If we do not confront history, we repeat it. In the west, war memorials are always publicized, and always seen as a 'good thing'. In Australlia, Anzac Day - from an incident during World War 1 - is still celebrated every year and growing in popularity.Why is it when other countries celebrate their war dead, the western media thinks it's okay, but when China does, it's not? Having been to the Nanjing Memorial, the kind of brutality that occured there should hever be forgotten.
"In the West, remembering historical wrongs often serves as justification for future action, whether demanding reparations, seeking territorial adjustments, or mobilizing public support for confrontational policies."
I can think of some examples in the West, although very few post-WW2, unless one wants to characterize the breakup of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact as confrontational. There was embarrassment over abandoning friends and concern for them, but I really cannot think of many, particularly in the US. Can someone cite examples?
Perhaps the calls for reparations for descendants of slaves in the US is an example? But I think the retributions have historically been more direct, like how the British reacted to the mutiny in India. I assume European settlers would regularly seek retribution towards indigenous Americans for perceived wrongs, …
My entire paternal family is from Nanjing, and my great-grandma and grandma are survivors of WWII (they fled to Chongqing during the wartime). One time, I asked my 94-year-old grandma, who has lost most of her memory because of Alzheimer's, about the Nanjing Massacre. Her immediate, spontaneous reaction was "fear"—not hatred, not revenge, but just tremors with fear. But when we asked her about the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, she said without a second of hesitation that "it's wrong to kill so many civilians and children."
The cruelty of the Nanjing Massacre (as well as other massacres and genocide in other cities in the world) is beyond humanity, and the fact that Japan refuses to acknowledge this history is completely unacceptable. For that reason, the keyword "Nanjing Massacre" deserves as many appearances on the Internet as possible to raise awareness. But it's just as unacceptable when people exploit the tragic of the victims to make a point about other current affairs. Even though issues like extreme nationalism or China's social problems do exist, please discuss those in a separate setting instead of exploiting the victims and survivors to fulfill selfish goals.
When I see people say things like, "Did you know that while the CCP is promoting a WWII movie, terrible things X, Y, and Z are also happening? And therefore it's just provoking hatred and nationalism. "—and a lot of people say this—all I can think is this: If there's a current event you believe isn't being discussed enough, please write a piece to educate us about the important event that we wouldn't know about otherwise. I hate when people draw forced parallels between two completely separate things just to vent some resentment toward the current state of affairs.
Also, it's stupid to assume that using hatred to brainwash people works that easily. I was born and raised in Nanjing until I was 18, and there are memorial events (like air-raid alarm drills) every December. My friends and I grew up fully aware of the history, but our trains turned out just fine—nobody turned into a brainwashed nationalist full of hatred and resentment.
Can’t imagine writing an article about this topic today and not addressing the recent spate of attacks on Japanese women and children living in China. What are the links between these attackers’ motives, state rhetoric, and the culture industry? This is surely the central question if one wants to understand how Chinese “remember history”
If simply facing history leads to events like these, then perhaps they were bound to happen. It's not complicated,it comes down to the basic sense of right and wrong in the human heart. Besides, the desire for revenge is a fundamental human emotion.
Q: How should we teach about hatred?
A: Tell the truth about what they did.
In mainland China, just discussing this topic gets you labeled a "populist" and insulted by so-called "liberals with Chinese characteristics." Internationally, nobody knows or cares (which, frankly, I don't have a strong opinion on, just as I don't spend much time thinking about what Hitler did—that's just a flaw in human nature).
I think this has more to do with Japan's behavior. Since surrendering in 1945, they have never truly reflected on their actions. Instead, they've chosen to evade and ignore their own history, preserving and even commemorating many objects and ideas from the period of their invasion of China. This is like constantly rubbing salt in the victims' wounds.
Look at Germany. From the end of the war to this day, they have continuously memorialized the graves of the victims. Germany has been so thoroughly transformed that it no longer has the capability to launch a war of aggression. Do you think the Jewish people and Europeans would still be seeking resolution? The answer is obvious, and it's for this same reason that China remembers its history.
It's hard to imagine how someone, especially a person of Chinese descent, could condemn the victims for their minor acts of revenge while ignoring the historical truth and the very reasons that revenge emerged in the first place.
well, to you, the nanjing Massacre of over 300,000 people wasn't a crime, much less a crime against humanity. I won't even bring up that the Chinese criminals in the Shenzhen incident were executed, or that it was a Chinese person who stepped in to help during the Suzhou incident. To this day, the Japanese government still denies the Nanjing Massacre, and its political parties are welcomed into the halls of power. I won't be replying to you anymore. Everyone knows the truth in their hearts but chooses to ignore it. This is the price of being weak—even your status as a victim is stripped away.
Lots of past injustices need to be remembered, including (and especially) the genocides in the Americas and Australia. Perhaps had more attention been paid to settler induced genocide in N America and Australia, we would not be seeing the genocide in Gaza today. It’s the weaponisation of past injustices (eg using the Holocaust to deflect criticism of the Gaza genocide) that we need to resist. Good on China for making sure Japanese aggression is not forgotten. Here in SE Asia, Japanese aggression is being forgotten while we continue to host Commonwealth cemeteries in Borneo and elsewhere. Hope one day China’s efforts will help us remember again the non-European victims of Japanese aggression.
If we do not confront history, we repeat it. In the west, war memorials are always publicized, and always seen as a 'good thing'. In Australlia, Anzac Day - from an incident during World War 1 - is still celebrated every year and growing in popularity.Why is it when other countries celebrate their war dead, the western media thinks it's okay, but when China does, it's not? Having been to the Nanjing Memorial, the kind of brutality that occured there should hever be forgotten.
"In the West, remembering historical wrongs often serves as justification for future action, whether demanding reparations, seeking territorial adjustments, or mobilizing public support for confrontational policies."
I can think of some examples in the West, although very few post-WW2, unless one wants to characterize the breakup of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact as confrontational. There was embarrassment over abandoning friends and concern for them, but I really cannot think of many, particularly in the US. Can someone cite examples?
often, not always, my point was the later part on how Chinese see “remember the history”
Perhaps the calls for reparations for descendants of slaves in the US is an example? But I think the retributions have historically been more direct, like how the British reacted to the mutiny in India. I assume European settlers would regularly seek retribution towards indigenous Americans for perceived wrongs, …
My entire paternal family is from Nanjing, and my great-grandma and grandma are survivors of WWII (they fled to Chongqing during the wartime). One time, I asked my 94-year-old grandma, who has lost most of her memory because of Alzheimer's, about the Nanjing Massacre. Her immediate, spontaneous reaction was "fear"—not hatred, not revenge, but just tremors with fear. But when we asked her about the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, she said without a second of hesitation that "it's wrong to kill so many civilians and children."
The cruelty of the Nanjing Massacre (as well as other massacres and genocide in other cities in the world) is beyond humanity, and the fact that Japan refuses to acknowledge this history is completely unacceptable. For that reason, the keyword "Nanjing Massacre" deserves as many appearances on the Internet as possible to raise awareness. But it's just as unacceptable when people exploit the tragic of the victims to make a point about other current affairs. Even though issues like extreme nationalism or China's social problems do exist, please discuss those in a separate setting instead of exploiting the victims and survivors to fulfill selfish goals.
When I see people say things like, "Did you know that while the CCP is promoting a WWII movie, terrible things X, Y, and Z are also happening? And therefore it's just provoking hatred and nationalism. "—and a lot of people say this—all I can think is this: If there's a current event you believe isn't being discussed enough, please write a piece to educate us about the important event that we wouldn't know about otherwise. I hate when people draw forced parallels between two completely separate things just to vent some resentment toward the current state of affairs.
Also, it's stupid to assume that using hatred to brainwash people works that easily. I was born and raised in Nanjing until I was 18, and there are memorial events (like air-raid alarm drills) every December. My friends and I grew up fully aware of the history, but our trains turned out just fine—nobody turned into a brainwashed nationalist full of hatred and resentment.
Can’t imagine writing an article about this topic today and not addressing the recent spate of attacks on Japanese women and children living in China. What are the links between these attackers’ motives, state rhetoric, and the culture industry? This is surely the central question if one wants to understand how Chinese “remember history”
I thought about that, but then I had to also talk about hate crimes of Chinese being beaten in Japan, which overcomplicated the piece.
If simply facing history leads to events like these, then perhaps they were bound to happen. It's not complicated,it comes down to the basic sense of right and wrong in the human heart. Besides, the desire for revenge is a fundamental human emotion.
Q: How should we teach about hatred?
A: Tell the truth about what they did.
In mainland China, just discussing this topic gets you labeled a "populist" and insulted by so-called "liberals with Chinese characteristics." Internationally, nobody knows or cares (which, frankly, I don't have a strong opinion on, just as I don't spend much time thinking about what Hitler did—that's just a flaw in human nature).
I think this has more to do with Japan's behavior. Since surrendering in 1945, they have never truly reflected on their actions. Instead, they've chosen to evade and ignore their own history, preserving and even commemorating many objects and ideas from the period of their invasion of China. This is like constantly rubbing salt in the victims' wounds.
Look at Germany. From the end of the war to this day, they have continuously memorialized the graves of the victims. Germany has been so thoroughly transformed that it no longer has the capability to launch a war of aggression. Do you think the Jewish people and Europeans would still be seeking resolution? The answer is obvious, and it's for this same reason that China remembers its history.
It's hard to imagine how someone, especially a person of Chinese descent, could condemn the victims for their minor acts of revenge while ignoring the historical truth and the very reasons that revenge emerged in the first place.
Thanks for your insight, worth to share it
Well, the state executed the man in Shenzhen who killed the Japanese boy outside his school. Seems like you think there was barely a crime committed.
I think the man who brutally murdered the Japanese boy definitely deserves his sentence. That kind of hate crime should never be tolerated anywhere.
well, to you, the nanjing Massacre of over 300,000 people wasn't a crime, much less a crime against humanity. I won't even bring up that the Chinese criminals in the Shenzhen incident were executed, or that it was a Chinese person who stepped in to help during the Suzhou incident. To this day, the Japanese government still denies the Nanjing Massacre, and its political parties are welcomed into the halls of power. I won't be replying to you anymore. Everyone knows the truth in their hearts but chooses to ignore it. This is the price of being weak—even your status as a victim is stripped away.
Lots of past injustices need to be remembered, including (and especially) the genocides in the Americas and Australia. Perhaps had more attention been paid to settler induced genocide in N America and Australia, we would not be seeing the genocide in Gaza today. It’s the weaponisation of past injustices (eg using the Holocaust to deflect criticism of the Gaza genocide) that we need to resist. Good on China for making sure Japanese aggression is not forgotten. Here in SE Asia, Japanese aggression is being forgotten while we continue to host Commonwealth cemeteries in Borneo and elsewhere. Hope one day China’s efforts will help us remember again the non-European victims of Japanese aggression.