On December 13, 1937, Nanjing, then capital of China, became a "hell on earth" as the invading Japanese army captured the city and indulged in a spree of killing, raping and looting.
In the following six weeks, more than 300,000 Nanjing civilians and disarmed Chinese soldiers were slain and over 20,000 cases of rape were recorded in the infamous Nanjing Massacre, also known as "the rape of Nanking."
Exactly 65 years later, citizens of this capital city of east China's Jiangsu province, took to the streets in a candlelight parade Friday evening, paying tribute to the memory of all innocent victims and also calling for eternal peace.
At 5:30 p.m., the march started on the Shuiximen Street in west Nanjing, one of the massacre sites in 1937 and now the location for the Memorial Hall of Massacre Victims.
Requiems were played as some 1,000 people, including people from all walks of life in Nanjing and foreigners, marched out of the memorial hall and proceeded in the cold moonlight to the newly-built Peace Plaza 2.5 kilometers away.
Among them was 84-year-old Li Xiuying, who was stabbed 37 times by bayonet while resisting Japanese soldiers' rape attempts 65 years ago.
"Today I simply want to say: We don't want wars, we want peace," said the wheelchair-bound Li, who looked peaceful and serene in the candlelight.
"It is really hard to express myself on such an occasion," said Yamauti Sayoko, a Japanese lady in her 30s in the procession. "I had joined candlelight parades in Japan, but it's totally different to be here in Nanjing on this very evening."
Huge banners held high by a 97-member railway trade union delegation from Japan read "Always remember the history of Nanjing Massacre and never forget the pain and tears of the Chinese people" and "Let the Chinese and Japanese peoples join hands and work together for world peace."
The parade lasted for more than half an hour. When the procession finally reached the plaza, it had grown more than 10 times as tens of thousands of citizens joined it.
"The Nanjing Massacre is a scar for all Chinese. We must always remember this devastating episode of history and strive for our national rejuvenation," said Zuo Yongjun, a middle school teacher who joined the procession with candles he bought himself.
On the Peace Plaza, the silence throughout the parade was broken as 65 pianos played together a melody called "Ode to Peace."
All present on the plaza listened attentively to a poem recited by five little girls clad all in white: "Tonight, we mourn in the candlelight, looking back on the pain of the past, and calling fora lasting peace."
"The world needs peace and the Chinese people long for peace. However, only by respecting history and drawing lessons from it, can we achieve real peace," said Zhao Jianmin, a professor of history from the prestigious Fudan University of Shanghai.
(Xinhua News Agency December 14, 2002)
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