This photograph captures one of the last moments of this woman’s life.



Cheng Benhua was a resistance fighter who gave her life defending her home country of China against the Japanese Imperial Army. 

She has become a symbol of bravery in the face of death and unspeakable abuse.  Not long before striking this defiant pose, Cheng Benhua was repeatedly abused by her Japanese captors. 

Despite the awareness that she would soon be killed, she still managed to put on a devious smile that made it seem like she was taunting the soldiers around her.


Cheng Benhua's unwavering courage in the face of death has become an iconic representation of fearless resistance. A photograph, taken by a Japanese photographer shortly before she was fatally wounded in 1938, captures her unyielding spirit. 

Not long before striking this defiant pose, Cheng Benhua was repeatedly abused and raped by her Japanese captors. 


Despite enduring severe mistreatment at the hands of her captors, she appears to smile as she faces death, with her arms folded across her chest and her head raised towards the camera. This pose is commemorated by a five-meter statue in Nanjing, which was itself the site of one of the most horrific massacres of the war.

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