Among the countless chronicles, there are 10 puzzling unsolved riddles that still tease scholars. Since ancient times, the Chinese have meticulously recorded their country’s long and fascinating history. A wide variety of information has been written down and preserved. Thanks to these historians’ efforts, China has an impressively well-documented history.
10 puzzling unsolved Mysteries Unveiled
10. The Execution Of Kawashima Yoshiko
Kawashima Yoshiko, originally named Aisin Gioro Xianyu, was a Manchu princess who turned into a cross‑dressing spy for Japan during the Second Sino‑Japanese War (1937–1945). After the Qing dynasty fell, her father’s Japanese friend adopted her in 1915, giving her the Japanese name Kawashima Yoshiko.
Her Japanese upbringing was far from rosy—rumors speak of a stepfather who assaulted her and classmates who shunned her for her Chinese heritage. Eventually she slipped back into China, masquerading as a man and serving the Japanese war effort, hunting guerrilla bandits and seducing officials to harvest military secrets.
When the Japanese were expelled in 1945, Chinese authorities seized Kawashima and executed her with a bullet to the back of the head for treason. Life magazine printed a photo of her corpse, yet Beijing papers claimed she swapped bodies with a double and escaped. Decades later, a team of Chinese historians investigated claims from two Northeastern women who insisted their enigmatic neighbor Granny Fang was, in fact, Kawashima. Convincing evidence pointed to a former associate of hers helping the princess flee.
9. The Disappearance Of Xu Fu
Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor famed for his Terracotta Army, was terrified of mortality. Obsessed with immortality, he surrounded himself with alchemists and charlatans, one of whom was Xu Fu, a self‑styled magician who claimed to know the location of the elixir of life.
According to Xu, the potion lay on mystical islands in the Yellow Sea, guarded by immortal beings. In 219 BC the emperor dispatched him with a fleet and 3,000 virgins—both boys and girls—believing their purity would grant access to the coveted elixir.
Xu returned empty‑handed, blaming sea monsters for the failure. Qin then armed him with archers and sent him out again, but this time Xu never resurfaced. Official histories admit no clue to his fate. Japanese legend says he landed in Japan and was later worshipped as a deity, while Chinese records remain silent.
8. The Contest To Cut Down 100 People
During the Second Sino‑Japanese War, Japanese papers reported a macabre game between Lieutenants Mukai Toshiaki and Noda Tsuyoshi. In the winter of 1937 the two soldiers allegedly turned a battlefield into a twisted competition, each trying to be the first to slay 100 Chinese with a sword.
The Tokyo Nichi‑Nichi Shimbun announced on December 12 that the duel ended in a draw, both men exceeding the 100‑kill mark and then agreeing to a new target of 150. The contest, treated by the participants as a sport, outraged the Chinese, who saw their compatriots’ deaths reduced to a deadly pastime. After the war, both officers were sentenced to death at the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal.
Nationalist skeptics argue the story may be exaggerated or fabricated. Journalist Katsuichi Honda, known for his candid post‑war reporting, suggested that while killing contests did occur, the victims were likely prisoners of war rather than civilians slain in hand‑to‑hand combat, casting doubt on the sensational newspaper accounts.
7. The Disappearance Of Peng Jiamu
Lop Nur, the now‑dry basin in Xinjiang, is infamous for brutal weather and ever‑shifting dunes. Biologist Peng Jiamu, a researcher from the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, was drawn to its harshness, joining numerous scientific forays into the desert.
The Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) stalled his work, but Peng launched a fresh expedition in the summer of 1980. On June 17 he slipped away from camp alone to search for water and vanished without a trace.
An extensive military‑led search—on foot and by air—came up empty. While many suspect the desert claimed his life, no body was ever recovered. Rumors swirled that he escaped to the United States; in September 1980, Deng Xiaoping’s son allegedly spotted the missing scientist dining in a Washington restaurant.
6. The Murder Of Shen Dingyi
Born into wealth, Shen Dingyi became a vocal critic of economic disparity. He joined the Revolutionary Alliance in 1907, a secret society in Tokyo plotting to topple the Qing dynasty. By the early 1920s he had embraced communism and returned to his hometown of Yaqian, where he championed agrarian reforms for local peasants.
On August 28 1928, after a mountain‑resort outing, Shen boarded a bus home. As he approached the driver to show his ticket, two passengers drew pistols and riddled him with bullets before fleeing, firing at anyone who pursued them.
Shen’s many enemies—wealthy merchants, landlords, the Communist Party, and the Guomindang—provided multiple motives. Countless suspects were interrogated, yet no one was ever formally charged, leaving his assassination an enduring mystery.
5. The Stick Case
On May 30 1615, a peasant named Zhang Chai stormed the Forbidden City wielding a simple stick, attacking a eunuch guard. At that time the palace housed the imperial family, and Zhang aimed to reach the emperor’s son, Zhu Changluo.
Initially deemed a lone lunatic, Zhang’s repeated interrogations and torture led him to allege a eunuch conspiracy. He claimed the eunuchs Pang Bao and Liu Cheng coached him, showing him how to infiltrate the palace and assassinate the prince.
Emperor Wanli ordered a trial; Zhang was executed, while Pang and Liu were tortured to death. Zhu Changluo dismissed the plot as the act of a madman. Ironically, five years later Zhu died under mysterious circumstances after succeeding his father as Emperor Taichang.
4. The Disappearance Of Chu Anping
On June 1 1957, journalist Chu Anping delivered a daring speech titled “Comments Made to Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou” to a communist committee. He argued that the new regime resembled a traditional dynasty and likened Mao to an emperor, a view that infuriated the Party.
Following the Hundred Flowers Campaign, Chu lost his editorship at The Guangming Daily, was labeled a right‑wing anti‑socialist, and effectively blacklisted. In August 1966, amid the Cultural Revolution, he was forced into a struggle session, attempted suicide by jumping into a river but survived.
After returning home in September, Chu vanished. Some speculate a second suicide attempt; others suspect he was quietly eliminated by Red Guards. His family only received permission for a symbolic funeral in May 2015.
3. The Murder Of Lam Bun
1967 saw Hong Kong, then a British colony, roiled by riots inspired by the Cultural Revolution and discontent with colonial rule. Left‑wing militants unleashed bombings and violence, resulting in 51 deaths and over 4,500 arrests.
Amid the upheaval, the unsolved murder of anti‑communist radio commentator Lam Bun became a rallying point for those favoring colonial governance. On August 24, Lam and his cousin were ambushed; their car was set ablaze and both were burned to death.
A guerrilla group claimed responsibility, yet the killers were never identified. The brutal slaying cemented Lam’s legacy as a symbol of free speech in Hong Kong.
2. The Murder Of Song Jiaoren
Alongside Sun Yat‑sen, Song Jiaoren co‑founded the Guomindang, the nationalist party that would govern China from 1928 to 1949. After the 1912 founding of the Republic, Song pushed for democratic reforms, seeking to curb President Yuan Shikai’s power and eyeing the prime‑ministership and a new constitution.
On March 20 1913, he was shot by assassin Wu Shiying; two days later he died. Wu, aided by Ying Guixing, was arrested, and investigations uncovered ties between the assassins and Yuan Shikai as well as other senior officials.
Both Wu and Ying met grim ends—Wu died mysteriously in jail, and Ying was killed by swordsmen on a train after escaping. Though the case remains officially unsolved, most scholars suspect Yuan Shikai orchestrated the murder to silence a political rival.
1. The Death Of Emperor Jianwen
In July 1402, Zhu Di, a Ming prince, invaded Nanjing, the capital, accusing his nephew, Emperor Jianwen, of being corrupted by ministerial influence. Zhu Di framed the campaign as a purge of bad advisers, but his true aim was to seize the throne.
During the assault, Jianwen’s palace burned, and three charred bodies were recovered. Zhu Di hastily identified them as the emperor, his empress, and their eldest son, then proclaimed himself Emperor Yongle, erasing Jianwen’s records and purging his supporters.
Nevertheless, rumors persisted that Jianwen escaped the inferno, living incognito as a monk in remote China. Some tales even claim he crossed paths with former officials while fleeing toward Yunnan, keeping the mystery alive centuries later.