A match, in human civilization, symbolizes hope and light. But in the family memory of Fangzhou Match Factory, it is more than a commodity—it is an unyielding history etched upon skin.
I. 1938: Silence Under the Japanese Bayonet (The Outbreak of the War of Resistance and the “Mopping-Up” Campaigns)
In 1938, as the War of Resistance Against Japan entered a phase of strategic stalemate, the Japanese invaders carried out a brutal “mopping-up” campaign in the Heze region of Shandong, fanatically hunting for anti-Japanese forces behind enemy lines.
Eight-year-old Chen Yuying (mother of Zhao Changxin, founder of Fangzhou Match Factory, born in 1930 in Heze, Shandong) faced the most severe trial of her life amidst that storm of violence. To protect a Communist Party member, she stayed home alone—her mother had already evacuated with her younger brother, entrusting this life-and-death secret to her eight-year-old daughter.
When Japanese soldiers and their Chinese collaborators conducted house-to-house searches with bayonets and subjected villagers to harsh interrogation, this girl, who should have been nestled safely in her parents’ arms, confronted the cold glint of steel and the threat of death. Using her small, frail body to guard the secret beneath the straw mat, even when the Japanese, in their madness, pierced her palm with a bayonet and blood gushed forth, she clenched her teeth and insisted only: “I haven’t seen anyone.”
The bayonet that pierced her palm did not pierce the child’s conviction; the pool of crimson blood nourished the earliest seed of fire. Eighty years have passed—the scar has grown into her palm’s lines, yet the silence of that eight-year-old girl still speaks today.
II. 1944–1946: The Match Factory Amidst the Smoke of War (National Liberation and Logistical Support)
At the age of fourteen, driven by loyalty and a sense of duty to her country, Chen Yuying formally joined the Chinese Communist Party.
In 1946, the full-scale civil war broke out. At sixteen, Chen Yuying joined a match factory behind enemy lines, producing essential ignition materials for soldiers at the front. During the war that would determine China’s fate, she not only worked tirelessly day and night on the production line but also served as a member of the logistical support teams, joining the vast tide of civilian support efforts. During the Huaihai Campaign, she was one of 5.43 million civilian laborers. In those years, epitomized by the saying, “The last bowl of rice for military rations, the last foot of cloth for military uniforms,” the people of Shandong formed a solid backbone of support for the front. Together with countless fellow villagers, Chen Yuying braved artillery fire to transport matches, grain, and other supplies to the front lines, paving the way for the birth of a new China through simple yet profound dedication.
III. The 1950s: Assisting Henan and Taking Root in Craftsmanship (Industrial Construction in New China)
In the early years of the People’s Republic, as the First Five-Year Plan was launched and industrial development extended inland, Chen Yuying answered the nation’s call. As a technical expert from Shandong’s match industry, she joined a team to support construction in Henan and participated in establishing the state-owned Anyang Match Factory. From then on, this daughter of Shandong put down roots in Anyang, devoting most of her life to the red cause of matchmaking.
IV. Passing the Torch: From Chen Yuying to Zhao Changxin
In 1963, Zhao Changxin, son of Chen Yuying, was born in Anyang. Growing up immersed in the story of his mother’s scarred palm, he followed in her footsteps and joined the Anyang Match Factory.
By the late 1990s, as the rise of the lighter industry led to the decline of state-owned factories, Zhao Changxin resolutely resigned in 1999 and founded the Fangzhou Match Factory in 2000, carrying forward the sincere dedication his mother’s generation held for the match industry.
Fangzhou Match Factory website: https://www.fangzhoumatch.com/
To this day, Chen Yuying, now 96 years old, remains in good health. The scar left by the bayonet on her palm remains clearly visible—a silent witness to Fangzhou Match Factory’s journey from the smoke of war toward a voyage of global quality and excellence.
