THEY WERE H N NANJJUNS The Nanjing Massacre Witnessed by American and British Nationals SUPING LU # m *. * & us . * t HONG KON G UNIVERSIT Y PRES S Hong Kong University Pres s 14/F Hing Wai Centre 7 Tin Wan Praya Roa d Aberdeen Hong Kon g © Hong Kon g University Pres s 200 4 ISBN 96 2 209 685 9 (Hardback ) ISBN 96 2 209 68 6 7 (Paperback) All rights reserved. No portion o f this publication ma y be reproduced or transmitted i n any form o r by any means, electronic o r mechanical, including photocopy, recording , o r any information storag e or retrieval system, without permission in writing from th e publisher . Secure On-line Orderin g http ://www.hkupress. org British Librar y Cataloguing-in-Publication Dat a A catalogue record fo r this book is available from th e British Library . Printed and bound by United League 8k Graphic Printing Co. Ltd., in Hong Kong, China Hong Kon g University Pres s i s honoured tha t X u Bing , whose ar t m explores the complex themes o f language across cultures, has written the Press' s nam e i n hi s Squar e Wor d Calligraphy . Thi s signal s ou r commitment t o cross-cultural thinkin g and the distinctive nature o f our English-language books published in China . WI "At first glance , Square Word Calligraphy appears to be nothing more unusual tha n Chines e characters , bu t i n fac t i t i s a new wa y o f rendering Englis h word s in the format o f a square s o they resembl e Chinese characters. Chinese viewers expect to be able to read Square Word Calligraphy but cannot. Western viewers, however are surprised to find they can read it. Delight erupts when meaning is unexpectedly revealed." — Britta Erickson, The Art of Xu Bing Contents Acknowledgments vi i Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Wester n National s i n the Falle n Nanjin g 1 1 Chapter 2 Englis h Medi a Coverag e o f the Nanjin g Massacr e 1 9 Chapter 3 Th e International Committee , th e Nanjin g Safet y 4 3 Zone, an d Relate d Document s Chapter 4 Persona l Record s o f Americans i n Nanjin g 8 7 Chapter 5 America n Diplomati c Recor d and U.S. Naval 17 5 Intelligence Report s Chapter 6 Japanes e Attacks o n American National s 20 3 Chapter 7 Damag e an d Losse s to American Propert y an d 22 1 Interests Chapter 8 Britis h Diplomatic Documents an d Damage to 24 9 British Propert y Epilogue 27 3 Appendix 1 Wester n National s Wh o Staye d o r Visited 28 3 Nanjing, 1 3 December 193 7 - Mid-Marc h 193 8 Appendix 2 Majo r Englis h Medi a Publication s o n the Nanjin g 28 6 Massacre, December 193 7 - Octobe r 193 8 Appendix 3 Nanjin g Massacre-relate d Document s i n Harold 28 8 John Timperley's What War Means: Japanese Terror in China, 193 8 VI CONTENTS Appendix 4 Lis t o f Documents fo r the Nanjing Safet y Zone : 29 1 Japanese Period ; American Serie s Regarding the Japanes e Occupation o f Nanjing ; University Serie s Regarding the Japanes e Occupation o f Nanjin g Appendix 5 Nanjin g Massacre-relate d Document s i n Shuhs i 29 5 Hsu's The War Conduct of the Japanese, 193 8 Appendix 6 Lis t o f Documents i n Shuhs i Hsu's Documents 29 6 of the Nanking Safety Zone, 193 9 Appendix 7 Document s Use d a s Enclosures i n James Espy' s 29 8 Report, "Condition s a t Nanking/ 7 Januar y 193 8 Appendix 8 Document s Use d a s Enclosures i n James Espy' s 30 0 Report, "Condition s o f American Propert y an d Interests i n Nanking," Februar y 193 8 Appendix 9 Movement s o f the Britis h Gunboats , Lowe r 30 3 Yangtze River , Late December 193 7 - Lat e Marc h 1938 Appendix 1 0 Writte n Statemen t b y Miner Searl e Bates, - 30 4 Transcripts o f Court Testimon y b y Mine r Searle Bate s Appendix 1 1 Affidavi t b y Georg e A. Fitch 31 4 Appendix 1 2 Transcript s o f Court Testimon y b y John G . Magee 31 6 Appendix 1 3 Affidavi t b y James H. McCallum 33 2 Appendix 1 4 Writte n Statemen t b y Lewi s S . C. Smythe 33 3 Appendix 1 5 Writte n Statemen t b y Robert O . Wilson; 33 5 Transcripts o f Court Testimon y b y Robert O . Wilson Notes 34 3 Index 393 introduction No sooner had victorious Japanese troops marched into China's capital , Nanjing, o n 1 3 Decembe r 1937 , tha n atrocitie s wer e committe d t o civilian residents and disarmed Chinese soldiers in and around the city. The world' s attentio n wa s draw n t o th e inciden t know n a s the "Rap e of Nanking " o r th e "Nanjin g Massacre " no t onl y becaus e o f it s enormous scale , but als o du e t o th e fac t tha t i n th e falle n cit y ther e were twenty-seven western nationals, five o f whom were American an d British correspondents . Th e report s b y thes e journalist s gav e instan t prominence t o the even t eve n when th e massacre was in progress. For the followin g months , Englis h medi a aroun d th e worl d continue d th e coverage o f the incident with materials smuggled out through diplomati c channels b y American missionarie s stil l trappe d i n the city . In 1946 , several o f the American missionaries either testified a s the prosecution's witnesse s i n th e cour t o f th e Internationa l Militar y Tribunal fo r th e Fa r East , o r submitte d writte n statement s t o th e Tribunal. However , th e material s the y presente d ar e but th e ti p o f a n iceberg. A larg e numbe r o f eyewitnes s account s remaine d hidde n i n private an d personal collections . The rol e played by Westerners i n th e city and their experiences were not adequately researched until recently. Iris Chang' s boo k Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, and the publicity give n to John Rabe's Nanjing diarie s by his granddaughter, Ursul a Reinhardt, a t the end o f 199 6 aroused publi c interest to revisit the event and stimulated academi a to re-examine th e incident an d issue s surroundin g it . I n recen t years , ther e ha s bee n a tendency i n academi a t o g o back i n time , i n searc h o f origina l sourc e materials lef t behin d b y eyewitnesse s fro m neutra l countries . With the passage o f time, Westerners who experienced the Nanjin g Massacre hav e departe d on e b y one . F . Tillman Durdi n wa s probabl y the last to leave us. He passed away on 7 July 1998 , at the age of ninety- 2 THEY WERE IN NANJING one. Fortunately , man y o f thei r eyewitnes s account s wer e kep t an d collected b y majo r universitie s an d churc h historica l societie s acros s the U.S . Som e wer e discovere d i n thei r personne l file s i n thes e institutions, some were among personal files donated by their families , while other s were found i n the archives o f their friend s wh o had kep t correspondence wit h them . Amon g thes e archiva l materials , th e American missionaries ' letters , diaries , report s an d othe r document s kept in Yale Divinity School Library's China Mission Collection notabl y stand out. Altogether fourteen America n missionaries were in Nanjin g when th e massacr e too k place . Yale' s Chin a Missio n Collectio n alon e possesses eyewitnes s account s b y nine o f them . Martha L . Smalley took the lead in publishing the original massacre accounts. Sh e edited a collection, American Missionary Eyewitnesses to the Nanking Massacre, i n whic h a fe w o f eac h o f th e nin e missionaries' material s wer e selected . Smalley' s collectio n wa s subsequently expande d by Kaiyuan Zhang into a much thicker volume, Eyewitnesses to Massacre: American Missionaries Bear Witness to Japanese Atrocities in Nanjing. I n this volume, Zhan g collecte d mos t of the primary sources attributable to the nine missionaries. In addition, he publishe d a fe w page s o f diar y excerpt s b y Albert N . Stewar d wh o did no t underg o th e massacr e perio d i n Nanjing , bu t returne d t o th e city a t th e en d o f 1938 .