Site of Memory, Site of Trauma: The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre and China-Japan Reconciliation

Abstract

Preserving the theme of victimization as a pivotal in China’s remembering of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre serves as the main symbol of traumatic memory in China. The Nanjing Massacre plays a big role in the Chinese people’s consciousness and is considered as one of the most debated historical issues between China and Japan. Differences over war memory have negatively impacted Sino-Japanese relations for many decades. But in China, the Nanjing Massacre is regarded as a national trauma that will never be forgotten. This research is aimed to analyze the role of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre in the construction of attitudes toward Japan and Japanese society in China. And answer what kind of the historical representation of the Nanjing Massacre are shaped by the Memorial Hall? Does the Memorial Hall activate the emotional perception of history? Does it initiate advance reconciliation among former enemies, or, in contrast, deteriorate social reconciliation?