Recap | Nanking massacre survivors tell their stories of the horrors suffered under Japanese occupation
Discover the harrowing tales of the 1937 Nanking massacre, as illustrator Chen Congying brings the experiences of survivors to life decades after the tragic event
In 2017, illustrator Chen Congying chronicled the harrowing stories of some of the dwindling number of remaining survivors to mark the 80th anniversary of the infamous Nanking massacre.
Several of those whose tales are told in his illustrations have now died and, as their numbers continue to decline with the passing years, there were reportedly just over 30 registered survivors still living as of July 2024, according to Xinhua.
Chen’s illustrations help chronicle the massacre which took place in the city now known as Nanjing and occurred over a period of six weeks starting on December 13, 1937, the day the Japanese captured the city.
The death toll has not been conclusively established. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo estimated in 1946 that over 200,000 Chinese people were killed. China’s official estimate is more than 300,000 dead based on the evaluation of the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal in 1947. Some Japanese estimates put the toll as low as 30,000.
These photos were first published as an SCMP gallery on December 12, 2017
