Wang Suming . The source of the picture is the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by the Japanese Invaders. The original picture was taken by the photographer Su Jia.
She was only two years old when the Nanjing Massacre occurred.
The Japanese invaders killed her father and burned down her house. As a result, the child in her mother's belly was aborted, and her grandmother died in depression. In order for all four children to survive, the mother reluctantly sent them away, and the four brothers and sisters have been homeless since then. And she also lost her name Yang Mingzhu and changed her name to Wang Suming.
She has always been strong. When she was a child, her family was poor, so she pulled wild vegetables and worked as a weaver for others. After the founding of New China, she worked as an operator in the railway electrical section and won the title of model worker. After retirement, she did charity work in the neighborhood committee for more than 20 years and became the oldest Youth Olympics volunteer in Qinhuai District, Nanjing. She suffered from cancer in her later years, but she comforted her children, "Don't be sad after I leave."
That period of history is branded on her body like a scar. She hated those who took away her family and her childhood. She stood up and testified, telling everyone around her. However, there was no apology.
html At 12:30 noon on March 23, Wang Suming, a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, passed away at the age of 87. Currently, there are only 58 living survivors registered in the Nanjing Assistance Association for Victims of the Japanese Invaders."Her childhood misfortunes were all caused by the Japanese"
Yang Mingzhu should have had a happy childhood - she had a home in Xianhemen, Nanjing City, with her parents, a grandmother, two brothers and a sister, and the upcoming The arrival of a younger brother or sister.
But in 1937, she lost all this.
Yang Mingzhu and her sister Yang Jingqiu once recalled in the "80th Anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre" micro-documentary "Survivor Story" that after the Japanese army invaded Nanjing, their father was captured and killed by the Japanese army, and their grandmother was so angry that she died of illness and was devastated. The homeless mother, who was two months pregnant, had a miscarriage.
A mother who suffered heavy bleeding after a miscarriage thought she could no longer survive, so she gave two of her children up for adoption and one of her children as an apprentice. The youngest daughter Mingzhu was adopted by a family named Wang and renamed Wang Suming. She was only two years old when she left home.
Like countless families in Nanjing, the fate of the four brothers and sisters was completely changed. My brother who was working as an apprentice was often beaten and his hands were so swollen that pus and blood appeared in the winter. He cried and shouted that he wanted to go home. Her sister worked odd jobs in exchange for food. She wanted to get her sister back, but was rejected. The two sisters could not recognize each other for many years.
Wang Suming lived a life of dependence on others at the home of his adoptive parents. Her adoptive mother asked her to go out to dig wild vegetables. She was discovered after crawling through the barbed wire fence, and the Japanese set wolf dogs to bite her. She and her daughter Xu Hong have told this story countless times. No matter how old she gets, she will always remember the time when she panicked and ran away when she was five or six years old.
She also went to Purple Mountain where the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is located to pull out amaranth stalks. Amaranth was so tall that when someone pulled it out, both the person and the amaranth stalk fell down, followed by skulls.
When she was seven or eight years old, she earned tips by emptying other people's toilets. When she was a teenager, she went to a small workshop to do odd jobs weaving yarn and cloth to support her family. With a well-off family, she shouldn't have had such a childhood. "She often said that she hated the Japanese and that her childhood misfortunes were all caused by the Japanese," Xu Hong said.
Wang Suming when he was young. Photo provided by the interviewee
An old man who is passionate about public welfare
After the founding of New China, Wang Suming worked as an operator in the Nanjing Railway Electrical Section. In Xu Hong’s childhood memory, his mother always left early and came home late. In order not to be late, she got up at five in the morning and walked for more than an hour in the heavy snow to get to work. When working the night shift, Xu Hong went to school and Wang Suming came home from get off work. While working, she also signed up for night classes.
Xu Hong only saw his mother's hard work. Earlier, Wang Suming's life was difficult and sad. She once told her daughter that because her adoptive parents had no income and were afraid that her adopted daughter would change her mind, they asked her to hand over all her income and only keep a few yuan for living expenses every month.
"When she first started working, her daily ration was only one sesame seed cake, half a piece at noon and half a piece at night." Xu Hong felt sorry for his mother.The work of the
operator is tedious and cannot make mistakes. When a call comes into the electrical section , the operator must connect the correct department line. Wang Suming wrote the phone numbers in a densely packed phone book and memorized it over and over again until the numbers of all departments were engraved in his mind.
"She works very hard." Xu Hong remembers that her mother proudly told her that her colleagues' monthly salary was 30 yuan, but she could get 60 yuan. In the operator competition, she also won the title of model worker.
Wang Suming works as an operator in the Nanjing Railway Electrical Section. Photo courtesy of interviewee
Later, Wang Suming’s job was transferred to the Veteran Cadre Section of Pukou Prison in Jiangsu Province. She was responsible for organizing veteran cadre activities until her retirement in 1990.
Xu Hong feels that that generation is "born for work." After retiring, Wang Suming still has no leisure time. He rides his bicycle to the neighborhood committee every day to participate in volunteer services.
Sometimes, Wang Suming goes out at around eight o'clock in the morning. When Xu Hong comes home from work, his mother is still busy in the neighborhood committee. While staying at home, when a call came, she would ride her bicycle over to help. The
community wanted to give her a volunteer subsidy, but she didn’t want any of it. Even if her pension is not sufficient, she will go to the neighborhood committee to donate money when she sees someone encountering a disaster.
After Wang Suming and her sister Yang Jingqiu reunited, the two families had more contacts. In the eyes of my niece Xiao Yaping, my aunt is cheerful, talkative and warm-hearted. Not only does she help people, she also often feeds stray cats. The two cats raised by Wang Suming both lived to be about 20 years old. Many stray cats came to eat and drink in front of her house, and she gave them "nicknames" one by one. When she goes for a walk by the Qinhuai River , she will also carry a handful of cat food and feed stray cats while chatting with people.
In the summer of 2021, Ling Xi, deputy director of the Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by the Japanese Invaders, and her staff came to visit Wang Suming. She proudly introduced her grandchildren. Picture source: Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by the Japanese Invaders
"Don't be sad after I leave"
The busy pace stopped 7 years ago when 80-year-old Wang Suming was diagnosed with intestinal cancer. She later underwent several surgeries, but the cancer spread to her lungs and bones. When the pain was severe, she could only rely on medical morphine for pain relief.
Wang Suming had to stop his volunteer service. She kept all the medals and certificates she had received at home. When she was hospitalized, she always muttered to her daughter, "You won't get rid of these when I'm sick, right?" Xu Hong knows that these are her mother's treasures.
As survivors of the Nanjing Massacre, before they fell ill, two sisters, Wang Suming and Yang Jingqiu, often gave interviews and told people about that period of history, hoping that people would remember it. Even during her hospitalization, almost every nurse heard Wang Suming talk about the Nanjing Massacre, and she could not suppress her hatred.
In December 2020, Li Xueqing went to the hospital to visit Wang Suming. Photo provided by interviewee
Li Xueqing was deeply impressed by Wang Suming’s experience. As a staff member of the Nanjing Assistance Association for Victims of the Japanese Invaders, Li Xueqing has known Wang Suming for nearly 10 years. As a public welfare social organization, the association's main job is to provide survivors with disease relief, holiday condolences, hardship subsidies, health care, etc.
Li Xueqing often visits Wang Suming to express her condolences and sends condolences and epidemic prevention supplies to the elderly. She also calls Wang Suming from time to time to listen to her talk about past experiences and talk about her current life and mood. The two chat for more than an hour.
Wang Suming treated her like his own grandchild. As the weather cooled down, Wang Suming called her and told her to wear more clothes and pay attention to her health. During the epidemic, Wang Suming, who was still hospitalized, specifically asked her family to call Li Xueqing to greet her, "Tell me to pay attention to epidemic prevention and protect myself."
In Li Xueqing's eyes Li, Wang Suming is an optimistic old lady. Although she has been fighting cancer most of the time since they met, Li Xueqing has hardly heard her complain.
Wang Suming even comforted the children: "Don't worry, I am. Can live to be 100 years old! Even at the last moment, she told her daughter, "Don't be sad after I leave." "
html At 12:30 noon on March 23, Wang Suming died in his sleep.In accordance with her last wish, the funeral was kept simple."My father was captured and killed by the Japanese, and my mother gave me to a family named Wang for adoption." Wang Suming left such a testimony at the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by the Japanese Invaders.
Beijing News reporter Guo Yimeng intern Wang Yexuan
editor Liu Qian
proofreader Liu Jun
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