Burning of Fields

My mother was of marriageable age when the Japanese arrived in Sibu and all the Foochow parents decided to marry off their daughters as quickly as possible. The Japanese successful captured Kuching on 25th December 1941.

Parents were looking out for just any unmarried men available. It was like catching a duck! Mum was not at all pleased because she thought that marriage should not be like that. She pitied her school mates who were quickly married off.

The Japanese had already pillaged many cities in China and news had reached Sibu, a strong foothold of the Foochows and other Chinese groups. They would not tolerate any rape or pillage. And the Japanese scorched earth policy was well known. Known as "Three Alls Policy" the Japanese caused immense environmental and infrastructure damage. It contributed to the complete destruction of entire villages and partial destruction of entire cities like Chongqing and Nanjing (1937).

She told my grandfather (my grandmother was in Fujian at that time) in a very determined tone that she would not marry but instead dress up like a boy and work on the farm. The Japanese arrived in Sibu after Christmas, and most girls as young as 14 were married off before Chinese New Year. This helped their parents sigh with relief.

My mother thought that it would be a tough life for young girls to be married off to just ANYONE and have children in the next year. Indeed to her knowledge some of the girls from her village did not have good marriages, one or two even left their husbands after many years of fighting! Life was really sad for many of these forced marriages.



Whenever my mother looks at burning fields she would think of the 3 years and 8 months of the Japanese Occupation when she worked as a padi farmer and dressed up as a boy. Her father was glad that she was not married off and was the extra and very able provider at home. During the war my grandfather who was a builder had no income and it was my mother and her eldest brother who fed the family. Besides he was already very sick without any cure because of lack of medical facilities.

Her courage in feeding her family paid off because she was to meet my father after the war. Although her own cousin was officially the match maker (at my father's request),it was a great love match.

The burning fields also remind her of her great love for her family, her father, her younger siblings and herself. She remembers the time when she would deny herself of meat so that her younger siblings could eat better to grow up faster during the war. She remembers how much rice they produced in the three Occupation years. And she remembers how she got a beautiful dress from the Allied Forces who came to distribute one item to every village girl. When she wore it, it fitted well because she was so well toned from her work in the padi fields : and the villagers admired her model like height, long legs and good arms.

A loving family is every thing.