Hwa-Wei was an expert bird hunter and usually made every shot count. The poor birds would end hung up to dry outside dorm windows after having their feathers torn off, insides cleaned, and their clean bodies marinated with salt. Later, they would be roasted to provide delicious food for the starving students.
Caught in the turmoil of war, the majority of students had nothing to call their own. It was hardly possible for individual refugee students to live on their own without each other’s help. It was truly fortunate for Hwa-Wei to be with a group of peers who stuck together to cope with the hardship. Hwa-Wei felt lucky to have those close friends, while also being able to stay away from the cruelty of the Japanese invaders.
Experience from hardship in one’s early life can become a valuable asset in one’s later life. Through helping and supporting each other in difficult times, one can readily understand the power of mutual aid and the importance of sincerity, forgiveness, friendship, and thankfulness in interacting with others. From his school years at Wufuchang, the young Hwa-Wei came to realize that one can’t survive on one’s own, and the rules of survivorship are kindness, alliance, reverence for others, and togetherness in times of need. These rules have had a tremendous influence on Hwa-Wei and became his guide for interpersonal relationships in later years.
One’s potential and endurance is essentially unlimited. The hardship Hwa-Wei experienced in his childhood set for him an ultimate minimum threshold for living. He is thankful that none of his later experiences were comparable to his years in Wufuchang. Through adversity one can learn to cherish life. The hardship of Hwa-Wei’s early years toughened his soul and tempered his will. Since then Hwa-Wei felt he had nothing to fear.
Hwa-Wei’s schoolmates at the National Number Two High School for Overseas Chinese were mainly from Southeast Asia. When the war ended, the students scattered in different directions. After all the years of chaotic wars and constant moving and relocation, Hwa-Wei, unfortunately, lost contact with the majority of his schoolmates and friends. Now he cannot even recall their names.
4
Government-owned schools were often more disciplined than regular schools. The Nationalist Party government instituted a rigorous core curriculum of civic education courses at the national schools. There were boy and girl scout programs in junior high and military training in senior high schools.5
A good number of school-sponsored extracurricular activities were also available throughout the school year, including swim competitions, ball games, and choir and drama performances, usually involving student participants. In addition to the senior high Haiyun Singing Team and the junior high Zuanjiang Chorus, the National Number Two High School sponsored highly acclaimed basketball and swim teams that were victorious against teams from several local counties. The school was visited by several Nationalist government officials including Tie-Cheng Wu, then secretary-general of the Nationalist Party Executive Committee; Li-Fu Chen, then head of the Ministry of Education; and Tao-Fan Chang, the former provost of the National Political University. Wu delivered the following speech:
You must study hard so as to be able to make contributions to the nation. We will win the war in two or three more years. Upon return to Nanyang [at that time, the Chinese name for Southeast Asia], you could let your parents know how difficult the anti-Japanese War had been, and how the government took great effort to provide education to overseas Chinese students. This country wouldn’t become prosperous and powerful without patriotic support from overseas Chinese.
Hwa-Wei has little memory about what he learned in his classes as he seemed not to have had an interest in any particular subject. What is deeply inscribed in his memory, however, are the pervasive sentiments against foreign invaders and the many popular anti-Japanese songs. Among these was “On the Jialing River” with lyrics by Hongliang Duanmu and music by Luting He, a popular and emotional piece:
One day, enemies invaded my village. So I lost my family, my farmhouse, and my livestock.
Now wandering on the Jialing River, I smell the aroma of soil like the one from my homeland.
Despite the same moon and flowing water, my sweet smile and dream have gone.
The river beneath is sobbing every night; so is my heart.
I must go back to my homeland for the not-yet-harvested cauliflower and starving lamb.
I must return! Return under the bullet shower of our enemy.
I must return! Return across the sword and spear jungle of our enemy;
And I will place my bloody and victorious spear at my birthplace.
The year of 1944 witnessed the steady retreat of the Chinese army as Japanese invaders reached Guizhou Province. The occupation of Dushan County in that province by a small troop of Japanese cavalry immediately put Sichuan Province at risk, and started an uproar among the students at the National Number Two High School. By order of the school administration, every student had to stay in school and prepare for last-minute relocation if needed. However, many hot-blooded young students did not obey that order and joined the Educated Youth Army or the Chinese Expeditionary Force to fight against the Japanese invaders.
Hwa-Hsin, Hwa-Wei’s older brother, had a great hatred of the Japanese and registered without a second thought for the Youth Air Force Academy when he learned of the school recruitment in Chongqing. Founded in 1940 by the government, the academy aimed to train air force reserve pilots. The Chinese air force was rather weak at the beginning of the war. The situation did not improve until the arrival of the Flying Tigers, a nickname of the renowned First American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Nationalist air force, commanded by General Claire Lee Chennault.
The Flying Tigers flew the famous “Hump” air route to transport armament supplies for the Southwest Expeditionary Force and to fight against the Japanese air force. Seeing the reduced potency of the Japanese air force increased Hwa-Hsin’s admiration for the Flying Tigers. He started to dream about becoming an airman.
Their parents, originally concerned about young Hwa-Wei, had hoped his older brother could take care of him, somewhat, at school. However, Hwa-Hsin had only been at the school for one quarter before he left for the Youth Air Force Academy, leaving thirteen-year-old Hwa-Wei on his own. At the moment of seeing Hwa-Hsin depart, Hwa-Wei felt panic and helplessness, and he really wanted to call out to his older brother to beg him not to walk away. However, he knew that would not work and that he had to face the future on his own. Gazing at his brother’s receding figure, Hwa-Wei blinked away his tears.
5
August 1945 was a major turning point in World War II with increased Soviet involvement and America’s dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hwa-Wei’s family was still in Chongqing. Every day street-corner newspaper boys would shout victorious war news. Growing excitement and joy were filling the damp air, and smiles were back on pedestrians’ faces. Having endured eight years of extreme hardship from the Japanese invaders, the Chinese were ready for the long-awaited victory and peace.
With the end of the Sino-Japanese War, the Nationalist government moved back from Chongqing to Nanjing. Japan declared an unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945. Three weeks later on September 9, a mass celebration was held in the capital city. Streets were filled with cheering crowds, colorful lanterns, and bands, accompanied by the sounds of loud gongs and drums.
Some of the major avenues were decorated with archways made of pine and cypress leaves. Those archways were decorated with eye-catching golden letters, spelling the words “Victory” and “Peace,” and streaming national and Nationalist Party flags, with a red “V,” for victory, sign placed between the two. The gate of the Central Military Academy held two signs: “For Forever Peace” and “General Headquarters of Chinese Land Forces.”
At 9:00 a.m., the signing ceremony of the Japanese Surrender (China War Zone) began at the auditorium of the former Central Military Academy. Yasuji Okamura, the commander in chief of the Imperial Japanese Army in the China-Burma-India Theater, along with six other Japanese representatives, bowed, hats off, to the Chinese government