Zhangjialou Anti-Japanese Site

Zhangjialou Anti-Japanese Site

The Zhangjialou Anti-Japanese Site is a cultural relic protection unit of Shandong Province.

The Zhangjialou Anti-Japanese Site is located in Zhangjialou Village, Guangping Township, Chiping County, Liaocheng City. During the Anti-Japanese War, a 7–8 meter wide and approximately 7 meter high earthen wall was built around the village, with abatis and trenches outside the wall, as well as a 115-member militia steel-gun squad. On the morning of December 6, 1944, nearly a thousand Japanese puppet troops besieged Zhangjialou Village but were repelled, suffering over 250 casualties. On February 16 of the following year, the Japanese army gathered more than 1,200 troops for a second attack on Zhangjialou Village. The battle lasted three days, the north gate was breached by artillery, resulting in the deaths of 333 villagers, injuries to 271, complete destruction of houses. This site is now a key cultural relic protection unit of Shandong Province.

From 1943 to the first half of 1944, due to continuous harassment and looting by Japanese puppet troops, coupled with severe natural disasters, the villagers of Zhangjialou had no means of survival and suffered greatly. On September 30, 1944, with the help of the county brigade of the Chiping County Anti-Japanese Democratic Government, Zhangjialou established an anti-Japanese militia joint defense brigade, organizing 300 militiamen. From then on, the villagers of Zhangjialou no longer paid any grain or taxes or performed any corvée labor to the Japanese puppet or reactionary troops, making them a thorn in the side of those forces.

During the lunar winter of 1944, Li Qishan, the puppet county magistrate of Chiping County, led more than 2,000 puppet and security troops in two separate attacks on Zhangjialou, both of which failed.

After these two setbacks, the Japanese puppet troops became even more aggressive. On March 29, 1945, over 3,700 Japanese puppet and security troops stationed in Chiping, Liaocheng, and Linqing besieged Zhangjialou. Villagers of all ages in Zhangjialou rose up bravely to resist the attack. Ultimately, due to the overwhelming disparity in strength, the Japanese puppet troops breached the north gate with artillery, stormed in, and launched a fierce offensive into the village. Zhang Chenggang, the overall commander of the militia joint defense, led militiamen in intense hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. Finally, with the support of the county brigade, some militiamen and civilians managed to break through the encirclement. Once inside the village, the enemy troops burned and killed for over two hours. 333 outstanding sons and daughters of Zhangjialou sacrificed heroically, 271 were injured, 264 were captured, and 7 were taken to Japan as forced laborers. A total of 2,723 civilian houses were burned down, 86 oxen and 48 carts were looted, along with countless other property losses.

In 1959, at the National Militia Conference, Zhangjialou Village was honored as an “Anti-Japanese Hero Village.” In 1971, with the approval of the Liaocheng Military Sub-district, a People’s Heroes Monument and Anti-Japanese Site Memorial Hall were established south of the village to commemorate the 333 martyrs who bravely sacrificed themselves resisting the Japanese puppet invasion. The area is enclosed by walls. The compound faces south and measures 150 meters north-south and 25 meters east-west. To the north is the Anti-Japanese Site Memorial Hall, consisting of five tiled rooms, with a plaque above the door inscribed with seven imitation Song-style characters reading “Anti-Japanese Site Memorial Hall.” The hall displays knives, spears, clubs, homemade guns and cannons used by militiamen and civilians against the Japanese puppet troops, as well as the relics of the martyrs. The surrounding walls feature panels with texts and images introducing the Zhangjialou Massacre and the deeds of heroes, plus large oil paintings depicting scenes of the battle. Thirty meters south of the memorial hall stands a monument 10 meters high, with a double-layered six-tiered stone square base, a cement square pedestal, a square column-shaped body, and a ridged, upturned-eave top. The body and base of the monument are inscribed with texts on all four sides.

On December 23, 1977, the Zhangjialou Anti-Japanese Site was announced by the Shandong Provincial Revolutionary Committee as one of the first batch of provincial-level cultural relic protection units. In April 2003, it was listed as a county-level patriotic education base. During Tomb-Sweeping Day and other significant holidays, the number of visitors paying homage to the revolutionary martyrs and commemorating their achievements has increased year by year.

Further Reading:

· First Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units in Shandong Province