Chronicler of 1937 ‘Rape of Nanking’ Dies at 36. Chang, who took an unflinching, breathtaking look at one of the worst human wartime atrocities of the modern age, and is the mother of a young child, took her own life by gunshot at 36. (New York Times) This is very very sad. She had struggled with severe depression and some around her have suggested that ending her life in despair was connected to the intimate examination she made of human depravity in her work.