Iris Chang

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhang

Iris Shun-Ru Chang (Traditional Chinese: 張純如; Simplified Chinese: 张纯如; pinyin: Zhāng Chúnrú; March 28, 1968 – November 9, 2004) was a Chinese American freelance historian and journalist. She was best known for her popular and convincing account of the Nanjing Massacre, The Rape of Nanking. She committed suicide in 2004 after a depressive episode resulting from her bipolar disorder. This image was taken from <http://www. ... This image was taken from <http://www. ... Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. ... A Chinese surname, family name (Chinese: 姓; Hanyu Pinyin: or clan name 氏; shì), is one of the hundreds or thousands of family names that have been historically used by Han Chinese and Sinicized Chinese ethnic groups in mainland China, Taiwan, and among ethnic Chinese in overseas Chinese communities. ... Zhang (Traditional Chinese: &#24373;, Simplified Chinese: &#24352;, pinyin: Zh&#257;ng, Wade-Giles: Chang, Yale: Jeung, Jyutping: Zoeng1, Hong Kong Government: Cheung) is among the most common Chinese surnames. ... Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiÇŽntǐzì; also Simplified Chinese: 简化字; Traditional Chinese: 簡化字; pinyin: jiÇŽnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Pinyin is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard Mandarin, where pin means spell and yin means sound. The most common variant of pinyin in use is called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n), also known as scheme... March 28 is the 87th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (88th in leap years). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Chinese American is an American who is of ethnic Chinese descent. ... A historian is someone who writes history, and history is a written accounting of the past. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... The Nanking Massacre (Chinese: &#21335;&#20140;&#22823;&#23648;&#27578;, pinyin: Nánj&#299;ng Dàtúsh&#257;; Japanese: &#21335;&#20140;&#22823;&#34384;&#27578;, Nankin Daigyakusatsu), also known as the Rape of Nanking and sometimes in Japan as the Nanking Incident (&#21335;&#20140;&#20107;&#20214;, Nankin Jiken), refers to what... The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II (ISBN 0-465-06835-9) is a 1997 book by the late Iris Chang which presents a history of the 1937-1938 Nanjing Massacre. ... Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of willfully ending ones own life. ... Clinical depression (also called major depressive disorder) is a state of intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ... Bipolar disorder (previously known as Manic Depression) is a psychiatric diagnostic category describing a class of mood disorders in which the person experiences unusually intense cycles of clinical depression and/or mania, hypomania, and/or mixed states. ...

Early life

The daughter of two mainland-born university professors who immigrated from Taiwan, Chang was born in Princeton, New Jersey and was raised in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, where she attended University Laboratory High School of Urbana, Illinois and graduated in 1985. She earned a bachelor's degree in Journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1989, a master's degree in Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, and later worked as a New York Times stringer from Urbana-Champaign, in which capacity she wrote six front-page articles over the course of one year.^[1] After brief stints at the Associated Press and the Chicago Tribune, she began her career as a writer, and also lectured and wrote articles for various magazines. The highlighted area in the map is what is commonly known as mainland China. Mainland China (Simplified Chinese: 中国大陆; Traditional Chinese: 中國大陸; pinyin: Zhōnggúo Dàlù; literally The Chinese Massive Landmass or Continental China) is an informal (disputed — see talk page) geographical term which is usually synonymous with the area... Nassau Street, Princetons main street. ... A view of Champaign from above ( see wider view). ... University Laboratory High School is a laboratory school located on the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois, that has students from 8th grade (roughly age 13) through 12th grade. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Journalism is a discipline of collecting, analyzing, verifying, and presenting news regarding current events, trends, issues and people. ... The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, also known as UIUC and the U of I (the officially preferred abbreviation), is the flagship campus in the University of Illinois system. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate (or graduate) course of one to three years in duration. ... The Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876, is a private institution of higher learning located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... Stringer can have different meanings, including: In journalism, a stringer is a freelance journalist, who is paid for each piece of published or broadcast work, rather than receiving a regular salary. ... The Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency, the worlds largest such organization. ... The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois. ...

She married Bretton Douglas, whom she had met in college, and had one son, Christopher, who was 2 years old at the time of her death. She lived in Sunnyvale, California in the final years of her life. Location of Sunnyvale within Santa Clara County, California. ...

Works

Though not a trained historian, Chang wrote three books that document the experiences of Asians and Chinese Americans in history. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Asian people. ... A Chinese American is an American who is of ethnic Chinese descent. ...

Her first book, titled Thread of the Silkworm (1995),^[2] tells the life story of the Chinese professor, Dr. Tsien Hsue-shen during the Red Scare in the 1950s. Although Tsien was one of the founders of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and helped the military of the United States debrief scientists from Nazi Germany for many years, he was suddenly falsely accused of being a spy, a member of the Communist Party USA, and placed under house arrest from 1950 to 1955. Dr. Tsien Hsue-shen left for the People's Republic of China in September of 1955 aboard the merchant ship President Cleveland. Upon return to China, Tsien developed the Dongfeng missile program, and later the Silkworm missile, which ironically would later be used against the United States during the Persian Gulf War and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tsien Hsue-shen Tsien Hsue-shen (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Qián XuésÄ“n; born December 11, 1911) is a scientist who was a major figure in the missile and space programs of both the United States and Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Some factual claims in this article need to be verified. ... The 1950s was the decade spanning from the 1st of January, 1950 to the 31st December, 1959. ... NASA Insignia Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in La Cañada Flintridge, near Los Angeles, California, USA, builds and operates unmanned spacecraft for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). ... The military of the United States, officially known as the United States Armed Forces, is structured into five branches consisting of the: United States Army United States Marine Corps United States Navy United States Air Force United States Coast Guard (recently converted to reporting to the Department of Homeland Security... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933&#8211;1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) is a Marxist-Leninist political party in the United States. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Dongfeng missile (&#26481;&#39080;&#39131;&#24392; for East Wind) is a series of intermediate and intercontinental ballistic missiles operated by the Peoples Republic of China. ... Silkworm missile stored at Umm Qasr in Iraq. ... See also: 2003 invasion of Iraq and Gulf War (disambiguation) C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. ... Combatants Coalition Forces: United States United Kingdom Poland Australia South Korea Romania Spain Portugal Italy others. ...

The Rape of Nanking, Chang's most famous work

Her second book, The Rape of Nanking (1997),^[3] was published on the 60th anniversary of the Nanking Massacre, and was motivated in part by her own grandparents' stories about their escape from the massacre. It documents atrocities committed against Chinese by forces of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and includes interviews with victims. The book attracted both praise from some quarters for exposing the details of the atrocity, and criticism from others because of alleged inaccuracies. After publication of the book, she campaigned to persuade the Government of Japan to apologise for its troops' wartime conduct and to pay compensation. The work was the first popular English language work to deal exclusively on the atrocity itself, and remained on the New York Times Bestseller list for months. This image is a book cover. ... The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II (ISBN 0-465-06835-9) is a 1997 book by the late Iris Chang which presents a history of the 1937-1938 Nanjing Massacre. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The references in this article would be clearer with a different and/or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ... The Imperial Japanese Army (: 大日本帝國陸軍 Shinjitai: 大日本帝国陸軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was the official ground based armed force of Japan from 1867 to 1945 when it was Imperial Japan. ... Combatants Republic of China Empire of Japan Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Tse-Tung, Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang, Zhu De, He Yingqin Hideki Tojo, Matsui Iwane, Jiro Minami, Kesago Nakajima, Toshizo Nishio, Yasuji Okamura. ... This article describes the structure of the Japanese Government. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The New York Times bestseller list is a weekly chart in The New York Times newspaper that keeps track of the best-selling books of the week. ...

Her third book, The Chinese in America (2003),^[4] is a history of Chinese-Americans which argues that Chinese Americans were treated as outsiders. Consistent with the style of her earlier works, the book relies heavily on personal accounts, drawing its strong emotional content from each of their stories. She writes: "The America of today would not be the same America without the achievements of its ethnic Chinese. Scratch the surface of every American celebrity of Chinese heritage and you will find that, no matter how stellar their achievements, no matter how great their contribution to U.S. society, virtually all of them have had their identities questioned at one point or another."

Celebrity

As many observers pointed out, whether positively or negatively, Iris Chang went beyond being an author to being a celebrity. The Rape of Nanking placed her in great demand as a speaker and interview subject, and, more broadly, as a spokesperson for an entire viewpoint that the Japanese government had not done enough to compensate victims of their invasion of China. This became a political issue in the United States shortly after the book was published; Chang was one of the major advocates of a Congressional resolution proposed in 1997 to have the Japanese government apologize for war crimes, and met with First Lady Hillary Clinton in 1999 to discuss the issue.^[5] In one often mentioned incident (as the The Times of London reported it): 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born October 26, 1947), was First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001, as the wife of President Bill Clinton. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom since 1785, and under its current name since 1788. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ...

she confronted the Japanese Ambassador to the United States on television, demanding an apology and expressed herself dissatisfied by his mere acknowledgement "that really unfortunate things happened, acts of violence were committed by members of the Japanese military". "It is because of these types of wording and the vagueness of such expressions that Chinese people, I think, are infuriated," was her reaction.^{[citation needed]}

She was described in newspaper accounts as having a "public face" of "supreme control"^{[citation needed]}, which critics characterised as being the result of manipulating the public with emotionalism and a hunger for controversy. Despite this she was sought after for opinions on other works of modern Chinese history.

Iris Chang's visibility as a public figure increased with her final work The Chinese in America, where she argued that Chinese Americans were treated as outsiders.^{[citation needed]}

After her death she became the subject of tributes from fellow writers. Mo Hayder dedicated a novel to her. Reporter Richard Rongstad eulogized her as "Iris Chang lit a flame and passed it to others and we should not allow that flame to be extinguished."^{[citation needed]} Mo Hayder is an acclaimed British crime novelist, author of the novels Birdman, The Treatment and Tokyo (known in some countries as The Devil of Nanking). ...

Depression and death

Chang suffered a nervous breakdown in July 2004, which her family and doctors attribute in part to constant sleep deprivation. At the time, she was several months into research for her fourth book, about the Bataan Death March, while simultaneously promoting The Chinese in America. While en route to Harrodsburg, Kentucky, where she planned to gain access to a "time capsule" of audio recordings from servicemen, she suffered an extreme bout of depression that left her unable to leave her hotel room in Louisville. A local veteran who was assisting her research helped her check into Norton Psychiatric Hospital in Louisville, where she was diagnosed with reactive psychosis, placed on medication for three days and then released to her parents. Even after the release from the hospital, she still suffered from depression and was considered at risk for developing bipolar disorder.^[6] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Sleep deprivation is a general lack of the necessary amount of sleep. ... The Bataan Death March (aka The Death March of Bataan) was a war crime involving the forcible transfer of prisoners of war, with wide-ranging abuse and high fatalities, by Japanese forces in the Philippines, in 1942, after the three-month Battle of Bataan, which was part of the Battle... Harrodsburg is a city located in Mercer County, Kentucky. ... Louisville redirects here. ... Psychosis is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state in which thought and perception are severely impaired. ... Clinical depression (also called major depressive disorder) is a state of intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ... Bipolar disorder (previously known as Manic Depression) is a psychiatric diagnostic category describing a class of mood disorders in which the person experiences unusually intense cycles of clinical depression and/or mania, hypomania, and/or mixed states. ...

Chang's family and doctors attribute this condition in part to constant sleep deprivation. Chang was also reportedly deeply disturbed by much of the subject matter of her research. Her work in Nanjing left her physically weak, according to one of her co-researchers.^[7] Sleep deprivation is a general lack of the necessary amount of sleep. ...

On Tuesday, November 9, 2004 at about 9 a.m., Chang was found dead in her car by a county water district employee on a rural road south of Los Gatos and west of California State Route 17, in Santa Clara County. Investigators concluded that Chang had shot herself through the mouth with a revolver. At the time of her death she had been taking the medications Depakote and Risperdal to control convulsions and mania.^[6] November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Motto: Official website: http://www. ... JUNCTION MILE POST I-880 SCL 13. ... Location of Santa Clara County within California. ... rEVOLVEr (2004) is the fourth studio album release by Swedish thrash metal band The Haunted. ... Valproic acid or 2-Propylpentanoic acid is CH3CH2CH2CH(CH2CH2CH3)COOH . ... Risperidone (Belivon®, Rispen®, Risperdal®) is an atypical antipsychotic medication. ...

She left behind three suicide notes each dated Monday, November 8, 2004. "Statement of Iris Chang" stated:

I promise to get up and get out of the house every morning. I will stop by to visit my parents then go for a long walk. I will follow the doctor's orders for medications. I promise not to hurt myself. I promise not to visit Web sites that talk about suicide.^[6]

The next note was a draft of the third:

When you believe you have a future, you think in terms of generations and years. When you do not, you live not just by the day -- but by the minute. It is far better that you remember me as I was -- in my heyday as a best-selling author -- than the wild-eyed wreck who returned from Louisville... Each breath is becoming difficult for me to take -- the anxiety can be compared to drowning in an open sea. I know that my actions will transfer some of this pain to others, indeed those who love me the most. Please forgive me. Forgive me because I cannot forgive myself.

[1]

The third note included:

There are aspects of my experience in Louisville that I will never understand. Deep down I suspect that you may have more answers about this than I do. I can never shake my belief that I was being recruited, and later persecuted, by forces more powerful than I could have imagined. Whether it was the CIA or some other organization I will never know. As long as I am alive, these forces will never stop hounding me. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Government. ...

Days before I left for Louisville I had a deep foreboding about my safety. I sensed suddenly threats to my own life: an eerie feeling that I was being followed in the streets, the white van parked outside my house, damaged mail arriving at my P.O. Box. I believe my detention at Norton Hospital was the government's attempt to discredit me.

I had considered running away, but I will never be able to escape from myself and my thoughts. I am doing this because I am too weak to withstand the years of pain and agony ahead.

[2]

Reports say that news of her suicide hit the massacre survivor community in Nanjing hard.^[7]In tribute to Chang, the survivors held a service at the same time as her funeral at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Cupertino, California on Friday, November 12, 2004 at the victims' memorial hall in Nanjing. The victims memorial hall in Nanjing, which collects documents, photos, and human remains from the massacre, will add a wing dedicated to Iris Chang in 2005.   (Chinese: 南京; Romanizations: NánjÄ«ng (Pinyin), Nan-ching (Wade-Giles), Nanking (Postal map spelling)) is the capital of Chinas Jiangsu Province and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. ... The Gate of Heaven Cemetery, approximately 25 miles north of New York City, was established in 1917 at 10 West Stevens Ave. ... Official website: http://www. ... November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 49 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

2007 Documentary Film: "Nanking"

A new documentary, titled "Nanking," will be shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2007.

Nanking, 2007 documentary film of the rape of Nanking

"Nanking" is a documentary film that tells the story of the Nanking massacre, one of the most tragic events in history. In the winter of 1937, the invading Japanese army murdered over 200,000 and raped tens of thousands of Chinese. In the midst of the horror, a small group of European and American expatriates banded together to save 250,000 -- an act of extraordinary heroism. Reading from letters and diaries, actors bring to life the Western missionaries, professors, and businessmen who risked their own lives daily to protect innocent Chinese from slaughter. Through these performances, Nanking unfolds as if the event is happening before our eyes. Image File history File links Splash_3. ...

At the heart of the film is John Rabe (Jürgen Prochnow), a German businessman who has been called the Oskar Schindler of China. A chief architect of the Safety Zone that rescued thousands in Nanking, Rabe stands bravely alongside Bob Wilson (Woody Harrelson), the only surgeon remaining to care for legions of victims, and Minnie Vautrin (Mariel Hemingway), an educator who passionately defends the lives and honor of Nanking's women.

These performances and others are interwoven with original interviews of Chinese survivors who tell their own stories in heartbreaking detail; with chilling archival footage of the events; and with testimonies of Japanese soldiers who participated in the rampage.

Bringing an event little-known outside of Asia to a global audience, "Nanking" shows the extraordinary impact individuals can make on the course of history. It is a gripping account of light in the darkest of times.

"Nanking" is produced by Ted Leonsis, AOL Vice Chairman (a pioneer of the Internet and new media, a sports team owner, and an active philanthropist), directed by Oscar-winning producer/director Bill Guttentag of Stanford University.

References

1. ^ Paula Kamen, "How 'Iris Chang' became a verb: A eulogy," Salon.com, November 30, 2004.
2. ^ Iris Chang. Thread of the Silkworm (Basic Books, 1995). ISBN 0-465-08716-7
3. ^ Iris Chang. The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II (Basic Books, 1997). ISBN 0-465-06835-9
4. ^ Iris Chang. The Chinese in America: A Narrative History (Penguin, 2003). ISBN 0-670-03123-2
5. ^ "First lady meets with author on Nanjing Massacre," Kyodo News, May 3, 1999.
6. ^ ^{a b c} Heidi Benson, "Historian Iris Chang won many battles," The San Francisco Chronicle, April 17, 2005.
7. ^ ^{a b} Kathleen E. McLaughlin, Iris Chang's suicide stunned those she tried so hard to help," The San Francisco Chronicle, November 20, 2004.

May 3 is the 123rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (124th in leap years). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

External links

• Global Alliance for Preserving the History of WW II in Asia co-founded by Iris Chang
• IrisChang.net
• Iris Chang's Errors in "Rape of Nanking"
• Iris Chang papers at the California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives
• Essay by Sue De Pasquale
• San Francisco Chronicle, November 11, 2004 - Chinese American writer found dead in South Bay
• Penny Nelson talks to Iris Chang June 22, 2003 on KQED FM Forum.
• San Francisco Chronicle, November 20, 2004 Iris Chang's suicide stunned those she tried so hard to help