Describe The Event At Nanjing

On December 13, 1937, the Japanese Imperial army marched into the capital city of China, Nanjing. Many events occurred during the six week period. The event at Nanjing is called many names such as rape, massacre, battle, or invasion. It is still debated on the appropriate term to be used to describe the event at Nanjing. A massacre would be the most appropriate term for the next textbook for ninth graders to describe the event at Nanjing because the Japanese army murdered about 300,000 Chinese people whereas the amount of Japanese killed could not even compare. The event at Nanjing would be described as a massacre because the Japanese army killed thousands of Chinese. Many victims were beheaded, burned, bayoneted, or buried alive. In an article, it stated “Chinese soldiers were hunted down and killed by the thousands, and left in mass graves. Entire families were massacred, and even the elderly and infants were targeted for execution” This proves that the Japanese were attacking the
Chinese and the Chinese were defenseless. They were looking at their own family members dying in front of them and they could not do anything but watch because they were killed next. Also, many Chinese tried to flee before the Japanese could reach there. They tried to flee by crossing the Yangtze River. However, there was no way of transportation over the river and by that time, the Japanese arrived and the Japanese fired at the people who tried to swim and were at the shore. They shot over 50,000 bodies when just arriving. This shows a mass killing in one spot. Additionally, the Chinese were killed in many other events. In an article it stated, “When the bodies of murdered Chinese choked the streets and the gutters ran red with their blood, the Japanese were forced to refine their methods of slaughter in the interest of preventing the spread of disease. Batches of Chinese civilians were rounded up and herded into slaughter pits.”This shows that it was a brutal slaughter of people that the Japanese was killing. Also, when the Japanese first entered the city, the streets were filled with injured Chinese soldiers and refugees. The next day the Japanese pulled up on the streets with tanks. The shootings continued and many Chinese were killed. This explains why the event at Nanjing would be best described as a massacre. At last, the event at Nanjing would be best described as a massacre because of the execution of captives.
In an article it stated, “ A large number of Chinese soldiers had already been captured in the suburban areas before the Japanese entered the city. The rest of the Chinese soldiers scattered inside the city and changed into civilian clothes. A large number of young men who were arrested, together with those who had been captured earlier, were sent outside of the city to be massacred, from several thousand to tens of thousand at a time.” This shows the mass killing of the Chinese where they were defenseless. The Chinese were killed with great cruelty. The Japanese found different methods to kill the Chinese. They poured gasoline, buried them alive, striked off their heads, took out their heart, stabbed, drowned, cut open the abdomen, punched out their eyes, and many other horrific ways. This would show why the the event at Nanjing would be best described as a
massacre.

However, many might say that the event at Nanjing would best be described as a rape of Nanjing. About 20,000 to 80,000 women were sexually assaulted. They were raped of their country and people. In a passage it stated, “Rapes were often performed in public during the day, sometimes in front of spouses or family members. A large number of them were systematized in a process where soldiers would search door-to-door for young girls, with many women taken captive and gang raped. The women were then killed immediately after the rape, often by mutilation” This explains how the women were raped right in front of their families and after they were taken advantage of, they were killed. Also, they were raped of their city. The Japanese set fire to the buildings and looted many stores taking jewelry, coins, antiques, and many more.
However, the rape of the women would be inappropriate to add in a ninth grade textbook. This is why I think that the term massacre would be the most appropriate term for the next textbook for ninth graders to describe the event at Nanjing. The Japanese army murdered about 300,000 Chinese people whereas the amount of Japanese killed could not even compare. The Chinese were not prepared for this kind of attack.