The forgotten acts of Chinese heroism

The rescue took place during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), when parts of eastern China had been lost to Japanese occupation.

Many of these rescuers, encountering foreigners for the first time while on their way to school, cut grass, tend cattle, draw water from wells, or prepare breakfast, risked retaliation from the Japanese troops. An estimated 250,000 Chinese civilians were killed in Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces following the raid.

According to Zhou, a former director of the local correspondents department of Guangming Daily, the book was written based on intensive reading of Chinese and American archives, as well as interviews with the descendants of the people involved.

From August 2024 to this February, he repeatedly visited the Memorial Hall to the Doolittle Raid in Quzhou, and the major plane crash sites and landing points of the pilots in cities such as Taizhou and Ningbo in Zhejiang and Shangrao in Jiangxi.

Traveling through the mountains and waters of the four provinces involved, Zhou was touched to see how the landscapes the heroes once protected remain intact and vivid, even though they themselves have passed away, which inspired the name of the book.

"I have largely abandoned grand narratives and instead focused more on scenes and details that highlight human nature," Zhou said, adding that while writing the book, he refused to fabricate any scenes or plots, use dialogue without a reliable source, or unrealistically elevate the characters.

Pan Jiankai, director of the Guangming Daily Press, the book's publisher, noted that from the initial stages of publishing, they made it clear that the heroic spirit and historical emotions must be presented completely and authentically. With reverence for history and respect for facts, they have ensured that the historical depictions remain true to reality and emotionally resonant.

Mei Jingzhong, a professor in the department of culture, literature, and history at the Party School of the Communist Party of China Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said during the book launch that the book is based on solid historical research and features a smooth, lyrical style of writing, making it highly readable.

It combines valuable field investigations, meticulous archival research, and oral history compilations with vivid, moving details and scenes, creating a compelling group portrayal of the heroic figures, he added.