Aftermath
In Chinese, the character for 'wen' in the term 'Wenxi Fire' refers to the telegraph abbreviation code for the day of the month, whereas 'xi' (meaning 'night') refers to the time of the fire.
On November 18, in order to calm popular rage over the fire, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the executions of three accused in the case. Zhang Zhizhong, the chairman of the Hunan government, also subsequently resigned. They became the scapegoats for the incident.
On November 19, on the ruins of Changsha, food markets returned. But this time, there were 5 people selling meat and vegetables.
The Bell Tower and the Xiangya Hospital, which survived the carnage, became the living witnesses to the fire.
Chiang's fear proved wrong. The city repulsed three separate attacks against Japanese in 1939, 1941 and 1942. The city did not fall until 1944 to the Japanese in the fourth battle of Changsha although by that time the city no longer held strategic importance.
In July 2005, the first memorial commemorating the event in Changsha, a memorial wall on an old lamp company site, was built. The memorial wall is located on the bank of the Xiang River. In the same year, there was also erected a huge alarm clock carving as a tribute to the fire.
Read more about this topic: 1938 Changsha Fire
Famous quotes containing the word aftermath:
“The aftermath of joy is not usually more joy.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)