The Nanking Massacre

December 13, 1937 marked the date of the onset of the true horrors in Nanking. Japan mutilated the city in every imaginable fashion. “Although [the Chinese] greatly outnumbered the Japanese and had plenty of ammunition, they withered under the ferocity of the Japanese attack” (The History Place). Essentially defenseless, as the people were centrally gathered in two main Nanking streets, the Chinese civilians and military were slaughtered ruthlessly. Japanese forces acted in unfathomably inhumane fashion, and “[conducted] bayonet practice on live prisoners, [decapitated and displayed] severed heads [of the Chinese people] as souvenirs, and proudly [stood] among mutilated corpses. Some of the Chinese [military] were simply mowed down by machine-gun
The streets became ‘streets of blood’ as a result of the two-day annihilation” (Basic Facts On the Nanking Massacre). Japanese military exhibited no mercy and terrorized the city for weeks. In addition to the killing, Japanese inflicted incredible destruction upon the city of Nanking physically. “The Japanese looted all the storehouses and seized virtually everything from the civilians. The loot included jewelry, coins, domesticated animals, food, clothes, antiques, and even inexpensive items such as cigarettes, eggs, fountain pens, and buttons. [Additionally] the Japanese organized burning of buildings in the city. After [forces used gasoline and other chemicals to set fire to buildings], they hid, [and] waited for, and killed people who came to extinguish the fire. Numerous people were killed by fire” (Basic Facts on the Nanking Massacre). Nanking, originally a prosperous, industrial, historical, and beautiful capital, was completely and utterly and completely destroyed by the Japanese military. All that remained of Nanking was rubble, bodies, blood, and
Hundreds of years have marched on in history containing documented bitter relations between Japan and China. Some merely viewed the destruction of Nanking as the latest attempt by Japan to control China, but further analysis exposed significantly deeper intentions. Ultimately, Japan’s attempts at dominance over China for decades resulted from their uncontrollable desire for aggression, expansion, [technological advancement] and imperialism” (Basic Facts on the Nanking Massacre). Japan despised China because the Chinese accepted and embraced their agrarian society, and desired no interaction with other countries. China refused to modernize in the 1800s, exhibited by their refusal to partake in foreign trade and minimal attempts to industrialize, while Japan maintained a completely opposite approach. Japan focused on development of military, weapons, and other technology, the benefits of which were revealed when “Japan