Photographer documents final days of centenarian war heroes

Born in October 1916, Ren Longsheng was from Xinghua, Jiangsu province. After graduating from junior high school in 1931, he entered a medical school affiliated with the army. Following the outbreak of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), he was sent to a battlefield hospital as a lieutenant doctor. Later, he served as a doctor in key battles, such as the Battle of Tai'erzhuang, the Battle of Xuzhou, and the Battle of Wuhan.

In 1943, he contracted malignant malaria and was hospitalized. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, he worked at Hengshan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. He and his wife, Zhu Jinzhen, have six sons and two daughters, all of whom are still alive. Their eldest son is 76 years old. Four generations of the family, totaling 56 people, include three generations with twins. He passed away in July 2020. The photo was taken at Ren's home on Jan 29, 2017, during a family reunion on the second day of Chinese New Year.

Yang Che contributed to this story.