The Tomb of Ten Thousand Soldiers of the Great Qing Empire

The Tomb of Ten Thousand Soldiers of the Great Qing Empire

The Tomb of Ten Thousand Soldiers, located 200 meters north of Friendship Pass, is a site from the Sino-French War. In 1885, during the Sino-French War, Feng Zicai and others led Qing troops in resisting the French invaders. The remains of many Qing soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the war were collected and buried here. Due to the large number of soldiers interred, it came to be known as the "Tomb of Ten Thousand Soldiers." This tomb is one of the key cultural relics protection units in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. To commemorate the bravery and sacrifice of these soldiers, a tomb and stele were erected on the hillside during the Qingming Festival in the 24th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1898). The stele bears the inscription: Tomb of Ten Thousand Soldiers of the Great Qing Empire. In the 31st year of the Republic of China, Hai Jingqiang, commander of the 188th Division of the Kuomintang Army, added inscriptions to the stele.

The inscription reads as follows:

Friendship Pass guards the vital transportation route between Guangxi and Vietnam, naturally fortified and standing majestically at the southern frontier, long regarded as a strategic military stronghold. To the right of the pass lies the Tomb of Ten Thousand Soldiers, which serves as the sacred burial ground for the brave martyrs who fell during the Sino-French Battle of Friendship Pass in the Year of the Yin-Yang Goat (1885). Since the late years of the Qing Dynasty, political corruption had weakened the nation, foreign invasions multiplied, territory was lost, and the country teetered on the brink of collapse. The French imperialists seized the opportunity to expand their ambitions, ruthlessly plundering and first extending their oppressive grip over Vietnam, oppressing its people and seizing its wealth. They then advanced their forces into Lang Son and captured our Friendship Pass. At the same time, they launched naval attacks that harassed the provinces of Fujian and Taiwan, where our Southern Fleet suffered successive defeats. The entire nation was shaken. Fortunately, virtuous leaders such as Feng Zicai, Su Yuanchun, and Chen Jia, commanding the valiant soldiers of Guangxi as well as troops from Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, and Anhui, continued to fight fiercely. In the battle of Friendship Pass, they ultimately crushed the powerful enemy, advancing swiftly and decisively into Lang Son. Their heroic and sacrificial spirit, overcoming material odds through sheer willpower, stands as a model for all generations. At that time, Governor-General Cen Yuying of Yunnan and Guizhou, along with Tang Jingsong and Liu Yongfu, also defeated the French at Lintao. The Vietnamese people rose up in response, creating an unstoppable momentum that could have easily swept into Hanoi and reclaimed the entire territory. Who would have thought that the weak and indecisive Qing court, with its feeble diplomacy, did not seize the opportunity to reclaim lost land but instead abandoned Vietnam—a nation bound to us in friendship for two thousand years—setting a precedent in the history of warfare where a victorious nation ceded territory. As a result, the Vietnamese people were reduced to slavery under the French. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of passionate soldiers lamented the inability to destroy the enemy. Every time history is read, this pain is deeply felt. In the 24th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, a stele was erected on the site, inscribed only with the six characters “Tomb of Ten Thousand Soldiers of the Great Qing Empire,” omitting the details of the event and causing the great achievements of the martyrs to fade into obscurity. When Commander Hai Jingqiang patrolled and paid respects at the site, he was profoundly moved. At a time when the Japanese invaders were rampant, the Chinese homeland was in turmoil, and after the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Axis powers grew even more brutal and oppressive, their weapons far more advanced and their methods of controlling conquered peoples far more cruel and vicious than ever before. In such times, those who seek national independence and the survival of the people while fighting the enemy must emulate the spirit of these martyrs—the strategies for victory, the courage to sacrifice for righteousness—so that the great cause of resistance and nation-building can succeed. I hope my comrades understand this purpose, strive diligently day and night, and strengthen our borders. With this in mind, I briefly recount the story and engrave it on this durable stone to express my admiration and to guide future generations. I also compose this ode: Friendship Pass stands towering, Its valorous spirit fierce and grand. The spirit never dies, Its might shakes the barbarians’ land.