Xu Chuanyin

Xu Chuanyin (Chinese: 许传音, November 23, 1884 - September 24, 1971), or Hsu Tsuan-ing, hailed from Guichi, Anhui Province. During the Nanjing Massacre, he served as a member of the International Committee for the Nanjing Safety Zone and held the position of vice president of the Nanjing branch of the World Red Swastika Society.^[1]^[2]

Biography

Xu journeyed to Nanjing in 1897 to further his education and obtained a bachelor's degree in agriculture from Nanking University in 1905. Following graduation, he remained in the school to teach and obtained a master's degree from Jinling University in 1915.^[3] In that year, he was funded by the Boxer Indemnities to pursue his studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he obtained a Ph.D. in economics in 1917. He returned to Beijing in 1919 to serve in the Ministry of Railways of the Beiyang government and relocated to Nanjing in 1928 to work in the Ministry of Railways of the Republic of China.^[4]

During the Nanjing Massacre, he was appointed as the head of the Housing Committee of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone, overseeing housing arrangements for evacuees and documenting Japanese atrocities.^[5] Due to his fluency in English, he was appointed as the vice president of the Nanjing branch of the World Red Swastika Society to facilitate communication with foreigners and assist in the burial of bodies.^[6]^[7] In early 1938, he assumed the role of advisor to the "Nanjing Municipal Autonomy Committee" to enhance support for the refugees.^[8] After the forced dissolution of the Safety Zone, he became a member of the International Relief Committee of the Nanjing Refugee Zone. Subsequent to 1945, he assumed the role of deputy director at Gulou Hospital. In 1946, he traveled to Tokyo to provide testimony in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East.^[9] During the 1947 trial of Hisao Tani, he aided in exhuming the skeletons from the mass graves and provided testimony in court.^[10]^[11]

Post-1949, Xu Chuanyin faced a challenging life due to his role in the Japanese Army's puppet committee (i.e. "Nanjing Municipal Autonomy Committee") and succumbed to shock. He was interred in the Huangjinshan Cemetery and subsequently relocated to the Yuhuatai Gongdeyuan Cemetery (Chinese: 雨花台功德园).^[12]

References

^ 朱成山 (2005). "亲历南京大屠杀的外籍人士人数考" (PDF). 抗日战争研究 (4). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-06-30. Retrieved 2017-05-27.
^ 张连红; 胡华玲 (2005). "许传音:南京大屠杀的重要见证人". 钟山风雨 (4): 4–7. Archived from the original on 2021-02-12. Retrieved 2017-05-27.
^ Lu, Suping (2012-07-10). A Mission under Duress: The Nanjing Massacre and Post-Massacre Social Conditions Documented by American Diplomats. University Press of America. p. 335. ISBN 978-0-7618-5151-6. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
^ Cheng, Zhaoqi (2016-12-08). The Tokyo Trial. Cambridge University Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-107-06038-8. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
^ Sabella, Robert; Li, Feifei; Liu, David (2015-06-03). Nanking 1937: Memory and Healing. Routledge. p. 278. ISBN 978-1-317-46415-0. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
^ 许传音 (1994). "南京大屠杀事件之再研究". 抗日战争研究 (4): 39–60.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ 黄艾禾 (2015). "劫后南京". 传奇·传记文学选刊 (11): 13–17. Archived from the original on 2021-02-12. Retrieved 2017-05-27.
^ 荣维木; 王续添; 江沛; 陆发春; 翁有为; 张生; 曹必宏; 徐志民; 刘萍; 丁贤勇; 潘国旗; 李淑娟; 高晓燕; 车霁虹; 李倩; 张正; 刘敏; 张丽; 郭常英; 张艳; 曲广华; 王宏斌; 袁成毅; 李学通 (2010). "笔谈"抗日战争与沦陷区研究"". 抗日战争研究 (1): 126–149.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Yoshida, Takashi (2009-03-04). The Making of the "Rape of Nanking": History and Memory in Japan, China, and the United States. Oxford University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-19-972482-6. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
^ 张生 (2008). "东京审判南京大屠杀案的辩护——以控、辩双方质证为中心的考察". 抗日战争研究 (4).^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Yoshida, Takashi (2009-03-04). The Making of the "Rape of Nanking": History and Memory in Japan, China, and the United States. Oxford University Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-19-972482-6. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
^ "东京审判他舌战松井石根辩护律师，许传音后人：当时全家像过节一样开心". 扬子晚报网 (in Chinese). 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2025-04-28.^{[permanent dead link]}

[1] 朱成山 (2005). "亲历南京大屠杀的外籍人士人数考" (PDF). 抗日战争研究 (4). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-06-30. Retrieved 2017-05-27.

[钟山风雨-2] 张连红; 胡华玲 (2005). "许传音:南京大屠杀的重要见证人". 钟山风雨 (4): 4–7. Archived from the original on 2021-02-12. Retrieved 2017-05-27.

[p589-3] Lu, Suping (2012-07-10). A Mission under Duress: The Nanjing Massacre and Post-Massacre Social Conditions Documented by American Diplomats. University Press of America. p. 335. ISBN 978-0-7618-5151-6. Retrieved 2025-04-28.

[o217-4] Cheng, Zhaoqi (2016-12-08). The Tokyo Trial. Cambridge University Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-107-06038-8. Retrieved 2025-04-28.

[p444-5] Sabella, Robert; Li, Feifei; Liu, David (2015-06-03). Nanking 1937: Memory and Healing. Routledge. p. 278. ISBN 978-1-317-46415-0. Retrieved 2025-04-28.

[6] 许传音 (1994). "南京大屠杀事件之再研究". 抗日战争研究 (4): 39–60.^{[permanent dead link]}

[7] 黄艾禾 (2015). "劫后南京". 传奇·传记文学选刊 (11): 13–17. Archived from the original on 2021-02-12. Retrieved 2017-05-27.

[抗日战争与沦陷区研究-8] 荣维木; 王续添; 江沛; 陆发春; 翁有为; 张生; 曹必宏; 徐志民; 刘萍; 丁贤勇; 潘国旗; 李淑娟; 高晓燕; 车霁虹; 李倩; 张正; 刘敏; 张丽; 郭常英; 张艳; 曲广华; 王宏斌; 袁成毅; 李学通 (2010). "笔谈"抗日战争与沦陷区研究"". 抗日战争研究 (1): 126–149.^{[permanent dead link]}

[y691-9] Yoshida, Takashi (2009-03-04). The Making of the "Rape of Nanking": History and Memory in Japan, China, and the United States. Oxford University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-19-972482-6. Retrieved 2025-04-28.

[10] 张生 (2008). "东京审判南京大屠杀案的辩护——以控、辩双方质证为中心的考察". 抗日战争研究 (4).^{[permanent dead link]}

[h023-11] Yoshida, Takashi (2009-03-04). The Making of the "Rape of Nanking": History and Memory in Japan, China, and the United States. Oxford University Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-19-972482-6. Retrieved 2025-04-28.

[x103-12] "东京审判他舌战松井石根辩护律师，许传音后人：当时全家像过节一样开心". 扬子晚报网 (in Chinese). 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2025-04-28.^{[permanent dead link]}

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