What they say

Xia Shuqin

“Every year, when I talk with my family members in front of the mourning wall (at the Nanjing Massacre memorial hall), I wish I could tell them that Japan had admitted the massacre. But I don’t know if I will see that happen. I don’t have too much time left. I’m 88 years old,” said Xia, a massacre survivor.

On Dec 13, 1937, 30 Japanese soldiers who went to Xia’s home killed seven family members. They shot her father and her two grandparents to death. One of her little sisters, Xia Shufen, 1, died after being slammed on the floor. Her mother and two elder sisters were raped, then killed.

Xia, then 8, was stabbed three times in the back with a bayonet. She and her 4-year-old sister, who hid in a quilt, lived with the bodies for 14 days. Ge Daorong

“I hate those who initiated the war and the massacre. They changed my life and the lives of millions.”

Ge, 91, said he hopes the young will learn about the atrocity but never have such an experience. In 1937, Ge lived with his parents and relatives. They fled to a refugee camp set up by US citizens at Nanjing University (then Jinling Women’s University). Still, Japanese soldiers broke in almost every day and executed anyone suspected of being a Chinese soldier.

One morning, Japanese soldiers stabbed one of his legs. Pan Qiaoying

“I’m illiterate. I don’t know how to write, but I can make my voice heard. I want to talk about my pain again and again to let more people know the tragedy.”

Pan, born in 1931, said she expects no apology or compensation from Japan. “Most people who experienced the massacre and committed the crime have died. There’s no need for revenge.”

She lived in a village and recalled clearly that some Japanese came in and stabbed her grandfather. Other family members hid in an attic, but her father tried to flee and was killed.