The Nanjing Massacre, a forbidden topic in China during the rule of Mao Zedong, is now central to the national discourse concerning World War II, and its remaining scars from Japanese atrocities in the Chinese public consciousness that are behind many of the lingering problems with the relationship with Japan. The first comprehensive public statement, after Chairman Mao died in 1976, on the Massacre by the Chinese government took the form of a great monument built in Nanjing: The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. As the first official monument dedicated to the Nanjing Massacre, the Memorial Hall gives both official statistics and official terms to Chinese nation's perception of the historical event. Because all publishing houses in China are closely...[ Read more ]

The Nanjing Massacre, a forbidden topic in China during the rule of Mao Zedong, is now central to the national discourse concerning World War II, and its remaining scars from Japanese atrocities in the Chinese public consciousness that are behind many of the lingering problems with the relationship with Japan. The first comprehensive public statement, after Chairman Mao died in 1976, on the Massacre by the Chinese government took the form of a great monument built in Nanjing: The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. As the first official monument dedicated to the Nanjing Massacre, the Memorial Hall gives both official statistics and official terms to Chinese nation's perception of the historical event. Because all publishing houses in China are closely watched by the Chinese authorities, the printed publications, even those written or edited by individual writers or editors, on a sensitive subject like the Nanjing Massacre, must be approved by the Chinese authorities before publication. This thesis also discusses personal memoirs and a story book about the Nanjing Massacre, how they respond to and work with the Chinese officially published historical sources. Even for the Chinese movie industry, public distribution is permitted only under tight rules. As with print publications, films that are shown in public must respond both to Chinese official data and to the official attitude toward the history of the Nanjing Massacre. The official account is briefly compared to international sources, as this study shows how selected publications and movies respond to the Chinese official history of the Nanjing Massacre and to the diplomatic requirements of the Sino-Japanese relationship. This study discusses the central place of the Memorial Hall in Chinese public media concerning the Massacre, and compares it with selected books and movies, and considers how public media presentations of the Massacre vary, one from another, and how their distribution is permitted or banned in China, and, above all, how accurate are those historical representations.