At 10:20 p.m. on September 18, 1931, Shenyang, China, In the open fields north of Beidaying, Japanese Imperial Army South Manchuria Railway Independent Garrison Unit, 2nd Battalion More than 600 personnel formed an attack formation, Its mission was, following the explosion on the Liutiaohu Railway, Launch an immediate attack on Beidaying.

Just as the Japanese army was sharpening its blades, Guarding Beidaying Northeast Army 7th Brigade Seemingly oblivious to the impending danger, Not only has it failed to implement any additional defensive measures, Even the daily routine remains unchanged.

With an explosion at the Liutiaohu section of the South Manchurian Railway, The Japanese army began attacking Beidaying, A few hours later, At the cost of only 25 casualties, The Japanese army easily seized the entire Beidaying.

The “September 18th Incident” occurred at the Beidaying garrison. In a state of complete defenselessness, The Japanese Kwantung Army had been plotting with malicious intent. A surprise attack planned and launched.

File photo: Japanese troops occupy Shenyang. Xinhua News Agency photo.

Due to the Nationalist Government’s Policy of Non-Resistance The city of Shenyang fell the very next day. In little more than four months, the entire Northeast was brought under Japanese occupation—an event that would profoundly alter the course of modern Chinese history and, indeed, world history. The “September 18 Incident” marked the beginning of Japan’s militarist aggression against China.

A set of figures reveals the suffering inflicted upon the Chinese nation by Japanese aggressors!

●From 1931 to 1945, most of China was trampled under the boots of the Japanese army, 930 Several cities were occupied, 42 million Refugees are homeless;

● Manufactured by the Japanese army 800 people The above-mentioned civilian casualty incidents totaled 173, resulting in… 3500 Tens of thousands of our compatriots were killed or wounded;

● Chinese women were abducted by the Japanese army and forced to serve as comfort women in 200,000 More than one person;

● Chinese civilians who were abducted by the Japanese army and transported to Japan to work as laborers in… 40,000 More than one person, nearby 7000 A person died in Japan;

● Japanese forces plundered resources from China: steel 33.5 million tons, coal 586 million Ton...

Following the “September 18 Incident,” Japanese aggressors extended their sinister reach to the children of Northeast China. The Kwantung Army Headquarters ordered all schools to shut down and issued a secret directive: “Anti-Japanese textbooks must be resolutely eradicated.” To subject children in occupied territories to indoctrination and enslavement. Meanwhile, patriotic Chinese teachers and students were subjected to repression and massacres, in an attempt to undermine and crush the Chinese people’s will—starting with children—and to indoctrinate them with a “slave” mentality.

Japan implemented enslavement education in the occupied territories.

A Japanese officer teaches Chinese children to write Japanese letters.

The Japanese army subjected Chinese children to militaristic education.

Wang Tiehan

The Japanese invaders once believed that the Chinese nation was a disunited, fragmented mass, yet they never imagined that someone would defy the order of “non-resistance” and fire the first shot of the War of Resistance. That person was from… Panshan, Liaoning Wang Tiehan.

According to historical records, during the Mukden Incident, Beidaying was the garrison of Wang Yizhe’s 7th Brigade, and Wang Tiehan was serving as the commander of the 620th Regiment.

Wang Tiehan once recounted that, at the time, Brigade Commander Wang Yizhe was away from the barracks, having gone to assist with flood relief efforts. When the Japanese launched their attack on Beidaying, orders repeatedly came down from higher command forbidding any resistance: “Do not resist, do not move. Leave your guns in the armory. Face death bravely—let us all die for righteousness and sacrifice ourselves for our country.” “Anyone entering the barracks must not fire in return; whoever provokes a conflict shall bear full responsibility.”

Thus began a massacre with no resistance. Historical records indicate that Japanese soldiers initially used bayonets to stab their victims; the Northeast Army troops, unarmed and defenseless, were killed in large numbers by these thrusts, while those who had crawled under beds were mowed down by machine-gun fire.

In order to lead his men in a breakout, Wang Tiehan risked disobeying military orders, Order the soldiers of the 620th Regiment to open fire as soon as the Japanese forces approach.

Zhao Yiman

Shortly after the “September 18 Incident,” for the survival of her country and nation, Zhao Yiman left her son behind to join the military and head to Northeast China. She organized a series of anti-Japanese propaganda campaigns and later led a guerrilla unit across the rugged mountains and rivers of the region. The heroic bearing of the “Red Spear, White Horse” struck terror into the hearts of the Japanese invaders. During a fierce battle, Zhao Yiman was wounded and captured. The Japanese officer in charge of her interrogation, Ono, sought to extract the information he needed by administering medical treatment to keep her alive while simultaneously employing both coercion and enticement—subjecting her to inhumane torture and “psychological warfare” in an effort to force a confession. Yet, despite the brutal physical torment and relentless mental anguish, Zhao Yiman’s lofty revolutionary integrity and fearless national spirit remained unshaken, leaving the Japanese invaders with nothing.

Under the silent influence of education and inspiration, Officer Dong and Nurse Han secretly helped Zhao Yiman escape from prison, only to be recaptured halfway through. In their final, desperate attempt, the ruthless Japanese invaders subjected Zhao Yiman to electric torture, hoping to break her spirit and force her to talk. Amid that brutal ordeal, Zhao Yiman finally let out a heart-wrenching cry—because in her delirium, she saw her beloved son, her country, and her people… The Japanese were left utterly despairing. On the train bound for the execution ground, Zhao Yiman took up her pen and wrote a farewell letter to her son:

On August 2, 1936, with boundless love for her son, Zhao Yiman faced her martyrdom with composure at the young age of 31.

Following the “September 18 Incident,” the beautiful lands of Northeast China fell into enemy hands. Officers and soldiers of the Northeast Army, along with ordinary people, were forced to flee across the Great Wall, leaving their homes and families behind. At that time, a song emerged—before it was even published, it was already being sung among the public and within the ranks of the Northeast Army, quickly spreading throughout the country. It not only voiced the tragic plight and bitter indignation of thirty million fellow countrymen in the Northeast, but also echoed the nationwide call to resist, ready to erupt at any moment. That song is “On the Songhua River.”

On September 18, 1931, the “September 18 Incident” erupted. Zhang Xueliang telegraphed Rong Zhen, then Chief of Staff of the Northeast Army, ordering him to preserve military strength and adopt a passive stance toward provocations by the Japanese Kwantung Army. As a result, Northeast Army officers and soldiers were forced to flee into inland China, their hearts weighed down by sorrow, resentment, and indignation. In Xi’an, Zhang Hanhui witnessed firsthand the anguished cries and harrowing scenes of hundreds of thousands of Northeast Army troops and civilians in exile. He visited the areas outside the northern city gate of Xi’an where Northeastern refugees had gathered, conversing with officers, soldiers, and their families, listening to their accounts of the atrocities committed by the Japanese invaders and to their yearning for lost homes and loved ones. Drawing on these experiences, he composed the lyrics to “On the Songhua River,” and, using as inspiration the mournful wails of Northern women who had lost family members at their gravesites, crafted the melody of the song.

Mao Zedong once said that a single anti-Japanese song was worth the strength of two divisions. “At the River Songhua” was composed at a critical juncture when Japanese aggressors launched a full-scale invasion of China. It voiced the profound grief and indignation of the people of Northeast China—and indeed of the entire nation—following the “September 18 Incident,” awakening the national spirit and igniting the flames of resistance across the Chinese land.

Yang Jingyu

In 1939, during the autumn–winter counter‑“encirclement and suppression” campaigns in southeastern Manchuria, Yang Jingyu led his troops in a series of mobile operations around the Mengjiang area, ultimately engaging the enemy alone for five days and five nights.

With unimaginable perseverance, he steadfastly waged a tenacious struggle against the enemy until his ammunition was exhausted, and on February 23, 1940, he heroically gave his life at Sandaowai, Mengjiang, Jilin. When the brutal Japanese soldiers beheaded and disemboweled him, they found that his stomach was filled with withered grass, tree bark, and cotton wadding—not a single grain of food.

Zhao Shangzhi

Zhao Shangzhi was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Anti-Japanese United Army in North Manchuria in January 1936, and in August of the same year he became commander of the 3rd Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. On February 12, 1942, while leading his unit in combat against the enemy, Zhao sustained severe injuries and was captured. Refusing to yield even unto death, he faced his fate with unwavering resolve and bitterly denounced his captors.

The ruthless and ferocious enemy severed Zhao Shangzhi’s head, transported it to Changchun for a victory celebration, and cast his body into an icy crevasse in the Songhua River. At the time of his heroic sacrifice, Zhao Shangzhi was only 34 years old.

Bajiu Throwing Herself into the River Sculpture

In early October 1938, after a long march, the unit reached the west bank of the Wusun River, a tributary of the Mudanjiang River, when more than a thousand Japanese and puppet troops launched a nighttime attack.

To cover the main force’s breakout, eight female soldiers of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, led by Leng Yun, resolutely refused to cross the river. Under Leng Yun’s command, they divided into three combat groups and opened fire on the Japanese and puppet troops in unison. When cornered with no ammunition left and no reinforcements in sight, They destroyed their firearms and, arm in arm, waded into the surging waves. Wusihun River , singing the “Internationale” in unison, they collectively threw themselves into the river, heroically sacrificing their lives for the nation.

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