Iris Chang's Rape of Nanking

The Rape of Nanking further informed an invasion I already knew took place, and deepened my disapproval of imperialist powers. While Iris Chang's passionate writing, graphic descriptions, and bombardment of sources affected me deeply, it is still difficult to comprehend all of the information presented in a fair light, and this is something that is important to me. Alongside the stories we heard in the documentary viewed in class, the atrocities committed seem deeply rooted in cultures at war. While such a mass of them happening at once is horrifying, I cannot get out of my head the torture methods and rapes committed throughout time.

I find it impossible to review this book, without in some way reviewing the actions of the Japanese. Without proper research of my own, it is impossible to get past Iris Chang's one, and personal ties to the subject matter. On the one hand, her faithful research marks the personal ties a blessing. However, while I cannot see her twisting any facts, I feel deeply pressured into thinking one way about the event. During their civil war, the Chinese Nationalists, as well as the Chinese Communists committed terrible acts of torture and rape, as all groups do at war. As an American, I am forever scarred in my dealings with Japanese culture with the fact that we destroyed two of their most densely populated cities with no warning (an event today many Americans view as a necessary evil), and even in our “military engagements” in the Middle East, we fail to keep in mind the stories that surface occasionally of torture in prisoner camps, and rapes committed by our soldiers.

As a book, The Rape of Nanking is a difficult read emotionally, yet one I couldn't put down. Chang's superior writing style certainly had a lot to do with it, but the horrors she expounds on had a lot to do with it, also. It is well-written, and certainly inspired opinions in me, but that is as much as I feel comfortable writing about it, without being informed. Perhaps this says something about the effectiveness of her writing and research.

-JMY-L