51 pages • 1 hour read
Iris ChangThe Rape of Nanking
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1997A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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?
