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Summary: The Rape Of Nanking

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Yasmin Kalantar
ID: 54922761
Final Topic One
In the book The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, Iris Chang gives readers an understanding of the brutal massacre that happened in Nanking. She manages to separately describe the Japanese soldiers, the Chinese, and the Westerners. She explains their behaviors, their nature, and their leadership. Looking at Locke, Machiavelli and Rousseau's ideas of basic human nature we can see how these philosophers views of human nature fit with Chang’s description of the Japanese, Chinese, and the Westerners.
When looking at the Japanese army, it is clear to see how cruel they were to the Chinese citizens. The Japanese invaded the city of Nanking, China in 1937. Not only did they destroy the city, but the soldiers murdered, tortured, and raped the citizens. This is one of the most brutal massacres in history, “...if the dead from Nanking were to link hands, they would stretch from Nanking to the city of Hangchow, spanning a distance of some two …show more content…

He talks about how it is better to be hated than to loved if it will benefit you, “Here a question arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse...anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved. . . . Love endures by a bond which men, being scoundrels, may break whenever it serves their advantage to do so; but fear is supported by the dread of pain, which is ever present” (Machiavelli, 60). This quote explains Machiavelli's idea that a ruler ultimate goal is his Country and if cruelty needs to be used to achieve this goal then it is acceptable. He believes cruelty is ok only in the interest of the Country. This shows that he would side with the Japanese being cruel to the Chinese citizens since they are doing it for the goal of expanding their country and benefiting their

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