Taiwan Today

Late in 284 B.C., near the end of the Era of Warring States, tens of thousands of Yen troops marched across the Yellow River against the state of Ch'i. They were reinforced by warriors from Ch'in, Han, Chao, and Wei. The defenders were courageous but greatly outnumbered. One by one, more than 70 cities of Ch'i were taken by invading horsemen. But the loyal Ch'is stood firm for five years at the cities of Chimo and Chu, and finally recovered all of Ch'i. Taipei's Central Motion Picture Corporation is filming this epic in color.

 

 

 

The victorious Yen troops (top) thought they could take the last Ch'i cities as easily as they had seized the others. They did not realize that siege would be such a weary chore. As the years wore on, they grew tired of war. Chi Chieh, treacherous Yen general (bottom, on chariot), did much to destroy morale of the Yen forces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some 400 years earlier, Duke Huan had used Chu in his effort to regain Ch'i. So it was to Chu that Prince Tien Fa-chang went to prepare Ch'i's counter-attack. "But one city will not be enough in the face of the large Yen army," said Tien Tan, an official from the Ch'i capital who had helped the prince to reach safety. Tien and his men went to Chimo near the sea where hills protected the fertile land and the hard-working people. By holding on to these two bases of national recovery, the Ch'is succeeded in dividing the Yen army's attention and strength. Played by Ke Hsiang-ting, a prize-winning veteran of screen and stage, Tien Tan is pictured above in armor, standing with his family atop the Chimo wall.

 

 

When the Yens failed to take Chu, they turned toward Chimos Tien Tan's brother Tien Shan was among volunteers deliver­ing weapons to Chimo from the coast. When that route was imperiled, he deliberately subjected himself to enemy pur­suit, allowing the convoy to slip through the Yen blockade. He fought heroically but was wounded, captured and taken to the walls of Chimo. His captors threatened to kill him unless the Chimo garrison yielded. But Tien Shan preferred to die rather than ask his brother to unlock the gate Chimo watched Tien Shan die and swore to avenge his loss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More than 1,000 persons are involved in making the Central Motion Picture version of the epic of Chimo and Chu. Cost of the wide-screen feature is estimated at close to half a million U.S. dollars, which is high for Asia. At Taichung in central Taiwan a replica of walled Chimo has been built. Attack is filmed (top). Mud-stone houses of the period are seen at bottom picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although years passed, besieged Chimo and Chu kept in contact and main­tained unity against the invaders. Military forces trained ceaselessly to be ready for counter-attack. Hsuan Ku, played by Miss Tang Pao-yun (pictured above with Tien Tan and other Ch'i officials), created confu­sion and discord behind the enemy's lines. People in the cities under Yen occupation organized themselves to rise when the opportunity came. Thus Ch'i never lost hope of overthrowing tyranny and restoring liberty.

 

 

 

 

Yen's General Lo Yi, realizing it wasn't easy to seize Chimo by force, tried to win over the people. He deployed troops so city dwellers could come out for firewood and trading. To show his goodwill, he repaired the temples of Kuang Chung and Duke Huan, the beloved Ch'i heroes who had achieved national recovery four centuries earlier. When the king of Yen died in 279 B. C., Lo Yi was removed and Chi Chieh took over the siege of Chimo. When Chi Chieh failed to take the city, he resorted to atrocities in an effort to terrorize the defenders. He tortured prisoners and burned human bones taken from old Ch'i graves (bottom). The Ch'is remained silent within the walls. One night Tien Tan sent some civilians into the Yen camp. Along with wine and gifts, they spread the story that the people of Chimo were ready to surrender. The Yens were overjoyed and the wine flowed ever more freely. Inside the city more than a thousand head of cattle stood in pits dug under the wall, ready to be stampeded through the sleeping camp of Yen's forces.

When Tien Tan gave the order, straw bundles tied to the tails of oxen were lighted. The animals shot out of their pits, sharp blades fastened to their horns. Troops followed on foot, on horseback, and by chariot. The army advanced like a tidal wave, catching the Yens by surprise (drawing top by Ling Chia). As the news of victory at Chimo reached other cities, the people rose. The flags of Ch'i were soon raised throughout the country. President Chiang Kai-shek has singled out this epic to show that no matter how strong an oppressor, a deter­mined and patriotic people can win their way back to freedom and peace. The four characters in his handwriting on a huge rock on Kinmen (bottom) read: Wu Wang Tsai Chu--Remember Chu!