Testimonies to the truth: Victims of the Nanjing Massacre share their heartbreaking stories with the world (3)

Testimony of Xue Jialin

-"The scars on my mouth will forever record the crimes committed by the Japanese invaders."

Testimony of Xue Jialin, a victim of the Nanjing Massacre. (Photo by The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders)

My family lived in Hengyang Temple at Qixia. In the year 1937, during the 11th month of the lunar calendar, the Japanese army came to the village. Most villagers had fled or hid somewhere. I didn't run away in time and was caught by them. Two Japanese soldiers forced me to lead them to find "flower girls" (beautiful women). The Japanese soldier kicked the door of Chen Deshan's house open. They went into the kitchen and found hot porridge in the pot. One of the Japanese soldiers tilted his head and muttered a sound of "en" in a questionable tone. It seemed that he was saying: there's so much porridge here, but where are all the people? The other Japanese soldier said "Are there any 'flower girls' here?" I answered, "No."

Out of anger, this Japanese soldier suddenly lifted his sword and hacked me. I tried to dodge, but with a sharp sound the blade cut my mouth. I forgot everything at that time. I turned around and started running away as fast as I could. After turning the corner and running through different streets, I lost them.

I hid myself in the forest of the back mountain. At this time, I realized my lips had been cut into four pieces. Five to six teeth on the left side were cut off, and blood was dripping down from my jaw. The pain almost killed me, but I didn't dare to shout or make any noise.

This time I barely escaped with my life. Although I survived, the scars on my mouth will forever record the crimes committed by the Japanese invaders.