作者简介

张建军 侵华日军南京大屠杀遇难同胞纪念馆馆长、国家记忆与国际和平研究院执行院长

Abstract: The Japanese history textbook controversy in 1982 aroused strong protest among the Chinese people. In response to the Japanese right-wing attempt to deny the Nanjing Massacre and in answer to the call of the general public to document the history centered on the atrocities and build a memorial hall or a monument in this regard, the City of Nanjing commenced preparations for the construction of the memorial hall and monument and the compilation of the history of the Nanjing Massacre. These efforts received full support from Jiangsu Province, the City of Nanjing, and from all sectors of society. During its visit to Nanjing to investigate the Nanjing Massacre, Japan’s Association for the Nanjing Incident Investigation met with Chinese scholars and provided relevant materials and research results from the Japanese side. When preparing for the construction of the memorial hall, the city conducted a “living witnesses” census, which found survivors and witnesses of the Nanjing Massacre, who provided precious accounts of incidents of the Nanjing Massacre. On August 15, 1985, the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders was completed and opened to the public. With different names having been suggested, the current name of the Memorial Hall was finally determined before its opening, and Deng Xiaoping was invited to inscribe the name. Over the 35 years since its construction, the Memorial Hall’s involvement has been augmented, and it has played an important role in framing the historical narrative of the Nanjing Massacre, developing a sense of patriotism among the citizenry, and promoting Nanjing as a city of peace.

Keywords: Nanjing Massacre, Japanese history textbook controversy, The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, historical memory

The year 2020 marks the 35th anniversary of the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders (hereinafter referred to as the “Memorial Hall”). Over the 35 years, as people have gained a deeper understanding of the history of the Nanjing Massacre, the functions and roles of the Memorial Hall have expanded accordingly. Before the Memorial Hall was built, some people in Japan were unwilling to admit the Nanjing Massacre even happened. This was closely related to the political tendencies of Japan after the war. Japan did not completely purge itself of militarism after the war, and some people who had committed war crimes even stepped into the Japanese political arena. Despite the solid evidence of the Nanjing Massacre and the judgment of the International Military Tribunal and the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal, the Japanese right-wing has been trying to play down or even deny this dishonorable history. Although the Japanese war criminals perpetrating the Nanjing Massacre had been tried after the war, there was a tendency for the historical facts of the Nanjing Massacre to be somewhat forgotten up to the early 1980s. Even the victims of the massacre rarely mentioned their miserable experiences, but chose to bury the painful memories deep in their hearts. The establishment of the Memorial Hall in the mid-1980s was an important landmark. Since then, it has served as a “space of memories,” preserving and presenting that tragic period in history. In 2014, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress decided to designate December 13 as the National Public Memorial Day for the Nanjing Massacre Victims, and since then, the National Public Memorial Ceremony has been held annually at the Memorial Hall. In 2015, UNESCO listed the Documents of Nanjing Massacre in its Memory of the World Register, making the massacre known to more people in the world. Based on the Work Bulletin compiled by the Leading Group for History Writing and Memorial Building in Commemoration of the Nanjing Massacre (hereafter referred to as the Leading Group) and other first-hand historical materials, this article intends to provide an account of the preparatory work for the construction of the Memorial Hall, its naming, the expansion of its functions, and its significance today.

The Japanese History Textbook Controversy and China’s Response

In 1982, the Japanese Ministry of Education approved a textbook that glorified Japan’s war of aggression and downplayed the atrocities of the war. The textbook omitted such historical facts as the Nanjing Massacre, changed the phrase “invading north China” to “entering north China,” and attributed the Nanjing Massacre to “the fierce resistance by the Chinese army and heavy casualties of the Japanese army which so enraged the Japanese troops that they killed many Chinese soldiers and civilians.” This history textbook was not only opposed by the righteous people of Japan, but also aroused the Chinese government’s strong protest and the Chinese people’s great indignation. On July 20, 1982, the People’s Daily published a short editorial titled “This Lesson Must Be Remembered,” criticizing Japan for “obscuring its responsibility for the war.” On August 6 and 29, Wu Xueqian, then Chinese foreign vice minister, called in the Japanese ambassador to China, demanding that the mistakes be corrected so as to facilitate the development of relations between the two countries. At the same time, such countries and regions as North Korea, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong also protested against, and in some cases severely criticized, Japan over the textbook.

The textbook controversy of 1982 was not the first nor the last of its kind for Japan. After the war, the U.S. occupied Japan and tried to “rehabilitate” it. However, such “rehabilitation” was based on the premise of safeguarding U.S. interests. In the context of the Cold War, in order to impel Japan under its sphere of influence and maintain the so-called U.S.-Japan alliance, the U.S. “intentionally or unintentionally” downplayed Japan’s war crimes, such as the use of germ warfare, chemical warfare, “comfort women,” and the massacre of civilians. As a result, Japan’s war crimes were yet to be published after the war. As early as 1951, Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) changed the term “invading China” into “entering China” in its Curriculum Guide. In 1955, the MEXT banned the use of the term “invasion” when reviewing textbooks. Japanese militarist ideology and the imperialistic account of history have not diminished after the war, and this is evident by the fact that the Japanese right-wing has repeatedly attempted to glorify Japan’s war of aggression by revising textbooks to diminish or even deny the atrocities of the war.

The Chinese government severely criticized Japan’s revision of textbooks and demanded that the Japanese government correct the distortions in the textbooks. Facing pressure from all sides, the Japanese government had to make some adjustments accordingly. On November 12, 1982, the minister of MEXT stated that a new article would be included in future textbook review criteria , which later became known as the “Neighboring Country Clause.” In the meantime, the MEXT also stipulated in its textbook review criteria that “when dealing with modern historical events concerning neighboring Asian countries, necessary consideration should be given from the perspective of international understanding and coordination.”

The Japanese textbook controversy was not only strongly protested and criticized by the Chinese government, but also aroused strong indignation of the Chinese people, especially the people of Nanjing. Around August 1982, the CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee, the Nanjing Municipal Government, and the Nanjing Daily News Agency received an avalanche of protest letters from the public, advocating for the collection of historical materials, documenting the history of the Nanjing Massacre, and establishing a memorial hall and a monument commemorating the massacre. Gong Shiming, a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine at the Nanjing Red Cross Hospital, wrote to Nanjing Daily: “In order to let our children know more clearly what invasion and enslavement were, why not build a memorial hall and a monument as soon as possible in Nanjing?” In his letter to the CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee, Li Guangfu, of the Nanjing Chemical Materials Company, wrote: “In order to prevent history from repeating itself, to inspire future generations, and to commemorate our dead compatriots, I would like to suggest that a monument to the victims of the Nanjing Massacre be erected in Nanjing, either in Gulou Square or in such places as Xiaguan and Daqiao Park, where many people were killed at that time.” In July 1982, some Nanjing residents, self-described as “a group of Chinese people,” wrote a letter to the leaders of the city, suggesting that a monument be built for the compatriots who were killed in the Nanjing Massacre. In the letter they said: “If a decision is made to start the work, we will definitely provide voluntary labor and donate 100 yuan each.” Wang Hai, who lived in Wutaishan, Nanjing, wrote in August 1982: “The past, if not forgotten, can serve as a guide for the future. In order to commemorate the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre and to educate the people, especially future generations, I suggest that the people’s government build a monument to the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, so that this period of history, which was written in blood, cannot be tampered with but will be engraved on the land of Nanjing forever.” 

Like the residents of Nanjing, people from all over China also put forward similar suggestions. In a letter to the mayor of Nanjing, Gu Xihong, a teacher from Donglin School in Wuxi, suggested that “a monument and memorial to the dead compatriots of the Nanjing Massacre be established in a suitable place in Nanjing, and as many pictures, documents and objects as possible about the massacre be displayed in the memorial.” Xiong Ju, from the 58th Middle School of Chongqing, wrote to the CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee：

Every time I go to Nanjing, I hear people there talk about the massacre in Xiaguan by the Japanese, and I am very sad and angry! In Chongqing, people who fled Nanjing during the War of Resistance just cannot restrain themselves whenever they mention the atrocities of Japanese militarism...I would like to suggest that, first, a monument be built in Xiaguan, Nanjing, to commemorate our compatriots who were massacred in the city... Second, to educate future generation, a book should be compiled with photos and texts (chronicles of the Nanjing Massacre, evidence of trials of war criminals, memoirs of survivors... etc.).

All these letters showed popular support for the establishment of a monument and a memorial, related to the Nanjing Massacre.

Launching of History Writing and the Memorial Building

The opinions expressed by people from all walks of life in response to the Japanese history textbook controversy attracted much attention from the CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee and the Nanjing Municipal Government. They held several meetings to discuss the matter, and the Publicity Department of the CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee put forward a “working draft proposal” in this regard. The CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee approved the proposal, stressed the important of organizing efforts from all sides to make the work a success, and demanded the commencement of preparatory work as soon as possible. With the consent of relevant departments, historical documentation and memorial building were put on the agenda.

On July 28, 1983, the Publicity Department of the CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee put forward its “Program on the Collection and Collation of the Historical Materials on the Atrocities of the Nanjing Massacre (draft for comments)”, stating:

This work cannot be delayed any longer. Otherwise, we will rue our negligence in commemorating the hundreds of thousands of compatriots who died, for our ancestors and our descendants, and for the conscience and justice of people all over the world.

For the sake of the friendship between the peoples of China and Japan, and for the sake of the two peoples’ joint struggle against the Japanese right-wing’s attempts to cover up the crimes of the Japanese invasion of China, we must immediately commence with this work.

On August 13, 1983, the Publicity Department of the CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee organized a symposium on the “Nanjing Massacre by the Invading Japanese Army,” which discussed the “Program on the Collection and Collation of the Historical Materials on the Atrocities of the Nanjing Massacre (draft for comments)”. The mayor of Nanjing at the time, Zhang Yaohua, delivered a speech at the meeting. The meeting, he proposed, ought to do four things:

First, to write an authoritative History of the Crimes of the Nanjing Massacre;

Second, to prepare for the construction of a permanent memorial hall of the Nanjing Massacre exhibiting the crimes committed during the massacre;

Third, to erect a number of monuments to the victims of the Nanjing Massacre on the main sites of the atrocities; and

Fourth, to make a documentary on the Nanjing Massacre by the invading Japanese army.

The participants unanimously agreed to establish a joint leading group, consisting of members of the Party, government, military, and civil societies in Nanjing. They also agreed that “the government should be responsible for making plans as well as organizing, initiating, liaising and coordinating programs; academic units should be responsible for academic work, such as collecting historical materials, writing papers, and publishing monographs; urban construction and cultural departments should be responsible for memorial building, monument erecting, and film making.” It was agreed that an office and four specialized working groups would be set up under the joint leading group:

The first is the information group, which will be chaired by the Second Historical Archives of China. The second is the academic group, which will be led by the Provincial Academy of Social Sciences and the Provincial Historical Society. The third will be the group responsible for building the memorial building and the monuments. If will consist of members from the Municipal Culture Bureau, the Cultural Relics Protection Society, the Municipal Urban and Rural Construction Committee and the Planning Bureau will be responsible for the construction of the memorial and the monument; the Nanjing Museum and the Municipal Museum will be responsible for the exhibitions. The fourth is the film group, which will be led by Nanjing Film Studio. The Municipal Bureau of Justice should assign lawyers to act as legal advisers in this respect.

This meeting also discussed the selection of the site of the memorial hall. Many who attended the meeting disagreed with the initial proposal of building the memorial hall on the site of a Republican-era military prison in the Jiangdongmen area of Nanjing, but suggested the current site, where the Japanese troops committed a massacre.

On November 3, 1983, the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee and the Jiangsu provincial government approved the proposal of the “Program on the Collection and Collation of the Historical Materials on the Atrocities of the Nanjing Massacre,” pointing out that “This is a major event for promoting patriotism among the general public and future generations and has far-reaching historical significance.”

Before the formal establishment of the preparatory commission, some specialized working groups had already been established and started their work. For example, the group for memorial and monument building held its inaugural meeting on November 20, 1983 and discussed its work at the meeting.[12] On November 26, 1983, the history writing group was established. Representatives from 14 units, including the Department of History of Nanjing University, the Second Historical Archives of China, the Nanjing Library, the Jiangsu Academy of Social Sciences, the Nanjing Museum, the Nanjing Municipal Archives, the Nanjing Municipal Museum, and the Nanjing Film Studio, attended the inaugural meeting. The meeting discussed the “Outline of History Writing (draft)” and the writing plan, and proposed that

the purpose of writing that period of history is to expose the bloody crimes committed by Japanese militarism with hard facts, so as to educate the Chinese people and our posterity as well as to uphold the verdicts of the “International Military Tribunal for the Far East,” to support those friendly Japanese people in their fight against the Japanese right-wing attempts to nullify the facts, and to enhance Sino-Japanese friendship and safeguard peace in the Far East and in the world.

The meeting also discussed the division of labor and the general schedule for the writing, and decided to:

designate Gao Xingzu, associate professor of the Department of History of Nanjing University, and Comrade Zou Deming, of the Second Historical Archives of China, to be the head and deputy head of the history writing group. The members of the group will each write on specific topics of different periods. The Second Historical Archives of China and the Nanjing Municipal Archives will provide relevant historical archives, information, and photographs; Nanjing Library will provide books in both Chinese and foreign languages, newspapers and other materials... Nanjing Museum, the Municipal Cultural Management Committee and the Municipal Museum will provide cultural relics, pictures and other materials.

In addition, the Department of History of Nanjing University was asked to provide relevant information from Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong and other regions. The meeting also worked out the general schedule and phases of progress: “The draft is to be completed by July 1984 for review, and efforts will be made to finalize it for printing in December 1984.”

On November 27, 1983, the CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee issued the “Circular on the Establishment of the Leading Group for History Writing and Memorial Building in Commemoration of the Nanjing Massacre.” This leading group was the first official organization set up before the establishment of the memorial hall. An office was set up under the leading group, with Zhang Yunran as its director. On December 9, 1983, the Office of the Leading Group for History Writing and Memorial Building in Commemoration of the Nanjing Massacre (hereinafter referred to as the “History Writing Office”) reviewed the work it had completed and submitted a “Report Outline” summarizing its work since August 1983, in which it mentioned the “preparation for the groundbreaking ceremony for the Jiangdongmen Memorial Hall.” When proposing the work plan for the next three years, the Report Outline listed as one of its tasks “building a memorial hall for the dead compatriots.” Documents during this period of time referred to the memorial to be built with different names, demonstrating that the name of the memorial had not yet been decided at that time.

The establishment of the Leading Group, the division of labor among the different working groups and the start of the various tasks marked the official launch of history writing and memorial building.

Progress in Preparing the Construction of the Memorial Hall and Monument

On November 20, 1983, the memorial and monument building held its inaugural meeting. The meeting also made a number of decisions. First, a preparatory organization for memorial building should be set up, with the Nanjing Cultural Bureau as its main body, with staff appointed from the relevant units, and with Huang Yaojing, deputy director of the Nanjing Cultural Bureau, as its head. Second, efforts should be made for the acquisition and allocation of land for the building of the memorial hall. Third, the preparatory office should produce a proposal for the survey of the site for the memorial hall and the design of the memorial hall; the Nanjing Planning Bureau would arrange for a design institute to carry out the survey and design; and by the end of March 1984, “two to three design proposals and sketches ought to be submitted, by the end of June they should be reviewed, modified and finalized by the provincial and municipal leadership, and in July the construction of the memorial hall should start.” Fourth, the excavation of the remains of compatriots who were killed in the Nanjing Massacre in the “mass graves” at Jiangdongmen should be carried out under the leadership of Nanjing Municipal Cultural Relics Management Committee in coordination with relevant parties. Fifth, the Nanjing Urban and Rural Construction Committee should make a specific plan for phased construction of monuments at the other 14 sites of mass killings in the Nanjing Massacre, which “is expected to be complete in three years.”

At the end of 1983, the memorial and monument building started to focus on the three tasks of land acquisition, funding application, and the design of the memorial. On January 5, 1984, the group worked out the “Project Plan for the Design of the Memorial Hall and Monuments of the Compatriots Killed in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders (draft).” In March 1984, Nanjing Architectural Design Institute submitted three design proposals for review, one of which, “building a semicircular memorial hall with a monument at the center,” was initially adopted and submitted to the Municipal Architectural Consultation Meeting for discussion. Professor Qi Kang of the Department of Architecture of Southeast University and other experts discussed the proposal and made significant changes to it. In his revision of the design, Professor Qi made “life and death” the theme of the memorial design.

By October 1984, the group for memorial and monument building had acquired 22 mu of land for the construction of the memorial hall. At the same time, the number of locations for monument erection was reduced from 15 in the original plan to 13, including Caoxiexia, the Zhongshan Pier, Meitangang, the Jiangdongmen Gate, Mianhuadi, Yanziji Park, and the foot of Purple Mountain. The task of erecting the 13 monuments was assigned to the districts and units concerned in accordance with the principle of “on the spot and in the vicinity,” and a system of responsible for contracting site selection, design and construction was implemented.

The Nanjing Municipal Government attached great importance to the erection of the monuments. In 1985, it issued the “Circular on the Erection of Monuments at the Sites of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders,” demanding that the erection of the monuments be completed by August 15. To ensure that the monuments were completed on time, the circular not only made specific requirements for site selection and monument design, but also offered guidance on obtaining financial support details on how it might be procured, e.g., “in case of difficulties with obtaining materials such as wood, steel and cement, the construction unit may petition the Municipal Bureau of Materials for allocation at market prices.”

On December 15, 1983, the Nanjing Municipal Staffing Office issued the “Approval of the Staffing of the Office of the Leading Group for History Writing and Memorial Building in Commemoration of the Nanjing Massacre,” which allowed a staff of seven for this office. This marked the official establishment and staffing of the preparatory organization for memorial building.

To promote the work of memorial building and erection of the monuments, the Nanjing Municipal Government held a special meeting on August 9, 1984 to implement the work of surrounding the erection of monuments, and put forward specific requirements regarding the location of the monuments, the division of responsibilities, their design, and the time frame. On November 6, the Nanjing Municipal Government held a meeting chaired by the mayor to decide on the construction plan for the “Jiangdongmen Mass Grave Memorial Hall.” On November 9, the Nanjing Survey and Design Institute, upon receiving the design assignment, hastily mobilized and prioritized the project. By the end of December, all the construction drawings had been completed, thus fulfilling the municipal government’s requirement of “making preparations within the year and starting construction in the first quarter of next year.” On November 19, 1984, the Leading Group held a meeting to discuss the issue of “finishing the draft of the history of the Nanjing Massacre and advancing the construction of the memorial.” The meeting emphasized: “The construction of the memorial hall should be completed by August 15 next year to mark the 40th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Invasion. It is only ten months away from this date and we cannot afford any delay.” After that, all the preparatory work advanced according to this time frame . At the same time, the construction of the memorial hall was listed as one of the ten key projects of Nanjing’s urban construction in 1985.

February 20, 1985 was the first day of the Chinese New Year, a traditional holiday that the Chinese celebrate with their families. However, on this very day, Nanjing No. 1 Construction Engineering Company, the contractor of the memorial hall, started the ground-breaking work for the memorial hall. During and after the Spring Festival, rain and snow continuously hampered their efforts, but the company pressed on with the construction. Due to the severe weather conditions, the machinery could not be moved to the construction site, so the workers carried the machines on their shoulders. The staff and Youth League members of the company contributed voluntary labor. Back in the 1980s, the country did not have plenty of money to spend on construction projects, but governments at all levels and relevant departments offered as much support as possible for the building of the memorial hall. The National Cultural Heritage Administration approved a special grant of 200,000 yuan, the Jiangsu Provincial Government allocated 400,000 yuan, and the city of Nanjing, out of its historical commitment, provided 2 million yuan. Mayor of Nanjing Zhang Yaohua even earmarked some portion of the Mayor’s Fund in support of the construction of the memorial. It took the Nanjing Planning Bureau only a few days to complete the delineation of the site. Yuhuatai District of Nanjing and Jiangdong Township assisted in the acquisition of land for the construction of the memorial, and a PLA unit granted over half a hectare of land for the construction of the memorial. During the construction, Mayor Zhang Yaohua visited the site 37 times to inspect and provide guidance. Professor Qi Kang, one of the designers of the memorial hall, “modified the design according to the theme of the memorial hall and the topography of the site (there is an elevation difference of 3 meters between the north and south), to meet the artistic and structural requirements of the building. The modified design, which highlighted the theme of the memorial hall, giving it a unique style and creating a touching atmosphere, and making a breakthrough in both concept and presentation.”

Through the joint efforts of all parties, the construction of the main project of the memorial hall was completed in just four months, a feat rarely seen in the history of architecture in Nanjing.

Collection of Historical Materials and Witness Census

Alongside the work of memorial building and monument erection, the writing of the history of the Nanjing Massacre was also accelerated. From December 13 to 15, 1983, the Leading Group held a symposium on the writing of the history of the Nanjing Massacre and discussed the outline and plan of execution. Experts and scholars who attended the symposium came from Jiangsu and Nanjing, as well as the Institute of Modern History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, the National Museum of China , and the Military Museum of the Chinese People’s Revolution. On the morning of the 13th, the participants attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Memorial Hall of the Compatriots Killed in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. They said that “this history must be written and must be written well, and this is the historical responsibility of history research departments  and all parties involved;” “the writing of the history of the Nanjing Massacre has long been neglected, but it is put on track now with a good start;” “we must write this history with facts and arguments that stand up against any refutation,” “with no room for fault and error,” “with true authority.” The symposium proposed to put greater effort on developing documentation, believing that “documentation is the foundation of the writing of history,” and “documentation should focus on four points: collection, examination, research, and compilation.” It also proposed that “it is urgent to salvage the oral sources of the history of the Nanjing Massacre from witnesses who are still alive.”

On January 21, 1984, the History Writing Office held another discussion on the revision of the “Outline of History Writing,”which involved multiple reviews and revisions of the first draft, including its title, content, formatting style, arrangement of chapters, and use of words and terms. The title of the book was changed from “The Nanjing Massacre” to “The Nanjing Massacre by the Japanese Invaders” on the ground that the original title lacked specificicity. This was the earliest discussion on the use of the qualifier “by Japanese invaders” after the term “Nanjing Massacre.” At the meeting, experts and scholars involved in the writing of the history proposed that “a history book should be about history itself, and it would be inappropriate to include chapters dedicated to criticism”—an opinion endorsed unanimously. . It was also decided that the book should be shortened from the planned 300,000 words to 250,000 words.

Writing history is impossible without historical materials.Thus, the importance and urgency of collecting historical materials became increasinglya dominant concern. Mayor Zhang Yaohua once said, “The collection of historical materials, as I see it, is more difficult than building a memorial hall  . . . no matter how well the memorial hall is built, it will not be able to educate people without historical materials. Therefore, we must use every means to get the materials as soon as possible.”

A consensus was reached that the collection of historical materials could not be done by a few people  in isolation, but rather, all parties must be mobilized to make full use of various international and domestic channels. The historical research institutions at the central, provincial, and municipal levels, universities, and military academies in Nanjing, as well as institutions of history, culture, and scientific research in Beijing, all gave  strong support to the work of writing history and building monuments. The political science and audio-visual departments of the former PLA Communication Engineering College sent three people with audio-video recording equipment to accompany the staff of the History Writing Office to the outskirts of Nanjing to interview the witnesses of the Nanjing Massacre. The interviewees included Wu Changde, Chen Degui, Li Xiuying, Jiang Genfu and other survivors of the Nanjing Massacre, all of whom were to become well-known to the public. Towards the end of June 1984, Chen Lizhi and Duan Yueping from the History Writing Office accompanied editor-director Qiu Zhongyi and photographer Wang Ruobai of Nanjing Film Studio to Shanghai to film interviews with Xiang Zhejun, Yang Shulin, Gao Wenbin, and others who had participated in the Tokyo Trial. Yang Shoulin offered an album of 141 photos of the Tokyo Trial for reproduction by the History Writing Office. Interviewers were also dispatched to Beijing to interview Ni Zhengyu, Qiu Shaoheng, Zhou Xiqing, Zhang Peiji, and others who had participated in the Tokyo Trial. During the interviews in Beijing, their video equipment broke down. The High School Affiliated with Beijing Normal University not only lent them its video equipment, but also sent two people to assist in the video recording.

When the media reported the search for and interviewing of witnesses of the Nanjing Massacre, some witnesses and their descendants stepped forward with their own experiences or the the experience of their family members. After the war, Ye Zaizen, a judge in the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal, tried Japanese war criminals such as Hisao Tani, commander of the Japanese 6th Division, Mukai Toshiaki and Noda Tsuyoshi, the two Japanese second lieutenants who conducted the “hundred men beheading” competition, and Tanaka Gunkichi, a Japanese officer who killed more than 100 Chinese. Upon reading the media reports, his son Ye Yukang wrote to the Guangming Daily: “My father, Ye Zaizen, who is now in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, served as a judge in a Chinese military court in 1946.” Thus, an important witness related to the Nanjing Massacre was found.

The collection and collation of historical materials is the basis of historical research.  A number of relevant departments in Nanjing were engaged in various tasks of collecting historical materials related to the Nanjing Massacre.

Nanjing Library, for instance, assigned staff dedicated to combing through its collection of newspapers and books for information on the Nanjing Massacre. They found 8 newspapers, 25 periodicals, and 32 books and picture books related with the massacre and compiled the Catalogue of Atrocities Committed by the Japanese Army Invading China for experts and scholars to consult.

The Second Historical Archives of China and the Nanjing Municipal Archives, which hold large quantities of archives from the Republic of China, attached great importance to the work of history writing and made the search for and collection of archives related to the Nanjing Massacre a priority in their annual agendas. The two Archives cooperated in compiling the Index to the Catalogue of Selected Materials on the Nanjing Massacre. The Second Historical Archives of China compiled archives of the Nanjing Trial involving the Nanjing Massacre, including the indictments, verdicts, incriminating evidence, witness testimonies, and other files, amounting to about 500,000 words in the case of Japanese war criminal Hisao Tani. Apart from the efforts of institutions in Nanjing, the Military Museum of the Chinese People’s Revolution and the Institute of Modern History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing also provided valuable historical materials.

In April 1985, Tillman Durdin, the American journalist who reported on the atrocities committed by the Japanese army in Nanjing, came to China on his “Revisiting China Tour” and visited Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province. After learning of his arrival, the History Writing Office sent Duan Yueping to Xuzhou to interview him and recorded his recollection of the events he reported on.. On February 28, 1984, Japan’s Association for Nanjing Incident Investigation held its first liaison meeting in Tokyo, at which Japanese scholars Tomio Hora and Hisashi Inoue made special presentations. It was decided that the meeting should reconvene within the year in Nanjing to conduct on-site investigations. The historical materials collected by the Japanese scholars and their research results became important reference materials for the writing of the history of the Nanjing Massacre. As of October 24, 1984, the History Writing Office had collected 112 kinds of materials (including those from the Japanese side) with 5.5 million words and more than 200 pictures and photographs, including archives, books, newspapers, pictures, photographs, videos, and oral narratives. The office also compiled and printed An Introduction to the Nanjing Massacre and A Journal of the Nanjing Massacre by the Japanese Invaders, which laid a foundation for the writing of the history.

In 1984, 47 years after the Nanjing Massacre, there were still some survivors of the massacre living in Nanjing. In order to preserve their testimony, the city of Nanjing carried out a “living witness” census. On February 24, 1984, the Nanjing Municipal Government held a meeting to mobilize a census of the still-living residents who had personally experienced the Nanjing Massacre, stating that “the current census aims at obtaining historical testimony  and is an urgent task.” The meeting also stipulated the objects of and time period covered by the census: the persons should include victims, survivors, and eyewitnesses of the Nanjing Massacre; the time period should extend from December 13, 1937 to the end of February 1938. The procurement of census data was divided into three stages. The first was the mobilization and preparation stage, in which specific tasks were assigned to sub-districts, neighborhood committees and villages, and staff training was conducted. The second was the investigation and registration stage, in which meetings were held in communities to mobilize the residents to sign up and/or provide investigators with potentially helpful pointers, and to identify and register census subjects. The third was the investigation and interview stage, at which interviews and investigations of key objects were carried out. The meeting emphasized that the information provided by the witnesses must be authentic, without exaggeration, not to mention hearsay, and information pertaining to the personal cases of the sexual assault of women should be kept confidential. By May 19, 1984, more than 1,000 “living witnesses” were initially identified in the city. Since the census did not progress at the same speed in different districts and counties, it was not completed until the end of August. According to the derived statistics:

[The citywide census] identified a total of 1,756 survivors, victims and witnesses of the Nanjing Massacre who were still alive. Among them, 176 people who were injured and escaped death (including 66 who still have scars from shots); 544 people who had their family members killed (including 393 who had their immediate family members killed); 44 cases of rape (including 10 cases of personal rape); 29 people who had their houses set on fire; 948 people (including 258 important witnesses) who personally witnessed Japanese soldiers burning, killing, raping and plundering; 15 people who helped charity organization and who either volunteered or were forced by the Japanese to bury the dead bodies of the Chinese killed by the Japanese soldiers.

The citywide census obtained a number of new testimonies, adding to a good foundation for later history writing and to the exhibition.

After four years of dedication, involving seven special meetings, an extensive collection of historical materials, and the development of a witness census, the Draft History of the Nanjing Massacre by the Japanese Invaders was finally published and released by the Jiangsu Ancient Books Publishing House in December 1987. This book has since then played an important role in promoting the study of the history of the Nanjing Massacre and the exhibition at the Memorial Hall.

The Exhibition Design and the Decision on the Name of the Memorial Hall

The exhibition is an important function of a memorial hall. When giving instructions on the exhibition of the Memorial Hall, Mayor Zhang Yaohua said:

I suggest that we might exhibit some sculptures, pictures, photos, oil paintings, or large murals and other similar things, which may make people realize that “nations lagging behind will be bullied” and that history is not to be forgotten. Thus, their patriotic thoughts and feelings will be aroused to make efforts to revitalize China and speed up the construction of the Four Modernizations.

Before the exhibition design of the Memorial Hall was finalized, Nanjing Museum held a “Photo Exhibition on the Atrocities of Japanese Invaders.” On September 13, 1984, 159 members of the Japanese “Boat of Peace” delegation to China, as well as some members of the Japanese delegation who came to Nanjing to participate in the Sino-Japanese Youth Friendship Gala, visited the exhibition and the “mass grave” site of the Nanjing Massacre at Jiangdongmen. This provided useful experience for the exhibition of the Memorial Hall. 

In order to facilitate the work of history writing and the reception of Japan’s Association for the Nanjing Incident Investigation, on September 27, 1984, the History Writing Office proposed to establish an “Association for the Study of the Nanjing Massacre” and asked the Nanjing Social Science Association for approval. On November 9, this proposal was approved at the meeting of the Leading Group. (This association did not come into actual operation). On December 16, 1984, a group of 10 people, headed by Akira Fujiwara, from Japan’s Association for the Nanjing Incident Investigation paid a one-week visit to Nanjing. The delegation consisted of four professors, three associate professors, one lecturer, one assistant professor, and also a journalist named Katsuichi Honda, whose newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, initiated the visit. The Nanjing Historical Society hosted the Japanese scholars, accompanied them to the “mass grave” site at Jiangdongmen, and arranged for them to visit the survivors and witnesses of the Nanjing Massacre. During the visit, the Japanese scholars also browsed the newly discovered historical materials about the Nanjing Massacre and had a discussion with history scholars from Nanjing. In addition, the Japanese scholars gave a lecture at Nanjing University. This was the first large-scale exchange between Chinese and Japanese scholars on the history of the Nanjing Massacre. During the exchange, many research resources from the Japanese academic community were provided to the History Writing Office for reference. Both Akira Fujiwara and Katsuichi Honda offered to raise funds for the memorial, but the Nanjing side politely declined their offer.

The smooth progress of history writing laid a solid foundation for the exhibition at the Memorial Hall. The exhibition design of the Memorial Hall was undertaken by the Nanjing Municipal Museum and was basically ready by July 1985. The exhibits consisted of the historical materials collected and organized over the past year, among them more than 200 photos (including some photos provided by Japanese friends), more than 30 pieces of archival materials (including the written verdicts of the Tokyo Trial and the verdict of the Nanjing Trial of the Japanese war criminal Hisao Tani). There were books and newspapers published in China during the war that exposed the Japanese atrocities, such as Documents of the Nanking Safety Zone by Shuhsi Hsu, War Damage in the Nanking Area, December 1937 to March 1938 by Lewis S. C. Smythe, What War Means: the Japanese Terror in China: A Documentary Record by Harold John Timperley, and Blood and Tears in the Fallen Capital by Guo Qi. The verbal testimony of the witnesses located through the census, involving statements and photos of Nanjing Massacre survivors Tang Guangpu, Liu Yongxing, Chen Degui, Wu Changde and others, also made up an important part of the exhibition. The focal point of the exhibition was the skeletal remains of the massacred victims excavated from the mass grave at Jiangdongmen .The exhibition was equipped with multi-functional electric icons and electric sandboxes, which enhanced the visibility of the exhibition.

From July 16 to July 18, 1985, the exhibition organizer convened a symposium in Nanjing. Attendees included 120 experts and scholars from institutes of historical research, archives, book publishers, and museums at the national, provincial and municipal levels; individuals from organizations involved in the design, construction, decoration, and exhibition of the Memorial Hall, as well as those from  departments that had supported the construction of the Memorial Hall. They  toured the sculpture workshop of Jiangsu Provincial Museum of Art and the Jiangdongmen Memorial Hall and offered their observations on what they saw. By then, the preparatory work for the opening of the Memorial Hall was coming to its end.

The final name of the Memorial Hall evolved after a prolonged discussion. the first name for the Memorial Hall was proposed in a draft copy of the “Program on the Collection and Collation of the Historical Materials on the Atrocities of the Nanjing Massacre.” It was: ‘Exhibition Hall for the Atrocities of the Nanjing Massacre by the Invading Japanese Army.’” This same proposed name also appeared in the Work Bulletin compiled in September 1984 by the History Writing Office on the occasion of the visit from members of the Japanese “Boat of Peace”delegation who came to Nanjing to learn the truth about the Nanjing Massacre. It states: “They solemnly laid a wreath in front of the foundation stone of the Exhibition Hall for the Atrocities of the Nanjing Massacre by the Invading Japanese Army.”At a symposium on the history of the Nanjing Massacre held on December 13, 1983, Mayor Zhang Yaohua  stated that “an exhibition hall for the atrocities of the Nanjing Massacre by the invading Japanese army should be built.”On January 5, 1984, a draft copy of “Project Plan for the Design of the Memorial Hall and Monuments of the Compatriots Killed in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders” submitted by the group for memorial and monument building presented a new name: “Memorial Hall of the Compatriots Killed in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.”This name was engraved on the foundation stone of the first construction phase of the Memorial Hall project.

By 1985, the name of the Memorial Hall was changed once again. As Duan Yueping recalls:

before the Spring Festival of 1985, the leading comrade of the Central Government (Deng Xiaoping) came to Nanjing for inspection. He was staying at the Dongjiao Hotel. Mayor Zhang Yaohua went there to report to him on the preparatory work for the building of the Memorial Hall. After the report, Mayor Zhang asked the leading comrade to inscribe the name of the Memorial Hall. The leading comrade then wrote down on a piece of rice paper with a brush: “Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.” The name of the Memorial Hall was prepared by Mayor Zhang in advance and inscribed by the leading comrade after having read it.

This was documented in the Work Bulletin compiled by the History Writing Office. This precious inscription is still kept intact in the Memorial Hall today. On February 13, 1985, the Nanjing Municipal Staffing Office issued the “Approval for the Establishment of the Memorial Hall of the Victims Killed in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.” But since the name of the Memorial Hall had been inscribed by Deng Xiaoping, the word “Killed” was deleted, and the name has been used ever since.

From Physical Space to Space of  Memory

At 8:30 a.m. on August 15, 1985, the Memorial Hall was unveiled to take on the historical mission of “remembering history and cherishing peace.”Prior to that, on April 9, 1984, the Organization Department of the CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee had officially appointed Yang Zhengyuan full-time deputy director of the Office of the Leading Group for History Writing and Memorial Building in Commemoration of the Nanjing Massacre. After the Memorial Hall was completed and opened to the public, Yang served as its first director.

On November 9, 1984, the second plenary meeting of the Leading Group was held, which concluded that “doing a good job on this matter is very important for educating future generations and commemorating those who have gone before us. This is meaningful not only for Nanjing, but also for China and the whole world, so we must do it well.” Today, 35 years later, the Memorial Hall has become an institution with national and even international influence. On May 18, 2020, Art Exhibitions China and Outlook Think Tank jointly released the “2019 Assessment Report of Overseas Influence of National Museums (Exhibitions),” which ranked the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall the first in the country in terms of comprehensive influence in the category of memorials.

Looking back on the preparations and construction of the Memorial Hall, people will better appreciate the value and significance of its construction, the commitment of Nanjing in history writing and memorial building, and the dedication and efforts of all those who participated in the process.

If we counterpose the work of Nanjing’s history writing and memorial building with to both the Japanese history textbook controversy and to the call of the general public, then over the past 35 years, as people’s understanding of the history of the Nanjing Massacre and its nature has deepened, the “physical space” of the Memorial Hall has become a “commemorative space,” embodying the memories of the that tragic period in Chinese history. The Memorial Hall serves a higher purpose than merely rebutting the fallacies of the Japanese right-wing in glorifying the war of aggression and downplaying or even denying the atrocities of the war.

First, the Memorial Hall provides a space for the commemoration of the Nanjing Massacre. Before it was built, there was only one memorial of its kind in Nanjing — the Xiaguan Power Plant Memorial, built to commemorate the 45 workers killed by the Japanese during the Nanjing Massacre. 

Second, the study of the history of the Nanjing Massacre laid down a narrative framework for the exhibitions of the Memorial Hall. Determined to seek truth from facts, members of the history writing group thoroughly studied the relevant historical materials and identified the time, place, and scale of the Nanjing Massacre and the organizations and groups which were related to the massacre, such as the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone, determined the historical context and characteristics of the massacre, and specified the narrative framework of the history of the Nanjing Massacre. Experts and scholars of the history writing group reached agreement on the following: That they “base the study on historical facts only and avoid false, big and empty talk,”“base the writing on accurate historical materials, facts and evidence, and have grounds for and arguments that are supported by reason and stand up to criticism, rebuttal and verification,” and they should “neither exaggerate nor minimize the atrocities committed by the Japanese army.”The rigorous and down-to-earth research of the history writing group not only established a basic narrative framework for Nanjing Massacre studies and determined the basic content and structure of the exhibitions of the Memorial Hall, but also laid a solid foundation for future in-depth research.

Next, the Memorial Hall has turned out to be an important venue for patriotism education. When the Memorial Hall was built, it had been intended to “become a venue to expose the crimes of invading Japanese and to educate people on patriotism.” Now, the Memorial Hall organizes various patriotism education activities every year, such as ringing the Peace Bell every day and holding monthly flag-raising ceremonies. These ritualized ceremonies have become an important function in the promotion of patriotism at the Memorial Hall. Memorial activities have been held at the Memorial Hall every year on December 13 since 1994. In 1997, the Memorial Hall was listed among the first group of national patriotism education bases by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee. In 2014, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress decided to establish the National Memorial Day for the Nanjing Massacre Victims, and since then, the National Memorial Ceremony for the Nanjing Massacre Victims has been held at the Memorial Hall every December 13. Since its opening in 1985, the Memorial Hall has received hundreds of millions of visitors. From 2015 to 2019, the average number of visitors reached eight million annually. In recent years, the Memorial Hall has a communication matrix on different media platforms, including Xuexi Qiangguo, Weibo, WeChat, Douyin, QQ, TouTiao, and its own multilingual official website, so its service is also available to a vast online audience. The educational function of the Memorial Hall has been fully fulfilled.

Lastly, the establishment of the Memorial Hall has laid a solid foundation for the designation of Nanjing as a city of peace. At the symposium preceding the opening of the Memorial Hall, some suggested that the Memorial Hall should not only provide historical and patriotism education, but also hold up the “banner of peace.” For 35 years, the education on the history of the Nanjing Massacre has been conducted together with peace education at the Memorial Hall. In 2015, the Institute of the History of the Nanjing Massacre and International Peace was established at the Memorial Hall. In 2017, the Institute and the Peace Research Institute of Nanjing University jointly applied to have Nanjing as the 169th member of the International Cities of Peace. To provide peace education, the Memorial Hall initiated the Purple Grass International Peace School, which trains thousands of young people from abroad each year. Since 2016, the Memorial Hall has been organizing annual “Walk through the International Safety Zone” for Nanjing residents to remember the deeds of international friends who helped Nanjing refugees during the massacre. The Memorial Hall also organizes the Purple Grass International Peace Camp, inviting the descendants of international friends to Nanjing to revisit the footprints of their forefathers and continue their friendship with Nanjing. Today, the construction of Nanjing as a city of peace has become an important symbol in its identity.

The expansion of the functions of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders fully reflects the deepening of people’s knowledge of the history of the Nanjing Massacre and their understanding of its nature and reflects the trend of the times of opposing war and maintaining world peace. People remember history in order to avoid the repetition of historical tragedies. Perceived from this perspective, the Memorial Hall has been endowed with more contemporary significance.

 （Translated by Wu Hexiong）

 英文载于《日本侵华南京大屠杀研究》英文刊2021年第1期，注释从略。

 中文载于《日本侵华南京大屠杀研究》中文刊2020年第3期。