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Effects of imperialism in japan
Effects of imperialism in japan
The rape of nanking histiographical essay
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The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang is a prolific recount of the Japanese invasion and occupation of the City of Nanking in the 1930’s where one of the worst atrocities of the modern day took place. Historical facts stated in the book relate that over 300,000 Chinese people were raped and murdered during this occupation. This book brings to light the psychological impact this had not only on China but across the world. The Rape of Nanking also looks at the mental attitudes of the Japanese soldiers, how they were systematically brainwashed, how religion and a dangerous governing body played a role. The author reviews different credible sources and comes up with the idea that the blame is not on the Japanese alone. Looking back in history, Japan chose to be an isolated country until the westerners invaded and forced trade
It is still debated as to whether or not it actually took place, some Japanese historians try to down play what transpired, the Japanese government has tried to sweep this event under the rug, and traditional Chinese people are secretive because Chinese culture required that if a woman is raped, she is to take her life, and any children born of rape during the Nanking era were either killed by their mothers or the mother committed suicide. The author also followed up what became of some of the Japanese soldiers, some of the high ranking officials were tried and executed for their war crimes, and some lived in a lap of luxury until death. She further researched what became of the people from the safety zone. She ends her book reflecting on the world reaction to what transpired in Nanking and how the world allowed such atrocities to happen while watching and just wringing their hands. She highlights the mentality of humans who once an event is not directly affecting them, they can sit by and watch without
Kelman, Herbert C., Hamilton, V. Lee. “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience”. Writing & Reading for ACP Composition. Ed. Thomas E. Leahey and Christine R. Farris. New York: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2009. 266-277. Print.
Thus born The Woman Warrior, a chronicle of a Chinese American woman's personal sufferings and triumphs, of duplicities and truths, and of struggles and breakaways; a requiem for all the victims of the old culture whose soundless cries have not been heard and who died without a name, engulfed by the darkness and the silence. In her world then, at least, the failed heroine Fa Mu Lan is redeemed.
Chapter one, The Observers, in the Death of Woman Wang demonstrates the accuracy of the local historian; Feng K'o-ts'an, who compiled The Local History of T'an-ch'eng in 1673. The descriptive context of the Local History helps the reader to understand and literally penetrate into people's lives. The use of records of the earthquake of 1668, the White Lotus rising of 1622 and rebels rising vividly described by Feng the extent of suffering the people of T'an-ch'eng went through. Jonathan Spence stresses on how miserable the two-quarter of the seventeen-century were to the diminishing population of the county. The earthquake claimed the lives of nine thousand people, many others died in the White lotus rising, hunger, sickness and banditry. P'u Sung-ling's stories convey that after the loss of the wheat crops there were cases of cannibalism. On top of all of this came the slaughtering of the entire family lines by the bandits. The incredible records of women like Yao and Sun in the Local History present the reader the magnitude of savagery the bandits possessed. All of these factors led to the rise of suicides. The clarity of events Spence given to the reader is overwhelming.
Chinese victims of rape were treated with complete disrespect and disbelief. As with the one mother in The Joy Luck Club, she was kicked away by her own family for making such a claim. These rape victims were seen as disrespectful to their families and themselves. One social consequence of claiming rape is that their families shun the women and force them to leave their homes. Secondly, the community shuns them as well. As with the woman in the film, she was denied work and abandoned by her neighbors. She was eventually forced to marry her assailant in order to save her child.
With the origin of the book coming from author Iris Chang, an American Journalist it presents the view that the Japanese government has not done enough to address the violence that they caused. The account is written in three different perspectives: that of the Japanese military, the Chinese victims, and the Westerners who tried to help Chinese civilians this allows for a broader understanding of what actually happened during the event. By providing information on the actions taken from American and European governments in particular, the value of the book is shown by the way that Chang allows readers the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of what actually happened in response to the rape of Nanking. Chang examines the circumstances that she believed, have kept knowledge of the massacre out of public consciousness decades after the war. The book depicted in detail the killing, torture, and rape that occurred during the Nanking Massacre. Chang listed and described the kinds of torture that were visited upon the residents, including live burials, mutilation, "death by fire", "death by ice", and "death by dogs" which gives historians an idea of what actually happened during the terrible events. Although Chang’s book is highly regarded, there are still many people who criticize her choices of sources of information. It is argued that a limitation of her work is the “intellectual flexibility and overdependence on the work of a few Chinese scholars” which leads Chang into severe errors that affect the value of the book. In addition, A lot of documentation during the time of the incident was destroyed which means that some her facts are only
The documentary The Rape of Nanking tells the tale of an atrocity in Chinese and Japanese relations. The documentary starts in the summer of 1937 with the Japanese military continuing its aggravations against China in their long-running expansionist war against the large nation. Their attempts to conquer China in 3 months to prove their superiority was halted in Shanghai when they encountered the tenacious Chinese defense who went toe-to-toe with the Japanese troops. This wrecked their timeline and when the city finally fell the Japanese troops were itching for revenge. The Japanese would prove to enact their vicious revenge and punish the Chinese defiance at the capital city, Nanking. Dr. Takemitsu Ogawa, a medical doctor in the Imperial Japanese
While reading your book, I learned so many things that happened in World War II that I didn't know about. I always thought that Japan was swept up in the war by Germany, but how wrong was I. "The Rape of Nanking" opened my eyes to how the Japanese thought about other ethnicities and how they felt that they were superior. I learned the treacherous they did to the Chinese people. I thought that some of the things you wrote were exaggerations, but with the pictures you provide, made me realize that it was not exaggerations, but actual events that happened at Nanking. I learned that the Holocaust was not the only horrible event of war that was going on.
When discussing the isolation policies in both China and Japan, it is important to first define the extent to which these policies were enacted. Although both of these nations severed ties with much of the world, there was still much interaction between other nations in East Asia, and to a lesser extent, a highly regulated trade with select European nations (Kazui and Videen 236). Thus, when considering the significance of these periods of isolation, it is vital to remember that international trade of goods and ideas did still occur, albeit, at a much slower rate compared with the rest of the modern world.
“Sometimes, after storming into a house and encountering a whole family, the Japanese forced Chinese men to rape their own daughters, sons to rape their mothers, and brothers their sisters, while the rest of the family was made to watch” (“The Rape of Nanking”). According to article five everyone has the right to be free of torture or inhuman punishment (UN dec. art. 5). During the Rape of Nanking, the Japanese forced parents to rape and murder their own children. If they did not follow the command they were beaten or killed, which violates the right to be free of torture. “Batches of Chinese civilians were rounded up and herded into slaughter pits. Here the grinning Japanese soldiers would either bury them alive, hack them to death with their swords, use them for bayonet practice, or pour petrol on the victims and burn them alive” ("WARCRIMEINDEX"). The Japanese army violated the fifth article by slaughtering, burying, and hacking the innocent Chinese civilians to death. This violates the fifth article because it states that humans have the right to be free from torture and inhuman punishment (UN dec. art. 5). Therefore, the Rape of Nanking violated the Declaration by free of mental and physical torture and inhuman punishment (UN dec. art.
When 1937 arrived, Japanese soldiers raided China’s capital of Nanking and began mass murdering citizens. The sole leader of the Japanese Imperial Army was non-existent. There were many people in power, such as generals, who allowed these behaviors to occur. Baron Koki Hirota, foreign minister at the time, proceeded to do nothing while being well aware of the Japanese’s persecution of the Chinese. These unsympathetic murders of those who were thought to be Chinese soldiers as well as women, children and the elderly.
Nanking suffered a severe tragedy in six weeks that its memories fail to erase. The tragedy consisting of rape, murder, and looting will never disappear from the city or its inhabitants. Thanks to John Rabe and several others, thousands of Chinese were able to survive. The history of the massacre was slowly dying, but because of books and museums, the history lives onward. The Japanese have not repaired Nanjing or educated their own country about their own mistakes. The Japanese still refuse to believe that the massacre even occurred even though there are pictures of the event and vital proof. The Japanese have surely left a blood stain in the history of this world.
I had no idea that this had even happened and was horrified by what the movie depicted. I always remember hearing about the concentration camps during World War II, but I have never heard anything about the massacre in Nanjing. In fact, my brother’s roommate is from Nanjing and he was the first person that told me about this tragedy. Seeing the movie has expanded my understanding of how military might really shifted to Japan’s favor during the earlier stages of development. Compared to China when they were struggling to attain a stable government and therefore did not have a strong national military like Japan. Another thing that I learned from this movie is how an idea was placed in the Japanese soldiers that taught them to think of the Chinese people as animals or insects. This allowed them to slaughter and rape the people of China so
The Rape of Nanking was a very serious time for the Chinese people of Nanking. The massacre started with the bloody Japanese victory in Shanghai, during the Sino-Japanese war. Chiang-Kai Shek, the Japanese leader at the time, ordered the evacuation of all official Chinese troops and citizens presently residing in Nanking. A lot of people followed the orders and left, but many stayed, unaware of the bloodbath and slaughter that was approaching. On December 13, 1937, the first of the Japanese troops arrived, determined to destroy the city, “the Japanese looted and burned at least one-third of Nanking’s buildings,”(Nanjing Massacre 1). Following the initial attacks of the Japanese soldiers, many different forms of murder and torture occurred.
Rape of Nanjing was a time when Japanese soldiers would maliciously kill, torture, and steal from the Chinese. The event began around the late 1930s. Before the Rape of Nanjing, Japan attempted to invade Manchuria. Manchuria is rich in coal and iron, which were resources Japan lacked. And so Manchuria was invaded by the Japanese on September 1931. For the same reason, Japan invaded China, at July 1937. The Chinese Nationalist Government moved the capital of China, to Nanjing, in 1928. Many refugees went towards, into the capital to be far away as possible from the approaching Japanese Soldiers. On December 13th, Japanese soldiers entered the city through the Zhongshan and the Pacific gate. The entrance of the Japanese Army ignited the Nanjing
There was a dirt alley not too far from our house. One afternoon, aunt Sung took brother Vinh and me for a walk in that alley. We had to walk by the Japanese soldiers who occupied the only villa and some of the houses in the neighborhood. The soldiers looked serious with stern faces, long rifles and swords. They talked but like they were yelling to each other. Two Japanese women in their colorful kimonos walked by them hastily into the villa.