- The Nanjing Massacre -
A Half-Century of Humiliation:
Thoughts on the 50th Anniversary of the Victory
in the War of Resistance Against Japan
by: Li Yongzheng44 (1995)
Translation from Chinese into English by: Robert P.
Gray
Vancouver, Canada
Fall 1995
From the "dwarf pirates" 
of the Ming dynasty [1368-1644 AD]
to the "Japanese barbarians" 
of the modern era, from Port
Arthur45 to the Nanjing Massacre, from the 30046 million tael indemnity of the Treaty of
Shimonoseki to the countless mineral and natural resources -- all these
actions prove that it was a fatal mistake for our ancestors to help this
ungrateful neighbor. The generosity of Emperor Tang Taizong [597-649 AD]
did not leave much of an impression on the minds of the Japanese. All they
knew was that modern Japan was a rich and powerful nation and that the
Yamato [Japanese] race was a superior people compared to the "Chinamen."
I hope this world truly does have what the Buddhists call "cause and
effect," 
because I want the Japanese also to experience for
themselves the
bitter taste of losing a loved one, losing one's homeland, losing one's
chastity and dignity, losing one's freedom, and losing one's life. Suppose
we disregard the evil deeds of the dwarf pirates -- how they brought
raping, burning, and killing to the coastal areas of our country, the
Japanese economic invasion after the war, and the occupation of the Senkaku
[Diaoyu] Islands. Even if we overlook these facts, beginning with the 1872
Japanese occupation of the Ryukyu [Liuqiu] Islands, a tributary state of
China, and the unsuccessful attack on Taiwan followed by the collection of
a 500,000 tael indemnity from China, up to the surrender of Japan in 1945,
Japan tormented China for a period of seventy-three years. During this
seemingly endless seventy-three years, except for a few dishonest and
shameless traitors, virtually all Chinese led toiling lives of humiliation
and suffering. As for those compatriots who were buried alive, had their
heads lopped off, their stomachs torn open, their skin peeled off, or their
live bodies dissected by the Japanese invaders, certainly their suffering
was enormous. But compared to those who survived through it all, perhaps
those who died were not the most unfortunate ones. Many Chinese were
treated like animals by the Japanese and were forced to work in hellish
conditions as coolie laborers. Others had to leave their hometowns, become
homeless, and live in a constant state of hunger and fear. And then, of
course, there were the women who, forced to endure cruel rapes, would have
preferred death to life. For these people, the words "pain and suffering" 
simply are insufficient to describe what they were forced to endure on a
daily basis.
I feel a sense of shame on this occasion because fifty years have passed
and we still have not yet made any significant effort to obtain even a
single word of apology for our unfortunate fellow countrymen. On the
contrary, we have deceived ourselves and others by considering ourselves to
be the victors. Our returning good for evil and our peaceful, reasonable
behavior have become excuses for our cowardice and timidity. Why do some
people still merely say, "We must not forget" 
the Nanjing
massacre while, on the other hand, when it comes to the June Fourth incident [of 1989],
these same people say, "A debt of blood must be collected" 
?
And why is it that there are always people passionately calling out at the top of their
lungs, "Down with" 
the Kuomintang, the Communist Party, or
the Democratic
Progressive Party47, while when it comes to criticizing the
Japanese
Liberal Democratic Party, which consistently discriminates against the
Chinese, everyone becomes exceedingly reasonable?
Why must we suffer in great pain waiting for the Japanese to feel compassionate and bestow an apology upon us? What they owe us is far more than the word "sorry," but they have been unwilling to meet even this simple request. By not pressing for an apology, we are not displaying our magnanimity and tolerance; rather, we are simply bringing disgrace and humiliation upon ourselves. Stop being tolerant! Each and every Chinese person has the duty and responsibility to uphold the dignity of our people. If you encounter Japanese scholars or teachers who gloss over or completely evade the topic of the crimes committed during the Japanese invasion, you must not just bottle up your anger. You should sternly reprimand these people, right then and there. If your Japanese friend is speaking and lets something slip out which is discriminatory against Chinese people or which distorts the historical record, you should immediately reprove and warn him that, in the future, you will not tolerate such transgressions. Unfortunately, the dignity of the Chinese people is not something which our fellow countrymen particularly treasure. Some people believe that having wealth or an academic degree equates with dignity. Others believe that maintaining one's composure and good manners in the face of humiliation is what constitutes dignity. There are even some people who regard dignity as only so much worthless dung and dirt.
I am proud to be Chinese, yet I feel a sense of shame because so many of my fellow countrymen display extreme selfishness and think only of benefitting themselves. Their actions blot out the glory of the several thousand year history of magnificent civilization of the Chinese race. The cowardice of these people has caused me to lose the sense of dignity long felt by our people, a dignity which even a Chinese beggar on the street felt in the days of yesteryear. Thus, I feel a sense of regret for our people. Why have we become so dispirited?
The Chinese people should not be blamed for their misfortune. In fact, the Goddess of Fate has always favored us Chinese people. She has granted us countless magnificent great thinkers, scientists, doctors, artists . . . and the most marvelous culture in the world. At one time, our culture attracted people to come from far off lands, traversing great distances to come and learn from us. Colonies were established [around the world] by people who used guns and cannons powered with gunpowder invented by the Chinese. The capitalists relied on the compass, also a Chinese invention, to guide them in their journeys to open overseas markets. Science and religion relied on paper and printing with moveable type to disseminate their teachings far and wide. At one time or another, we Chinese were leaders in every field. But not only were we unable to protect our magnificent civilization, under the exploding bombs of the foreigners we did not even hesitate to give it up entirely. But time and again the Goddess of Fate has pulled us back from the edge of extinction. Our nation was about to be rent asunder when she sent Genghis Khan [1162-1227 AD] to unify the country. When our government was rotten to the core, she sent Nurhaci [1599-1626 AD] to revitalize China. When Japan came to invade our country, she sent us the big American boys to drive out the little Japanese. But we have consistently refused to draw lessons from our past experiences and so have repeatedly found ourselves walking down the road of national destruction. Moreover, with the passing of time we have only become more selfish and weak.
Why, in recent times, have we been beaten down into such a pitiful
condition? In my opinion, the fault lies not with others, but with us
alone. Our problem lies in the fact that we, as individuals, have failed
to do our duty. Not only have we failed to criticize ourselves, but we
have evaded our responsibilities by blaming others. From whence in Chinese
culture do people learn that when a foreign people come to invade we need
not sacrifice our lives to rescue our nation? If we do not immediately
wake up and assume our individual responsibilities now, inevitably we will
once again find ourselves walking down that same path of a conquered
country. Those two words, "conquered country" 
can be very
alarming to people. From ancient times, many patriots have bitterly cried
out these two words to warn the ignorant people around them of some danger.
But invariably, no matter how much blood and tears they expended, no one
paid them any attention. Only when those two words "conquered country"
became a reality did these people express their regret, but by then it was
too late and the country was lost. Thus has history tragically repeated
itself.
What the Japanese people are doing today closely resembles what they did in the past before coming to conquer our country, and is just like what the Nazis did in Germany after W.W.I. The Germans and the Japanese both had a mind set which refused to accept defeat. Because there was a treaty48 which limited the number of soldiers allowed, Hitler [1889-1945] concentrated on training a large number of military officers. In the Japanese army today, [virtually] the entire force is made up of officers. And the training received by the rank and file soldiers in the defence forces of the Japanese army far exceeds that given to officers in the armies of other nations. Thus, although the number of soldiers in such an army does not violate the terms of the treaty, when the time comes, the army will be able to be expanded rapidly. Moreover, today's Japan, just like Germany before it, is swiftly expanding its budget for military armaments. All the signs are there. Not only has there been a revival of militarism in Japan, but pro-military elements have already begun to carry out their desperate counterattack. From the Chinese people's perspective, this well-thought-out plan of attack is even more frightful than the one used during Japan's previous invasion of China. Recently, there have been some Japanese politicians, such as Nagano Shigeto [b.1922], for example, who have been unable to restrain themselves and have revealed their true colors. Although these politicians have resigned one after the other, this definitely does not mean that their opinions are opposed by the majority of Japanese people, but only that they were premature in revealing to the world the wild ambitions of the Japanese nation.
No matter how much conclusive evidence we have of the aggressive intentions of the Japanese people, many people still consider what I say to be raising a false alarm. Although today these people can ignore the clear and looming dangers, continuing to live and work in peace, when the day comes that our nation once again is conquered, there will be nothing we Chinese will be able to do to wipe away the humiliation and suffering of being an enslaved people. This time, the Japanese who come and cause us to become a conquered nation will be far more cunning and vicious than the Mongols or the Manchus. For the Japanese have no desire to come and live in harmony with us. The Japanese people who want to enslave our people and wipe out our culture are a savage race. The situation in which the Chinese people find themselves today is one of unprecedented danger. Wake up! If you do not make a determined effort to strengthen our nation, we will soon be confronted with the death of our people and the destruction of our ancient civilization.
I think that the Goddess of Fate will not help us any more as she has already come to our rescue too often. She has blessed us with a population of 1.2 billion people, a powerful army, and even the atomic bomb, a weapon of unlimited power. But fifty years have passed since our victory over the Japanese and we have not demanded even one word of apology. Even though the fate of each and every person is inextricably tied to that of the nation, fewer and fewer people seem to be concerned about the future of our motherland. As time goes by, people are becoming more self-absorbed and apathetic. Even as the warning bells signalling the impending destruction of our nation ring out like rolling thunder in their ears, these people remain indifferent. With our eyes wide open, we look on as the Japanese wantonly propagate their militaristic thinking and expand their military build-up. We have tolerated their occupation of the Senkaku Islands and their secret support of Taiwan's independence movement. We have even tolerated their flagrant purchasing of planes, guided missiles, their storing of fissionable materials and their construction of warships. We have deluded ourselves thinking that having the atomic bomb means that we can sleep in peace. We must remember that the French people also believed that they could sleep in peace behind the Maginot Line, but in the end their nation was overrun by the Nazis in less than one week. Moreover, we have naively believed that the wild ambitions of the Japanese were restricted to the sphere of economic aggression.
Only when we are able to face up to our illness will we be able to ensure our survival. But on this 50th anniversary of our victory over the Japanese, not only have we failed to admit that this illness exists within us, we have wantonly celebrated our good health. Unfortunately, the real world is unlike the human body whose health is affected by one's state of mind. [The weakness of a nation, unlike the sickness of a human body, can not be improved simply by positive thinking.] The day on which our nation [again] will be conquered gets closer and closer. Although apparently only a very few Chinese people in the world today truly realize this fact, even if I must fight single-handedly, I still must do my utmost to prevent that day from arriving. I hope a miracle will occur and that we Chinese, at this extremely critical moment in our history, will wake up from our slumber. Day and night, I dream of a day when our descendants will be able to study a history textbook and, after reading a humiliating account of what has happened to modern China, they will also be able to read a chapter of their history which makes them feel proud.
It is up to the Chinese of the present generation to write this chapter of our history.
Li Yongzheng's essay was translated into English by Robert P. Gray in Vancouver, Canada.
Yue Ren, who submitted the original
Chinese document Japanese Imperialism and the Massacre in Nanjing to China
News Digest, recommended that Li Yongzheng's essay be attached.
Li Yongzheng's essay in the original Chinese is appended to the end of Japanese Imperialism and the Massacre in
Nanjing.
