On the morning of December 1, the launch ceremony for new books written on the theme of remembering the history of the Nanjing Massacre and moving forward bravely in 2022 was held at the Memorial Hall.Among the books were A History of the Nanjing Massacre (in Kazakh), Research on the International Safety Zone during the Nanjing Massacre, and Infringement and Negotiation: The Rights and Interests of Third Countries in the Atrocities of Japan in Nanjing.

Translating Books about the History of the Nanjing Massacre into Foreign Languages and Publishing Them Overseas, to Enhance Global Awareness

The ceremony presented Chinese publications translated into foreign languages in the past five years, including the English and German editions of Human Memory: The Solid Evidence of Nanjing Massacre, which was compiled under the coordination of the Memorial Hall.In 2022, Nanjing University Press published the Spanish and Kazakh editions of A History of the Nanjing Massacre, bringing the overseas editions of the book to seven. Earlier, the book has been published in English, Hebrew, Polish, Korean, and Hindi.The Spanish edition of A History of the Nanjing Massacre was rolled out jointly by the press and the Institute of National Memory and International Peace. Translation of the book into German is underway.

Upper: Hindi (left), Hebrew, Polish

Lower: Korean (left), Kazakh, English

The Spanish edition of A History of the Nanjing Massacre

In 2022, the Memorial Hall joined hands with China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration and kicked off the edition and publication of foreign language editions of World War II Memory: Nanjing Massacre Series.The series will showcase core historical materials related to the Nanjing Massacre, with a focus on third-party historical materials, to foreign readers. The Memorial Hall is making steady progress on the effort.

The Memorial Hall will strengthen cooperation with Chinese scholars living overseas to publish foreign-language books abroad and translate them into Chinese before publishing them at home.In 2021, Mr. Lu Suping, a Chinese professor from the University of Nebraska, cooperated with the Memorial Hall in launching Japanese Atrocities in Nanjing: The Nanjing Massacre and Post-Massacre Social Conditions Recorded in German Diplomatic Documents.The book was published in both English and German in 2022.The English edition was published by world-renowned Springer in August 2022 in New York, London, Berlin, Singapore and other regions. The German edition was published in October 2022 in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Another two English books of Lu were published in Chinese language in China, both published by Unity Press.One is They Were in Nanjing: The Nanjing Massacre Witnessed by American and British Nationals, which offers readers access to first-hand accounts left by foreign people who experienced the Nanjing Massacre.The other is Facing the Abyss of History: Nanjing Massacre. After being published, the English edition of the book has been downloaded nearly 4,200 times abroad in the past two years and attracted attention from the international academic community.Lu added his latest research findings on the basis of the English edition.

Launching Multi-language Editions of Professional Journal on the Nanjing Massacre and Translating More Academic Research Findings into Foreign Languages

Launched in 2018, Journal of Japanese Invasion of China and Nanjing Massacre has garnered support from press and publication administrations and scholars.The journal has been included in CSSCI source journals (extended version) and CHSSCD. In 2021, the journal was awarded the third Jiangsu Government Prize in Press and Publications as an advanced institution in press and publications.The four Chinese-language quarterly issues for 2022 are being distributed as planned. Of the three issues already published, three articles appeared on Replicated Journals of Renmin University of China, and five appeared on the website of The Paper.The WeChat Official Account of the journal shared more than 30 academic papers with over 50,000 views. The journal’s academic influence and ability to disseminate academic research findings are increasing.

While publishing the Chinese-language journal, the Memorial Hall also, with support from China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, selects academic papers on subjects including the Nanjing Massacre, the history of Japan’s invasion of China, and peace studies to compile them into the English-language Journal of Japanese Invasion of China and Nanjing Massacre. For each issue, more than 1,000 copies are sold to mainstream universities, libraries and research groups in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, with the Japanese-language version edited simultaneously.This year, the Memorial Hall introduced the French-language journal to enhance awareness of the history of the Nanjing Massacre in French-speaking regions. So far, the Memorial Hall has a multi-language foreign journal system comprised of journals in English, Japanese and French, which boosts international academic exchanges and the Memorial Hall’s international academic influence.

The French edition of Journal of Japanese Invasion of China and Nanjing

Launching Publications on National Memorial and History of the Nanjing Massacre to Promote Patriotic Education

The year 2022 marked the 140th birth anniversary of John Rabe, a German friend and chairman of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone established by Rabe and other foreigners to save Chinese when the Japanese troops captured Nanjing in 1937.The Memorial Hall’s think-tank experts released a new book on the international safety zone.The book took more than 20 years to compile, jointly written by Professor Zhang Lianhong, vice-president of Nanjing Normal University and director of the Nanjing Massacre Research Center in Nanjing Normal University; Wang Weixing, a researcher at the Institute of History, Jiangsu Academy of Social Sciences; Yang Xiaming, a professor at the Party School of CPC Jiangsu Committee; and Liu Yanjun, a senior researcher at the Memorial Hall.

Another book, Infringement and Negotiation: The Rights and Interests of Third Countries in the Atrocities of Japan in Nanjing, was written by Cui Wei, a researcher at the Institute of History, Jiangsu Academy of Social Sciences.The book highlighted the international influence of the Nanjing Massacre from the perspective of third countries whose rights and interests were infringed by Japanese troops in the process of the massacre.The book was also a result of research conducted by the Institute of National Memory and International Peace, a Memorial Hall think tank.

Since China observed the first national memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre in 2014, the Memorial Hall has edited and released National Memorial — A Collection of Interpretations on the National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre, a key publication of National Radio and Television Administration for the purpose of fostering and practicing core socialist values.This year, the ninth edition of the publication offered a comprehensive record of the National Memorial Day for 2021, including national educational activities, memorial ceremony overseas and memorial halls across China, preparation from all walks of life, and reports from mainstream media in China and abroad.This book offered reading materials for the public to learn more about the national memorial activity.

This year marked the 50th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations.Since it was established in 1985, the Memorial Hall has made a lot of efforts to facilitate friendly people-to-people exchanges between China and Japan.History as a Mirror — An Oral History of Japanese Friends on Practicing Peace collects stories of 15 Japanese friends who maintain historical truth, reflect on the war of aggression, and actively uphold peace.Some of their fathers engaged in the aggression against China, some pay attention to the crimes of Japan during the war and its legacy, while others seek to promote friendly relations between China and Japan throughout their life. After learning about the truth behind Japan’s aggression against China and the history of the Nanjing Massacre, they chose to uphold justice and take active action to maintain historical facts, repent of the crimes Japan committed during the war, and spread messages of peace.This book is the second oral history of Japanese friends launched by the think tank.

For a long time, the Memorial Hall has been advancing the oral history project. So far, its oral history collection has collected stories from the survivors of the Nanjing Massacre, historical memory constructors of the Nanjing Massacre, and overseas friends.In the future, the Memorial Hall will continue to produce vivid oral histories to revisit details of the history and spread stories about constructing and inheriting historical memories of the Nanjing Massacre.