The old gent and his child bride
When Linwang was rutting, Malan was still too young. More than a decade later, when Malan had grown up, Linwang had no keen interest in being intimate. For this reason, one can often see Malan snuggling up to Linwang's side, but he rudely drives her away with his tusks. Linwang can certainly not evade responsibility for the many wounds on Malan's body.
Wen Yung-chang relates that one morning a keeper came to feed them, but to his surprise, Malan was nowhere to be found. It turned out that Linwang had pushed her into the moat. Chen Teh-ho and a member of hardy fellows had to poke Malan's buttocks with a bamboo pole to coerce her to lumber out.
On an ordinary day, however, the couple live very much at peace. They pass their time wandering about the compound, sleeping, bathing, and enjoying breakfast and dinner, which they receive at set times every day. The memories of war have already faded in the distance. But when he was more than fifty years old, Linwang was diagnosed as having a tumor of the rectum, and his personality made a 180°turn.
Chen Teh-ho explains that twenty years ago, techniques to treat this kind of disease were still very backward. The zoo used a "rough-shod" approach. They hobbled Linwang's feet and tied every part of his body with rope. Then they directly pierced the afflicted area with tools, performing electrotherapy and applying medicine. Linwang was tormented in this way for several hours, and eventually he was cured. But with his remarkably acute memory, he virtually came to equate zoo workers with pain. Therefore, the only people he lets approach him are keeper Wang Wan-chun, who fed him for over forty years and only retired two years ago, and a few other folks with whom he is very familiar. And "Old Master" Chen Teh-ho, who led him along the distant journey from Fengshan to Yuanshan, describes their relationship as: "I know he can't stand me, but he also fears me, so he doesn't dare to be reckless."
Bearing witness to history
That "well-behaved" Linwang the Elephant, who would happily perform tricks on command, is now basically nowhere to be seen. There are even unconfirmed reports that he slaps his wife with his trunk to let off steam.
Looking back over more than forty years of memories, the old soldiers who were his friends during the war seem to be filled with sorrow. At a veteran's reunion, one old soldier from the Number One Corps remarked with quite a lot of sympathy, "His old buddies that fought by his side have all died. His wife is so much younger than him, and he has no children. You tell me, how could he not be lonely?"
During Linwang's big 66th birthday celebration, Lan Wei-chiang especially brought his metal teacup, rushing from Tungshih, Taichung County to see his pachyderm pal again. He filled the cup with popcorn, and standing in front of the railing, lifted it up high. Linwang quickly walked forward, and twisting his trunk, transported the popcorn into his mouth. "When I saw that his head was all shiny and bald, and he moved so slowly, and he was covered with age spots, I felt so sad. Ah! He's old, he's all used up."
Recently a group of old friends from the Number One Corps who still keep in touch have been cooking up the idea of returning to Guangzhou and rebuilding the Number One Corps memorial, which was demolished during the Cultural Revolution. In their minds, it was a reminder of China's glorious military contribution to a foreign campaign. "I've heard that elephants can live to be a hundred. Maybe the last surviving member of the Number One Corps will be Linwang," one old veteran muttered to himself.
Without a doubt, Linwang's comrades-in-arms either perished on the battlefields of yesterday, their remains deserted and covered with weeds, their names long forgotten, or they have gradually withered with the passing of years. But at this time when we pay heed to the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World WarII, taciturn Linwang tenaciously stands as a clear-sighted witness.
[Picture Caption]
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Linwang was a proud "comrade-in-arms" of the late General Sun Li-jen. On the left, Commander-in-Chief Sun Li-jen. On the right, "friend of China" US Senator Knowland, both pictured with Linwang at Fengshan. (photo courtesy of Luo Chao-chun)
p.110
The elephant transport team, acquired by the army in the Burmese theater during World War II. (photo courtesy of Luo Chao-chun)
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Linwang the Elephant's Travel Route
Source: The Story of Linwang, by Yin Chun. (Drawing by Tsai Chih-pen)
p.112
Linwang's nimble proboscis, with which he nips snacks from visitors' hands, is the very same "hand" with which he labored in the jungles duringthe war. (photo by Fu Chun)
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Linwang is the old "grandpa" that many kids specifically ask to see when they visit the zoo. Malan his wife is on the left. (photo by Fu Chun)
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Together Linwang and Malan eat 500 to 600 kilograms of feed a day. (photo by Hsueh Chi-kuang)
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Elephants really love water. Although it's only a little muddy pool, Linwang looks like he's discovered something precious. (photo by Cheng Chih-wen)
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The retired soldier Yin Chun, who seized Linwang away from the Japanese army, still returns to the zoo to gaze at his old war buddy. (photo courtesy of Yin Chun)
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The bride and groom grow old together. Elderly Linwang, who spent his youth assisting young Chinese soldiers in World War II, peacefully enjoys his waning yea rs in the zoo. He is the one on the right with tusks. (photo by Cheng Chih-wen)