(File photo)
Another survivor of the Nanjing Massacre passed away on Dec. 19, reducing the number of registered survivors of the atrocity to 106.
Zhang Xiuhong died at the age of 90. Before her death, Zhang left a testimony for China's first documentary about Nanjing Massacre survivors, in which she revealed her painful memory of being raped by Japanese invaders when she was only 11 years old.
"Due to the injuries I retained from [the rape], every time it rains, my whole body hurts,"said Zhang in the documentary, adding that she hoped no similar wars would happen again in the future.
In addition to Chen, 27 other survivors passed away this year, including Chen Baozhu, who died on Nov. 12 at the age of 89, and Ren Jingping, who died at the age of 94 on Nov. 10.
The deaths of so many survivors has worried Chinese historians, who stress the importance of collecting testimonies. In order to preserve oral testimonies, the Nanjing Massacre memorial hall launched a data collection project in October, aiming to gather oral records and visual files from 50 survivors who still retain clear memories of the event.
The Nanjing Massacre, which took place on Dec. 13, 1937, led to the murder of over 300,000 Chinese people, including defenseless civilians and unarmed soldiers. There were also innumerable reports of rape, looting and arson.
