"The Rape of Nanking" and Japanese Invasion

Paper Summary:

This paper presents a book report on Iris Chang's "The Rape of Nanking" which relates the grisly and macabre Japanese invasion on the ancient Chinese capital in December, 1937 and January, 1938. The paper examines how Chang brings home the senseless and cruel way in which the invasion was carried out.

From the Paper:

"By the spring of 1938, Nanking shops were reopened, electricity, water and telephone service were back on and there was even a brand new Japanese-run bus service. So on the surface, at least, Nanking was big and bustling again. But it was a thin veneer, indeed. Underneath it all, taxes were levied at extortionate rates to finance the new bureaucracy of Japanese officials. And opium, once smoked quietly in back rooms by a relative handful of local aristocrats and wealthy merchants, now became a street drug in which one could brazenly light up in public or patronize opium dens without fear of reprisal. The Japanese openly encouraged the addiction by frequently offering opium in place of cash for Chinese laborers."

More papers on "The Rape of Nanking" and Japanese Invasion:

• Essay # 73457 : "Rape Of Nanking"
• Book Review # 94459 : "'The Rape of Nanking'"
• Comparison Essay # 63874 : "The Rape of Lucrece" and "The Unfortunate Traveller" Compared"

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