One, Two, Nine Chorus

Tsinghua History of the December 9th Movement

In 1935, the Japanese created the North China Incident in North China and promoted the so-called North China Autonomy Movement. The situation in North China was in danger. Jiang Nanxiang, who was a student at Tsinghua University at the time, cried out sadly:

"North China is so big that there is no room for a peaceful desk."

At that time, Lu Cui, a senior in the Department of Sociology at Tsinghua University, was just in her early 20s and a member of the Tsinghua Student National Salvation Committee. She participated in the vigorous December 9th patriotic movement. A photo of her holding a microphone and delivering a passionate speech was taken by a still unknown photography enthusiast and sent to Shanghai's "Popular Life" magazine. At 10 a.m. on December 9, 1935, Tsinghua students braved the biting cold wind and walked from Tsinghua Garden to Beijing City. On the way, they kept distributing mimeographed "Message to the People of the Nation" to the people along the way. After meeting with classmates from Yenching University, the students came to the closed Xizhimen gate and chanted slogans. However, the Kuomintang military police who had been informed of the situation in advance did not dare to open the door. Finally, the students made an impromptu decision to hold a mass meeting next to the Xizhimen city wall and recommended Lu Cui to speak to the masses. At that time, a small square stool was temporarily found. Lu Cui stood on the stool, holding a page of paper in his left hand and a large microphone in his right hand, and began to deliver a passionate speech. Lu Cui said:

"Beiping is the Beiping of us Chinese. Now the Chinese cannot enter, but the Japanese are running rampant in the city and bullying our people. Who will rule Peiping in the end?"

On December 16, a larger-scale demonstration was held in Peiping. Lu Cui was arrested for climbing into the city gate from Xuanwu Gate. By chance, he met American journalist Edgar Snow. Surrounded by the police, Lu Cui was interviewed by Snow. Snow published news in an American newspaper with the title "China's Joan of Arc Arrested". The December 9 Movement and Lu Cui's name became world-famous.