In the early winter, before the “Wall of Tears”, there lies boundless grief. On November 30, the Family Memorial Ceremony for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre was held at the Memorial Hall. Representatives of Nanjing Massacre survivors, descendants of survivors, relatives of the victims, together with youth representatives, stood in silent tribute holding chrysanthemums, commemorating their relatives and compatriots who perished 88 years ago.

Survivors’ Scars Bear Witness to the Nanjing Massacre

The Wall of the Name List of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre, known to the public as the “Wall of Tears,” bears names that represent once-vibrant lives, the profound grief of countless families, and a memory that must never be forgotten. At this time each year, people come here to mourn the dead, pay tribute to their memory, and convey to the world the message of remembering history and cherishing peace.

All participants held chrysanthemums and bowed three times in tribute to the victims of the Nanjing Massacre. Xia Shuqin, aged 96, and Liu Minsheng, aged 91, slowly approached the “Wall of Tears” with the support of their family members. Behind them are the inheritors of the historical memory of the Nanjing Massacre, including Ge Fengjin, Xia Yuan, Hu Jingya, Zhang Qing, and others. This group of inheritors is steadily growing.

Now with a head of white hair, Xia Shuqin still bears the scars of three stab wounds inflicted by Japanese soldiers. Recalling her family’s tragic experience during the Nanjing Massacre, her eyes welled with tears, and her expression reflected profound sorrow. “Why doesn’t Japan dare to admit this? Do they even know how many of us died back then?”

During the Nanjing Massacre, Liu Minsheng was just a three-year-old child. His father was taken away by Japanese soldiers, and he was stabbed in the thigh; the scar on his right leg remains clearly visible to this day. Speaking of that history, when the nation was broken and families were shattered, Liu Minsheng firmly stated, “Japanese militarism provokes once more, but we are absolutely not afraid!”

Descendants of Survivors “Take Up the Baton” to Pass on Historical Truth

Li Yuhan and Hu Jingya, inheritors of the historical memory of the Nanjing Massacre, together with Dong Shenxi, a representative of the victims’ families, and Xu Wei, a Zijin Cao volunteer, took turns reading in slow, solemn voices the poem Mother and the Wall, written by poet Feng Yitong, expressing profound mourning for the 300,000 innocent lives cruelly taken by the Japanese invaders.

With the passage of time, the survivors of the Nanjing Massacre have passed away one after another. To preserve historical truth and pass on the memory of history, starting in 2022, the Memorial Hall has successively issued Certificates of Inheritors of the Historical Memory of the Nanjing Massacre to four groups totaling 38 descendants. These include descendants of Nanjing Massacre survivors, descendants of international friends who rescued Chinese civilians, descendants of Chinese compatriots who supported each other, and descendants of witnesses who safeguarded historical evidence.

Chang Xiaomei, daughter of the late survivor Chang Zhiqiang, has taken up the “relay baton,” transforming her family’s tragic past and her father’s painful memories into actions dedicated to preserving the collective memory of the nation. She said, “I will carry forward my father’s call, sharing our family’s story with more people.”

Today, an increasing number of young people are volunteering to become inheritors of historical memory. Representatives from the descendants of survivors, students, and others carefully retraced the names on the Wall of the Name List of the Nanjing Massacre victims one by one to “re-inking” them, expressing their mourning.

Descendants of the survivor Ma Tingbao “re-inked”

Cao Yuli, a representative of the victims’ families, “re-inked”

Hu Jingya is the granddaughter of the late Nanjing Massacre survivor Liu Guixiang and one of the fourth batch of inheritors of historical memory, appointed this past August. Today, she came to the Memorial Hall with her mother and daughter to pay tribute to her relatives. She stated, “I am an elementary school art teacher. I will transform my grandfather’s blood-stained testimony into a source of inspiration in my classroom, guiding students to express their reflections on history through their paintbrushes.”