Intentional Destruction of Japanese Invaders on th...
Sun Yat-sen ’s symbolic status is revered and features strong nationalism.Therefore，in the early days of the invasion，the Japanese army deliberately destroyed the ruins and monuments of Sun Yat-sen，attempting to eliminate the influence of Sun Yat-sen and the nationalistic consciousness of Chinese people.[58] The few spatial memorials to Sun Yat-sen in Shanghai，without exception，were deliberately destroyed or even insulted by the Japanese invaders.
The Sun Yat-sen Monument in Jiangwan Town completed less than four years ago was damaged by Japanese gunfire in the February 28 Incident in 1932 and repaired by the KMT Headquarters of No.7 District in Shanghai in 1934[59].Although it survived the Battle of Shanghai，it could not escape the tragic result of destroy.The monument stood next to Jiangwan Station.On February 17，1941，the Central Japan Railway Company，without any communication with Wang puppet government，led three or four hired Chinese workers to dismantle the monument secretly on the grounds that it hindered the expansion of Jiangwan Post Station.Upon hearing the news，the Executive Committee of Shanghai Special Municipality，not knowing the extent of damage and thinking that there was possibility of rescue and displacement，sent a letter to Wang puppet government in Shanghai for negotiation.The mayor Chen Gongbo immediately ordered the police chief Lu Ying of investigation，finding that the monument had been demolished and became a part of road，making rescue impossible.[60]
The suffering of the Bronze Statue of Sun Yat-sen in Shanghai was even worse.During the Battle of Shanghai，the Japanese army invaded the downtown area of Shanghai Special Municipality and occupied the Shanghai Municipality Building.A group of Japanese soldiers “climbed up the bronze statue，grabbed Sun Yat-sen ’s ears and insulted him recklessly，grinned grimly，pushed it down，transported it to Japan，and melted it into bullets”.[61] On November 20，1940，Chen Gongbo announced to take office as the mayor of Shanghai.In order to scramble for the heritage of Sun Yat-sen，there had been actions to rebuild the bronze statue destroyed by the Japanese army.He organized and established the Committee for Reconstruction of Sun Yat-sen ’s Bronze Statue，which consists of the General Affairs Group，the Fundraising Group and the Communication Group.He appointed the Secretary Wu Chaozhu as the member and leader of the General Affairs Group，the Commissioner Shangguan Shufen as the member and leader of the Fundraising Group，the Commissioner Mo Yade as the member and leader of the Communication Group，as well as many subordinate and assistant officers.[62] In order to raise funds for reconstruction，Chen，with the power of mayor，ordered the municipal bureaus，district bureaus and local organizations to “donate spontaneously”[63]；central organs including the Civil Service Office，the Procuratorate，and the Legislature as well as those in Guangdong，Zhejiang，Jiangsu and other provinces.[64] He also asked Tatsuichiro Funasu，Director of the Liaison Department of Secret Services in Shanghai[65] to contact the Japanese government for support.Although the Japanese government agreed and promised to provide 3 tons of copper materials for the new bronze statue free of charge，but “it is hoped that name of the committee can use ‘new’ to replace ‘reconstruction’ for decency”.The committee held two preparatory meetings；unfortunately，it was put on hold for failure to unreliably solve technical problems such as design，pattern，model and sand casting.[66]
Not only Shanghai，all cities where the Japanese invaded，they renamed Zhongshan Park as Xinmin Park and Zhongshan Hall as Xinmin Hall[67] and deliberately damaged Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing Zhongshan Mausoleum[68]，etc.In the eyes of Japanese aggressors，the statues of Sun Yat-sen are the spiritual pillar of the Chinese people ’s resistance to Japan，so destroying the memorials to Sun became a means to destroy the Chinese people ’s will to fight against Japan.