Ahead of the Dragon Boat Festival, staff members of the Memorial Hall and the Association for Aiding Survivors of the Nanjing Atrocities by Japanese Invaders and Inheriting Historical Memory of the Nanjing Massacre (AASIMNM), together with university student volunteers from Nanjing and representatives of caring enterprises, visited survivors of the Nanjing Massacre to extend holiday greetings and support. As young students born after 2000 came face to face with survivors aged 100 and above, historical memory was passed on with warmth.

Pei Tiantian and Wang Yun, graduate students from Nanjing Normal University, visited 100-year-old Grandpa Li Changfu. Grandpa Li recalled that when Japanese troops entered his village, his family hid in an underground shelter. After the Japanese troops left, they emerged to find their house burned to the ground. The six family members held one another and wept. Before the students left, he urged them: “Study hard and cherish peace.”

Yuan Zhixuan and Zhang Xiaonan visited Grandpa Gong Denian, who had once served as a school principal. Nearly 100 years old, Grandpa Gong keeps a copy of Qiushi Journal by his bedside. He encouraged the university student volunteers to become good teachers. Yuan said: “From Grandpa Gong, I saw the unyielding spirit of the Chinese people. We must move forward with memory.”

Wang Zihui and Xu Ke visited 102-year-old Grandpa Cen Honggui and Grandma Huang Guilan, who is of the same age. Grandma Huang had suffered a fall some time ago. After the Memorial Hall helped contact a family doctor, her health has since improved. Holding the students’ hands, she said: “Study hard and work hard.” Wang reflected: “In meeting witnesses to history, I felt the true warmth of history.”

Staff members also visited centenarian Grandma Wei Guiru, who lives alone, as well as 103-year-old Grandma Xue Yujuan, 97-year-old Grandma Xia Shuqin, and 92-year-old Grandma Fang Suxia. Cao Yuli and Qian Yi, Vice Presidents of the Association, tied traditional blessing knots for the Dragon Boat Festival for the elderly and presented them with gifts. Grandma Xia thanked them repeatedly, while Grandma Xue smiled like a little girl.

As youthful faces met weathered ones, the warmth that transcended time allowed the memory of history to take root in the hearts of a new generation.