Print 1871 c1: Min Ping - People's Militia. There are over 2,000,000 of these armed people in the central and north China. Anti-Japanese bases organized and directed by the Chinese Communist Party and their own elective local governments to defend their homes against the Japanese with whatever weapons at hand. The most common weapon is the land-mine which may be set off automatically when stepped upon, but is more usually set off by a hiding Min Ping pulling a long cord as the Japanese walks along the trail. Caption from Report from Red China: A Min Ping -- Armed Villager. Note his primitive rifle and home-made mine on his hip. The mine is planted on a road, or pathway, or anywhere a Japanese soldier would be likely to step on it. The mine is sometimes triggered with a string (on the rack behind the mine) from behind a tree or hiding place a distance away. Caption from Xi xing man ying: These three men are characteristic of the Border Region citizenry, in spite of primiture weapons, their fighting spirit and the fact that they are always ready to take up such arms as they possess have made life miserable for Japanese garrisons and effective military occupation of their fields and villages impossible.
