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Unit 4—Handout 14
Survivor Testimony of Mr. Chang Zhiqiang, Survivor of the Nanking
Massacre, 78 years old—Interviewed in 2006, Nanjing
I was born in 1928. In 2006, I am 78 years old. I am a victim and survivor of the Nanjing massacre.
At the time of the massacre, my family had 10 members: my four brothers, my one sister, my parents, my
paternal grandmother, my maternal grandmother and myself. My father had set up a small grocery store in
an area with some prosperity. At this time, I was in school and the air raids were very intense. Because it was
diffi cult to make a living, we wanted to leave, but we had no money. My grandmother told my father to fl ee
with the family. My father didn’t want to leave the grandmothers, but his mother severely scolded him so the
eight of us left.
We tried to get to the International Safety Zone. My youngest brother was still breastfeeding. By the time
we reached the southern part of the city it was dark. The Nationalist Army was there, but they didn’t allow us
to cross the bridge. They had blockaded the bridge and wanted to keep it open to facilitate their own retreat.
It was very cold outside. We tried to negotiate, but the offi cer wouldn’t budge. He said he had his orders. He
pointed a gun to my father. My mother then convinced my father to back down.
We decided we would stay with the other refugees and hide in the alleys. One household took us in and
invited us to stay the night. At one point, we had to take refuge in an air shelter. Because I was sick I stayed
in the house and didn’t follow them to the air shelter, but my father came back to get me.
We left the air shelter once the bombing stopped. At this time, we wanted to get into the city. We thought
that because we were civilians we would be safe there. A group of us was leaving an alley when we heard
screams. Before we could realize what was happening, a group of Japanese soldiers came into the alley and
started fi ring on us. We tried to retreat, but the other side was a dead end.
There was complete chaos in the alley. My father told my mother to retreat to the back of the alley with
the children. He went forward toward the Japanese soldiers to try to protect those in the back. I remember
seeing a thirteen year old boy try to fi ght a Japanese soldier who had killed his family member. The Japanese
soldier slashed the boy’s head in half. I also remember seeing a famous Chinese opera singer being stabbed.
He tried to beg the Japanese soldiers to stop what they were doing, but they stabbed him again and eventually
shot him.
In the chaos, we lost part of our family. The Japanese soldiers bayoneted my mother in the shoulder. She
fell; then tried to stand up and beg the Japanese soldiers to leave us alone. They stabbed her one more time.
My eldest sister was crying and trying to stop the soldier. My mother grabbed the bayonet with her hands.
The soldier twisted and withdrew the bayonet, cutting apart my mother’s hands. More Japanese soldiers came
running. My older brother was begging the soldiers not to stab our mother, but she was stabbed again. She
dropped my baby brother. My baby brother screamed. The soldier stabbed him in his buttocks with the
bayonet and threw him away. I ran to lie on top of him and tell him to stop crying. My other brothers started
attacking the Japanese soldier who had stabbed our mother. My eldest sister was also stabbed at this time. She
told my brothers to fl ee or they would all be killed. At this time, I passed out.
I don’t know how much time passed before I woke up, but when I did it was silent. My brother was no
longer beneath me. I was alone. I went to my sister who was crying, “Ma, Ma.” I know she was telling me
to check my mother. I found my mother. She was still breathing. She had been breastfeeding before this all
happened so her shirt was open and I could see her stab wounds. I tried to tell her she would recover. She
kept turning her head. I then heard a baby crying. I knew my mother was telling me to check on the baby. I
found him amidst the dead bodies, trying to crawl out. The blood from the wound on his buttocks had turned
to red ice and it covered his body. He was trying to crawl towards me. I went over to pick him up and brought
him to my mom. She opened her shirt so she could breastfeed him. He was trying his best to feed. I tried
to cover her other wounds. When the baby fi nished, my mother didn’t say anything. She died right then. I
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