The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang

---

⭐ 5/5 Review: The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang — The History the World Tries to Forget

👉 Buy it here: The Rape of Nanking on Amazon (affiliate link 💰)

---

⚠️ Trigger Warnings

This book contains graphic depictions of:

• Rape & sexual assault 💔

• Murder, torture & mutilation ⚰️

• War crimes & genocide 🩸

• Racism, imperialism & dehumanization

• Psychological trauma & suicide

This is not an easy read — but it’s a necessary one.

---

💭 My Thoughts

When I bring up the Nanking Massacre in the U.S., most people have never even heard of it.
Some don’t believe it. Others change the subject.
And when I mention the staggering death toll — hundreds of thousands — people tell me to “move on.”

But moving on doesn’t mean erasing truth.
Forgiveness isn’t denial.

That’s why this book matters. The Rape of Nanking is one of those works that forces humanity to look itself in the mirror — and it’s not a pretty sight.

Iris Chang’s writing is fearless, factual, and deeply humane. You can feel her outrage in every sentence. This isn’t just a history book — it’s a moral reckoning.

---

📘 Overview

Title: The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II
Author: Iris Chang
Genre: Historical Nonfiction / War / Atrocity Studies
Published: 1997 (Basic Books)
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

Subtitled The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, Iris Chang’s landmark book documents the 1937 Nanking Massacre, when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Nanking (now Nanjing) and slaughtered over 260,000 to 400,000 civilians and POWs and raped between 20,000 and 80,000 women — all within six weeks.

The book is divided into three parts: from the perspective of the Japanese invaders, the Chinese victims, and the Western witnesses who stayed behind to document and protect.

---

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: Full Historical Summary Below

---

🗾 Part I – The Japanese Perspective

Chang begins by tracing Japan’s descent into militarism after World War I.
Economic collapse, resentment toward Western powers, and a drive for empire lead Japan to invade Manchuria (1931) and eventually launch a full-scale assault on China in 1937.

After capturing Shanghai, the Japanese army marches inland toward Nanking, burning and killing along the way.
When General Matsui Iwane falls ill, Emperor Hirohito’s uncle, Prince Asaka Yasuhiko, assumes command — and his staff issues the horrifying “Kill All Captives” order.

Once Nanking falls, the Japanese execute over 90,000 Chinese soldiers and unleash hell on civilians. Rape, mutilation, and torture become a form of entertainment — soldiers even hold “killing contests” to see who can behead the most victims.

---

🇨🇳 Part II – The Chinese Perspective

By December 1937, Nanking’s one million residents are trapped. Half flee; the rest can’t afford to.
Commander Tang Sheng-chih tries to negotiate a truce, but Chiang Kai-shek refuses — and soon abandons the city altogether.

What follows is pure horror. Civilians are massacred, families destroyed, and women assaulted in broad daylight.
Chang estimates up to 377,400 people were killed in the first six weeks alone.

---

🌍 Part III – The Western Witnesses

And then — a flicker of humanity.

A group of Westerners, including missionaries and businessmen, form the Nanking Safety Zone, protecting over 200,000 people from slaughter. Among them is John Rabe, a German businessman and member of the Nazi Party who uses his swastika armband to ward off Japanese soldiers.

He shelters women on his property, drives attackers away, and documents everything.
His diaries later become some of the most damning evidence of the atrocities.

---

⚖️ Aftermath and Legacy

After the war, only a few Japanese officers face trial — most escape justice.
Prince Asaka and Emperor Hirohito are granted immunity. General Matsui becomes the scapegoat and is executed, while others go on to serve in government during the Cold War as Japan becomes an American ally against communism.

The West looks away.
Japan rewrites its textbooks.
And the victims fade from global memory.

Chang’s book — published 60 years later — shatters that silence.

---

🕊️ The Author Behind the Book

Iris Chang (1968–2004) was an American author of Chinese descent who dedicated her career to documenting forgotten history and injustice.

Tragically, the weight of this project — the horror she uncovered, the pushback she faced — took a deep toll on her mental health.
She died by suicide in 2004 at just 36 years old.

Her death is a reminder of the emotional cost of carrying the world’s darkest truths — and of how deeply she cared that this story never be buried again.

---

🎧 Audiobook Notes

The audiobook (read by Anna Fields) is powerful but flawed.
Whenever a Chinese word appears — like Nanjing Datusha (南京大屠杀) — it’s badly mispronounced, possibly by a different voice.

If you’re going to narrate a book like this, please, at minimum, learn how to pronounce standard Mandarin terms. Mispronunciation might seem small, but in a story about erasure and respect, accuracy matters.

---

💬 Final Thoughts

This is one of the hardest books I’ve ever read — and one of the most important.

Chang’s prose is raw and unflinching. You can feel her exhaustion, her fury, her heartbreak.
But beneath it all, there’s a deep belief in truth — that the act of remembering is its own kind of justice.

We can forgive. But we must never forget.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ / 5

---

📚 If You Liked This, Read These Next

📖 Unit 731: Japan’s Secret Biological Warfare in World War II by Hal Gold
📖 The Good Man of Nanking by John Rabe
📖 Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II, 1937–1945 by Rana Mitter