Cheng Ruifang

Tsen Shui Fang (, 1875–1969), or Cheng Ruifang (née Yue) in some translations, was a Chinese nurse who worked in tandem with American missionary Wilhelmina "Minnie" Vautrin as her assistant during the Nanjing Massacre. Together Vautrin and Tsen would provide help for women and children in the Ginling College. Both Tsen and Vautrin kept diaries during their time in Nanjing, or Nanking, to document everyday occurrences they witnessed during the Japanese invasion. This diary has led her to be known as the "Anne Frank of the East,"

During her lifetime, Tsen was married and had children. Tsen died in 1969 at the age of 94.

Early life Born in 1875, Tsen Shui Fang originates from the district of Wuchang in Hubei's provincial capital of Wuhan. In 1910, she became the Director of Dormitory at the St. Hilda's Girls High School in Wuchang. For twelve years, she oversaw the students' room and board with careful consideration. In 1922, she was promoted to principal of the St. Hilda's Girls elementary school. At the end of September, Tsen represented Ginling in an effort to reclaim the campus from the Japanese authorities and participated in Ginling's rehabilitation, at which she worked for months. On April 8, 1946, Tsen submitted written statements to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, which conducted the Tokyo War Crimes Trial.

Legacy Cheng Ruifang's diary is the first known daily diary recorded by a Chinese citizen on the Nanjing Massacre. Her diary is seen as proof of the violent nature of the invasion documenting the rape and murder committed by the Japanese soldiers. Minnie Vautrin also kept a diary that recorded her observance. The two diaries have detailed description of the war crimes Japanese soldiers committed on Ginling campus, revealing the suboptimal conditions women and children endure during the Nanjing Massacre.

The Second Historical Archives of China in Nanjing has collaborated with Nanjing Publishing Group, to edit and translate the diary into English and Japanese.