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From History and Peace Comes Victory; Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall 3

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It’s 10 o’clock in the morning, 13th of December, 2015. Cars, ships and trains in Nanjing started to sound their air sirens.

The sharp sounds went through the whole city while all citizens on the road stopped with their heads bowed—it lasted for a whole minute. Flags were flying at half-mast, the sky was blue, and so was Nanjing.

On the same day, 78 years ago, a killing spree by Japan’s imperial army took 300,000 people’s life away in Nanjing. Activities such as candle-lighting, siren-sounding and memorial-visiting are held to mourn the victims of the Nanjing Massacre every year on this day. This year, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial has a distinction as the new third hall opened.

The huge sculpture standing in front of the old Memorial is a crying, raped woman. She looks up at the sky, holding her dead son in her hands and had lost her tortured husband. The sculpture here, always reminds us the scar on Nanjing. The primary two Halls’ themes are “History” and “Peace” while the new Hall settled its theme as “Victory”. Opened this year, 2015, it gives us a brighter and more powerful atmosphere and it is to commemorate the 70th anniversary victory of the world’s anti fascist war. As it is constructed in a special year, the new Hall carries the Chinese’s determination for victory and self-confidence.

Around the new Memorial Hall, huge banners on the wall with white words on blue can be seen. They say “Justice will Prevail”, “Peace will Prevail” and “People will Prevail”. Other banners put on the streetlights in order say “Do not forget the national humiliation, rejuvenate the Chinese dream.” Those banners correspond to the theme of the new Hall.

When passing through the entrance of the new Hall, you will find the road sink into a narrow space. The high walls on both sides make the space even darker. The design of the entrance represents how Chinese people went through the hardships and sufferings in the War of Resistance against Japan. The roads rise gradually as the walls become lower when visitors walk further. Over 1100 historical pictures and about 6000 cultural relics are showcased along the path. Then, sunshine pours in through an open design of the ceiling and illuminates the whole memorial. The end of the visiting road is the start of the view of the Victory Square. Broad vision comes back and all pains imprinted. Seeing from the air, those trails form a huge “8”, emblemizing the eight-year-fight against Japanese invaders.

Abundant visitors have come to visit the new Hall since the opening day and plenty of them are Japanese. Hard as it is, two Japanese girls from Nanjing University accepted the interview on the special 13thDecember about how they view this part of history.

When asked about feelings about the Massacre, the half-blood Japanese girl Hekiun from the Department of Psychology of Nanjing University, said she still feel uncomfortable when the miserable day comes. “My dad is a Japanese, and my mom is a Chinese, coming from Nanjing,” she said. The special identity makes her more sensitive about that history. “I’ve visited the Memorial two years ago. The feeling was too strong to be described. Those pictures were…totally inhuman,” she added. When asked about whether her parents talk about the Massacre or not, she said, “yes, but not now. I think what we should do is letting the past pass, keeping the memories and moving on.”

Airi Haga, an exchange Japanese girl in Nanjing University, in her junior year majoring in international relationship, accepted the interview and said she has been educated about the Nanjing Massacre in Japan. “My major is too close to the relationship between nations, so I subconsciously become too critical about this particular history,” she said. “It’s very horrible, and sad, what happened before, but the historical truth is now mixed with too many political factors.” She also expressed her worries about whether her words were “too cold” or with prejudice. “I don’t care about the government party, I care about individuals. I agree with one of my Chinese professors,” said the Japanese girl. “He told me now we can sit down and talk about that dark history. We feel and we communicate, that is love and hope.”

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