1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 113, "The Boy in Striped Pajamas," has been published.

Since "The Boy in Striped Pajamas" was submitted to Harvest magazine, Li Xiaolin there has been working hard to revise the manuscript.

Soon, in July, not only did Zhou Xu's rating come down, but his novel was also published in the July issue of "Harvest".

Harvest magazine loves to include medium-length and long novels, so this time it specially used a large front page to publish "The Boy in Striped Pajamas" in red.

This novel is simple in some ways, telling a story about Unit 731 from the perspectives of children from China and Japan.

Nine-year-old Sato Yosho originally lived in a spacious and bright villa in Shandong, China. His father was a militaristic officer, his mother was elegant and gentle, and he had his older sister Sato Meika by his side. He lived a carefree life.

He moved to Northeast China with his father after the war began.

He enjoyed chasing and playing with his Chinese friends in the streets, and his servants at home always fulfilled his small needs. At that time, he had no concept of words such as "war" or "militarism," and only knew that life was full of sunshine and laughter.

However, their peaceful life was shattered by his father's job transfer. After his father was promoted to a concentration camp leader, the whole family was forced to move to a remote rural area. The new residence was a cold, gray villa, surrounded only by desolate grasslands and high barbed wire fences. He couldn't see the familiar streets or his companions, which filled Sato Yosho with resentment.

He didn't understand why he had to leave his familiar home, nor did he comprehend what his father meant by "important work." His older sister, Sato Umeka, quickly adapted to her new environment and even began to idolize a young militaristic officer, collecting posters about "unifying the Asia-Pacific," which made Sato Yosho even more lonely.

Bored, Yosho Sato often explores the area around the villa alone. His mother warns him not to go near the "farm" on the other side of the barbed wire fence, but his curiosity drives him to keep getting closer to the boundary.

One day, he found a boy wearing striped pajamas near the barbed wire fence—Zhang Xiaoga. Zhang Xiaoga was about the same age as Sato Yosho, but he was thin and pale, and had a strange number on his arm.

Sato Yosho was initially curious about Zhang Xiaoga's "pajamas" and naively asked him if life on the "farm" was interesting, but Zhang Xiaoga just silently shook his head.

After that, Sato Yosho would sneak off to meet Zhang Xiaoga by the barbed wire fence every day. They would share food and talk about their lives: Sato Yosho would complain about the boredom of the new environment and recount funny stories from the past; Zhang Xiaoga would whisper about the hardships of the "farm"—crowded living quarters, endless heavy work, frequent hunger, and his family members who had disappeared.

Although Sato Yosho couldn't fully understand Zhang Xiaoga's plight, he gradually came to regard him as his only friend. He noticed that Zhang Xiaoga's fingers had become rough from working, and that he would be beaten and scolded by soldiers for secretly hiding food. For the first time, he began to have doubts about the "farm".

As they spent more time together, Sato Yosho learned that Zhang Xiaoga's father had gone missing, and Zhang Xiaoga was searching for him every day. Seeing his friend's helplessness, Sato Yosho decided to help him.

He secretly brought food from home and promised Zhang Xiaoga that he would go into the "farm" to help him find his father. Zhang Xiaoga prepared a striped pajama set and a gap in the barbed wire for Sato Yosho. When his family wasn't looking, Sato Yosho changed into the pajama set and crawled into the barbed wire.

Upon entering the "farm," Sato Yosho truly witnessed its horror: crowded people, foul odors, soldiers' shouts, and everyone's pale, emaciated face and numb eyes. There were even people whose deaths were strangely gruesome, seemingly subjected to various inhumane treatments.

He began to feel afraid and wanted to go home, but he couldn't find the way he came.

At this moment, the soldiers were herding a group of Chinese people into a closed "shower room," and Sato Yoshinori and Zhang Xiaoga were also pushed and shoved into the crowded room.

In the cramped space, the lights gradually dimmed, and poisonous gas began to permeate the air. This was the site of Unit 731's gas experiments. Sato Yosho held Zhang Xiaoga's hand tightly and whispered, "It's okay, we'll be out soon," unaware that these were their final moments.

Meanwhile, Sato Yosho's family panicked after discovering his disappearance. His father mobilized all available soldiers to search for him, and they eventually found his son's clothes and striped pajamas inside the barbed wire fence.

Only then did Sato's father realize the true evil of the "concentration camp" he was in charge of, and that he had personally pushed his son to his death. Sato's mother broke down in tears, clutching Sato Yosho's clothes, and his sister, Sato Meika, finally understood the truth about the "farm," their former militaristic beliefs completely collapsing.

This brutal war, instigated by adults, ultimately cost the lives of two innocent children, leaving behind endless grief and reflection.

-

Since its publication in 2006, "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" has won five major awards, including the Irish Book Award for Children's Book of the Year, the Irish Book Award for Readers' Choice, the Bisto Book of the Year, the Qué Leer International Novel Award, and the Citrus Book of the Year.

It has been shortlisted for 16 major awards, including the British Book Award, the Carnegie Medal, and the International IMPAC Literary Award. It can be said that, apart from the Nobel Prize, it has swept countless major literary awards in Europe and America.

In addition to winning awards, the novel has been a bestseller in more than 50 countries, selling over 1000 million copies. It has also become a New York Times bestseller, a top ten bestseller in the UK, and has appeared on many European bestseller lists.

Meanwhile, the film adaptation of the original work has won numerous awards and is considered a classic of war films.

Zhou Xu made significant changes to this novel.

The story was adapted from a critique of Nazism to a critique of Japanese militarism, and the framework of the story was expanded to include information about Unit 731 that Zhou Xu researched in the military.

The content is detailed and full of emotion...

Zhou Xu's "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" is not gory; it is a tragedy that young people can see, but only adults can appreciate its depth.

This novel is one of the few works in recent years that mentions this disaster.

Without Zhou Xu, the earliest and most well-known film in China to expose the crimes of Unit 731 would be "Men Behind the Sun".

*Men Behind the Sun*, directed by Hong Kong director Mou Dunfei, was released in Hong Kong in 1988. Using a semi-documentary style, the film systematically exposes the horrific germ warfare and human experiments conducted by the Japanese Army's Unit 731 in Northeast China. In pursuit of realism, the director insisted on filming on location at the former site of Unit 731 in Harbin, even obtaining real corpses from the Public Security Bureau as props. Due to its extensive graphic violence, the film was rated restricted in Hong Kong, but its irreplaceable historical value also plays a significant role.
Of course, there is no movie of this kind now, which means that Zhou Xu was the first writer to popularize this knowledge to the general public.

"..."

capital.

At this moment, Jiang Wen walked out from the entrance of the Central Academy of Drama in Nanluoguxiang.

The person next to him is Liu Bin, and the other person who came out with Jiang Wen is Liu Xiaoning. Jiang Wen, Liu Bin and Liu Xiaoning are known as the "Three Musketeers of the Central Academy of Drama".

Jiang Wen led the two men out of the gate and headed straight for the newsstand across the street: "Comrade, I'd like a copy of 'Harvest'!"

The newsstand vendor waved his hand: "Take it yourself."

Jiang Wen is handsome and efficient at paying money.

Liu Xiaoning asked, "So sophisticated? When did you start liking to read novels? Oh, and it's 'Harvest' magazine!"

Jiang Wen turned to a page: "You don't know? Zhou Xu's new novel was published in this issue of Harvest."

"Who is that?"

Liu Bin glanced at Liu Xiaoning and said, "You don't even know Zhou Xu? No wonder you can't write a script?"

"what?"

It's not surprising that Liu Bin said that. After graduating, Liu Bin went directly to the Zhan You Song and Dance Troupe as a composer. His most famous work is "The Soldier".

Liu Xiaoning is alright; he's made quite a few films about the War of Resistance against Japan.

The Three Musketeers are all quite popular.

“A writer of military novels! A real genius. Comrade Zhou Xu wrote ‘Lurking’ and ‘Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain’,” Liu Bin explained to Liu Xiaoning.

"Lurking? I see."

A group of people went straight to a roadside stall and started ordering food.

Jiang Wen and the other two huddled together and started reading the novel.

Halfway through the movie, Jiang Wen slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed, "Damn it!"

Liu Xiaoning jumped in fright; "What are you doing, kid?"

"Those Japanese devils did a truly awful job!" Jiang Wen said angrily. "Look at this unit, are they even acting like human beings?"

"Tsk!" Liu Bin frowned and then said, "Jiang Wen is right. Using poison gas is absolutely despicable. How could the Japanese be so heartless?!" The two cursed the Japanese on the table.

Jiang Wen said, "If it weren't for Comrade Zhou Xu, I wouldn't have known about this!"

"It's really heartbreaking!" Liu Bin took a drag of his cigarette.

After the three finished reading the novel, Jiang Wen immediately said, "If you ask me, that little devil Sato deserved to die... Regardless of whether the child was innocent or not, that evil bloodline should taste its own pain!!"

"Mhm!" Liu Bin nodded.

Jiang Wen, upon reaching the end, wrote in small print: 'All information in this article comes from military archives.'

"How awful!"

"It's infuriating! Why are we even bothering with diplomacy anymore?"

"Don't talk about state affairs! Don't talk about state affairs!" The comrade at the roadside stall walked over with two bowls of noodles and said angrily.

cough cough.

Jiang Wen immediately nodded.

It's true that young people in their early twenties are prone to getting carried away with their emotions. Jiang Wen even imagined a Sino-Soviet war in "In the Heat of the Sun," where he would dominate the battlefield.

Of course, when the Sino-Vietnamese War broke out, Zhou Xu went up to fight the enemy.

In the afternoon, Jiang Wen and the other two wrote a letter and put it in the mailbox.

-

north.

The three provinces of Heilongjiang Province, with their black soil, where wheat fields ripple in the wind and rice blossoms fill the air with fragrance, nurtured our parents. Every winter, heavy snow falls, and we chat about everyday life on the warm kang (heated brick bed).

The sky is blue, and white clouds drift by. A clear stream flows gently, and people in Northeast China love to eat sauerkraut and blood sausage. People dance the Yangko with joy.

Northeast China is my hometown.

Pshaw! I've said too much.

At that time, Harbin was a beautiful city.

Afternoon dismissal time.

A little boy came into the house carrying a borrowed book, and his mother asked, "What are we having for dinner?"

"Mom, just order whatever you like." Now in the first year of junior high, he has already learned not to listen to his parents and has become a mature child.

Mom looked puzzled: "What book are you reading?"

I glanced at the book cover, and it read "Harvest"?

Well then, since it's a literary magazine, she didn't scold the child.

The little boy read the novel to the very end, then took a deep breath and exclaimed, "Wow! Why did Sato and Zhang Xiaoga both die?"

However, many children are immediately struck by the story of "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" when they see it for the first time!

Both main characters died in the final bacteria room, and the reader felt sorry for the two little boys.

Of course, this is the main purpose of anti-war novels and movies: it is correct that children develop an aversion to war after reading them.

"..."

The mother listened to her son's tearful lament but didn't pay much attention.

"What's wrong? Are you out of your mind from sleeping?"

After a while, the old father returned from outside. He went straight to the table, picked up the magazine "Harvest" and started reading as soon as his son ran into the room.

"Tsk! 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas'? Isn't that a fairy tale?" After reading a page or two, he was certain that it was not a fairy tale, but a novel about the War of Resistance against Japan.

After finishing the book, the father exclaimed, "This novel... is truly breathtaking. I haven't read a novel with such profound thought in a long time!"

Mom came over.

The old father immediately exclaimed, "This is a big deal, a really big deal!"

"Why are you going crazy too?"

Ignoring his wife's complaints, he immediately handed her the novel: "Look, germ warfare, Unit 731! This is the persecution the Japanese inflicted on Harbin back then! It was truly despicable!!"

"Really?" Mom glanced at it along with him and indeed noticed quite a few details: "Tsk? My son was just reading it! Isn't it a bit too gory?"

So the mother called out into the house, "Son, have you read this novel?"

The father said, "Why worry so much? Reading a novel won't do any harm! Just let the children understand these despicable things!!!"

Having said all that, in this day and age, those who can afford to live in apartment buildings, especially those with such large areas, are generally leaders.

"Hello? Connect to the distribution center?"

"Director? What's the matter?"

The section chief coughed and said, "Contact the Harvest magazine and tell them that our factory will subscribe to a thousand copies so that everyone in the factory can study the novels in Harvest."

"Harvest? Why not subscribe to Story Club?" the secretary asked.

"..."

The section chief continued, "Why are you meddling so much? Don't you know what we're supposed to do? This is a big deal, you know?"

A somber mood has been hanging over Harbin these past few days.

The popularity of "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" in Harvest magazine has ignited the patriotism of a group of people, as well as their hatred for the persecution by the invaders.

Remembering atrocities is not about perpetuating hatred, but about preventing crimes against humanity such as genocide and human experimentation from happening again in the future. It is about respecting all life.

Of course, cursing the Japanese devils is the most basic emotion.

(End of this chapter)