This includes things like being involved in a near-death experience, the loss of a close friend or relative, the witnessing of a traumatic event unfolding, or the realisation of a traumatic event through the watching of a documentary or reading of a book. My recent reflection on the big questions stemmed from a book I have just read (and thankfully not one of the other former categories).
The Rape of Nanking (authored by Iris Chang, a reknowned American history writer of Chinese descent) is a non-fiction book that relived the terror of the events that unfolded during the Japanese invasion and occupation of China, and particularly Nanking, during World War II. As a Malaysian-Chinese descent myself, I have heard as a child of the stories and the types of torture inflicted by Japanese soldiers on war prisoners and civilans alike during this dark period both in China and Malaysia. Therefore a lot of the details in the book should not have surprised me.
But it did.
More than just surprised, it shocked me and haunted me with sleepless nights. Thinking that I knew something through hearsay, and being presented with written and pictorial evidence of the same event, are actually two very different things. To support her retelling of the event, Chang presented pages and pages of details and evidence on the Rape, which are taken from sources like letters, diaries and newspapers written during those times and interviews with witnesses who have survived the tragic event and also Japanese soldiers who have with their own hands carried out the Rape. Together, this evidence presented the unthinkable cruelty that was inflicted on the victims during the invasion which included murders and torture in the masses and countless occurences of rapes and forced prostitution.
Apart from the well-founded research, The Rape is also an extremely gripping book because it objectively told the story from 3 different perspectives - that from the perspective of the Japanese who carried out the Rape, that from the Chinese who were subject of the Rape and that from the foreigners who had made the courageous decision to stay back and help the Chinese during the invasion. The story-telling started from a time that is long before the invasion, describing the thousand-year-old Japanese system of strict social hierarchy and the chronology of events (from mid 1800's) that led to the psychology of the Japanese soldiers right before the invasion. The book closes with a chapter on events that are taking place decades after the Rape, on how the Japanese, the Chinese and the rest of the world are coming to grip with the atrocity.
For many days after, I ask myself the question of what I should be taking away from reading this book. Surely I, a Malaysian of Chinese descent who is now calling Australia home, should be taking something away from this. Well, after days of pondering, at the very least, I think it should be this two realisations:
Realisation of the extent of the atrocity that has happened, filling in a hole in the storybook of historical events, is a big step. Not letting others forget it, is the other big step. Human beings are known throughout history to be capable of inflicting utmost violence and pain to each other in the conquest of power, and this is probably unlikely to ever change - however, for those of us who do harbour hope for change for the better and for more peace in this violent world, realisation is crucial. As Chang said in her book, in George Santayana's words, Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
Secondly I went to sleep the night after finishing the book, crying, not only for the pain that was suffered by the victims of Nanking half a century ago, but also in realisation of how fortunate I am to have my loved ones close to me, to have the ability to see them, touch them, talk to them and know that they are alright. For the many Chinese who suffered and perished during the dark period, many had to go through the agony of losing and not ever knowing what happened to husbands, wives, sons and daughters who were lost in the midst of the war; of waking up each day not knowing whether they would still be able to see their loved ones by the end of the day; of witnessing the torture, murder and rape of loved ones while being trapped in a web of helplessness. For all of these which I have never (and hopefully will never) had to go through, I am extremely grateful.
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