BEIJING, Sept. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A news report from China.org.cn on some stories of China’s national heroes:
Valor and Patriotism in China: How Heroic Spirits Endure
Across China, one can find many places named after people, such as Zuoquan County, Shangzhi City, Zhang Zizhong Road, and Yiman Street. These names commemorate the national heroes who sacrificed their lives during the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
Among these, Yiman Street is named after Zhao Yiman, a female martyr whose birth name was Li Kuntai. She was born into a wealthy family in southwestern China’s Sichuan Province; later she received her education in Whampoa Military Academy before pursuing further study in Moscow. There, she waved goodbye to her newlywed husband and returned to China. She left her baby son in the care of her relatives, and headed to Japanese-occupied Northeastern China.
In 1935, Zhao Yiman was severely injured while covering her fellow troops, and subsequently captured by the enemy. The Japanese militarists tortured Zhao Yiman brutally. Despite that, Zhao still refused to compromise.
Having failed to extract any information from Zhao, the Japanese militarists decided to execute her. Before her death, Zhao wrote a letter to her son, whom she hadn’t seen since entrusting him to others, and would never see again. “Ning’er, I feel pitiful for not having the chance to raise you. I dedicated my life to the resistance against Japanese aggression, and now it’s the eve of my sacrifice. My dearest boy! I need not teach you through words; I will educate you with my deeds…” On August 2, 1936, Zhao Yiman died a martyr’s death.
Like Zhao Yiman, many Chinese soldiers also braved death fearlessly, showcasing strong will and unyielding courage to defend their motherland.
Away from the front lines, ordinary people found their own ways to defend their motherland and resist Japanese aggression. In southwestern China’s Yunnan Province, when most able-bodied men were enlisted in the army, the elderly, women, and even children came forward, using simple tools to construct the road linking China and Burma (now Myanmar), which later became the only vital lifeline connecting China to the outside world. Several thousand people died during the road’s construction. More than 3,200 overseas Chinese left their comfortable homes in Southeast Asian countries and returned to China; they worked as truck drivers and mechanics, keeping the transportation artery flowing under constant gunfire, with over a third of them sacrificing their lives. There were also numerous ordinary Chinese villagers, who supported guerrillas by providing shelter and relaying messages, and ordinary women who sewed military uniforms and cared for injured soldiers.
The devoted love for the country, the unwavering resolve, and the steadfast belief in final victory sustained the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation to triumph over the aggressors in this 14-year war. Although eight decades have passed, their legacy lives on in the hearts and souls of every Chinese in their remembrance of history.
Gunfire has ceased, but the spirits of the heroes endure, guiding and encouraging the Chinese nation.
