Explore Chapter 42 of 'Moment in Peking' with the original Chinese text, English translation, detailed Chinese vocabulary explanations, and audio of the Chinese original. Listen and improve your reading skills.
After occupying Nanjing, the Japanese immediately began implementing their strategy of "using Chinese to control Chinese." They fostered puppet regimes in an attempt to split China. In Beiping, Doihara Kenji, head of the Japanese secret service, personally came forward to persuade some former Qing loyalists and old warlords to cooperate. Wang Kemin, a former Qing imperial censor and an old friend of Zeng Wenpu, was chosen by the Japanese to become chairman of the North China Political Council.
Yao Si'an had already returned to Beiping from Hangzhou. He lived in seclusion, devoting himself to the study of Taoist classics. The Japanese once sent someone to invite him to take a puppet post, but he flatly refused, saying, "I am Chinese. How could I be a jackal to the tiger?" The Japanese were furious, but mindful of the Yao family's prestige in Beijing, they dared not push too hard.
Mulan and Sunya were now living in the Yao family's old residence in Beiping. Sunya worked at a British company, secretly helping Chinese anti-Japanese organizations transport supplies. Mulan stayed at home taking care of the children while also participating in women's anti-Japanese salvation activities. She used her social connections to raise donations of clothing and medicine for soldiers at the front.
One day, a man claiming to be an interpreter at the Japanese embassy came to the Yao residence. This man, whose surname was Luo, was Chinese but worked for the Japanese. He pretended to pay a visit, but was actually probing into the Yao family's affairs. Mulan saw through his intentions and responded with composure, neither servile nor arrogant. After Luo left, Mulan said to Sunya, "This man's intentions are sinister. We must be doubly cautious."
Sure enough, soon afterward the Japanese military police arrested Sunya on charges of "collaborating with the enemy." Mulan ran around everywhere, using her connections with the British consulate, and after great effort managed to get Sunya released on bail. After this incident, Sunya resigned from his job at the company and resolved to leave Beiping for the rear area.
Before leaving Beiping, Mulan took her children to bid farewell to her father. Yao Si'an looked at his daughter and said earnestly, "The rise and fall of the nation concerns every individual. You going to the rear is also serving the country. I am old and will stay here, guarding these ancient books. Don't worry, the Japanese cannot harm me."
Mulan and Sunya, with their children, made a circuitous journey to Chongqing. In Chongqing, Mulan met many old friends, including Chen San and Huan'er, who had fled from Nanjing. They were all working for the war of resistance. Mulan also joined the Wartime Women's Service Corps, responsible for logistics. She was busy every day. Although life was hard, her heart was full of hope.
The Japanese scheme of using Chinese agents also occurred in Chongqing. They dispatched spies to mingle among the refugees, spreading rumors and creating panic. Mulan relied on her own wit and once helped uncover a spy group. Her heroic deeds spread through Chongqing, and people called her a "heroine among women."
Yet war was cruel. Mulan often thought of her home in Beijing, of her father, and of those antiques and books. She knew that these beautiful things might never return. But she firmly believed that China would surely triumph. As her father had said, "The miraculous becomes the putrid, the putrid becomes the miraculous. The rebirth of the nation lies in the midst of this fiery war."