The Nanjing Massacre is an unmentionable World War II memory. Haunted by such a typical traumatic memory, the victims of the Nanjing Massacre are experiencing a social identity crisis which is subtle but should by no ...The Nanjing Massacre is an unmentionable World War II memory. Haunted by such a typical traumatic memory, the victims of the Nanjing Massacre are experiencing a social identity crisis which is subtle but should by no means be overlooked. There is no shortage of "national humiliation" arguments lamenting for their misfortune and raging over their servility. Yet at the same time, there are also face-saving attempts to deliberately amplify the Chinese people's resistance during the Massacre. These are all modern representations of the social identity crisis facing the victims of the Nanjing Massacre. 2017 marked the 80 th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre. Those who have not experienced that holocaust tend to blame the victims' lack of resistance spirit. Fundamentally, such criticism roots in no appropriate access to the real situation of the Nanjing Massacre and the extreme helplessness of those victims in the face of death. The underestimation of the power of extreme situations leads to the above fundamental attribution error. Therefore, China must construct a shared traumatic memory to secure the most extensive possible social identity for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.展开更多
The horrific Nanjing Massacre is burned into the pages of war history at home and abroad. Many fiction writers have made it their subject, but literary research on the issue is comparatively weak and does not go beyon...The horrific Nanjing Massacre is burned into the pages of war history at home and abroad. Many fiction writers have made it their subject, but literary research on the issue is comparatively weak and does not go beyond the analysis of individual works. This makes it desirable to conduct comprehensive research on the Nanjing Massacre in Chinese and overseas fiction from the perspective of the nation-state concept. Chinese, Japanese, overseas Chinese and Western writers have joined in narrating the Nanjing Massacre from different discourse standpoints. Some interpretations of the Japanese forces＇ brutality have focused on the terrible slaughter, while others have focused on rape. In terms of writing style, there are two approaches： writing from the eyes of the top brass and from the eyes of the foot soldier. Chinese writers＇ narratives of the massacre see it in terms of a calamity that aroused Chinese resistance. Conceptually, they differ in depicting the struggle as involving the nationalism of the whole people, class nationalism, and party political nationalism. Japanese writers＇ works include faithful descriptions and historical self-examination, but also engage in the spiritual slaughter of the Chinese people. Western writers and American writers of Chinese origin write fiction imbued with religious feelings and reflections on human nature and life.Their work is however flawed by Eurocentrism; they turn the massacre into a story of the West rescuing China. In recent years, biographies of the prostitutes of the Qinhuai River and works singing the praises of foreign missionaries have been at the forefront of narratives of the Nanjing Massacre. We should take heed of this and reflect on it.展开更多
基金a staged research result of"Studies on Global Cultural Diversity and Cultural Dialogue"(13CGJ010)-a youth program founded by the National Social Sciences Fund
文摘The Nanjing Massacre is an unmentionable World War II memory. Haunted by such a typical traumatic memory, the victims of the Nanjing Massacre are experiencing a social identity crisis which is subtle but should by no means be overlooked. There is no shortage of "national humiliation" arguments lamenting for their misfortune and raging over their servility. Yet at the same time, there are also face-saving attempts to deliberately amplify the Chinese people's resistance during the Massacre. These are all modern representations of the social identity crisis facing the victims of the Nanjing Massacre. 2017 marked the 80 th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre. Those who have not experienced that holocaust tend to blame the victims' lack of resistance spirit. Fundamentally, such criticism roots in no appropriate access to the real situation of the Nanjing Massacre and the extreme helplessness of those victims in the face of death. The underestimation of the power of extreme situations leads to the above fundamental attribution error. Therefore, China must construct a shared traumatic memory to secure the most extensive possible social identity for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.
文摘The horrific Nanjing Massacre is burned into the pages of war history at home and abroad. Many fiction writers have made it their subject, but literary research on the issue is comparatively weak and does not go beyond the analysis of individual works. This makes it desirable to conduct comprehensive research on the Nanjing Massacre in Chinese and overseas fiction from the perspective of the nation-state concept. Chinese, Japanese, overseas Chinese and Western writers have joined in narrating the Nanjing Massacre from different discourse standpoints. Some interpretations of the Japanese forces＇ brutality have focused on the terrible slaughter, while others have focused on rape. In terms of writing style, there are two approaches： writing from the eyes of the top brass and from the eyes of the foot soldier. Chinese writers＇ narratives of the massacre see it in terms of a calamity that aroused Chinese resistance. Conceptually, they differ in depicting the struggle as involving the nationalism of the whole people, class nationalism, and party political nationalism. Japanese writers＇ works include faithful descriptions and historical self-examination, but also engage in the spiritual slaughter of the Chinese people. Western writers and American writers of Chinese origin write fiction imbued with religious feelings and reflections on human nature and life.Their work is however flawed by Eurocentrism; they turn the massacre into a story of the West rescuing China. In recent years, biographies of the prostitutes of the Qinhuai River and works singing the praises of foreign missionaries have been at the forefront of narratives of the Nanjing Massacre. We should take heed of this and reflect on it.
