The Rape of Nanking by Irish Chang

The Rape of Nanking is a historical book written by Irish Chang. The book highlights the 1937-1938 atrocities and massacres committed by the brutal Imperial Japanese Army in China during the Sino-Japanese war. The massacres occurred after the capture of Nanjig, which was the capital city of China.

The book gives a chronology of events that led to the inhuman murders, rape, and other atrocities committed in China by the Imperial Japanese Army. It highlights that most of the Chinese citizens were tortured by being buried alive, were submitted to death by ice and death by fire. The book describes how the Japanese soldiers competed among themselves to kill as many Chinese citizens as possible. Furthermore, it describes how women were raped in masses by indicating that about 80000 women were raped without care. The book indicates that rape was committed everywhere, and age did not matter. More so, the book highlights the brutality of the Japanese soldiers towards pregnant women.

It explains how they were raped and ultimately slashed until their bellies were open exposing fetuses. In fact, even men were raped and other individuals were forced to commit incest. For instance, fathers were forced to rape their own daughters and other relatives. According to the book, the atrocities committed by the Japanese soldiers were planned and executed in a planned manner, which did not take into consideration the quality of human life.

It shows how the Japanese soldiers dominated the helpless Chinese citizens killing them in cold blood. It further discusses the estimated number of civilians who were killed in cold blood. The book ends by remarking that a huge number of citizens were killed by the inhuman Japanese soldiers leading to a disaster in China. The key objective of the book is to uncover the atrocities tat were committed by the Japanese soldiers during the second Sino-Japanese war.

It is aimed at highlighting the sufferings that innocent civilians in China were forced to undergo under the dominance of the Japanese soldiers. In addition, the book aims at indicating the in-human nature in which Japanese soldiers handled the entire situation. With this objective, the book wants individuals to take action and shun such undesirable actions. It also aims at teaching individuals to be considerate of others and act in the proper human manner.

Another objective of the book is to point out the ugly nature of war in any part of the world. It vividly presents the events that transpired during the Sino-Japanese war. It discusses the negative effects of the war by showing that war could be extremely destructive to any country wishing to prosper. In fact, it reports that war would only favor strongest individuals who would take advantage and harm the weak in society. Therefore, the book has the objective of pointing out the negative effects of war, hence discouraging nations to up rise against each other.

The effectiveness of the book is strengthened by the author’s inclusion of pictures in the book. The pictures assist in conveying of the intended message. For instance, from the book, there is a picture of people who were massacred lying on the shore of River Yangtze. This is a good way of showing what transpired during the massacre.

Another effectiveness of the book derives from the fact that it avails information regarding the Nanking Massacre in a chronological manner. Notably, the author’s observation of chronology in the events that transpired helps a reader to get the intended information historically. This is also essential in recording of history because a rreader can easily locate the information that one wants to find. In my opinion, the book is so acclaimed because of the author’s account regarding the massacre itself. The author presents a narration that can be described as gut-wrenching and vivid.

The author was scored in her decision to include those that participated in the war as neutral parties, which rescued the people that were not participating in the massacre. For instance, John Rabe of the Nazi party is mentioned as having played a significant role in protecting the non-combatants. On the other hand, some critics challenge Chang’s figures of the people that were massacred. One of the critics, Hata Ikuhito reduces the number to 40, 000 and states that Chang overstated the number.

In addition, Hata indicates that some pictures, which Chang included in her book, have been forged. Hata provides proof of his assertion with the use of two photos.In conclusion, The Rape of Nanking is a book authored by Irish Chang, and it recounts the massacre that was commissioned by the brutal Imperial Japanese Army. The book has two main objectives. Firstly, the book intends to outline the brutal nature of the Japanese soldiers during that period.

Secondly, the book outlines how severe a war can get in any part of the world. The book’s effectiveness is enhanced by the pictures that are incorporated in the book to show the real picture of the author’s assertions. The author provides a vivid description of the massacre, which allows a person to clearly understand the point intended. However, some people indicate that some information provided by Chang is unfounded.

This especially applies to the photos used by the author. In addition, critics indicate that Chang overstated the number of people who were massacred.