The Rape Of Nanking Summary

In her book, The Rape of Nanking, Iris Chang wrote about the atrocities that happened within a few weeks in 1937. Her own grandparents escaped the massacre and sparked her interest in the sparsely covered events. In December 1937, the Japanese took control of Nanking, the capital of China at the time. The Japanese army quickly marched into the city and not only looted and burned the buildings of the city, but also systematically raped, tortured, and murdered over 300,000 Chinese civilians. The cruel treatment of the Chinese by Japanese soldiers represents the brutality behind the militaristic culture and their values of human lives. The first part of the story is from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers responsible for the crimes. The Japanese followed a series of beliefs that promoted the idea in which a soldier must die for his emperor, called bushido. These values ultimately led to the draconian treatment of the civilians; a level at which most historians can not even begin to understand. After the soldiers of Nanking were murdered protecting the civilians, no one was left to

However, the Japanese government continues to deny that this event ever happened and fails to teach it in their school curriculum. Many Japanese civilians are clueless as to what happened during the war between China and Japan. After the Rape of Nanking ended, very few Japanese soldiers were put on trial, and only seven were executed. Many of the men who participated in the mass killing and raping of the Chinese continued to hold political office after their time in the army was completed. Iris Chang wrote this book in such exorbitant detail to demand an official apology from the Japanese government to those affected by the evil they endowed on the innocent citizens, as well as educate future generations about the onus that their government