Nanking 1937, the first ever cartoon book on the Nanking Massacre, saw its copyright introduction meeting held in the Belgrade Book Fair. The book was written by a famous French playwright Nick Meland and drawn by Professor Zhou Zongkai of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute (SFAI) along with his son Zhou Weizong.
Nanking 1937, planned by the French FEI Publishing House to be presented in a style of woodcut, tells the true story of Xia Shuqin, a survivor from the Nanking Massacre, revealing the anti-human crimes committed by Japanese troops from the angle of a survivor.
On 13th December, 1937, Xia's grandparents, parents, 2 elder sisters and 1 younger sister were killed by Japanese troops, leaving behind only Xia and a 4-year-old sister. At that time, Chairman of the Nanking International Safety Zone, Rabe, kept Xia's story in his diary. An American missionary videoed the miserable conditions of her home located at No. 5, Xinlukou in Zhonghuamen, Nanking.
Zhou Zongkai got in contact with Nanking 1937 in 2010, when the Chinese reprisentative in charge of FEI Publishing House, Xu Gefei, came to SFAI for a visit and had a talk with Zhou in his studio in Huxi Commune (Huxi Gongshe), known as the largest domestic Village of Artists in China.
Xu told Zhou about her intention of adding more Chinese material to the publishing industry, and due to the lack of knowledge of Chinese history around 1937 among European society, it would be informative to put forward her idea.
After viewing the pictures drawn by Zhou for the book of The Diaoyu Fortress, Xu decided to have Nanking 1937 drawn by Zhou.
Nanking 1937 was written by Nick Meland, a famous French playwright. When asked why a foreigner was chosen to write a Chinese story, Xu stated that a foreigner could tell the story in a more objective manner, enabling readers to gain a more balanced impression.
In August 2010, Zhou received the manuscripts of Nanking 1937.
For an entire month, Zhou and his 25-year-old son Zhou Weizong, a young cartoonist, worked on the drawings in his studio for over 10 hours every day.
In 2011, the French Edition of Nanking 1937 was put into the markets in France, Belgium, Luxemburg and Switzerland. On the memorial day of the 7th July Incident of 1937 in 2014, the book’s Chinese Edition was published by the Sichuan Children's Publishing House.
In 2012, the book's French Edition was awarded the Best Painting prize in the Amiens Animation Festival.
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