On December 13, 1937, the Japanese army captured Nanjing and went on to wantonly massacre disarmed Chinese soldiers and defenseless civilians in flagrant violation of international conventions. The Nanjing Massacre forms one of the darkest chapters in 20th-century world history. Researching this major historical event requires scholars worldwide to collect a variety of primary source material in different languages. Compiled by a group of historians from about ten universities and research institutions based in China and abroad, Human Memory: Solid Evidence of the Nanjing Massacre represents a major effort in this regard. Consisting of textual and pictorial evidence reproduced from major archives and libraries around the world, the book falls into four parts—Chinese, Japanese, English, and other Western languages. The book covers material created by victims, perpetrators, and important third parties in a diversity of formats: diaries, petitions, investig ation reports, news articles, tribunal documents, and photographs. To help readers to better understand the wide range of evidence, the editors have provided very useful annotations for each document or photograph. Without a doubt, this publication holds some of the most vivid and sobering scenes in humanity’s collective memory.
Preface
Part 1 Chinese Sources
1.1 Diaries of Soldiers and Civilians
1.2 Citizen Petitions to the Government
1.3 Investigations and Statistics
Part 2 Japanese Sources
2.1 Military Documents
2.2 Letters, Diaries, and Recollections
of Officers and Soldiers
2.3 Historical Images
Part 3 Western Sources
3.1 Official Documents
3.2 Diaries and Letters
3.3 Investigations and Reports
3.4 News Reports
3.5 Historical Images
Part 4 Postwar Tribunals
4.1 Tokyo Tribunal Documents
4.2 Nanjing Tribunal Documents
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Xianwen Zhang
Zhang Xianwen is currently emeritus professor of Humanities and Social Scien ces at Nanjing University, president of the Institute of Nanjing Massacre History and International Peace Studies, and honorary director of the Center for the History of Republic of China at Nanjing University. He was head of the History Department and director of the Institute of History at Nanjing University. His research areas cover modern Chinese history, the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the Nanjing massacre. His main publications include A Collection of the Historical Materials Relating to the Nanjing Massacre (72 volumes), The Nanking Massacre: A Complete History (3 volumes), and History of the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (4 volumes).
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Jianjun Zhang
Zhang Jianjun is director of the Memorial Hall for the Victims of Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. He is also the executive director of the Institute of Nanjing Massacre History and International Peace Studies, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Japanese Invasion of China and Nanjing Massacre. He is the author of Nanjing Will Never Forget and Changed Life: The Oral Life History of Nanjing Massacre Survivors.
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Juxtaposes photographically reproduced historical evidence with useful annotations
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Consists of evidence created by victims, perpetrators, and important third parties
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Comprises diaries, petitions, investigation reports, news articles, tribunal documents, and photographs sourced from major libraries and archives around the world in Chinese, Japanese, English, and other Western languages
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Juxtaposes photographically reproduced historical evidence with useful annotations
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Consists of evidence created by victims, perpetrators, and important third parties
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Comprises diaries, petitions, investigation reports, news articles, tribunal documents, and photographs sourced from major libraries and archives around the world in Chinese, Japanese, English, and other Western languages