Editor's note: The Nanjing Massacre by Japanese invaders in 1937 was a dark page in human history.
84 years have passed. The truth of history will not be concealed by time. The belief and persistence of peace for mankind is like a kind of fire that travels through time and space, crossing regions and passing on from generation to generation.
No matter where they are in the world, no matter how old they are, they turn the belief in passing the fire of peace into action, and turn their hope of maintaining peace into a watch. They are peace watchers who travel through time and space.
Chinanews.com, Nanjing, December 11th, title: Zhang Chunru, curator of the memorial hall: everyone is a payer
Author Xu Shanshan
In early December, as the National Memorial Day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre approached, the Zhang Chunru Memorial Hall in Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province ushered in the peak of visits, and the director of the Memorial Hall He Rui became more busy than usual.
In an interview with a reporter from Chinanews.com, he said that Zhang Chunru uses his life to illuminate history, and personal strength can also be gathered into a powerful force. Each of us is a passer of the fire.
The Zhang Chunru Memorial Hall in Huai'an, Jiangsu Province opened in 2017. Up to now, it has received more than 300,000 people from home and abroad.
Photo courtesy of Zhang Chunru Memorial Hall
Use a lifetime for a truth
17 years ago, Zhang Chunru ended his 36-year-old life with a pistol, shocking the world.
However, the books she wrote with her life changed the status quo of the Western world's long-term obscuration of the history of the Nanjing Massacre and aroused strong repercussions all over the world.
In mid-July 1995, Zhang Chunru braved the scorching heat to visit Nanjing alone from the United States. After a 25-day investigation of the Japanese atrocities, he wrote the book "Nanjing Atrocities: The Forgotten Massacre", which describes the Japanese army. Details of the rape, torture, and killing of large numbers of Chinese civilians in Nanjing.
In the process of searching for historical data on the Nanjing Massacre, Zhang Chunru discovered that many of the data showed the German Rabe.
Driven by curiosity, Zhang Chunru began to collect information about Rabe, which eventually led to the publication of "Rabe's Diary".
"Rabe's Diary" is one of the most complete and detailed historical materials about the Nanjing Massacre.
Walking into the memorial hall, the photos of Chunru wearing a mask are particularly eye-catching.
He Rui told reporters that when Zhang Chunru searched the archives, it often lasted several hours, flipping through thousands of materials among dozens of archive boxes.
Because these materials are kept for a long time, the musty smell is suffocating, and you have to wear a mask to stay.
In order to write, Zhang Chunru often forced himself to read a large number of cases of Japanese atrocities.
This process changed Zhang Chunru's physical health. For example, she often had nightmares, lost weight sharply, and lost a lot of hair.
At the same time, Zhang Chunru's economic situation also experienced problems, and he was unable to make ends meet for a while.
Why build a memorial hall for Zhang Chunru?
The Zhang Chunru Memorial Hall opened in April 2017.
In the past 4 years, it has received a total of more than 300,000 people from all walks of life at home and abroad, and held more than 1,200 consecutive themed commemorative activities.
In He Rui's view, the memorial hall symbolizes a monument to commemorate Zhang Chunru forever, remembering this great woman who has done justice to mankind and made great contributions to peace, and inherited her "diligence, studious, hard work, scientific rigor, and fear of power." the spirit of.
As one of the builders of the memorial, Zhou Xiang, the former chairman of Huai'an Overseas Chinese Federation, introduced that Huai'an is not only a historical city, but also the hometown of military strategist Han Xin and writer Wu Chengen. It is also a city of heroes. Here, the anti-golden heroine Liang Hongyu and national heroes Guan Tianpei.
"Zhang Chunru's ancestral home in Huaiyin District, Huai'an people have always had a wish to build a memorial hall in the hometown of heroes and invite our heroes to go home." Zhou Xiang said that in February 2015, Huai'an established a special museum building team. Huaiyin selected the site and built the museum, and on the one hand, it was sent to the United States to collect commemorative items.
There are overseas Chinese associations and Zhang Chunru's parents who speak out for history and run for peace.
Despite his advanced age, Zhang Chunru’s parents have returned home many times. They not only donated a large number of documents to the memorial, but also presented many precious cultural relics, such as the typewriter and scanner used by Zhang Chunru during his lifetime, and various honors and prizes. Academic records, growth stories, etc.
The exhibition area of Zhang Chunru Memorial Hall has the theme of "Unforgettable Memorial".
Photo courtesy of Zhang Chunru Memorial Hall
Let memories pass on forever
"We strengthen patriotism education internally, so that more people can remember the tragic history that China has suffered, inspire people's patriotic feelings, remember history better, and don't forget the national humiliation; externally, we are committed to the international dissemination of the historical facts of the Nanjing Massacre by the Japanese invaders. , To promote the historical facts of the Nanjing Massacre into the memory of the world, and promote the peaceful development of the world." He Rui said.
At present, the Zhang Chunru Memorial Hall has successfully declared to be the "Chinese Overseas Chinese International Cultural Exchange Base". The memorial hall will build an important bridge through a national platform, extensively carry out networking activities with overseas Chinese and Chinese people, and enhance the cultural identity of the Chinese nation.
He Rui said that in the future, the cultural exchanges and friendship between Chinese youth and overseas Chinese youths will be strengthened, and the enhancement of cultural identity and strengthening of cultural consensus are areas of work that need to be carried out urgently.
Especially in response to the impact of the global epidemic, we will expand the mode of online youth cultural exchanges and strengthen the development of online networking activities.
"Zhang Chunru is a good example for the descendants of Chinese descent. Teenagers are the main heirs of the salary, and they should better pass on the salary, so that the memory can be passed on forever." He Rui said moved.
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