.

Located south of Xishan Mountain, south of the Nanliao River, and south of Shibei, Xiashanxiong Village is a secluded mountain hamlet nestled deep within green forests and rolling hills, with only a few [omitted] active in the area. The Japanese troops were stationed only in the Shibei Dayuan area north of the Nanliao River. Under such circumstances, Xiashanxiong could be considered a relatively safe zone, prompting refugees from the Japanese-occupied areas to flock there, bringing the small village’s population to over 400. On the first day of the third lunar month in 1939, sporadic gunfire broke out between the Japanese invaders and [omitted] guerrilla members. The next morning, Japanese forces launched a surprise three-pronged attack, encircling Xiashanxiong Village. The [omitted] guerrillas monitoring the Japanese movements, realizing they could not hold off the assault, did not organize the evacuation or dispersal of the villagers but instead fled in panic toward Xishan Mountain. By 8 a.m., Japanese machine guns had taken positions at key village intersections, with bayonets glinting all around. The unprepared villagers mostly failed to escape. The invaders herded those who had not hidden in time into two large houses—men were gathered in the home of Xiong Huaike, while women and children were placed in the home of Xiong Shensi, where they were all stabbed to death with bayonets. Others who had hidden in the leafy ditches near Lushuilong in the outskirts of the village were found, rounded up, and forced into the Xiong family ancestral hall. The executioners fixed bayonets, dipped them in water from a nearby pond, and then, with blades aimed at the bare chests of those kneeling with their legs folded, stabbed them one by one. Of the 43 people stabbed, 42 were killed, with only Xiong Shenyu surviving severely wounded, lying among the dead. The Japanese piled flammable items such as tables and benches atop the corpses, scattered sulfur, and set them on fire. Xiashanxiong Village fell silent except for the roar of the inferno consuming everything.

The Xiashanxiong Massacre: Eleven households were completely wiped out, and 126 villagers were killed, including 42 men and 84 women and children. Nearly [omitted] refugees also perished. In total, more than 310 people were slaughtered by the Japanese invaders, and 36 houses were burned down. To this day, the ruins of the Japanese atrocities remain in Xiashanxiong Village, such as the cremation wall, the blood-washed knife pond, the three-generation tomb, and the mass grave of one hundred.

The historical facts of the Japanese atrocity in Xiashanxiong Village serve as a vivid lesson, condemning the crimes of the invaders, recording the painful history of blood and tears suffered by the people of Anyi, and exposing the disasters brought to the nation and its people by the [omitted]’s policy of passive resistance and active [omitted].

Shibei Town: Surrounded by verdant mountains and embraced by a graceful river, Shibei Town is located in the southeast of Anyi County, 60 kilometers from Nanchang City, 45 kilometers from Changbei Airport, 40 kilometers from XinQiZhou Railway Station, and 115 kilometers from Jiujiang Port. It connects to National Highway 105 to the north and National Highway 320 to the south, with Provincial Road Wanchi passing through its territory. Encircled by mountains to the southeast and west and traversed by the Nanliao River to the northwest, the town covers a total area of 99.8 square kilometers, including 38,000 mu of arable land, with a population of 42,000. It administers 16 administrative villages and 1 neighborhood committee, bordering seven towns across four counties (districts) including Xinjian, Fengxin, and Wanli. It is an Anyi…  Detailed information about Shibei Town++