Entering ChinaHenan Province is one of the important birthplaces of Chinese civilization. From the Xia Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, there were many dynasties in the history of our country in Anyang, Kaifeng, Zhengzhou and Luoyang in Henan, and the cultural relics exhibited in the Henan Museum (today known as the Henan Museum) have naturally become important witnesses of Chinese history. The cultural relics displayed in the Henan Museum have extremely high archaeological and historical value.
In July 1937, the Japanese army launched the Lugou Bridge Incident. A nationwide war of resistance broke out. Henan Province is located in the Central Plains, and its geographical location is very important, so it has naturally become a key area for the Japanese army’s attack. During the entire eight-year National War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, most of Henan Province was occupied by the Japanese army, but the staff of the Henan Museum took every possible measure to ensure that as many cultural relics as possible were not plundered by the Japanese army in an extremely dangerous situation at that time. The history of the transfer of cultural relics in Henan Museum during the Anti-Japanese War has written an extremely tragic and glorious page in the history of Chinese museums.
So, in the face of the Japanese occupation of most of Henan Province, how can the Henan Museum ensure that its cultural relics are not plundered by the Japanese army?
Above_ In October 1937, Japanese troops crossed the river after the blown-up iron bridge over the Zhanghe River
- First, the cultural relics of the Henan Museum were relocated to Wuhan.
On October 20, 1937, the Japanese army entered Henan Province from Anyang along the Zhanghe River, and the situation in Henan was critical. Faced with the crisis situation of Japanese soldiers, the Henan Provincial Department of Education and the Henan Provincial Government issued a notice to the museum on October 23, asking the museum to evacuate the cultural relics to a safe place.
After receiving the order from the provincial government and the Department of Education, the Henan Museum quickly mobilized and formulated three plans for the relocation of cultural relics:
Luoyang will be used as an alternative address for the relocation of the Henan Museum.Sort and box up the copper, porcelain, pottery, and old books for relocation.Boxes, vehicles and other equipment to be used for relocation of cultural relics.
However, with the Japanese occupation of Anyang in early November, Luoyang was not the safest place to relocate cultural relics. If Luoyang can’t go, where will the cultural relics go? Wuhan.
After the fall of Nanjing, the government announced that the capital would be moved to Chongqing to continue the war of resistance, but the military and political command organs and enterprises, and the embassies of various countries in China successively settled in Wuhan, which became the military and political center of China at that time. This has given great convenience to the relocation of cultural relics to Wuhan. From the point of view of transportation difficulty, Wuhan is the thoroughfare of nine provinces, the transportation is convenient and developed, and the road from Kaifeng, the capital of Henan Province, to Wuhan is flat, and the transportation cost is very cheap. Even in the worst-case scenario, when Wuhan is occupied by the Japanese army, museums will be able to relocate artifacts to other cities or to foreign concessions in Wuhan before the fall of Wuhan.
Eventually, the artifacts from the Henan Museum were transported to the French Concession in Wuhan.
Above_ Cultural relics that could not be transferred in advance after the Japanese army occupied Luoyang
- Second, with the fall of Wuhan becoming a foregone conclusion, the Henan Museum transported the cultural relics to Chongqing, the wartime capital for safekeeping, and the cultural relics transported to Chongqing were the most precious cultural relics of the Henan Museum.
In May 1938, Xuzhou fell. In June, the Chinese army gathered more than 120 divisions, naval fleets and air units, as well as the Soviet Air Force Volunteer Flying Corps, totaling more than 1 million troops, and stood by in many provinces around Hubei to meet the 350,000 Japanese troops. The largest battle in the history of China’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Battle of Wuhan, officially began. In the Battle of Wuhan, the Chinese army relied on the complex terrain of Hubei and its surrounding provinces to resist in the form of mobile warfare, killing and injuring the living forces of the Japanese army. In some of the battlefields, great victories were also achieved in the formation and annihilation of the Japanese combat units. For example, General Xue Yue commanded the 100,000 troops of the First Corps of the Ninth Theater and won a brilliant victory in the Wanjialing area of Jiangxi Province, which basically annihilated the main force of the 106th Division of the Japanese Army.
As the Battle of Wuhan continued, on June 18, 1938, the Henan Provincial Government ordered the Henan Museum Office in Wuhan to transport the cultural relics of the Henan Provincial Museum from Wuhan to Chongqing. Unlike the last relocation led by the Henan provincial government, this relocation is a “major relocation of the Henan Museum” directly led by the central government. Under the unified leadership of the central government, the departments concerned will be able to concentrate manpower and material resources, unify and coordinate with each other, and realize the relocation of cultural relics. Of course, in the process of relocating cultural relics, it is also necessary to prevent potential dangers such as bombing by Japanese aircraft.
Above_ On October 26, 1938, the Sano Detachment of the 6th Division of the Japanese Army entered the Hankou Concession in Wuhan
Since the route of the relocation of cultural relics is from Wuhan to Yichang, and then from Yichang to Chongqing through Wanxian, the means of transportation for relocation are mainly ships and automobiles. Barges or small boats are also used. In terms of personnel transfer, the staff of the Henan Provincial Museum and the military police of the central government and the military have participated in it to strengthen the protection of cultural relics. Whenever the cultural relics go to a place, the local government will also dispatch garrisons or police to protect the cultural relics on the spot to prevent the enemy from destroying the cultural relics. Wang Youqiao, the director of the museum, arrived in Chongqing ahead of schedule to discuss the relocation of cultural relics with Chongqing.
Through the above analysis, it can be seen that the central government at that time attached great importance to the relocation of cultural relics from Wuhan to Chongqing in the Henan Museum. In order to protect the non-renewable witnesses of Chinese civilization at the time of national survival, the staff of Henan Provincial Museum. This is a direct manifestation of the spirit of patriotism.
Above_ Map of Chongqing, Republic of China
After the relocation of the cultural relics to Chongqing, their storage address changed. In the beginning, Chongqing University was a key area for the storage of cultural relics. However, due to the dense population of Chongqing University, the Japanese army once sent planes to bomb Chongqing University, causing more than 200 casualties among teachers and students of Chongqing University.
Compared with Chongqing University, Central University has buildings that can store cultural relics, and its geographical location is hidden, making it difficult for the Japanese army to find it. The 68 most precious boxes of cultural relics in the Henan Museum include important cultural relics such as bronzes, rubbings from previous dynasties, pottery and porcelain.
Chongqing was a heroic city during the Anti-Japanese War, and after the central government moved to Chongqing, it worked with embassies and the military and civilians of various countries to protect Chongqing. They withstood the indiscriminate bombardment of the Japanese army, and smashed the Japanese army’s conspiracy to attack Chongqing along the Yangtze River in the Battle of Western Hubei. Under the desperate resistance of the Chinese military and civilians, the cultural relics of the Henan Museum in Chongqing have been well preserved.
Above_ Chongqing during World War II
- Third, some of the cultural relics of the Henan Museum were relocated to Nanyang.
Nanyang, known as “Wan” in ancient times, is a famous ancient city in Henan Province. Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, once raised troops in Nanyang, Zhuge Liang once cultivated in Wolonggang, Nanyang, and Liu Bei Sangu Thatched House was also in Nanyang. As a result, Nanyang has left a rich and colorful cultural imprint on Chinese history, with numerous historical and cultural sites and tourist spots. During the Anti-Japanese War, Nanyang became another storage point for cultural relics in Henan Museum after Wuhan (Chongqing).
In October 1937, on the eve of the fall of Anyang City, Henan Province, the Anyang Antiquities Preservation Committee relocated some cultural relics of the Henan Museum to the Nanyang area. The staff first transported the cultural relics to Xuchang, and after 10 days of rest in Xuchang, the staff transported the cultural relics to Nanyang. Due to the unstable situation in Nanyang, the staff transported the cultural relics to Neixiang County under the jurisdiction of today’s Nanyang City Administrative Division for preservation.
Above_ Kaifeng under Japanese occupation in World War II
In January 1938, in addition to the most important cultural relics moved to Wuhan to Chongqing, the “second important” cultural relics of the Henan Museum were transported to Nanyang for preservation. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the Anyang Antiquities Preservation Committee transported the cultural relics back to the Henan Museum.
Although after the fall of Kaifeng, the Japanese army had stolen some of the cultural relics that had not yet had time to move away from the Henan Museum in Kaifeng, but the staff of the Henan Provincial Museum tried every means to seize the time, and before the Japanese army occupied Kaifeng, they transported a batch of the most precious cultural relics and sub-precious cultural relics to Chongqing and Nanyang, so as to protect the safety of the cultural relics of the Henan Museum during the war to the greatest extent and protect the achievements of Chinese civilization to the greatest extent. Although these staff who protected cultural relics during the Anti-Japanese War were not soldiers and did not directly fight with the Japanese army with guns, their spirit of protecting cultural relics is worthy of being remembered forever by our descendants.
