The Rape of Nanking

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1997

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction-Part 1, Chapter 1

Part 1, Chapters 2-3

Part 1, Chapters 4-5

Part 2, Chapters 6-8

Parts 2-3, Chapter 9-Epilogue

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Discussion Questions

Essay Topics

What cultural and societal factors in 1930s Imperial Japan help explain its soldiers’ brutality? Do you find the author’s arguments on this matter convincing?

The author calls the Rape of Nanking a holocaust. Given that millions more died as a result of Nazi persecution than in Nanking, is the author justified in using this term? Why or why not?

Do you agree with the author’s theory that the massacre could have been avoided had Chiang Kai-shek acted differently in his capacity as China’s military leader? What strategic errors did Chiang arguably commit before and during the Battle of Nanking?