SHENYANG, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) — A collection of 189 historical artifacts documenting the Japanese invasion of China has been recently donated to the September 18th Historical Museum in Shenyang, capital of northeast China’s Liaoning Province, by a local collector.
The donated historical materials and artifacts include various categories such as certificates, manuscripts, letters and photo albums. They documented the numerous crimes committed by the Japanese military during its war of aggression.
Among them, an album photographed by the Japanese military contains 154 original photos about Japan’s invasion of China, documenting activities such as Japanese troops’ reconnaissance and marches.
According to the museum, during Japan’s military invasion of various parts of China, a large number of Japanese war correspondents went deep into the front lines of Japanese-occupied areas to document the war through images. They published a series of high-definition wartime photo albums, collections, and pictorials that promoted a pro-war narrative and Japan’s aggression against China.
The first and second volumes of a commemorative photo album included in this donation accurately recorded the Japanese military’s propaganda and its whitewashing of acts of aggression.
Li Yanbo, the collector, said that although these artifacts are silent, they speak volumes about that heavy chapter of history. Only by placing them in a museum and presenting them to the public can more people see the truth of history.
Zhang Yunfeng, deputy curator of the museum, stated that the donation provides new and compelling evidence for the research into the history of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the September 18th Incident. They also play a significant role in enriching the museum’s collection and filling gaps in related artifact categories. ■
