It is September once again, and the autumn wind begins to blow. The night sky over Shenyang will once more be filled with the sound of air-raid sirens. That sound is long and deep, resembling an echo from 1931; traversing over ninety years, it still sends a chill down one’s spine.
On the night of September 18, 1931, near Liutiao Lake in the northern suburbs of Shenyang, an explosion shattered the tranquility of Northeast China. The Japanese Kwantung Army deliberately blew up a section of the South Manchuria Railway, then falsely accused the Chinese army of the act and used it as a pretext to bombard the Beidaying garrison of the Northeast Army and launch an attack on Shenyang. This event is known as the “September 18 Incident,” a event that shocked the world.
Starting from that night, the three northeastern provinces fell within a few months, and thirty million compatriots were reduced to subjects of a foreign occupation. From that night onward, the Chinese nation entered a fourteen-year War of Resistance against Japanese aggression. From that night onward, countless Chinese people were forced to raise their final cry: “Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves!”
September 18 is not an ordinary date. It is a scar etched upon the Chinese nation and a pain that cannot be erased from the hearts of every Chinese person. I write this article not to perpetuate hatred, but to remember history—to remember those who resisted unyieldingly in the lands of white mountains and black waters, and to recognize that peace is never guaranteed.
I. The Conspiracy at Liutiao Lake: The Eve of the Incident
The September 18 Incident was no accident; it was the inevitable outcome of Japan’s long-standing implementation of its “continental policy” and a premeditated act of aggression by Japanese militarism.
Following the Meiji Restoration, Japan embarked on a path of capitalism and external expansion. In the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan seized Taiwan; during the Russo-Japanese War, it extended its influence into Northeast China, gaining control over the South Manchuria Railway and the Luda region, and establishing the Kwantung Army there. Subsequently, Japan continuously expanded its influence in Northeast China, supporting pro-Japanese forces, provoking incidents, and seeking pretexts for armed occupation.
The global economic crisis of 1929 severely impacted the Japanese economy, intensifying domestic contradictions and allowing fascist military forces to rise rapidly. Young officers within the Kwantung Army, such as Ishiwara Kanji and Itagaki Seishirō, began plotting to resolve the “Manchurian issue” by force. They argued that to escape the crisis, Japan must seize the resources and strategic locations of Northeast China.
To create a pretext for aggression, the Kwantung Army repeatedly provoked incidents in Northeast China. In 1931, the Wanbaoshan Incident and the Nakamura Incident occurred, fueling militaristic rhetoric in Japan and casting a shadow of war over the region.
On the evening of September 18, 1931, Lieutenant Kawamoto Suemori of the 3rd Company, 2nd Battalion, Independent Garrison Unit of the Kwantung Army, led several soldiers to blow up a section of the South Manchuria Railway near Liutiao Lake in the northern suburbs of Shenyang. Although the explosion was minor and the damage to the railway slight, the Kwantung Army falsely accused the Chinese army of “sabotaging the South Manchuria Railway” and “attacking Japanese garrisons,” using this as a pretext to attack the Beidaying garrison.
This was the conspiracy at Liutiao Lake—a long-planned act of aggression disguised as “self-defense,” the beginning of a disaster that would engulf all of Northeast China.
II. The Night in Shenyang: From Beidaying to the Fall of Northeast China
Around 10:20 PM on September 18, 1931, the explosion at Liutiao Lake occurred. At approximately 10:30 PM, the Kwantung Army launched an attack on Beidaying. Beidaying was the headquarters of the 7th Brigade of the Northeast Army, with about ten thousand soldiers stationed there. Faced with the sudden attack, the Northeast Army officers did not lack the courage to resist. Some soldiers spontaneously fought back, and patriotic officers such as Wang Tiehan led resistance efforts; however, they soon received orders to “refrain from resistance” and were forced to retreat.
Early on September 19, the Japanese army occupied Shenyang. On the same day, they captured Changchun, Yingkou, Liaoyang, Anshan, Tieling, Fushun, Benxi, and other cities. On September 21, they occupied Jilin. In November, they attacked Heilongjiang, where Ma Zhanshan led his troops in a fierce resistance at Jiangqiao, marking the beginning of armed resistance in Northeast China. However, due to overwhelming disparity in strength, Jinzhou fell in January 1932, and Harbin fell in February 1932. Within a few months, the entire Northeast region fell into Japanese hands.
After the fall of Northeast China, Japan installed Puyi, the deposed emperor of the Qing dynasty, and established the puppet state of Manchukuo in March 1932 to impose colonial rule. The region’s resources were ruthlessly exploited, and its people subjected to brutal oppression. The Japanese established Unit 731 in Northeast China to conduct biological experiments on living humans; they forcibly promoted Japanese-language education to erode Chinese culture; and they conscripted laborers, causing countless atrocities. Thirty million compatriots endured fourteen years of darkness under Japanese and puppet regimes.
III. The Pain of Non-Resistance: Whose Responsibility?
The rapid fall of Northeast China after the September 18 Incident was due to complex factors, among which the “policy of non-resistance” remains a profound historical tragedy.
Over time, differing views have emerged regarding responsibility for non-resistance. The Nanjing Nationalist Government hoped for mediation by the League of Nations and sought to “avoid conflict” in order not to provide Japan with pretexts for further aggression. Zhang Xueliang later admitted that he issued the order to refrain from resistance and that responsibility could not be attributed to Chiang Kai-shek. Nevertheless, it is an undeniable fact that the majority of the Northeast Army obeyed orders of non-resistance, leading to the rapid fall of Shenyang, Changchun, Jilin, and other cities.
The lesson of non-resistance is painful: compromise and concession in the face of aggression do not bring peace; entrusting the fate of a nation to others inevitably leads to subjugation. The League of Nations dispatched the Lytton Commission, which determined Japan’s aggression but was powerless to stop it. In 1933, Japan simply withdrew from the League, enabling even more reckless aggression.
History cannot be reimagined, but it must be reflected upon. If the Northeast Army had resisted firmly, if the entire nation had united earlier, and if the international community had taken decisive action, might the outcome of September 18 have been different? We cannot answer these questions, but we can remember: peace requires strength, and dignity requires struggle.
IV. Resistance in the Lands of White Mountains and Black Waters
Although Northeast China fell, its people did not submit.
After the September 18 Incident, anti-Japanese volunteer armies sprang up across Northeast China. Patriotic generals such as Huang Xiansheng, Ma Zhanshan, Su Bingwen, and Li Du led resistance efforts. In November 1931, Ma Zhanshan led his troops in a fifteen-day battle at Jiangqiao against the Japanese; although they eventually retreated, their resistance inspired the entire nation.
In 1936, the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army was established as an armed resistance force under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. Heroes such as Yang Jingyu, Zhao Shangzhi, Zhao Yiman, Zhou Baozhong, and Li Zhaolin fought tenaciously against the Japanese in the lands of white mountains and black waters.
General Yang Jingyu was surrounded by Japanese forces in the icy wilderness, surviving for days without food, sustenance himself on tree bark and cotton, and fighting until his last breath. When Japanese soldiers cut open his abdomen, they found only roots, bark, and cotton. Ms. Zhao Yiman, wounded and captured during battle, endured brutal torture but remained unyielding; she was executed heroically on August 2, 1936, at the age of 31. General Zhao Shangzhi terrorized the Japanese with his campaigns in northern Manchuria and was killed heroically on February 12, 1942. In October 1938, eight female soldiers of the Anti-Japanese United Army, including Leng Yun, were surrounded by Japanese forces on the banks of the Usgun River; preferring death to surrender, they linked arms and jumped into the river—an event known as the “Eight Women’s Sacrifice at the River.”
The struggles of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army were extremely arduous. They lacked clothing, food, medical care, and fought against the enemy in temperatures of minus thirty to forty degrees Celsius. Many soldiers did not perish in battle but froze or starved in the depths of the forests. Yet they never surrendered, for they knew they were defending their homeland and the dignity of the nation.
V. From Northeast China to the Whole Nation: National Awakening
The September 18 Incident was not only a tragedy for Northeast China but also the starting point of the Chinese nation’s awakening.
After the incident, people from all walks of life across the country protested against Japanese aggression and demanded that the government take action. Students took to the streets, workers went on strike, and merchants closed their shops. In 1935, the December 9 Movement erupted, with students in Beiping shouting, “End the civil war and unite against foreign invaders,” sparking a nationwide movement for national salvation.
On December 12, 1936, the Xi’an Incident occurred: Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng detained Chiang Kai-shek to compel him to resist Japan. With mediation by the Chinese Communist Party, the Xi’an Incident was resolved peacefully, laying the foundation for the formation of a united front against Japanese aggression.
On July 7, 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident marked the beginning of a full-scale war of aggression by Japan against China. China thus entered a phase of total war. From Northeast China to North China, from Shanghai to Wuhan, from Chongqing to Yan’an, four hundred million compatriots united in resistance. Whether the Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army led by the Communists or patriotic officers and soldiers of the Nationalist Party, all fought bravely on both frontal and rear battlefields. Victories such as the Pingxingguan Battle, the Taierzhuang Campaign, the Hundred Regiments Offensive, and the Changsha Campaign saw countless Chinese sons and daughters build a great wall of national defense with their blood and flesh.
During the fourteen-year War of Resistance, Chinese military and civilian casualties exceeded thirty-five million, ultimately leading to China’s first complete victory over foreign invasion in modern history. On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender; on September 2, it signed the surrender documents; and September 3 was designated as the Victory Day of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.
VI. The Judgment of History and Unanswered Questions
After the war, the Tokyo Trials prosecuted Japanese war criminals, and Class-A war criminals such as Tojo Hideki were sentenced to death by hanging. Unfortunately, due to the Cold War structure and American protection, many Japanese war criminals escaped punishment, and Japanese militarism was not thoroughly purged.
Over the years, Japanese right-wing forces have repeatedly denied the history of aggression, visited the Yasukuni Shrine, revised history textbooks, and downplayed crimes such as the Nanjing Massacre, the issue of comfort women, and Unit 731. They seek to erase the truth about the September 18 Incident and to make future generations forget the disasters Japan inflicted upon the people of Asia.
However, history remains history, and facts remain facts. The explosion at Liutiao Lake, the gunfire at Beidaying, the cries of the people in Northeast China, the shouts of the Anti-Japanese guerrillas, and the blood and tears under the walls of Nanjing constitute irrefutable testimonies that cannot be altered. We remember history not to perpetuate hatred, but to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies. Our demand that Japan face up to its history is not intended to humiliate the Japanese people, but rather to secure peace and a prosperous future for Asia.
VII. For Whom Does the Alarm Sound?
Every year on September 18th, air-raid sirens sound in many cities, including Shenyang, Changchun, and Harbin. This sound pierces the sky, reminding every Chinese citizen: never forget national humiliation, and strive unceasingly for self-improvement.
In Shenyang, there is a September 18th History Museum. In front of the museum stands a massive fragmentary calendar stone inscribed with the date September 18, 1931. Resembling an open calendar, this monument eternally preserves that dark day. Covered in bullet marks, it appears to narrate a silent story.
If one has the opportunity to visit this museum, they will see historical photographs, artifacts, and archival materials. They will see the relics of General Yang Jingyu, the farewell letter written by Zhao Yiman to her son, the woolen shoes worn by Anti-Japanese guerrillas, and the bacteriological bombs used by the Japanese army. One will realize that history is not merely cold text; it is a living memory imbued with emotion and suffering.
Remembering September 18th is not about harboring hatred, but about drawing lessons from it. Backwardness invites aggression, while development enables self-strengthening. Unity generates strength, whereas division invites exploitation. Peace must be safeguarded, and dignity must be fought for.
VIII. We Must Strive Unceasingly
More than ninety years have passed. Today’s China is no longer the China of 1931. We now possess a robust national defense system, a thriving economy, and a confident cultural identity. Yet we are acutely aware that the world remains far from peaceful; hegemonism and power politics persist. Peace is never guaranteed; it requires the continuous efforts and dedication of generation after generation.
As Chinese citizens of the new era, we should:
Remember history, never forget national humiliation, and inherit the national spirit.
Cherish peace, learn from history, and look toward the future.
Strive unceasingly, work diligently, and contribute our share to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
September 18th is not only a day of national humiliation but also a day of awakening. May each of us draw strength from this history, let the alarm of history resonate eternally in our hearts, and never cease striving.
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