Wesley Guo Week 14: A Memory Carved in Blood
A Memory Carved in Blood
Nanjing, 1937. The capital of the Republic of China. A city that once housed over a million inhabitants now lay destroyed, with most of her people having fled to the countryside, or having been killed in the slaughter. She bears witness to one of the worst atrocities in human history, with women, children, and infants slaughtered by the tens of thousands. An atrocity so horrific that the ambassador from Nazi Germany wrote back home detailing how terrible the sacking was. Yet it is an event little known throughout the Western world. Why?
Those of you who pay attention in history class may have heard of the Rape of Nanjing before. Those of you who are very astute may know a few details regarding such atrocities committed, and understand the scale of Japanese war crimes. Yet the fact remains that most Americans likely haven’t even heard of such an event, much less know of its scale.
To some extent, it is understandable; Americans know very well the fifty thousand Americans sent to die in the Vietnam war because many of them are their own neighbors and friends, who they witnessed first hand perish in the jungles of a far off nation. Such an American audience cares far less about some two hundred thousand Chinese civilians slaughtered in a massacre tens of thousands of miles from home.
On the other hand, every single person of Chinese descent has heard of the Nanjing massacre, and of the twenty million deaths in the entirety of the Japanese invasion, most of whom were civilians killed in atrocities similar to Nanjing. To us, it is a memory carved in blood. And while many can forgive, it is something that is never forgotten.
America has its own fair share of generation tramas. From the old scar of slavery that is carved deep in her skin, to the memory of the expulsion of the natives, to its treatment of the many ethnic minorities that today compose her people. But its many mistakes are forgotten far easier by the perpetrators than the victims.
Still, it is important to recognize that the United States being the leading power in the Western world doesn’t make us morally superior, or able to better understand other nations than they themselves. Many wounds take a long time to heal, and it takes everyone recognizing the wrongs done for them to ever fully heal.
Galloway, Lindsey. “China’s Ancient City That’s Luring Expats.” BBC News, BBC, 25 Feb. 2022, www.bbc.com/travel/article/20190512-chinas-ancient-city-thats-luring-expats.
Hey Wesley! Although I have heard about the atrocities people have committed throughout history, I have never truly dived deep into them. Reading your blog helped me understand why. Throughout school, we have focused primarily on the American perspective, detailing thoroughly the losses that American soldiers faced in war. However, the perspectives of other countries are not given as much attention or detail, their voices lost against those of American grief. I had heared of the Rape of Nanjing before but all I know about it is that it was a horrible crime that was committed on a devastatingly large scale. I think we are so concerned with what happens to us and are so focused on ourselves that we have little time to think about the issues others face. This is true not only for historical crimes such as the ones you mentioned but also about current events. The American media fails to recognize the countless fights and disputes in the world because the American people care little for it and because they do not impact Americans much. But, I definitely agree that we need to further explore what is happening around the world and ensure that we remember the pains of other nations.
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