Essay On The Nanking Massacre

1506 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Reasons for the sinking massacre

Introduction

This essay is going to be about the Nanking massacre. I have always been interested in history and especially war. During a history class in high school we briefly came across the Nanking massacre and it sparked my interest. When the assignment was given I knew pretty quickly that it was going to be about an event during a war. There were multiple topics that could be the focus of my essay but eventually the Nanking massacre won due to the lesser knowledge about this topic. In this essay the question that should be answered is: “What is the effect of the massacre of Nanking on the social relationship between Japan and China in present day?”

What is a massacre?

Before we can discuss the Nanking massacre we have to understand what a massacre is. A massacre is a specific incident in which a military force, mob, or other group kill many people, and the perpetrating party is perceived as in total control of force while the victimized party is perceived as helpless or innocent. There is no clear line or criteria which defines when a mass killing is a massacre. The public perception during and after the event plays a big role in this defining, also the way a nation or culture wants to hold on to the memory.

What happened during the Nanking massacre?

On December 13, 1937, Nanking, the capital city of Nationalist China, fell to the Japanese. For Japan, this was to have been the decisive turning point in the war, the triumphant culmination of a half-year struggle against Chiang Kai-shek’s armies in the Yangtze Valley. For Chinese forces, whose heroic defence of Shanghai had finally failed, and whose best troops had suffered crippling causalities, the fall of Nanking was a bitter, perhaps fatal defeat. When the city fell...

... middle of paper ...

... be ended by one of the countries giving in, either in dropping the demand of an apology or admitting to their wrongdoing

Conclusion:

All in all we can say that the war has had an impact on the social relationship between China and Japan. Of course with time passing by old wounds will slowly dissolve, but I think the Chinese will never completely forget what happened at Nanking. Here in the Netherlands we still make fun of Germans quite a bit, even the younger generation. I can imagine that the younger generation in China also still gets to hear the stories and will develop a prejudgment about the Japanese. China and Japan will continue to trade and interact with each other, just like we do normal business with the Germans. Their relationship might not be warm, but it is still there, however they both will never forget what happened in those six weeks in Nanking.

Show More
Related

  • 1450-1750 Eastern Asian Relations With Europe

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, Japan tried to isolate themselves, and China tried to compete with them, using their land, and excess of population. Documents one through ten were all about China, and documents eleven through sixteen was about Japan. Documents one, two, three, and seven was talking about if China was prepared for the European countries, and documents five, six, and nine talked about whether or not China compared to the European countries. Documents twelve, fourteen, and sixteen all talked about negative interactions between Japan and the European countries. So, as a total, I think that neither way from both China or Japan will work in the long run, but that they will recover from it.

    Read More

  • The Raping of Nanking by Iris Chang

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    History will never forget the pain because it takes an ethnic or even a nation to remember it. The Nanjing Massacre, which is my home country’s pain and shame, is not going to be forgotten and ignored either. The Raping of Nanking by Iris Chang, a Chinese American writer, has reshaped my view on the atrocities the Japanese soldiers committed and raises a question: Why do we need to remember the past and face it? Remembering history does not just mean to be blocked by the past and stop moving on, but looking for the lessons the history has taught us and prevent the world from making the same mistakes again. The Rape of Nanking uses Nanjing Massacre as the core and analyzes the holocaust from the national perspective of China, Japan and Western countries; it also analyzes this piece of history that has been distorted for half of the century.

    Read More

  • Deciphering Wounded Knee: Hollywood Vs Historical Fact

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States government initially celebrated the Battle at Wounded Knee as the final conflict between Native Americans and the United States military - after which the western frontier was considered safe for the incoming settlers. Over 20 medals were awarded to the soldiers for their valor on the battlefield. However, the understanding has changed regarding what actually took place at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890. The Hollywood version of the Battle of Wounded Knee accurately presents the case that the Battle at Wounded Knee was actually a massacre of the Sioux - the culminating act of betrayal and aggression carried out by the United States military,

    Read More

  • Seung-Hui Cho: The Virginia Tech Massacre

    1182 Words  | 3 Pages

    Seung-Hui Cho was a 23 year old senior that studied English at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. On April 16, 2007 Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and injured 17 others in two separate attacks before taking his own life. This event is known as one of the deadliest shootings by a single gunman in the United States and worldwide.

    Read More

  • The Rape of Nanking

    2406 Words  | 5 Pages

    When most American people think of Germany, they think of sports cars made for the autobahn, sauerkraut, Adolf Hitler, and the Holocaust. Compared to Germany, when most American people think of Japan they think of sushi, Godzilla movies, Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. World War II was such a significant event in history that almost 70 years after it came to an end, today’s younger generations often associate former Axis controlled countries with the war. People around the world are filled with disgust and immense hate when they hear the name Hitler, mainly because of his leadership under the Holocaust; which was the discriminatory mass genocide of 11-17 million people, the vast majority of which were European Jews. Hirohito, former Emperor of Japan, should strike a similar bell with people when they hear his name because Japan carried out genocide on Chinese civilians and soldiers in World War II. Japan’s attack on the Chinese city of Nanking, was one of the most atrocious events in history. This event has been named both the Nanking Massacre and the Rape of Nanking. The torturous, violent techniques used by the Japanese army upon Chinese civilians and soldiers including dehumanizing them, addicting them to drugs, and other perverse and violent acts, are some of the most grosteque methods ever recorded that could only be thought of by sadistic Japanese soldiers. The events committed by the Japanese army in Nanking, are equally as disgusting as the acts that Nazi Germany committed and should become a major topic involved with World War II in the future, despite the lack of light shed on it in the past for various reasons.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Sand Creek Massacre

    1433 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the darkest times in American history was the conflict with the natives. A “war” fought with lies and brute force, the eviction and genocide of Native Americans still remains one of the most controversial topics when the subject of morality comes up. Perhaps one of the most egregious events to come of this atrocity was the Sand Creek Massacre. On the morning of November 29th, 1864, under the command of Colonel John Chivington, 700 members of the Colorado Volunteer Cavalry raped, looted, and killed the members of a Cheyenne tribe (Brown 86-94). Hearing the story of Sand Creek, one of the most horrific acts in American History, begs the question: Who were the savages?

    Read More

  • kamikaze

    1879 Words  | 4 Pages

    In July 1937, the second Sino-Japanese War broke out. A small incident was soon made into a full scale war by the Kwantung army which acted rather independently from a more moderate government. The Japanese forces succeeded in occupying almost the whole coast of China and committed severe war atrocities on the Chinese population, especially during the fall of the capital Nanking. However, the Chinese government never surrendered completely, and the war continued on a lower scale until 1945.

    Read More

  • Nakae Chomin’s Discourse

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...feat of Japan in World War 2). With the changes of the nature of power, Japan by balancing out aggressive economic policies and a quiet military buildup, was able to build herself up to become a prominent player in the international sphere today. In closing, while Japan’s policies today in general have been skewered towards the arguments of the ‘Gentleman’, increasingly Japan has considered more realist concerns of security in the escalation of tensions of the East Asian geopolitical sphere. Chomin’s Discourse has nonetheless served as a prophetic blueprint for more than a century of Japan policy-making.

    Read More

  • World War II and Evil

    1939 Words  | 4 Pages

    Chang, Iris. The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. New York, New York:

    Read More

  • Empress Dowager Cixi Corrupt

    2030 Words  | 5 Pages

    Douglas Reynolds, China, 1898-1912: The Xinzheng Revolution and Japan. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993.

    Read More

  • The Nanking Massacre

    1148 Words  | 3 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... Nanking citizens believed that the Chinese government was going to have revenge against the Japanese. However, China was too busy forgiving Japan and forming a treaty which never became signed professionally. No apology was made from Japan (The Rape). Nanking suffered a severe tragedy in six weeks that its memories failed to erase.

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Book 'The Rape Of Nanking' By Iris Chang

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Rape of Nanking was written by Iris Chang and tells the horrifying story of the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and soldiers by the Japanese army during World War II in the winter of 1937. This event is portrayed in three perspectives: through the eyes of the ruthless Japanese military, the terror-stricken Chinese tortured and slaughtered in the once peaceful city of Nanking, and the group of Europeans and Americans who stayed behind to create the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone which saved almost 300,000 lives. The second part of the book discusses the Japanese government's refusal to admit its war crimes against humanity and its effort to hide this mass murder from the public knowledge, and "to

    Read More

  • Japanese Invasion on Changkufeng Hill

    1448 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Changkufeng Incident was an incident to prove that Japanese are cooperative and understandable to help by invading states personal territory. Changkufeng is important to international relations because international relations theory has proven that the Changkufeng incident is contributed by dealing with powers being taken away by other states showing us specific reasons as to understand Japan actions in the 1930’s. Although, Changkufeng incident may have some positive and negative aspect as to know how difficult it is to express and navigate without power. However, Changkufeng is not a progress or change during the battle or before the Changkufeng incident, it is only dealt through the government or higher authorities only. Changkufeng incident is an important piece to make connections and understand the conflict by finding solutions for peace.

    Read More

  • Imperialism: China and Japan

    872 Words  | 2 Pages

    Japanese imperialist influences led to stabilized, yet it biased politics in China. In a grab for power, nobles attempted to dominate China for themselves. When Japan entered China with its exceptional manpower and weapons, they prevented the nobles from doing so. In the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Japan forced China to cede Korea, pay war indemnities, and open numerous ports (Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Chongqing,) while ending the attempts for power. However, seeing Japan’s progress through the adoption of western technologies, the Chinese formed political clubs like the followers of Guang Xu, which debated approaches to reform. Japan also exerted control over the ruling class and politicians, demanding that they work together and help preserve the crumbling local governments. Nonetheless, the stabilization brought consequences. The influence of the Japanese...

    Read More

  • Reflection of Modern East Asia

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    Our preliminary class gave a brief, yet detailed outline of major events affecting the East Asian region. Within that class, prompted by our limited geographical knowledge of Asia, we were given a fundamental explanation of the geographical locations of the various events taking place in the region. In subsequent classes, we were introduced to the major wars, political shifts, and economic interests which shaped Japan, China and Korea to what they are today. We examined the paradigm of pre-modern Japanese governance, the Shogunate, and the trained warriors which defended lord and land, Samurai. In addition, we examined the socio-economic classes of Medieval Japan, which included the Samurai, peasants, craftsmen, and the merchants. We also examined pre-1945 Japan’s policies toward foreign entities, notably the Sakoku Policy, which sought to expunge all foreign presence and commerce in an effort to protect its borders and culture. 1945, however, saw ...

    Read More

More about Essay On The Nanking Massacre

Open Document