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Volume 13, Issue #2. Published on Decmber 8, 2004
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Photo IrisChang.net
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Iris Chang was driven by tenacity to pursue truth and the rich history of Asian peoples worldwide.
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Communities Mourn Asian American Author
Acclaimed S.F. Bay area historian Iris Chang dies at age 36, apparent suicide.
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Harim Martinez & Jodie Xiao
Asian Pacific Review
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Iris Shun-Ru Chang, prominent Chinese American author and journalist was discovered dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on November 9th. According to the Santa Clara County sheriff’s office, Chang was found in her car on a secluded road west of Highway 17 south of Los Gatos, California. Officials stressed that no official cause of death has yet been issued.
Friend and activist Ignatius Ding, who worked with Chang for several years, said Chang had recently ran into trouble in Kentucky while researching for her latest book concerning American forces and POWs in the Philippine Bataan Peninsula before World War II.
Having been very upset, Chang flew home to San Jose. Ding does not know the nature of the problem encountered nor whether Chang’s death was linked to it in any way. Former editor and agent to Chang, Susan Rabiner, disclosed that Chang had previously suffered from depression.
Chang was one of the nation’s leading young historians. In 1997, she released her most famous book, “The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II,” which described the Japanese occupation of the Chinese city of Nanjing (then referred Nanking).
The Japanese government has never officially admitted any wrongdoing and has denied all accusations.
Considered one of the war’s worst atrocities; Japanese troops massacred an estimated 350,000 Chinese civilians within four months between 1937 and 1938.
The most conservative of estimates in the academic community reveal some 20,000 women reportedly raped and murdered to prevent future accusations.
Chang first heard of the Nanking massacre from her family, who had escaped the city, while growing up.
Gruesome tales of babies cut to pieces, pregnant women disemboweled and stories of men used for bayonet practice enraged her.
“It was hard for me to even visualize how bad it was because the stories seemed almost mythical-people being chopped into pieces, the Yangtze River running red with blood,” said Chang. “It was very painful for me to think about, even then.”
The book was a result of her determination to not let history be forgotten.
“I wrote it out of a sense of rage. I didn’t really care if I made a cent off of it. It was important to me that the world knew what happened in Nanking back in 1937,” said Chang.
Although Chang worked adamantly for years to have Japan acknowledge and apologize for its actions during WWII she commented, “Political activism is a full-time job, and I see myself primarily as a writer and a scholar. Over time, I may have more impact on the world, I think, as a writer of books and articles than I could ever have as a political activist.”
After its publication, Chang was thrust onto the international spotlight, drawing criticism from many American scholars on Japan and some conservative publications in Japan.
However, the book also received an immense amount of acclaim among journalism reviewers.
Many regard “The Rape of Nanking” as a landmark piece which brought attention to what amounted to a nonexistent issue for American audiences.
“[She] did raise a level of consciousness that wasn't there before. In that sense, I think her contribution was very positive,” said Andrew Horvat of the San Francisco based Asia Foundation.
Chang garnered recognition in work on Asian American history and was awarded honorary doctorate degrees from two universities. Within a year of “The Rape of Nanking” she was named National Woman of the Year by the Organization of Chinese American Women.
Chang talked with zeal on the lecture circuit discussing WWII, Cold War, Sino-American relations, Asian American experience and the future of civil liberties.
Her conversational nature and easy to digest style made her writings an enjoyment to read for just about anyone. She brought to the world’s attention issues which even the well educated knew little.
“Maybe the best young historian we’ve got, because she understands that to communicate history, you’ve got to tell the story in an interesting way,” said historian Stephen Ambrose in describing Chang.
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