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Entry to the Nanjing Museum
Pictures were not allowed inside the museum. This is the focal point outside the museum. It is the first and biggest in a line of statues depicting what the Chinese people suffered at the hands of the Japanese. Nanjing been inhabited for 5,000 years and has twice served as China's capitol during its history. This is the most modern city I feel I have been in since I got to China. As I get closer to Shanghai, the better things look. The metro system is brand new, there is an excellent shopping district, and new buildings are dotting the skyline all over the place. With over 5 million people, it is not a tiny place. There is even a new Olympic stadium here, although no Olympic events will be held here. Apparantly there are many Chinese cities which have built Olympic stadiums even though they will not be used for the games.
It was in Nanjing that the Chinese were forced to sign the "unequal treaties" after the British had invaded China during the Opium Wars of the 19th century. This forcibly reversed the isolationism of China and opened up several Chinese ports to trade and ceded the island of Hong Kong to the Brits.
Unfortunatly though, Nanjing will almost certainly always be remembered for the attrocities that were committed by the Japanese in 1937 which has come to be known internationally as the "Rape of Nanjing."
There is an excellent museum dedicated to the incident. The Chinese were under attack from Japan in what they call the "Japanese War of Aggression", also known in the west as the second Sino-Japanese War. This conflict would later become part of the wider World War II, but it raged on for 4 years before the US declared war on Japan. China was a fragmented place at the time and had spent the better part of the begining of the century in a series of revolutions and civil wars thereby increasing its vuneralbility.
After declaring war on China, Japan quickly took Shanghai and prepared to invade the capital, Nanjing. The Japanese paid no attention to the rules of modern warfare and for six weeks, they brutally executed and murdered men, women, and children of all ages. Women and young girls were raped repeatedly while others were sent to be "comfort women" for soldiers fighting on the front lines. The death toll stood at around 300,000. To put it in perspective, that is approximately the number of deaths which were caused by the bombing of Hiroshima. The incident was kept from the eyes of the world for a long time
Sun's mausoleum
Perched high up on a hill in a wooded park, it's very understated;) through the tight censorship control of the Japanese. One of the people to open the world's eyes was an American preacher who was living in Nanjing and was able to secretly take pictures which were later published in Life magazine.
I kept my eyes open for any sort of propoganda, but from the history that I have read in other books, I can't say that anything presented was factually inaccurate. Some things were left out though. There was no mention of the fact that the leaders of the Nationalist government locked all of the city gates, except for the one that they fled from. They insisted that all the city's people stay and fight the Japanese, which they knew would end up being a massacre. I didn't find a trace of that.
I would say that the museum was tightly focused on the single incident of Nanjing and did not connect it to the wider World War II very well. It was very focused on how China defeated Japan, but did not detail the amount of involvement from the Allies. Here is a quote from the prologue of the museum: "The Chinese people with their tireless and indomitable
Here Comes the Sun
Statue of Sun in his moseleum spirit had achieved an outstanding victory in the Anti-Japanese War after many years of bloody struggle. The victory marked the first unequivocal victory of China over the invation of foreign enemies during more than 100 years of modern Chinese history; representing an important turning point in the Chinese nation from decline to revitalization. Accomplished by the Chinese people with the cooperation and support of the World Anti-Fascist Camp, it also constituted a new starting point in which China acquired international prestige and made its great contribution to the peace and development of the world." Although there is nothing inacurate in those statements, it does seem to minimize the involvement of the other adversaries of Japan.
I also noticed more than a few exhibits and statements which described how Taiwan was handed back to China after being under Japanese control for 50 years. Nothing inacurrate about that, but no further Taiwanese history was mentioned either.
I was suprised to learn that a US warship was sunk by Japanese aircraft in the Yangze River during the raid. The gunboat "Perry" was sunk along with 3 tankers from the Mobil Oil Company. This was the first US Warship to be sunk by the Japanese, but the US would not declare war on Japan until 4 years later after Pearl Harbor was bombed. There were also some heroic tales of expats who formed safe zones within the city and worked to save hundreds of thousands of citizens. This included Americans and Europeans, including a prominent German who was head of the Nazi party in the Far East at the time. He hid thousands of citizens along with another prominent Dane under the guize of a working cement factory.
It was a well documented museum and could be graphic at times with pictures from Japanese archives as well as reports from survivors. The war criminals were named and their trials and executions were focused on at the end. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for the Chinese and it is easy to understand where their anti-Japanese sentiment festers from. Although it wasn't mentioned in the museum, it is well known that there is a memorial in Tokyo, the Yasukuni shrine, which is dedicated to Japanese souls who have died in all previous wars, including the very war criminals who commanded over the Rape of Nanjing. Every year, officals from the Japanese government, including prime ministers, visit the memorial to pay their respects. As you can imagine, this is deeply offensive and insulting to the Chinese. Each time a new prime minister is named in Japan, China waits to see if he will break with the tradition, but so far none have.
As well as being home to the Nanjing massacre museum, Nanjing is the resting place of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the founder of modern day China. He played a pivotal role in bringing down the last of the Chinese dynasties in 1911 and served as the first provisional president of the Republic of China. The political philosophy he instilled on China is known as the 3 Principles of the People. They are: Nationalism, People's Livelihood, and People's Rights. Sometimes that last one is inturpreted as Democracy, depending on who is doing the translating. Most of Dr. Sun's principles have been adhered to, "but don't be sad", as Meatloaf would say, "cuz two outta three ain't bad." It was actually Sun's principle of Democracy that the students in Tianamen were protesting for in 1989 before the now famous incident.
Sun was educated in Hawaii where he became an American citizen. He led a series of revolutions which ultimately brought him to power over a very fractured China. He tried to unify China, which had decended into warlord regions, but was ultimately unable to do so. His coalition split after his death into the Nationalists and the Communists. Ultimately the Communists would sieze power after China suffered through a civil war and the war of Japanese aggression. Although the communists would interpret Sun's 3 principles in their own way, they continued to recognize Sun as the founder of Modern day China. When I first arrived in Beijing I noticed that staring opposite Mao's portrait was an equally sized portrait of Sun inside Tienamen Square.
His mausoleum was completed in 1929 and his remains were moved. Although he had wished to be buried in his hometown, the government of the day thought it he deserved a more fitting tribute. The mausoleum covers an area of 133 hectacres. There are 392 steps covering a length of 700 meters (just under a half mile) and a height of 70 meters.
Although the interpretation of his 3 priciples at the mausoleum does not mention the word democracy, the Chinese are not afraid to use it. In one display, they note "Dr. Sun devoted himself to Chinese democratic revolution. In November 1924 Dr. Sun was invited to Beijing. Before his journey, Dr. Sun issued a declaration, calling for a national congress and the abolishment of all unequal treaties."
China owes much of its current success to Dr. Sun. Although his vision may not yet be fully realized, incremental steps have been making their way. China is closer today to achieving Sun's 3 principles than it was at the time of his death. I'm hopeful that they will realize all 3 within my lifetime. It won't happen overnight, but don't count the Chinese out when it comes to revolution.
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