美籍华裔女作家张纯如(图源网络)1997年,距南京大屠杀已过去了整整六十年,张纯如的英文著作《南京大屠杀:被遗忘的二战浩劫》(The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II)正式出版,她也成为向西方社会揭露南京大屠杀真相的第一人。
张纯如和《南京大屠杀》(图源网络)《南京大屠杀》一经出版就得到多方好评,不久便登上了《纽约时报》的畅销书榜单,被评为年度最受读者喜爱的书籍。虽然张纯如已在2004年离世,但她用生命践行了自己的人生格言:“Please believe in THE POWER OF ONE. One person can make an enormous difference in the world. ”(请相信“一个人的力量”。一个人也可以让世界发生巨大的变化。)
张纯如的纪念雕像(图源网络)而张纯如的著作《南京大屠杀》也深刻影响了世界各地的学者对于这段二战历史的研究。耶鲁大学历史系教授Beatrice S. Bartlett在评价张纯如的著作时曾说道:“Iris Chang's research on the Nanking holocaust yields a new and expanded telling of this World War II atrocity and reflects thorough research. The book is excellent; its story deserves to be heard.”(张纯如对于南京大屠杀的研究,以全新且全面的角度讲述了二战期间发生的这场暴行,也反映了张纯如对这一历史事件的彻底研究。这是本优秀的著作,它所讲述的故事值得被听到。)当说到南京大屠杀的时候,人们使用的英文单词是holocaust,它的英文含义是a situation in which many things are destroyed and many people killed, especially because of a war or a fire,也就是“大屠杀,浩劫”。当这个单词首字母大写时,the Holocaust就专指二战期间纳粹分子对犹太人的大屠杀。从英文的用词,也足见南京大屠杀这一史实的分量之重。
《南京大屠杀》读者评论节选一(图源网络)“I am shocked that at the age of 33 and being quite a history buff, I had never heard of the atrocities the Japanese did to the Chinese. I could hardly put this book down and at the end I felt both saddened and anger that still the Japanese deny their actions. It just reaffirms that this world is hell and people are monsters when given even the smallest excuse to show it.”“我很震惊,在我33岁的时候,作为一个彻头彻尾的历史爱好者,我竟然从来没有听说过日本人对中国人的暴行。我几乎无法放下这本书,我对日本人直到最后仍然否认他们的暴行而感到悲哀和愤怒。它再次证实了,一旦有了借口,哪怕这借口再微小,世界也会变成地狱,人也会变成怪兽。”
《南京大屠杀》读者评论节选二(图源网络)“We have a huge problem not bothering about history, especially when it's not our own. This is a very difficult read and not for the light-hearted. But fact remains it happened and could happen to anyone. A must read for those who want to know the truth and history.”“我们都有一个极大的问题,那就是不关心历史,尤其是当这段历史不是我们自己的历史时。这是本不易读的书,不适合想要读来放松的人。但事实就摆在那里,它发生了,且有可能发生在任何人身上。对于那些想了解真相和历史的人来说,这是一本必读的书。”
《南京大屠杀》读者评论节选三(图源网络)“The late Iris Chang left us a great gift in 'The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II.’ Her book should be required reading in either high school or college. I was warned about the gruesomeness of this book, but Chang treated the events quite tastefully considering what the Japanese did to hundreds of thousands of Chinese in 1937-38.”“已故的张纯如在《南京大屠杀:被遗忘的二战浩劫》这本书里给我们留下了一份伟大的礼物。她的书应该成为高中或大学的必读书目。我被告诫过这本书极具残酷性,但张纯如对此处理得很好,尤其是就日本人在1937至1938年间对数十万中国人所做的事情而言。”
位于美国圣荷西市的张纯如纪念公园(图源网络)张纯如的英文名字Iris是“鸢尾花”的意思,代表着enduring faith and hope(持久的信仰和希望)。张纯如正如同一束永不凋谢的鸢尾花,她的勇气和力量值得我们永远铭记。只要我们记得,她的努力就没有白费。 3天免费直播课12月20日~12月22日