It was one of the most massive and inhumane massacres in the history of mankind. Thousands and thousands of Chinese were slaughtered using all kinds of gruesome killing methods, such as chopping off heads in execution style, bayoneting live people in competition, burying people alive in mass graves, locking people up in buildings and then torching the buildings, raping and then killing women and girls.

Nevertheless during the next six weeks, the Japanese Imperial Army ruthlessly massacred about 300,000 Chinese, most of them being civilians with many women and children, and also raped more than 20,000 Chinese women and girls, ranging in age from younger than 10 to older than 80. Since the Chinese Nationalist troops already began their western retreat to set up a war-time capital in Chongqing, Nanking was basically left defenseless. Then on Decemthe Japanese Imperial Army marched into Nanking, the then-capital of China. After a three-and-a-half month ferocious battle from mid-August to late-November 1937, Shanghai fell.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1931-1945), Japan on Septeminvaded Manchuria, the northeastern part of China. What Was the Nanking Massacre? To address the issue raised in the title of this article, let’s first briefly discuss what was the Nanking Massacre. Is the Nanking Massacre just a historical relic of the past that has no significance in the 21st century, or is it something that has deep significance not only for China, but also for the U.S., Japan, and the whole world? To the Japanese who are under 45 years old, they probably also don’t know much about it.

To the average Chinese American, it probably also doesn’t mean very much except that it might be something that they have heard their parents or grandparents mentioning it during some family meals or gatherings. What does Nanking Massacre mean to the current generation? To the average American, it probably means nothing and is something they probably have never heard of before.

Nan jing wwii