Shanghai Sihang Warehouse Anti-Japanese War Memorial Site: Bullet Marks and Letters Tell the Shared Memory of Compatriots Across the Strait
Inside the Shanghai Sihang Warehouse Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall, located at No. 1 Guangfu Road, Jing’an District, Shanghai, visitors stream in continuously, many of whom are parents bringing their children to learn about the heroic deeds of the “Eight Hundred Heroes.” Standing in the Jinyuan Memorial Square next to the memorial hall, people can see the numerous bullet marks and traces of artillery fire on the west wall of Sihang Warehouse…
On August 13, 1937, the Battle of Shanghai broke out. Xie Jinyuan, then deputy regiment commander of the 524th Regiment of the 262nd Brigade of the 88th Division, was ordered to lead over 420 officers and soldiers into Sihang Warehouse late on October 26 to cover the retreat of the main forces, initiating the famous Defense of Sihang Warehouse. To mislead the enemy, the defenders claimed there were “eight hundred men inside the building,” earning them the respectful title “Eight Hundred Heroes.”
The Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall is located in the western part of the Sihang Warehouse war site. In the entrance hall, a family letter is displayed, and parents often softly explain its contents to their children word by word.
“This is a letter my grandfather wrote to my grandmother on the eve of battle. He was wholly dedicated to fighting for the country, prepared to die, yet worried about his elderly parents and young children. He could only entrust the heavy responsibility to his wife in this letter,” said Xie Jun, granddaughter of General Xie Jinyuan, during a recent interview at the memorial hall. “For the sake of the nation and its people, my grandfather gave up his own family and disregarded his own life.”
“My grandfather realized that Sihang Warehouse might become the final resting place for the soldiers, so he organized everyone to write letters home during breaks in the fighting. For the young soldiers, this might have been their first letter home, and also their final testament,” Xie Jun said.
The Wall of Heroes in the memorial hall is engraved with the names of the “Eight Hundred Heroes.” “Many surviving veterans have ‘rejoined the ranks’ in recent years, but blank spaces on the wall are still reserved for those who have not yet been found. We and the memorial hall have never given up searching for the veterans,” Xie Jun stated. “It is because of the sacrifices made by the veterans back then that we have peaceful lives today.”
Over the past decade, Xie Jun has visited the memorial hall many times and has become a volunteer docent. She enjoys reading the visitor comment books and feels deeply comforted to see visitors carefully write down their thoughts and express admiration for the war heroes.
Xie Jun expressed that, as a descendant of Xie Jinyuan, she has a responsibility to share this history with more people. “My grandmother often taught us to remember history, hoping that such painful events would never happen again. My father spent over a decade consulting extensive materials and, based on accounts from my grandmother and other veterans, wrote the book ‘My Father, General Xie Jinyuan: A Record of the Eight Hundred Heroes’ Bloody Battle.'”
At the memorial hall, Xie Jun has received many descendants of wartime soldiers and compatriots from Taiwan. “The Defense of Sihang Warehouse is a shared memory for compatriots on both sides of the strait. Taiwan once made a film called ‘The Eight Hundred Heroes,’ and the defense is well-known in Taiwan. After visiting, Taiwanese compatriots are often deeply moved and say that the ‘Eight
