The Explain Words of 《Chinese Labor’s Bloody Proof》Exhibition

The Japanese Militarists perpetrated the monstrous crimes during the aggression war in China. Not only burning, killing, raping, and robbing, but also impressing millions of Chinese labors who undertook heavy works in Japan, in the zones occupied by Japanese army. The labors bored hungry and suffered grind under an inhuman condition. But up to today, the Japanese government and the corporation which had enslaved the Chinese labors still deny and distort the crime. This behavior arose a great indignation of the Chinese People.
            The 1^st section: Labors Capturing
                  ---The appearing of the Japanese enslave policy
    After the “9.18” Incident, for the purpose of robbing the resources of Northeast China, the Japanese militarists constituted the policy of impressing Chinese labors. At the end of 1933, take the lead of the Japanese Guandong Army’s Secret Agency; the “Labor Control Committee” (LCC) was founded. And the Secret Agent also consigned the Manchuria Railway Economic Research Agent to constitute “the Manchuria Labors Control Policy”, by which they prepared to cosmically enslaved the Chinese labors from Northeast China and other zones. Since 1935, the LCC appointed especially the “Dadong Corporation”(the “Manchuria Labors Association after July, 1939) to undertake the enslaving tasks. According to the confessed data by North China Labors Association on 《the Jincaji Daily》, Jan 27,1943, from 1937-1942, amount to 5,690,000 young men from North China had been enslaved to Northeast China as labors.
   After the break of “Lugouqiao Incident” on July 7,1937, Japan launched the entirely aggression war in China. The Japanese invaders enlarged the enslaving zone and the amount in the occupied zone of China. For example, incited by the Japanese invaders, the police office of the puppet government in Beijing make the labors beadroll by district, and thrall labors according to the beadroll. The Japanese aggressors also enslaved a few thousands labors in the Shijingshan iron factory of North China iron corporation. And they also enslaved over 3,000 Chinese labors to build the Xiyuan airport and the Nanyuan airport.
   After the entirely aggression war was launched, because of the lack of native labors, some related Japanese corporations asked the government to use Chinese labors early in July 1939. Then after the break of Pacific War, to solve the lack problem of native labors, the东条英机cabinet passed 《The Affairs about Transfer Chinese Labors into Japan》 on Nov 27^th, 1942. By this, the Cabinet decided to “tentatively transfer” Chinese labors into Japan. North China was regulated to be the main zone, and the impress objects were mainly the prisoners of war or men under 40 years old. The so-called “trial transfer” namely is being afraid of the disturbance to the Japanese public security by Chinese labors, the government impresses Chinese labors in a small-scale. In this period, about a few thousands of Chinese labors had been captured to Japan. After 1943, Japan was plunged into war, and the native labors were less than before. On Feb 28, 1943, the Vice-official meeting of the Japanese Cabinet passed 《the Decision of Promoting the Chinese Labors Transfer into Japan》, and replaced the words “tentatively transfer” by “formally transfer”. The Japanese corporations started to enslave Chinese labors cosmically. From the decision, in the whole process of the Chinese labors impressment, the Japanese corporations were the sponsors, the Japanese government was the decision-maker, and the Japanese army was the executant.
   The Japanese army and the puppet army put the prisoners of war and the captured civilians into the labor concentration camp. During then, the Japanese army set up many labor concentration camps in the occupied zone, the bigger ones among the camps include: Shimen camp (in Shijiazhuang, Hebei), Tanggu camp in Tianjin, Xinhuayuan camp in Jinan, Shandong, Beiping camp (xiyuan) and others. According to some survivals’ memories, in their camp-the Tanggu labor concentration camp, the place where they lived was just a few rows of barrack, surrounding by water in three directions, electric meshwork and watchtowers. In their rooms, there were two rows of board beds; in the middle of the beds was a narrow aisle. Everyday, they must strictly abide the work and rest schedule. When they sleep, even their postures must be same, otherwise would be stroke. All their daily activities were in the same room. In Tanggu camp, everyone was given a suit of broken cotton clothes and a thin quilt. They must take off every clothes when sleep, and the warden took away the clothes, gave back the next day. In their camp, the healthy ones were in the 1^st room and the 2^nd room, the ill ones were in the 3^rd room, the labors who ill heavily were in the 4^th room. Each day, labor could saw some dead ones being carried away from the 4^th room. According to the memory of Zhaozhimin, who had been impressed to小樽 city in Hokkaido from Damiao village, Pinggudian town, Tianjin, they did their utmost to escape then. One day, he and other 4 captured soldiers (Zhangyiming, Lixinming, Huyangyuan and another one) tried to escape together, but due to the surrounding wires, they were caught back by the guard at the end. Subsequently, they were beat up by the guards in public as a punishment at night.
   According to the related data, the Tanggu concentration camp were set up in the winter of 1943, it was located at the Deda dock in Tanggu, Tianjin firstly, then was moved to the “freeze corporation” near the Kazimen 4# dock in Xingang. It had been named “Tanggu Labors Asylum” or “Tanggu Labors Training Center”, in fact, it was a labors collect center or a transport station. The administration power belonged to the puppet North China Labors Association Tanggu Branch at the beginning, then belonged to the Tianjin Office directly. Most of the civilian labors and the prisoner labors cheated or captured by the puppet North China Labors Association were collected here, registered, numbered, fulfilled the procedure. Those labors to be sent to Japan took boat here.
   The Shimen labors concentration camp was set up on Aug 15, 1941. According to the memories of the survivals, over 50,000 labors were jugged here. And the 5,428 labors were sent to Japan from here. The Beiping labors concentration camp located near the Summer Palace, which was administered by the special 苏生band of No.1400 unit of Japanese army had sent 1,196 Chinese labors to Japan. The Jinan labors concentration camp was set up in May 1940, administered by No.4221 unit of Japanese army, had sent 1,296 Chinese labors to Japan. Like the Tanggu camp, the camps in other places were called “the world hell” and “the gate of hell”.
   Before being sent under escort to the depart port for Japan, the labors must be jugged in the concentration camps for tens of days of some months commonly. At that time, the depart port used to transport Chinese labors included: Dalian, Tanggu, Qingdao, Lianyungang, Wusong. According to Stat., about 40,000 Chinese labors were sent to Japan from the above 5 ports, and came through a horrible story.
                The 2^nd section: The world hell
                       --- The Japanese aggressors enslaved the Chinese labors in Northeast China
    From 30s to 40s of 20^th century, the Japanese imperialism enslaved Chinese labors in Northeast China, North China, East China, Middle China, South China and other places. Millions of Chinese labors were persecuted to death. The “Thousands Grave”, “Ten Thousands Grave” scattering here and there are the strong evidences. Here the main disclosed truth is the bloody crime of enslaving and killing Chinese labors by the Japanese aggressors in Northeast China.
   Tears and bloods of the “Coal Capital”
   After the military occupation in Northeast China, the Japanese imperialism robbed the economic resources greatly. They took the mines in Northeast China as “the treasury of Empire”. They cheated a large number of Chinese labors in North China and Northeast China to undertake the mine exploitation job. Many labors starved to death, died in their beds or died under the torture of Japanese imperialism. These are the labors cheated from Inner Barrier to Fushun, Liaoning. They were forced to undertake the heavy physical jobs. Some of them are children labors. They were exploited and grind cruelly in Fushun. “Threw the skeletons in Outer Barrier, regretted not come to the golden place.” The two sayings recorded the terrible lives of Fushun labors. 1905-1945, the Japanese invaders militarily occupied the Fushun colliery, named “the Coal Capital”, for 40 years. During that period, Japanese invaders robbed over 200 million tons of coals; thrall about 1 million Chinese labors, over 250,000 died. In Fushun, there were tens of “Ten thousand Graves”. And 8 ones were left behind presently.
    “Body Exploitation”--- the mines not the labors
   From 1905-1945, the Japanese aggressors had dominated the Benxi Coal and Iron Company for 40 years. They robbed the coals and irons in Benxi madly, push the “Body Exploitation” policy – the mines not the labors. On Apr 26,1942, a big gas blast took placed in Benxi colliery. To reduce the mine loss, the Japanese aggressors ordered to shut off the ground fan and blocked out the mouth of the well, regardless of the fates of the Chinese labors under the well. These decisions made numbers of miners who could still be rescued stifled under the ground, and thousands of Chinese miners died in the gas blast. To conceal the crime, the Japanese aggressors built “the monument of dead industrial soldiers”. 1,327 dead labors in the gas blast were recorded on the monument. But the Japanese war criminal 古海忠之 fess that this blast “took away over 1,800 miners’ lives” in fact. One of the survivals of this gas blast, Li Yongpu, who attended the labors’ ashes clear work, attested that more than 3,000 labors died in the blast. The Japanese aggressors ignoring the safe producing, merely robbing the mines, the gas blast tragedies took placed now and then in each colliery. And this is the tragic status of prisoner labor Li Youheng who wounded in a gas blast of a colliery in Tonghua, Jilin. Look at his face and hands. It’s too horrible!

The Dongning military stronghold with the maximum labors
    After the occupation in Northeast China, the Japanese army had forced over 2 million Chinese labors to build lots of military strongholds along the Sino-Russia frontier in Heilongjiang, aiming at consolidating the reign position in Northeast China and waiting its chance to aggress Soviet Union. Among the strongholds there, the Dongning military stronghold is the largest one in Asia. It is over 110 Km long and over 70 Km wide. About 170,000 Chinese labors were forced to work here then. Because of the high labors density, the foul working condition and the living condition, plus the cruel persecute of Japanese soldiers, a large number of labors died. Many “labors graves” and “ten thousand labors holes” were found in the area of the Dongning stronghold. In the digging of a small “labors grave” by the Heilongjiang Revolution History Museum, 18 labors skeletons were found, 4 labors’ cruses were sawed. From the skeletons with sawed legs showed here, we can realize deeply that how many blood and tears of labors were in the Dongning stronghold! Japanese army killed all the labors after finishing the project. According to statistics, there are about ten thousand of Chinese labors died in the Dongning stronghold.

The “Asian First” water power constructed by blood and flesh
    The Fengman water power station, which was known as “First in Asia, Second in world”, began to be built in 1937. But till Japan surrendered in 1945, the project did not finish yet. In the process of constructing, Japanese army and the puppet army cheated to impress lots of labors from the internal barrier to solve the labors lack problem. According to incomplete statistics, over 120,000 labors took part in the building work of the Fengman water power station. Some labors died of ill and heavy work in the building site, some died of accidents, and other were killed by Japanese soldiers and puppet soldiers. The Japanese aggressors tortured the labors with all kinds of instruments including iron fetters. The piles of bones in the “ten thousand labors hole” near the building site of Fengman water power station showed that the so-called “Asia First” power was constructed by the blood and flesh of Chinese labors.
    The bloody body-burns stove
    Besides throwing numbers of dead labors into the “Ten Thousand Grave”, the Japanese army put many dead labors into the body-burns stove to “cremate”, and even some ill labors were burnt alive in the stove. The body burns stoves, the body-burns boards, and the buckets for fat, these are all the iron evidences of the Japanese aggressors bloody crimes. In Heilongjiang Jixi colliery, Benxi Nanfen iron mine and Liaoyang Gongchangling iron mine, the Japanese aggressors built the body-burns stoves to burn the ashes of dead labors days and nights. An ashes carry worker in Jixi colliery, Zhang sheng recalled that from 1942 to 1945, there were over 3,000 labor ashes be carried out from the death warehouse; the ashes being buried in the “Ten Thousand Grave” and being thrown into the burns stoves in the whole colliery amount to over 10,000. These are the spades, the body-burns boards, the burns crampons, the bone choppers, and the buckets for fat being used in Jixi Didao colliery body-burns stove at that time.
              The tragic lives of labors
    Under the cruel oppression of Japanese aggressors, the labors lived in a very poor condition. They lived in shabby work sheds, wore rubbishy clothes, starved all day, be enslaved all the time. In Longwangmiao military project, Jinzhou, Dalian, Japanese army impressed thousands of labors, about 8,000 people died there. In the Kuandian Shuifeng water power station project, Liaoning, over 20,000 labors died. In the Luanshishan top-secret military project, over 10,000 people died. This electric engine that has been used in Benxi colliery, is unreasonable in the design of link-to-tramcar device. Accidents often happened, which made great disaster. On this labor wage bill of Niu shiqing, who had worked 30 days in Liaoyuan colliery in Dec, 1940, the amount is 32.34 yuan. After 1-month work in the colliery, he didn’t get the payable wage, but had to pay the so-called “arrearage”. Where is the justice? Where is the axiom?
                 The cruel oppression on Chinese labors
    After the occupation of Northeast China, the Japanese aggressors greatly robbed the abundant resources there. The epigraphs showed here, such as “mining for the country”, “country exploiting”, “creating hardship” and other words, which disclosed the fact that the Japanese aggressors crazily robbed the resources of China together with making the Chinese labors work for Japan imperialism. In the process of forcing Chinese labors to mine and to build projects, the Japanese aggressors oppressed the labors cruelly. On this shoulder pole of a Japanese supervisor 野口used to beat labors, we can see the words “Not responsible for death” clearly. The life of a Chinese labor was just grass in Japanese eyes! This hand pickax of a Japanese supervisor 陶山 used to beat labors witnesses the bloody enmity of Zhang shunting, a Chinese labor. We can see the word “陶山” on the pickax. From 9 years old, Zhang shunting was cheated to enlist as a labor in Fuxin colliery from Shandong. He was too young to use the big pickaxe when he was just 12. And 陶山, the Japanese supervisor, kicked him down and beat him heavily by this hand pickaxe. Later after that, Zhang shunting stole the pickaxe. Since the surrender of Japan, Zhang has kept it till today. The place where Zhang pointed is the wound by the hand pickaxe.
   Besides this, the Japanese aggressors also used other instruments of torture to squash Chinese labors. Let’s have a look at the handcuffs, the fetters and the blacksnakes! All these bones of the dead in the “ten thousand labors grave” are pouring out the trial experiences of Chinese labors. This is a labor’s skeleton whose head was beat through. This is a labor be buried alive, and from the attitude we can deduce that he was going to climb out of the grave. This is another labor who was buried alive. From its attitude, the labor was opening his mouth, covering his face, presenting a very painful face. This is a labor skeleton with a nail in its head.
    The film showed here---《Bones evidence---The record of Liaoning “ten thousand labors grave”》, is just the situation of Chinese labors in Liaoning. In fact, the labors survived, the labors’ dependents and the just people throughout the county are disclosing the crimes of Japanese aggressors bravely! And this is also a strong counterpunch to the denying aggression war backwash in Japan currently!
                      The 3^rd section: Blood and tears evidence
                     ---The Chinese labors be impressed to Japan and other occupied places
    Since the full-scale aggression war was started in 1937, there had been the labors lacking problem in Japan. In 1939, Japanese government began to impress Korean labors. And after a decision passed by the government, the corporation of Japan started to use Chinese labors freely. In 1946, the administration bureau of Japanese foreign ministry made《The Report on Chinese Labors Employment Investigation》, i.e. 《The Foreign Ministry Report》, based on the data provided by the corporation that used Chinese labors. The Report said, from April 1943 to May 1945, the “moved-in” Chinese was 38,935 in total. In April 1961, the《Report on Chinese Labors being Captured Affairs》published by the Executing Committee of Chinese Victims Roster in Japan said that the real number of Chinese labors to Japan by ship was 38,939. The demanded numbers of Chinese labors from China by the Japanese corporation, i.e. the “contract” numbers were 41,762, but 2,823 labors died or escaped before getting aboard.
   The Chinese labors impressed to Japan undertook heavy work in 135 work sites of 55 corporations, which belonged to mine industry, constructing industry, loading industry, manufacture industry and other industries. Before Japan’s surrender, 6,834 Chinese labors were tortured to death.
    To capture and transport Chinese labors successfully, the Japanese government made effective use of the Japanese and puppet agents, and the Japanese corporations in China. Among these agents, besides the Wang Jingwei puppet government, there were also some other ones such as the North China Labors Association, the Japan and China Labors Association, the North China Transport Co. Lt., and the Fuchang Chinese Labors Co. Lt. And the North China Labors Association “provided” most of the Chinese labors.
    The story here showed people the trial experiences of the Chinese labors that left their homes, and be scourged by the Japanese corporations.
    The花冈insurrection was the biggest resistance of the Chinese labors captured to Japan who could not bear the abuse of the Japanese corporation. Since July 1944, the 鹿岛组花冈出张所 in Japan had asked the labors transportation agents in China to provide 1,000 labors, but 14 of them died or disappeared before getting aboard, and on the way to Japan 7 labors died, so the real number of labors on board to Japan was 986, and the number of labors who arrived 花冈出张所was 979. The鹿岛组treated Chinese labors so atrociously that over 200 labors were tortured to death in about half year.
    On June 30, 1945, under the leading of captain Geng Chun, the beyond endurance labors in 花冈launched the insurrection. But the insurgents were caught back very soon. They were escorted to the 大馆City Club Square, every two men were band together under the sun to be insolated. For 3 whole days and nights, they hadn’t been given any food. When the labors went to toilet, they must be band together, so that when one labor died, the other one had to walk with the dead labor’s body. Except this, Japanese also tortured the insurgents. To beat down the insurrection, Japan had used 21,568 person-times of policemen; police defend group, and common people. After the insurrection, Geng Chun and other 13 insurgents were put into the 秋田prison by the accusation of “Wartime Annoy Homicide” according to the 2^nd term of the 16^th item in Japanese National Defense Safety Law, and were not released until April 1946.
   This is the “信浓丸” cargo ship by which Geng Chun and other insurgents were escorted to Japan. And this is the 中山寮 where the 花冈labors lived in Japan at that time. When Japan surrendered, the 花冈labors had already been skin and bones under Japanese torture.
    Escape is one of the striving forms of Chinese labors resisted the thrall of Japanese corporations. The story of the “Wildness man” Liu Lianren has been well known long time before. Liu was an ordinary present in Gaomi County in Shandong, China. In Oct 1944, he was captured by Japanese army as a labor to the明治mine corporation昭和mine in Hokkaido, Japan. Could not bear the thrall and torture, Liu and other 4 labors escaped from the toilet of the work site on July 30^th, 1945. Afterward, the other 4 labors were caught back by Japanese army. Liu himself continued the escaping life. At last, he hided in a cave in石狩郡当别町 in Hokkaido, had an inhuman life for 13 years. Until Feb 1958, a local hunter found him occasionally and saved him. But the Japanese government then, the 岸信介Cabinet, didn’t apologize to Chinese People for the thrall on Chinese labors, but smeared Liu with the imputation of “Illegal Immigrant”. And this caused a bad influence in the Sino-Japan relation. These are Liu Lianren and his living tools in the cave at that time.
    Except the capturing Chinese to Japan, the Japanese army also transported lots of Chinese labors to Southeast Asia to work as coolie. Although haven’t found the files about this aspect till today, the investigators of Chinese People Resist Japanese Aggression War Memorial found a surviving Chinese labor who had been captured to Southeast Asia. That was Shi Fangzhou, who was living in Shanghai. Shi, from Shengze Town, Wujiang County in Jiangsu, was captured away by Japanese army together with the total 120 people in Shengze Town. Then, over 1,500 labors captured by Japanese army including Shi were escorted to Papua New Guinea to work as coolie for the Japanese military projects. When Japan surrendered, only about 700 labors survived. Among the labors from Shengze Town, only Shi survived. In 1947, under the help of International Red Cross, Shi and other survivals came back to homeland.
    The photos here are the ones during that period kept by Shi Fangzhou.
Although most of the captured Chinese labors were young men, there were also some old labors and child labors. According to the recordation in the report of Japan Foreign Ministry, among the labors captured to Japan, the oldest was 78 years old, and the youngest was only 11 years old. But in the investigation of the Chinese People Resist Japanese Aggression War Memorial, the investigators found an 8-year-old child was also captured to Japan together with his father, and worked for about 2 years. His name was Guan Deyin, a retired worker of Beijing Pickles Factory. In the spring of 1942, Japanese army in a labors market in Tianjin captured Guan’s father, a carpenter. And the young Guan Deyin also came to Japan along with his father. Guan’s father died of wound infection in Japan latterly. After that, among the 12 caring father of Guan, the Japanese corporation tortured 11 to death. At the end of the war, under the help of his fellow sufferers, Guan came back to China finally.
   The Chinese labors captured to Japan not only have to undertake the heavy works, but also starved and were in poor clothes, and even the beating-up by the Japanese supervisors. All of these caused many labors’ death. This is the candleholder used by the labors in 神户to sacrifice their dead fellow workers.
    Under the bad living conditions, the Chinese labors were often wounded and even caused deformity. Liu Qian, a labor who had been captured to三井三池colliery in Fukuoka, Japan, was bungled by the shank, and has suffered the wound up to the present. This is the X-ray picture of Liu Qian, we can see the wound on his right shank clearly.
    The rice bowls of different periods used by the Chinese labors also disclosed clearly the horrible experiences in Japan. This is a rice bowl of a Chinese labor in神户, Japan. There used to be clapboard in the bowl, the bigger side for rice, and the smaller side for some vegetable soup of salt soup. But the tired labors after heavy works couldn’t eat their fill. After the surrender of Japan, the living conditions of labors were improved a little, and the bowls were a little bigger than before.
    In the agreement between the Japanese corporations and the agents providing labors, there was usually an altisonant term that pays for the working of the Chinese labors. But in fact, the labors could only be given a little food to keep their lives; no wages could be obtained. Some Japanese corporations only gave the Chinese labors a little “traveling expenses” symbolically before they came back to China. This is a traveling expense receipt of 三井山野colliery kept by Zhang Bichen, the amount is only 590 yen. How could this pay for the 1-year’s heavy work!
    Situ Zhen, a Chinese labor captured to Japan from Shanghai, still kept a photo took in the work site at those years.
    In this old photo, there is also an acerbic story. Yang Yuzhu, 59, is a retired cadre of Beijing Chemistry Factory. This is a group photo of her family. In 1944, her father, Yang Da was captured by the Japanese army in the Qianmen railway station in Beijing, and was sent to Japan as a labor. At that time, Yang Yuzhu was only 2 years old. From then on, there were no messages of her father, and people did not know whether he still alive. And this photo became the most costly memento of her father. After the liberation of Beijing, there were only the names of her mother and she in the family residence book.
    The experiences of a Chinese labor, Kang Qinghe captured to Japan, disclosed an unknown crime of the Japanese corporations. He recalled that the Japanese corporations began to take out blood from the weak Chinese labors since the first half of 1945. One time each month, 400-500ml each time. To the weak ones, even before the injector was taken out, they died on the bed. To the surviving ones, as long as they had one breath after the blood taking, they have to go down to the mines. Many people never went up again. Kang Qinghe had been taken out blood for 4-5 times.
    These photos and relics are the witnesses of the Chinese labors were thrall in Japan.
                      The 4^th section: Get back the fair
                 ---The just voices of the casualties