난징대학살 기념관의 전시와 기억

Abstract

China did not actively research and study the incident of Nanjing Massacre considering its relationship with Japan in the 1950s and 60s. In the late 1950s, research on the Nanjing Massacre began in Nanjing University's history department, but the results could not be published publicly. However, in 1982, when the narrative of Japanese history textbooks was right-turned, China, in protest, established the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders (“Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall”). In the 1980s and 1990s, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall accused the brutal violence of Japanese soldiers, emphasizing “life and death” and and “pain and resentment.” Accordingly, the exhibition of the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall also emphasized Mukai and Noda's cutting of the heads of 100 people, display of the collective burial site of the Nanjing Massacre victims, and attention to 300,000 victims. Through the second expansion in 2007, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall changed its symbol and exhibition to emphasize “war, slaughter and peace”. After the third expansion, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall emphasizes the relief activities of Chinese people and foreigners who rescued Chinese refugees in Nanjing. The Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, which underwent a third expansion in 2015, emphasizes the victory and revival of the “the Anti-Japanese War” led by the Chinese Communist Party, beyond “War, slaughter and peace.” Almost every exhibition emphasizes individuals' suffering and sacrifice, but ultimately suggests that their suffering and sacrifice are related to the state. Emphasizing that the state pain, sacrifice, and disgrace because of its weakness, the exhibition implies the need for a strong state, for great power, and for the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party leader. This attests to the structure in which personal memory is placed under the narrative of national memory. As such, personal memory functions as a tool to verify the legitimacy and accuracy of national memory.