Latest news with #WarofResistanceAgainstJapaneseAggression
Borneo Post
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Borneo Post
Where guns once roared, violins strike new chord in rural China
Students perform at Queshan Violin Industrial Park in Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province on July 24, 2025. – Xinhua photo ZHENGZHOU (Aug 9): Braving the sweltering summer afternoon in central China, 12-year-old Chen Yulin steadied her violin beneath her chin and, joined by four classmates, played the patriotic tune 'My Motherland and I' with practiced precision. The students, from Queshan County in Henan Province, were rehearsing for a school performance to mark the 80th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945), scheduled for early September. Tucked into the hills of southern Henan, Queshan was once a major stronghold of the Communist Party of China (CPC) during the war. Late Chinese leaders Liu Shaoqi and Li Xiannian, and famed generals including Wang Zhen and Zhang Aiping, worked and fought in Queshan. Many Party and military elites were trained here. Units of CPC-led New Fourth Army fanned out from here to fight the aggressors. Over the past decade, Queshan, long constrained by its geographical conditions, waged a different kind of battle, spending years lifting itself out of absolute poverty. Today, the county offers something few might expect: free violin lessons in several public schools, an opportunity still rare even in many Chinese cities. For more than two years, Chen has taken part in such a programme at her school, where she and more than 70 classmates receive professional training and instruments entirely free of charge. What makes this possible is Queshan's thriving homegrown violin-making industry. According to industry data, 90 per cent of the world's violins are made in China, and 80 per cent of the country's mid- to high-end handcrafted violin-family instruments come from Queshan. Today, this rural county produces more than 400,000 violins, violas, cellos and double basses each year, accounting for over 30 per cent of China's total output of the violin family. Most are exported to Europe, North America and other markets. These remarkable figures reflect how deeply the craft has reshaped not only the local economy but the cultural identity of Queshan. A worker at a workshop in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province on July 24, 2025. – Xinhua photo Just above the students' rehearsal room in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, rows of craftsmen work diligently, cutting, carving, sanding and varnishing instruments by hand. 'Each violin goes through more than 10 major steps,' explained Jiang Hexi, a production supervisor at Haoyun Musical Instruments, one of the park's flagship manufacturers. 'From selecting the wood to final tuning, it's all handmade.' Jiang knows the process inside out. In 2001, at 18, he left Queshan to work in a violin-making factory in Beijing, following the path many locals took in search of better income. They learned quickly. After years of painstaking, repetitive work, Queshan's migrant workers mastered the craft that originated in 16th-century Italy. 'The hands that once held farming tools are now capable of producing world-class violins,' Jiang said. In 2015, Jiang returned to Queshan as part of a wave of skilled craftspeople drawn back by a local government initiative to jump-start the industry. The county allocated over 200 mu (about 14 hectares) of land to build the violin industrial park. Authorities offered rent-free factory space, tax breaks and streamlined permits to attract investment and encourage entrepreneurship. What began with a handful of workshops has grown into a full-fledged industrial cluster of 144 manufacturers and workshops. The county now boasts a complete supply chain, from raw material processing and body assembly to varnishing and component production. Haoyun, where Jiang now works, employs more than 200 people, most from nearby villages. 'New workers go through three months of training before joining the production line,' said general manager Guo Xinshe. 'These jobs now pay far more than traditional farming.' The county's total annual output of string instruments is valued at around 600 million yuan (about US$82 million). Photo taken on July 24, 2025 shows musical instruments on display at an enterprise in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province. – Xinhua photo Zang Yuxia, a local official, noted that Queshan's transformation is built on a deeper foundation. Her 96-year-old father once served in the New Fourth Army and fought against Japanese aggression in Queshan in the 1940s. Having grown up with stories of resistance and seen her hometown transform, Zang said: 'Back then, the people of Queshan fought for independence with guns. Today, we're building the future with violins.' The growth of the violin industry has rippled far beyond the factory floor. Queshan is no longer just a place that makes violins; it's becoming a place where the instrument's melodic strings also echo. On the streets of the county seat, children carrying instrument cases are a common sight after school time. Street lamps shaped like violins now line the roads outside local music schools. 'Developing our own brand, offering high-end custom instruments, and training luthiers with strong musical backgrounds is the future of Queshan's violin-making industry,' Guo said. This vision inspired Haoyun's early support for the free violin training programme launched in early 2023 and jointly funded by the government. The company supplies free instruments to participating students, including those at Chen's school. The school now offers weekly violin classes starting from second grade, with plans to expand to first graders in the upcoming term. Jiang is heartened to see more children in Queshan picking up the instrument. For the past eight years, he has driven his son to Zhumadian – the prefecture-level city that administers Queshan – every weekend for violin lessons. Now 15, his son has already reached Grade 8 proficiency in the exams of the Central Conservatory of Music, one of China's most prestigious music academies. 'I've worked with violins my entire adult life, yet I can't play a single note,' he said. 'I hope this instrument becomes something more for the next generation, a part of their lives and not just a way to make a living.' – Xinhua
IOL News
07-08-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
The Forgotten Front: How China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Shaped WWII Victory
CGTN's Media Chats commemorates the 80th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, exploring the often-overlooked Eastern Front and its pivotal role in the global fight against fascism. Image: Supplied / CGTN As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascism War, it is time to re-examine the Eastern Front – a theatre of war too often overlooked, despite the pivotal role it played in defeating fascism. In the latest episode of Media Chats, I was joined by Dou Hongyu, reporter at CGTN Radio; Wes Cabangon, operations adviser and journalist at Business Mirror in the Philippines; and Garland Nixon, U.S. political analyst and radio talk show host. Together, we explored how China's war of resistance against Japanese aggression shaped the course of the Second World War and why that history still matters today. A Bullet That Witness ed the Bloody Battle of Shanghai Dou Hongyu revisited one of China's most crucial battles during WWII: the 1937 Battle of Shanghai. She shared the story of General Zhu Fuxing, recounted by his son, Zhu Weiji. According to Dou, General Zhu was ordered to take his men to defend several places in Shanghai. 'He managed to do it. But in the end, he lost two thirds of his soldiers, but the Japanese were still coming again and again. They couldn't leave. They didn't give up,' she said. "In the end, General Zhu Fuxing fought for seven straight days and nights without any sleep until he was shot and lost consciousness on the battlefield… There were three bullets in the body of Zhu Fuxing. The doctor took out two of them with the rest, one only one centimetre away from his heart. So he had to live with a bullet for the rest of his life." Dou emphasised the strategic importance of the battle. 'That war convinced people that China could do a lot in their resistance against Japanese aggression. Before that, Japan said they were about to occupy China within three months, but just the Battle of Shanghai managed to hold them back for three months.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The Wha -Chi Guerrillas and United Resistance Wes Cabangon shared the story of the Wha-Chi guerrilla unit, a Chinese-Filipino resistance group that emerged during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. 'The Japanese invasion in 1941 brought immense suffering to the Filipino people… But in the face of that hardship, Filipinos rose up through both organized military defense and grassroots guerrilla movements… It was in the spirit of shared resistance that the Wha-Chi, an anti-Japanese, Chinese-Filipino guerrilla unit, stood shoulder to shoulder with Filipino fighters,' Wes said. 'They started with only seven rifles. They managed to gain more munitions… At their height, they numbered at about 700 strong. They liberated several towns in the resistance efforts, from Japanese control here in my country.' He added, 'While direct wartime coordination between China and the Philippines may have been limited by geography, our people were united by a common struggle for freedom. That legacy should inspire us today to deepen our cooperation with mutual respect and open dialogue.' 'We're T old M ostly A bout D-Day and Normandy' Garland Nixon spoke candidly about the absence of China's wartime contribution in American public memory. 'Unfortunately, in the United States, the story of WWII is told from the perspective of the United States… We're told mostly about D-Day and Normandy invasion. In the Pacific, we are told about the naval battles… But sadly, the United States does not really expound upon the great sacrifices that were made by the Chinese people.' Garland noted that most Americans have 'very little' understanding of China's contributions. 'It's very difficult for United States citizens to understand the Chinese perspective… And sadly, we are not taught here in history and in schools about the sacrifices and the contributions of China.' 'They D idn't S ee T hem as H uman B eings' Dou also shared her investigation into the atrocities committed by Japan's infamousUnit 731 — a covert biological warfare unit of the Imperial Japanese Army. 'On paper, its name was like an epidemic prevention center and water supply center, sounds harmless. But inside… they were secretly conducting experiments on live human bodies,' Dou said. 'One of the most infamous experiments is called vivisection on conscious people… They got their organs outside from their bodies without anaesthesia.' She continued, 'Another experiment is called frostbite experiment… They expose those prisoners in extremely cold weather… and then expose them to some hot temperature… to see which one could get them warm more quickly.' Among the most chilling details: 'They didn't refer to those so-called prisoners as human beings. They called those bodies for experiments as logs. That means they didn't see them as human beings.' Garland acknowledged these atrocities, saying, 'I've heard stories about that before… The western governments and western media does not report on those kinds of things, because Japan is supposedly now an ally.' 'These W ere C rimes A gainst H umanity' Wes drew a powerful parallel between atrocities conducted by Japanese soldiers in China and those in the Philippines, pointing to the Nanjing and Manila Massacres. 'In Manila… tens of thousands of innocent civilians were massacred in just a few weeks… Like in Nanjing, the violence was systematic, deliberate and intended really to destroy the soul of a people,' he said. 'These were not just tragedies, they were crimes against humanity.' He continued, 'The Philippines and China must continue to preserve historical truth, support the victim's memory, and resist any attempts to deny or revise what happened.' 'We're D oing T hat for P eace, N ot for H atred' As the conversation drew to a close, Dou reflected on why remembrance matters. 'I think each time when we commemorate our victory over fascism, there would be some voices saying that we're doing this to spread hatred, but that's just the opposite. We're doing that for anything but hatred, we're doing that for peace,' she said. 'Among all those people related to the World War Two that I interviewed, none of them talked about hatred. What they want is more peace, because today we have great technologies in great conditions for us to live a better life.' She continued, 'We can choose either to live a peaceful life or fascism might rise one day and people may lose their dignity. And every one of us today could be a victim… So I think it is our responsibility to tell people that we commemorate our victory over fascism… for peace, for a better life, not for hatred.' As Wes noted in his closing remarks, remembrance is not just historical, 'it's deeply personal,' he said. 'My great grandfather was among those that who lost their lives during the war. So this must happen, or like many families in Asia, we carry those memories with quiet dignity.'
