The Chinese artist, who painted the "The Nanjing Massacre," was awarded the highest prize in culture, along with French President Emmanuel Macron's wife Brigitte Macron, by Ligue Universelle du Bien Public on Friday in Paris, France. The grand ceremony honored 17 people from 10 countries and five continents.

The Ligue Universelle du Bien Public, formerly an international charity, was founded in 1464 and later became a United Nations non-governmental organization. Through recommendation and selection, medals are awarded to people who have made outstanding contributions in the fields of public welfare, culture and art, science, education and other sectors. Former US President John F. Kennedy, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, French Chinese artist Zhao Wuji have won the honors in the past.

This year, as the only Chinese among all winners, Li Zijian was selected because of his dedication to charity work and public welfare. For the last 30 years, he has helped fund impoverished students, supported earthquake-stricken areas, and held public welfare exhibitions, donating the proceeds to build museums. 

In 1991, Chinese artist Li Zijian finished a three-meter-tall oil painting, "The Nanjing Massacre", in hopes of shaking viewers with its tragic and bleak depiction of the horrors of war. The Nanjing Massacre was one of the darkest periods of China's modern history, where more than 300,000 Chinese were tortured and murdered by the Japanese army in 1937. Li’s work has become a permanent display at Nanjing's Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in 2000.