Zhang Shixiang, who survived the Nanjing Massacre, passed away on December 27 at the age of 92. And on the morning of Dec. 28, Yuan Guilong, another survivor of Nanjing Massacre, passed away at the age of 88. 

Their death reduced the total number of registered survivors to 51, according to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.

Zhang Shixiang was born on December 28, 1930. His family took refuge in a safety zone during the mass killings after Japanese troops captured the eastern Chinese city on December 13, 1937.

Zhang once said there were so many refugees in the zone that it was very crowded and people had to sleep on the cold floor at night. Sometimes it’s difficult to fall sleep at all, so we just stood up and walked a bit, without sleeping at all,” he recalled.  

Later, the family went to the house of a friend of Zhang’s father. At that time, they dared not to leave the place, spoke in a lower voice, and stayed in the house all day. 

"I didn't know much at that time or feel scared. But my mother always hid herself and rarely spoke, even when we were eating. It took about two months before she calmed down," Zhang said. 

Yuan Guilong was born on April 22, 1934. As a child, he witnessed his father being tied to a tree and stabbed a dozen times to death by Japanese invaders. His uncle Yuan Dehong was taken away by the Japanese invaders and never came back. Yuan himself was badly kicked by Japanese invaders and his leg got broken. Yuan became a teacher when he grew up, and he often told students to remeber the history and cherish peace.

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