Chapter 57 let me remember your name

One of the touching points of the work "Katyn Massacre" by Polish film master Andrzej Wajda is: they all have names. "They" were Polish prisoners of war in the Second World War. In the state of irrational and disorderly war, more than 20,000 Polish soldiers were massacred in Katyn Forest, but even under such conditions, their The name remained.Future generations know who they were, how many there were, and some even took risks to preserve their files and relics so that they would not be lost and forgotten. Remembering them and knowing their names is the best memory.Because memory also needs to be named, and it also needs language to draw boundaries for them. As Mr. Xiong Bingming said, when a painter names his paintings, it is actually "like a wooden pole tied to a sheep".Words are wooden poles in a time and space without borders, holding on to the real past that memory is aimed at.

For us, the "Nanjing Massacre" used to have no boundaries and was only a vague "three hundred thousand", but we finally began to make their faces clear.In terms of sorting out the historical materials of the "Nanjing Massacre": "The third batch of "Nanjing Massacre Historical Materials Collection" was published at the end of 2009. So far, the total volume of the historical materials collection is expected to reach 80 volumes and 40 million words. The most detailed and systematic description of the original historical data on the Nanjing Massacre.” Among them, the eight-volume "List of Compatriots Victims" compiled by scholars over seven years was published a few years ago: "The list takes the form of cards, with Based on archival documents, oral materials, and letters from the masses, more detailed personal information of the victims of the Nanjing Massacre has been collected. At present, 14,961 information cards of the victims have been included. Except for those who have repeated investigations, this collection of historical materials has included more than 13,000 victims. Personal information of victims."

Although compared with Yad Vashem's "62 million various Holocaust-related documents and archives, nearly 270,000 photos, and thousands of video tapes and other audio-visual materials", compared with their goal of "until every We have not done enough compared to the fact that all victims have names.”However, the publication of the "List of Compatriots Died" shows that we have finally taken a step forward. We have begun to try to remember each of them so that they will not be reduced to oblivion and oblivion. Not only wars, but even the victims of disasters, I would also like to know, what are their names, are they called "Tian Wumei" or "Zhang Amao"?I want to know at what age they died, whether they left any words, and whether their relatives are commemorating them.Knowing their names, remembering them, and passing them on is the best commemoration and the best memory.

Really, time flies, memories are gradually blurring, survivors are dying, and the ruins left by wars or disasters have been pulled down to build new houses.The reappearance of the scene again and again made the pain dull.What's more, personal experience has always been the most overlooked detail, and its whereabouts are often unknown in the "collective pain".Therefore, wars and disasters become mere sad symbols. We are aware of "pain", but we don't know how to "pain". Perhaps, one of the ways of "pain" is to apply "pain" to specific people like us, remember their names, and pass them on.In a time and space without boundaries, give them a coordinate.

Let them live on in our memory.