Chapter 117 116. Returned Overseas Chinese Go to the Front Line——Record of Shen Erqi, Instructor of a Company of Dongjiang Column

At the end of March 1938, Yang Zuniang, an overseas Chinese in Qing Village in the southern suburbs of Jinjiang County, Fujian Province, suddenly received a letter from Jing County, Anhui Province.When she asked her neighbors to read the letter, she realized that it was sent to her by her eldest son Shen Erqi.Shen Erqi told his mother in the letter: He had returned from the Philippines to participate in the War of Resistance Against Japan, and explained the reason for returning to China to participate in the war.It has been 8 years since Shen Erqi left home to earn a living in Manila. His mother missed him very much and urged him to go home for a reunion.

In late May, Yang Zuniang received another letter from her son from the Political Department of the New Fourth Army.The letter reads: This family letter full of revolutionary passion is a true portrayal of Shen Erqi's revolutionary spirit in fighting against Japan and saving the country. Shen Erqi, formerly known as Shen Qingju, was born in 1914.Father Shen Riqi went to the Philippines to make a living in his early years. In the spring of 1930, he left home to work with his father in Manila. In the 1930s, overseas Chinese in the Philippines also actively carried out anti-Japanese and national salvation activities just like in China.Shen Erqi participated in the activity of the progressive students of Puzhi Night School in Manila publishing the literary publication "Voice of the Family" for the anti-Japanese organization.

At the beginning of 1936, the Armed Self-Defense Association of the Chinese Nation (initiated and organized by Soong Ching Ling and others in Shanghai, referred to as the Civil Armed Forces Association) decided to establish a branch in the Philippines, and Gao Jianfeng, Zheng Xianyu, Zheng Yanhuo, Shen Erqi and others were responsible for the preparation.So Shen Erqi returned to downtown Manila to participate in the preparation of the branch.When the Philippine branch of the Civil Martial Arts Association was established, there were hundreds of participants from overseas Chinese from all walks of life, and Shen Erqi was selected as one of the main leaders of the branch.

After the "July 7th" incident, the Philippine branch of the Civil Armed Forces Association mobilized members and overseas Chinese from all walks of life to donate money and gifts to condolences to the anti-Japanese soldiers of the motherland. In October, the "Filipino Overseas Chinese National Salvation Volunteer Team" was launched, and many young overseas Chinese signed up and asked to return to China to participate in the war. At the beginning of November, the Civil Armed Forces Branch selected 28 strong and strong Shen Erqi, Dai Xuemin, Xu Zhenwen, Zheng Xianyu, Yu Zhijian, Yang Xueying, Chen Youjie, Zhuang Yuying, Zhang Guang, etc. from the registered youths to form the National Salvation Volunteer Team. Led by Dai Xuemin and Shen Erqi, it arrived in southern Anhui via Xiamen, Zhangzhou, and Longyan in February 1938. It was incorporated into the Second Detachment of the New Fourth Army and was renamed the "Filipino Overseas Chinese Returning with the Army Service Corps".The Political Department of the Second Detachment of the New Fourth Army appointed Shen Erqi as the head, Dai Xuemin as the deputy head, and Yu Binghui as the instructor.They became the first team of returning overseas Chinese to fight against Japan.

In order to disseminate the real news of the motherland's war of resistance to the overseas Chinese in the Philippines, deepen their understanding of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army that persisted in the War of Resistance, continue to mobilize patriotic youths to return to China to participate in the war, and at the same time raise funds to support the frontline with medical supplies, the leaders of the New Fourth Army decided to send Shen Erqi, Xu Zhenwen and others People returned to the Philippines to carry out propaganda and mobilization work.Commander Ye Ting also proposed the idea of ​​organizing an overseas Chinese battalion (or regiment).

Shen Erqi and others returned to Manila in the spring of 1939. They were welcomed by various patriotic overseas Chinese groups in the Philippines.Shen Erqi used various opportunities to introduce the situation of the motherland's war of resistance to overseas Chinese from all walks of life, explaining the truth that only by uniting against Japan and fighting for a long time can we win the final victory; he mobilized overseas Chinese to donate property to support the soldiers in the front; By.Their propaganda aroused the patriotic enthusiasm of the vast number of overseas Chinese and promoted the development of fundraising work.

In the name of "comforting the anti-Japanese soldiers in the front", the Federation of Labor Unions publicly launched a solicitation. At the same time, it initiated the organization of the "Federation of Overseas Chinese Labor Organizations in the Philippines Returning Consolation Group" to mobilize patriotic overseas Chinese young people to sign up for returning home labor activities.With the support of overseas Chinese from all walks of life, the Federation of Labor Unions purchased a batch of military supplies and a set of brass instruments, and selected 23 young people who signed up to form a band for the condolence team, and hired Zhou Dongjun, a music teacher from Hongguang School, as the band Coach, play anti-Japanese songs.

The Federation of Labor Federation’s returning consolation group was headed by Wang Xixiong, Shen Erqi was the political instructor, Zeng Xinping was in charge of publicity, Wang Aikui was in charge of management, Guo Xijiang was in charge of documents, and Zhang Kuangshi was in charge of finance. They left Manila for Hong Kong in June 1939.At that time, Guangzhou had been occupied by the Japanese invaders. According to the instructions of Comrade Liao Chengzhi, the consolation group detoured through Vietnam and entered Guangxi to Guilin.The Guilin Eighth Route Army Office sent two battalion-level cadres to escort the members of the consolation regiment, passing through Hengyang, Hunan, and then to Shangrao, Jiangxi.

On the march, Shen Erqi used his personal experience to the front line of the New Fourth Army to strengthen the will of the regiment members, and inspired everyone with the story of the Red Army's 25,000-mile long march. At the end of July 1939, the consolation group overcame various difficulties and arrived in Shangrao.Army Commander Ye Ting, who was in Shangrao at the time, immediately received all the members of the consolation group and took photos with them; then he sent a special car to take them to the New Fourth Army headquarters in Yunling, Jing County. After a short rest in the military headquarters, the members of the condolence team set off to the front line to condolence to the anti-Japanese soldiers on behalf of overseas Chinese from all walks of life in the Philippines and patriotic overseas Chinese groups.After more than two months of condolences and publicity activities, Shen Erqi stayed in the military political department to work.Unless otherwise arranged, other comrades will participate in the third study class of the New Fourth Army teaching team.The brass instruments brought back by the condolence group were handed over to the military art troupe for use, and Zhou Dongjun and Cai Ziyin directly joined the military art troupe.

At the end of October 1939, Shen Erqi was transferred to the Ninth Team of the New Fourth Army Teaching Corps (the participants were cadres above the battalion level) to study.According to the memories of Comrade Wang Zhi, who was the party branch secretary of the Ninth Team at that time: Shen Erqi was active and diligent in his studies, studied hard, was not afraid of fatigue, made rapid progress, and was praised by the party branch. In April 1940, due to the urgent need for a large number of cadres at the front, he and most of the students of the Ninth Team were assigned to the Jiangnan front.On the march from southern Anhui to southern Jiangsu, he was not afraid of hardships and dangers, and enthusiastically helped his comrades. He performed very well and was praised by Chen Yi and Su Yu.

On the southern Jiangsu front, Shen Erqi participated in the battle of Xita Mountain.He fought bravely, helped rescue the wounded during the battle, and actively did propaganda and agitation work. In August, he participated in the battle to defend the Zhenbao Highway. He followed the ambush team to do propaganda work, and bravely rushed to kill with the army.Because of his bravery and activeness in combat, after the battle, he was promoted to the Political Department of the Jiangnan Command of the New Fourth Army as the deputy section chief. In October 1940, the Jiangnan Command established the General Assembly of the Four Counties in the South of the Yangtze River (Jurong, Lishui, Zhenjiang, and Danyang), and Shen Erqi was transferred to work in the Political Department of the General Assembly.At the end of the same year, in accordance with the instructions of the Jiangnan Command, he returned to Manila via Shanghai and Hong Kong, and continued to mobilize the overseas Chinese in the Philippines to support the New Fourth Army in fighting the Japanese and killing the enemy with human, material and financial resources. In November 1941, he left Manila for the third time and returned home to kill the enemy.During his stay in Hong Kong, Japanese imperialism provoked the Pacific War and occupied Hong Kong.So Shen Erqi and some other revolutionary comrades who used to work in Hong Kong, as well as some democrats in the cultural circles, under the cover of underground staff, withdrew to the Dongjiang Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Zone in Guangdong Province. After arriving in the Dongjiang guerrilla area, Shen Erqi was assigned as a combat re-election instructor in the Fifth Battalion of the Guangdong People's Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Corps.He was wounded in a battle against the enemy. In addition, he was suffering from lung disease. The organization sent him to the rear hospital in the balcony mountain area for hospitalization, and he also worked as a political instructor in the hospital. From February 1942, the Dongjiang guerrilla area launched a battle against the enemy, and Shen Erqi took part in the struggle with illness. In May, when the puppet army attacked the rear hospital, he took the sick organization to cover the retreat of the wounded.In December of the same year, when he participated in the battle of Jiangang Mountain in Baoshan County, he was unfortunately shot and died. He sacrificed his precious life for resisting Japan and saving the country. He was 28 years old at the time. Shen Erqi joined the Communist Party when he participated in the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Movement in the Philippines, and became a member of the Chinese Communist Party when he returned to China for the first time to participate in the war.His illustrious name will forever be recorded in the annals of the Filipino overseas Chinese labor movement, and will be included in the list of revolutionary martyrs of the motherland.He and other martyrs who died in the Dongjiang area are called "Dongjiang Heroes".Wang Zuoyao, deputy commander of the Dongjiang Column, mentioned Shen Erqi's struggle deeds in his memoir "A Leaf of the East Column".The name "Shen Erqi" is engraved on the martyrs' monument in the Pinghu District of Longhua District, Bao'an County. In June 1982, Shen Erqi was included in the list of revolutionary martyrs during the Anti-Japanese War in the "Fujian Revolutionary History Painting Collection" compiled and printed by the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China. In 1985, "Quanzhou Heroes" co-edited by the Quanzhou Municipal Party History Working Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Civil Affairs Bureau of the Quanzhou Municipal People's Government also included the biography of the martyr Shen Erqi.