(English follows) “Men kechken kéchikler” namliq bu kitab 20-esir Uyghur tarixidiki meshhur herbiy qomandan, 1940-yillardiki Sherqiy Türkistan Milliy Inqilabining ishtirakchisi we “urush qehrimani”, Uyghur xelqi arisida riwayetlik shexs bolup tonulghan polkownik Sopaxun Süwürofning eslimisidur. Bu eslime yézilip 30 yildin artuq waqit ötkende, yeni aptorning wapatin 10 yil kéyin esli qolyazmidiki bezi sezgür téma we mezmunlarni qisqartish, shallash, qayta-qayta tehrirlik we siyasiy sénzordin ötküzüsh arqiliq, 2011-yili Béyjingdiki Milletler Neshriyati teripidin neshir qilin’ghan. Melumki, 20-esirning aldinqi yérimida Uyghurlarning siyasiy tarixida yüz bergen ikki qétimliq zor milliy inqilab we uning netijiside Qeshqerde qurulghan Sherqiy Türkistan Islam Jumhuriyiti (1933-1934) bilen Ghuljada qurulghan Sherqiy Türkistan Jumhuriyiti (1944-1949) Kommunist Xitay hakimiyiti tiklen’gendin buyanqi hökümet tarixshunasliqi éytimida siyasiy sezgürliki intayin küchlük, hetta cheklen’gen téma bolup keldi. Bu heqte yézilghan mutleq köp qisim kitab we maqalilar Xitay hökümitining teshwiqat organliri tiklep bergen ramka we éytimda bayan qilindi. Tarixiy shahitlarning siyasiy cheklimilerdin xali eslime we xatiriliri, shundaqla Sherqiy Türkistandiki yerlik xelqning öz tarixiy kechürmishliri toghrisidiki éytimlirining neshir qilinishigha héchqandaq imkaniyet bérilmidi. Undaqta, 1931-yili Qomuldin bashlinip uzun ötleyla pütkül Uyghur Rayonigha kéngeygen Sherqiy Türkistan milliy inqilabi hemde uning netijiside 1933-yili Qeshqerde qurulghan Sherqiy Türkistan Islam Jumhuriyiti toghrisida shahitlar néme deydu? 1944-yili 9-ayda Ilida partlighan Uyghur we Qazaq xelqining Gomindang hökümranliqigha qarshi milliy inqilabi we uning netijiside 1944-yili 11-ayning 12-küni Ghuljada qurulghan Sherqiy Türkistan Jumhuriyiti toghrisida shu inqilabqa qatnashqan we muhim rol oynighan shexslerning éytimi zadi qandaq? Ikki qetimliq Sherqiy Türkistan milliy inqilabining qatnashchiliri we inqilab shahitliri 1949-yilidin kéyinki Kommunist Xitay istilasidin kéyin qandaq qismetlerge duch keldi, ularning teqdiri qandaq boldi? Tarixiy shahit we herbiy qomandan Sopaxun Süwürofning bu kitabi yoqiriqi soallargha hökümet meydanidin emes, belki shahitlarning közidin qismen bolsimu jawab béreligen eslimidur. Mezkur eslimining qimmetlik yéri shuki, aptor öz dewrining guwahchisi bolupla qalmastin, belki téximu muhimi 20-esir Uyghur tarixidiki ikki qétimliq Sherqiy Türkistan milliy inqilabining qatnashchisi we shahitidur. Aptor 1939-yilidin kéyin izchil türde herbiy septe xizmet qilghan, jenub we shimalda yüz bergen köpligen urushlarni béshidin kechürgen, shundaqla 1945-yilining bashliridin bashlap, Ilidiki Sherqiy Türkistan Jumhuriyiti milliy armiyeside yoqiri derijilik herbiy wezipe ötigen shexstur. Shundaq bolghachqa, bu eslime bir tarixiy shahitning ré’al kechürmishliri we körgen-bilgenlirining emeliy xatirisi bolush süpiti bilen 1940-yillardiki Sherqiy Türkistan milliy inqilabining ichkiy jeryanliri hemde Xitay-Sowet munasiwitining chégra rayonlardiki murekkep ich yüzini chüshinishte muhim ehmiyetke ige. Mezkur eslime aptorning baliliq kechürmishliridin bashlan’ghan. Eslimining aldinqi yérimida aptor asasliqi 1931-yili yurti Qomulda partlighan milliy inqilab we uning kélip chiqish sewebliri; inqilabning murekkep we egri-toqay jeryanliri; “Shinjang ölkisi”ning re’isi, militarist Jin Shurénning esker ewetip qozghilangchi yerlik xelqni basturushqa urunushi; militarist Shéng Shiseyning esker bashlap bérip Qomul we Turpanda yerlik xelqlerni qirghin qilghanliqi; Sowét Ittipaqining Mongghuliye arqiliq Xojaniyaz Haji rehberlikidiki milliy inqilab yétekchilirini özige tartmaqchi bolghanliqi; milliy inqilabning kéyinche jenubqa kéngiyip, 1933-yili Qeshqerde Sherqiy Türkistan Islam Jumhuriyiti qurulghanliqi; 1937-yiligha barghanda militarist Shéng Shiseyning Sowét Ittipaqining herbiy küchige tayinip milliy inqilabni qanliq basturghanliqi qatarliq weqeler tepsiliy bayan qilinghan. Eslimining ottura qismida aptor Sopaxunning 1936-yili Xuangpu Herbiy Mektipining Ürümchi shöbisige oqushqa kirgenliki, 1939-yili mezkur mektep püttürüp Qeshqerde turushluq atliq 31-polkqa teqsim qilin’ghanliqi, shuningdin kéyin izchil halda herbiy septe ofitsérliq wezipisini ötep, nurghun urushlargha qatnashqanliqi, 1945-yili 2-ayda qol astidiki milliy eskerlerni qozghap, Gomindang hökümranliqigha qarshi isyan kötürgenliki we axirida Ilidiki Sherqiy Türkistan milliy armiyesige qoshulghanliqi toghridiki weqeler bayan qilin’ghan. Eslimining axiriqi qismida asasliqi 1944-yili 9-ayda Ilida partlighan Uyghur we Qazaq xelqining Gomindang hökümranliqigha qarshi milliy inqilabi we uning netijiside Ghuljada qurulghan Sherqiy Türkistan Jumhuriyiti toghriliq inchike bayanlar bérilgen. Aptor eslimide özining qandaq qilip Gomindang armiyesining bir rota komandiridin Sherqiy Türkistan Jumhuriyiti milliy armiyesining polkownik derijilik qomandanigha aylan’ghanliqi; 1945-yili 7-aydin 10-ayghiche milliy armiyening jenubiy yönilish qismigha komandir bolup, Aqsuni azad qilish urushigha qomandanliq qilghanliqi; Kéyinche Iligha qaytip, milliy armiye bash qomandanliq shitabida muhim wezipilerde bolghanliqi; kommunist Xitay istilasidin kéyin milliy armiyening qandaq jeryanlar bilen tarqitiwétilgenliki we özining herbiy septin mejburiy chékindürülgenliki; 1950-yillardin 1980-yillarghiche bolghan jeryanda özi duch kelgen siyasiy bésim we éghir teqipler heqqide inchike melumatlar bergen. Sopaxun Süwürofning “Men kechken kéchikler” namliq eslime kitabi 1980-yillarning bashliridin bashlap yézilishqa bashlighan we zor sehipilik bir kitab bolghan bolsimu, emma Xitay hökümiti izchil halda neshir qilishqa ruxset qilmighan. Aridin 30 yildek waqit ötkende, yeni aptorning wapatigha 10 yil bolghanda, andin bu eslimining yérimidin köprek qismi neshriyat we teshwiqat bölümining qatmu-qat senzor qilishidin ötüp, 2011-yili Béyjingdiki Milletler neshriyati teripidin axiri neshir qilin’ghan. Neshirge teyyarlighuchining kitab béshigha yazghan kirish sözige qarighanda, eslide 11 bab qilip yezilghan kitab originalidin 6 bapqa yeqin qismi qisqartilip, nechche yüz betlik mezmun chiqiriwétilgen. Kitabtiki bezi bap-paragraflar Xitay hökümitining “üch wilayat inqilabi” toghrisidiki hökümet éytimigha maslashturulghgan. Bu ehwallar mezkur eslimining esli originaligha, shahitlarning öz béshidin ötküzgen tarixiy kechürmishlirini bayan qilishtiki semimiyiti we chinliqigha dagh chüshürsimu, emma milliy inqilab shahiti we herbiy qomandan Sopaxunning hayat musapisi hemde 20-esirdiki Uyghur siyasiy tarixini chüshünishte melum qimmetke igidur. This is the memoir of Sopakhun Süwüroff, a renowned military commander in 20th-century Uyghur history, a participant in the East Turkestan National Revolution of the 1940s, and a legendary figure widely known among the Uyghur people. The manuscript, completed over thirty years ago, was finally published in 2011 by the Ethnic Publishing House in Beijing, a decade after the author’s death, following editorial revisions to certain sensitive content in the original text. In the first half of the 20th century, two significant national revolutions in Uyghur political history and their outcomes—the establishment of the East Turkestan Islamic Republic (ETIR) in Kashgar in 1933-1934, and the East Turkestan Republic (ETR) in Ili in 1944-1949—have remained highly politically sensitive topics in official Chinese historiography since the establishment of the PRC. Discussion of these events has often been prohibited. Most publications on this history are confined to the official narrative framework and discourse set by Chinese government propaganda institutions. Original records, memoirs by historical witnesses, and accounts by local people about their own historical experiences have consistently been denied opportunities for publication. So, how do historical witnesses describe the East Turkestan National Revolution? It began in Qomul (Hami) in 1931 and rapidly spread across the entire Uyghur region, leading to the establishment of the East Turkestan Islamic Republic in Kashgar in 1933. What are the accounts of key figures who participated in and played significant roles in the Ili Rebellion in September 1944, and the subsequent establishment of the East Turkestan Republic (ETR) in Ili on November 12 of the same year? What fate did the participants and witnesses of these two East Turkestan national revolutions face after the CCP took control of Xinjiang in 1949? Sopakhun Süwüroff’s <i>The Rivers I Have Crossed</i> is a rare and valuable primary record that partially answers these questions from the perspective of a witness, rather than the official perspective. The unique value of this memoir lies in the fact that the author is not only a direct participant in history, but also a witness to both East Turkestan national revolutions in 20th-century Uyghur history. From 1939 onward, the author served in the military, experiencing numerous battles across northern and southern Xinjiang. Notably, from the middle of 1945, he held a senior officer position in the National Army of the East Turkestan Republic in Ili. As a result, this memoir, as a firsthand account of historical experiences and observations, holds significant importance for understanding the internal dynamics of the East Turkistan National Revolution in the 1940s and the complex situation of Sino-Soviet relations in the border regions. The memoir begins with the author’s childhood experiences. The first half provides a detailed account of the national revolution that erupted in Qomul (Hami) in 1931 and its origins; the complex and tortuous development of the revolution; the attempts by Xinjiang warlord ruler Jin Shuren to suppress local uprisings with military force; the massacres of local people in Qomul and Turpan by warlord Sheng Shicai’s troops; Soviet efforts to influence and recruit national revolutionary leaders such as Khojaniyaz Haji through Mongolia; the southward expansion of the national revolution and the establishment of the East Turkestan Islamic Republic in Kashgar in 1933; and the brutal suppression of the national revolution by warlord Sheng Shicai with Soviet military support in 1937, among other major events. The middle section of the memoir primarily recounts Sopakhun’s enrollment in the Urumqi branch of the Whampoa Military Academy in 1936, his graduation in 1939, and his subsequent assignment to the 31st Cavalry Regiment in Kashgar, where he served as an officer for an extended period and participated in numerous battles. In February 1945, he led his unit in an uprising against Chinese Nationalist (Kuomintang) rule and eventually joined the National Army of the East Turkestan Republic in Ili. The final section of the memoir focuses on the national revolution of Uyghur and Kazakh peoples against Kuomintang’s rule that broke out in Ili in September 1944, as well as detailed accounts of the subsequent establishment of the East Turkestan Republic in Ili. The author specifically describes his transformation from a company commander in the Kuomintang army to a colonel-level commander in the East Turkestan National Army; his role as the southern front commander of the National Army from July to October 1945, during which he led the liberation campaign in Aksu; his later return to Ili to serve in a key position at the ETR National Army headquarters; the disbandment of the National Army after the CCP’s occupation of Xinjiang and his own forced retirement; and the political oppression and hardships he endured from the 1950s to the 1980s. Although this is a work of significant historical value, the Chinese government has never permitted its complete publication. He started writing it in the early 1980s but it was only more than thirty years later, on the tenth anniversary of the author’s death, that the memoir was published in an abridged version by the Nationalities Publishing House in Beijing, after undergoing multiple layers of review by the publisher and propaganda authorities. According to the publisher’s note, the original manuscript, which spanned 11 chapters, was reduced to approximately 6 chapters, with hundreds of pages of original handwritten manuscripts removed. Certain sections and paragraphs were adjusted to align with the Chinese government’s official narrative of the "Three Districts Revolution." While these editorial interventions have, to some extent, compromised the integrity of the original manuscript and the authenticity of the witness’s account, this memoir remains an irreplaceable resource for understanding 20th-century Uyghur political history as a record of the life of a historical witness and military commander.

（English follows) Sopaxun Süwürof, 20-esirde Uyghurlar arisidin yetiship chiqqan meshhur herbiy qomandan, milliy azadliq inqilabining aktip qatnashquchisi, 1945-1949-yilliridiki Sherqiy Türkistan Jumhuriyiti milliy armiyesining dangliq komandiri, Xitay kommunist istilasidin kéyin uzun mezgil siyasiy jehettin basturushqa we teqipke uchrighan shexslerdin biri. Sopaxun Süwürof 1915-yili 5-ayda Qomul nahiyesining Astana yezisida tughulghan. 1931-yili Qomulda qozghalghan Uyghur xelqining Xitay hakimiyitige qarshi milliy azadliq inqilabining jeryanlirigha shahit bolghan. 1936-yili 16 yéshida Xuangpu Herbiy Mektipining Ürümchi shöbisige qobul qilin’ghan. 1939-yili bu mektepni püttürgendin kéyin, Shinjang ölkisining dubani, militarist Shéng Shiseyning kontrolluqidiki Qeshqerde turushluq 31-atliq polkqa teqsim qilin’ghan. Shuningdin étibaren uning herbiy komandirliq hayati bashlan’ghan. U ilgiri-keyin bolup, izwot komadiri, bataliyon komandiri, polk shitabida herbiy meslihetchi, rota komandiri qatarliq wezipilerni ötep, herbiy septe chéniqqan, shundaqla nurghun urushlarni béshidin ötküzüp, emeliy jeng tejribisige ige bolghan. 1944-yili Xinjiang ölkisining dubani, militarist Shéng Shisey Chongqinggha ketkendin kéyin, Sopaxun Guomindang armiyesi 46-diwizyesi qarimiqidiki yerlik milliy eskerler toplan’ghan 9-rotining komandiri bolghan shundaqla Ürümchi etrapida herbiy wezipe ötigen. 1944-yili 9-ayning axiri Ili rayonida Uyghur, Qazaq qatarliq yerlik xelqlerning Gomindang hakimiyitige qarshi milliy azadliq inqilabi partlighan. Shu yili 11-ayning 12-küni Ghuljada Sherqiy Türkistan Jumhuriyiti qurulghanliqi jakarlan’ghan. Arqidinla muntizim milliy armiye teshkillinip, bir qatar ghelibilik urushlar netijiside Ili, Tarbaghatay, Altay 3 wilayetni azad qilghan. 1945-yili 9-aygha kelgende milliy armiye ghelibeséri sherqqe ilgirilep, ölke merkizi Ürümchige aran 120 kilométir kelidighan Manas deryasi boyigha qistap kelgen. Weziyettiki bu jiddiy özgirishler Sopaxun we u qomandanliq qiliwatqan 9-lyendiki milliy eskerlerni oyghatqan. 1945-yili 2-ayda Gomindang da’iriliri Sopaxun qomandanliqidiki milliy eskerler merkezleshken 8- we 9-lyenlerni Shixo aldinqi sépige Maytagh néfitlikini muhapizet qilishqa ewetken. Pursetni ghenimet bilgen Sopaxun qol astidiki 9-lyen bilen 8-lyendiki milliy eskerlerni qozghap, Gomindang hökümranliqigha qarshi qozghilang kötürüp, Ili inqilabigha awaz qoshqan. Ular Gomindangning shixo aldinqi sépige toplighan 20 ming kishilik armiyesining qatmu-qat qorshawini bösüp ötüp, heriketchan partizanliq urushi qilip, axiri hayat qalghan 106 neper esker bilen birlikte Sherqiy Türkistan milliy armiyesi kontrolluqidiki azad rayon’gha ötüp ketken. Shundaq qilip, Sopaxun Gomindang armiyesining rota komandiridin Sherqiy Türkistan milliy armiyesining polkownik derijilik komandiri bolup qalghan. 1945-yili 7-ayda Ghuljadiki Sherqiy Türkistan Jumhuriyiti hökümiti bilen milly armiye bash qomandanliq shitabi Tengritéghidin ötüp Jenupta ikkinchi urush sépi échishni qarar qilghan. Buning bilen polkownik Sopaxun komandirliqida milliy armiyening jenubqa yürüsh qilish qismi teshkillinip, Aqsugha ewetilgen. Sopaxun qomandanliqidiki milliy armiyening jenubqa yürüsh qilish qismi shu yili 8-9-aylarda Bay nahiyesi bilen Aqsu konasheher nahiyesini azad qilip, Aqsu yengi sheher sépili ichige qamilip qalghan Gomindang armiyesige qarshi hel qilghuch urush qilghan. Emma shu yili 10-ayning otturilirida Gomindang hökümiti bilen Ilidiki Sherqiy Türkistan Jumhuriyiti waqitliq hökümiti otturisida urush toxtap, Ürümchide tinchliq söhbiti bashlan’ghan. Buning bile Spaxun qomandanliqidiki milliy armiyening jenubiy yönilish qismi buyruq boyiche Iligha chékinip chiqqan. Sopaxun qomandanliqidiki milliy armiye jenubiy yönilish qismi 1945-yili 11-ayning bashlirida qayta islah qilinip, milliy armiyening 5-atliq polki (kéyinche Tékes atliq polki) qilip teshkillen’gen. “Urush qehrimani” degen shereplik nam bérilgen Polkownik Sopaxunning mezkur polkning komandirliqigha teyinlen’gen. Shuningdin kéyin, Polkownik Sopaxun taki 1949-yilidiki communist Xitay istélasigha qeder Ilidiki milliy armiye bash qomandanliq shitabida muhim wezipilerni ötigen. 1949-yili 9-ayning axiri Kommunist Xitay armiyesi Sowétler Ittipaqining yardimi bilen Sherqiy Türkistanni ishghal qilghandin kéyin, Polkownik Sopaxun siyasiy jehette izchil halda “gumanliq shexs”, “Xitay kompartiye hakimiyitige bolghan sadaqiti töwen” dep qarilip, “idiye özgertish” kurslirigha ewetilgen we “ménge yuyush” jeryanidin ötküzülgen. 1951-yiuli 6-ayda Shinjang Herbiy Rayoni siyasiy bashqarmisi achqan siyasiy kursta terbiyelinishke ewetilgen, shundaqla herbiy septiki muhim wezipilerdin yiraqlashturulghan. 1954-yili Kommunist Xitay da’iriliri milliy armiyeni emeldin qaldurghandin kéyin, Polkownik Sopaxun 1955-yili mejburiy halda herbiy septin chekindürülüp, Shinjang Uyghur Aptonom Rayonluq Tashyol idarisige adettiki kadir qilip yötkiwetilgen. 1958-yili u “esheddiy yerlik milletchi” dégen qalpaq bilen tenqid qilin’ghan we teqip astigha élinghan. “Medeniyet Zor Inqilabi” jeryanida u qizil qoghdighuchilarning hujum we küresh qilish nishanigha aylinip, éghin künlerni béshidin ötküzgen. 1978-yili Maw dewri axirlashqandin kéyinmu uning üstidiki siyasiy bésim we teqipler axirlashmighan. 1930-we 1940-yillardiki milliy inqilab heqqide nurghun eslime maqaliliri yazghan bolsimu, emma köp qismi élan qilalmighan. “Men kechken kéchikler” namliq eslime kitabi yézilip 30 yildin artuq waqit ötkende, yeni aptorning wapatidin kéyin, kitabtiki nurghun mezmunlar qisqartilip yaki qayta retlinip, 2011-yili andin neshir qilin’ghan. Sopaxun Süwürof 2001-yili 12-ayning 17-küni Ürümchide 86 yéshida wapat bolghan. Sopakhun Süwüroff, a well-known Uyghur military commander of the 20th century and an outstanding commander of the East Turkestan Republic National Army from 1945 to 1949. He was also one of the prominent figures subjected to prolonged political oppression and persecution after the CCP took control of Xinjiang (East Turkestan) in late 1949. Sopakhun Süwüroff was born in May 1915 in Astana (Erbao) Township, Qomul (Hami) County, Xinjiang. In 1931, he witnessed the local Uyghur people's uprisings against Chinese rule that broke out in Qomul. In 1936, at the age of 16, Sopakhun enrolled in the Urumqi branch of the Whampoa Military Academy and, after graduating in 1939, was assigned to the 31st Cavalry Regiment in Kashgar under the warlord Sheng Shicai. He served as a platoon leader, company commander, and staff officer in the cavalry regiment, accumulating extensive battlefield experience. In 1944, after Sheng Shicai was transferred to Chongqing, Sopakhun became the commander of the 9th Company of the Nationalist Army's 46th Division, stationed around Urumqi. In late September 1944, an armed uprising by Uyghur, Kazakh, and other local ethnic groups against Kuomintang rule broke out in the Ili region. On November 12 of the 1944, the East Turkestan Republic was declared in Ili, and a formal National Army was established, which successively liberated the three districts of Ili, Tarbagatai (Tacheng), and Altay. By September 1945, the National Army had advanced to the Manas River, just 120 kilometers from Urumqi. This situation awakened Sopakhun and the Uyghur soldiers of his 9th Company. In February 1945, the Kuomintang authorities assigned Sopakhun to lead the 8th and 9th Companies to defend the Maytagh (Dushanzi) oil fields. Seizing the opportunity, Sopakhun led his troops in a rebellion, pledging allegiance to the East Turkestan national revolution in Ili. After fierce battles, his two companies of soldiers broke through the encirclement of 20,000 Kuomintang troops. The last surviving 106 Uyghur soldiers eventually reached the liberated areas controlled by the East Turkestan National Army and joined forces with them. Thus, Sopakhun transitioned from being a company commander in the Kuomintang Army to becoming a colonel in the East Turkestan National Army. In July 1945, the East Turkestan Republic government and the National Army headquarters in Ili decided to open a southern front. Sopakhun was appointed commander of the southern advance forces. Between August and September of that year, his forces liberated Bay (Baicheng) County and Onsu (Wensu) County and surrounded the Nationalist Chinese troops in Aksu City Wall. However, in mid-October, under Soviet mediation, representatives of the East Turkestan Republic in Ili and the Nationalist central government began peace talks in Urumqi. As a result, Sopakhun's southern advance forces were ordered to cease fire and withdraw to Ili. In November of the same year, his forces were reorganized into the 5th Cavalry Regiment of the National Army (later known as the Tekes Cavalry Regiment). Sopakhun was honored with the title of "Combat Hero" and appointed as the regiment commander. Until the CCP's takeover of Xinjiang in late 1949, he held a key position in the National Army's Headquarters’ in Ili. After the CCP occupied Xinjiang in late September 1949, Sopakhun was labeled a "suspicious figure" and accused of "insufficient loyalty to the Party." He was sent to ideological reform programs and subjected to "re-education." In June 1951, he was forced to attend a political study class organized by the Xinjiang Military District's Political Department, where he was made to confess "political problems" and engage in self-criticism. After the disbandment of the National Army by the CCP in 1954, Sopakhun was transferred to work as an ordinary cadre at the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Highway Bureau in 1955. In 1958, he was further criticized and labeled a "local nationalist." During the Cultural Revolution, he became a key target of the Red Guards' persecution. Although the CCP's ethnic policies softened somewhat after 1978, the political pressure and distrust toward him never fully subsided. Most of his memoirs about the national revolution of the 1930s and 1940s, which he began writing in the early 1980s, were never officially published. His memoir, The Rivers I Have Crossed, underwent more than 30 years of review and was only published in 2011 after significant edits and deletions, years after his death. Sopakhun Süwüroff passed away on December 17, 2001, in Urumqi at the age of 86.

In May 1955, Mao Zedong launched a nationwide campaign to “purge the counterrevolutionary clique of Hu Feng,” which is widely regarded in academic circles as the first large-scale Literary inquisition after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Hu Feng, the central figure of the campaign, was a poet, critic, and translator. Inspired by Lu Xun, who was regarded as the most influential Chinese writer associated with the May Fourth Movement, Hu devoted himself to the revolution in pursuit of people's liberation. Considered the successor of Lu Xun's New Literature Movement, he was the head of the propaganda of the League of Left-Wing Writers, and founded the magazines July and Hope, through which he trained a large number of progressive left-wing poets and writers. However, Hu became a target of Mao Zedong's campaign because he upheld the critical spirit of Lu Xun and insisted that writers should be independent rather than mouthpieces of the Communist Party. According to official statistics, during the campaign against Hu Feng, 92 people were arrested, 62 were subjected to solitary confinement, 73 were suspended from their jobs, and 2,100 were implicated. Although only three people, including Hu Feng, were formally sentenced, many labeled key Hu Feng elements endured decades of imprisonment and reeducation through labor. Director Peng Xiaolian's father, Peng Baishan (then a member of the League of Left-Wing Writers and head of the propaganda of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee), was also subjected to severe persecution, and in 1968 was beaten to death for being the “spokesman of the Hu Feng counterrevolutionary group within the Party. Starting in 2003, Peng Xiaolian and S. Louisa Wei visited more than 20 survivors of the anti-Hu Feng campaign. They also spent more than five years filming and producing Storm under the Sun. Through audio recordings of Hu Feng, interviews with survivors, family members of the victims, and scholars, the film presents from beginning to end how the anti-Hu Feng campaign unfolded, as well as the immense physical and psychological trauma that it imposed on the victims and their families. As the first film to document the anti-Hu Feng campaign, Storm under the Sun tells the stories of these lesser-known left-wing poets and writers and how they participated in the revolution through their literary work. At the same time, the film demonstrates how the multiple political campaigns against intellectuals during the Mao era were one and the same, unified under the overarching goal of controlling thought and eradicating dissent.

S. Louisa Wei, documentary filmmaker. After studying in Canada in the 1990s and receiving a PhD in Film from the University of Alberta and an MA in Comparative Literature from Carleton University, Wei joined the School of Creative Media at the City University of Hong Kong in 2001 to teach film theory and production. She has been making documentaries since 2003. Her feature and TV documentary works include Cui Jian: Rocking China (2006), Storm under the Sun (2009, co-produced, directed and written with Pang Xiaolian), Golden Gate Girls (2014), Wang Shiwei: The Buried Writer (2016), Havana Divas (2018), Writing 10000 Miles (2019), and A Life in Six Chapters (2022) . She is also the author of several monographs, including Esther Eng: Ocean-crossing Film and Women Pioneers , Woman’s Film: Dialogues with Chinese and Japanese Female Directors, and Hu Feng: Poetic Ideals and Political Storms.

Peng Xiaolian (June 26, 1953 - June 19, 2019), film director, screenwriter and author. A native of Chaling, Hunan Province, Peng was born in Shanghai. Her father, Peng Baishan, was persecuted to death after being labeled a Hu Feng element in 1955. In 1969, Peng was sent to Jiangxi Province as a sent-down youth and stayed there for nine years. In 1978, she was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy; after graduation, she was assigned to the Shanghai Film Studio. She was considered one of China’s fifth-generation directors, along with Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou and others. In 1989, on a Rockefeller Scholarship, Peng went to New York University's School of Cinema to study for a Master of Fine Arts and, after graduating in 1996, she returned to Shanghai to continue her career as a director and also started independent film production. She died on 19 June 2019 in Shanghai due to illness. Peng's films are mostly about Shanghai and feature female protagonists. Her major works, including Shanghai Women, Shanghai Story, and Shanghai Rumba, won several domestic and international film awards. In addition to feature films, she also made the documentary Storm under the Sun, influenced by her parents' experiences during the campaign against Hu Feng in the 1950s. As a writer, Peng authored several fiction and non-fiction works, including Beautiful Shanghai, Four Seasons of Childhood, The Confusion of Idealism, among others.