View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ScholarBank@NUS NANJING MASSACRE AND SOOK CHING MASSACRE: SHAPING OF CHINESE POPULAR MEMORIES IN CHINA AND SINGAPORE, 1945-2015 CHAN CHENG LIN (B.A. (Hons.), NUS) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2015 BLANK PAGE ii DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis is my original work and it has been written by me in its entirety. I have duly acknowledged all the sources of information which have been used in this thesis. This thesis has also not been submitted for any degree in any university previously. ________ ______ Chan Cheng Lin 03 August 2015 (Amended on 18 December 2015) iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my utmost gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr. Masuda Hajimu, for his meticulous guidance throughout my MA candidature over the past two years. I thank him for helping me to craft and refine my thesis topic, for painstakingly reading my drafts, for providing me with valuable advice to improve and revise my arguments, and for guiding me in the amendment of my thesis. His graduate module, “HY5402: Reconsidering the Cold War”, which I sat-in for, prodded me into thinking about the multidisciplinary, complex, and controversial nature of the most important historical global event of the latter half of the twentieth century. Secondly, I would like to thank the two examiners for reading and marking my thesis, as well as, providing suggestions to improve my arguments. Their suggestions served as a useful guide when I amended my thesis. Thirdly, I am grateful to the Department of History in NUS for giving me the opportunity to pursue my favourite discipline for six enjoyable and rewarding years – four years as an undergraduate and two as a graduate student. Its flexible curriculum has allowed me to explore a wide range of intellectually- stimulating and multi-faceted History modules. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them. Through their fascinating lectures, interactive tutorials, thought-provoking seminars, and eye-opening fieldtrips, my History professors have debunked the widely-held myth that History is boring and useless. They have made History come alive, and have convinced me that iv without an appreciation of the past, we would not understand the present. Studying History at NUS has also made me realise that History is probably the only discipline in the world that can complement all other disciplines, from art and philosophy to science and engineering. I have learnt to appreciate the fact that historians do not work alone. They gain a better and deeper understanding of our past by engaging in rich and diverse interdisciplinary research with scholars from other fields. Most importantly, my six years of History education at NUS have equipped me with critical research and writing skills that are highly-valued in today’s globalised and knowledge-based economy. I have never regretted choosing to study History at NUS. Fourthly, my heartfelt appreciation goes to other professors from the Department of History. Associate Professor Huang Jianli and Dr. Sai Siew Min (who left NUS in 2014) were my academic referees when I applied for the MA course, while Associate Professor Teow See Heng (who left NUS in 2013), Associate Professor Yang Bin, and Associate Professor Maitrii V. Aung-Thwin interviewed me. All of them facilitated my admission into the course. Furthermore, the Heads of Department, Associate Professor Yong Mun Cheong (HOD till Academic Year 2013/2014 and retired in June 2015), and Professor Brian P. Farrell (HOD from Academic Year 2014/2015), and the Graduate Coordinators, Associate Professor Ian L. Gordon (Coordinator till Academic Year 2013/2014), and Associate Professor Yang (Coordinator from Academic Year 2014/2015), approved my overseas fieldwork applications and other administrative matters relating to my thesis. Associate Professor Aung-Thwin and Associate Professor Yang also offered me advice v to improve my topic during the Graduate Students’ Workshop, organised by the Department of History, on 13 February 2015. In addition, Dr. Sai, Associate Professor Peter Borschberg Jr., Dr. Wang Jinping, and Associate Professor Gordon deepened my interest in History, exposed me to a wide range of scholarly works, and taught me the art of historical inquiry and research in their graduate modules, namely “HY5210: Approaches to Modern Southeast Asian History”, “HY5304: Imperialism and Empires: Historical Approaches”, “HY5401: Historiography on China”, and “HY6770: Graduate Research Seminar” respectively. Associate Professor Maurizio Peleggi also introduced me to the intricate relationship between History and memory studies in his undergraduate module, “HY3226: Memory, Heritage and History”, which I sat-in for. His module laid the groundwork for my research by prompting me to view History from a different perspective. Fifthly, I am grateful to three professors who are not from the Department of History. Associate Professor Roxana H. Waterson (who retired in 2014) from the NUS Department of Sociology, ignited my interest in memory studies in her Honours module, “SC4212: Social Memory”, which I sat in for. Associate Professor Kevin P. Blackburn from the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, took time off from his busy schedule to attend my presentation during the Graduate Students’ Workshop, and kindly offered me advice on my topic. Moreover, Associate Professor Xu Jingbo from the Center for Japanese Studies, Fudan University in China wrote recommendation letters for me to visit the Second Historical Archives of vi China and the Nanjing City Archives (which was unfortunately closed pending its move to a new location) when I carried out my research there in July 2014. Sixthly, I express my thanks to Associate Professor Anneliese Kramer-Dahl, and Dr. Arlene Bastion for imparting to me the crucial skills of writing a good thesis. I greatly benefitted from their Academic Writing Workshops, which were organised by the Graduate Studies Division of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in NUS, which I attended during the two years of my MA candidature. Seventhly, this thesis would not have been possible without the valuable administrative and logistical support of the “people behind the scenes”. I deeply appreciate the help and support that they have rendered me. Ms. Adeline Loi from the Department of History helped me to handle the various complex administrative issues pertaining to my candidature and thesis throughout these two years. Ms. Susan Khoo, and Ms. Lim Pinxiu from the Graduate Studies Division at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in NUS processed my admission into the MA course, approved my financial claims incurred from my fieldwork in Nanjing, and granted me tuition fee subsidy in Academic Year 2014/2015. The librarians from the NUS Central and Chinese Libraries facilitated my loaning, renewing, and returning of research materials. In particular, research librarians, Mr. Tim Yap Fuan, and Mr. Han Ming Guang from the NUS Central Library, and Mr. Lee Ching Seng, and Miss Chow Chai Khim from the NUS Chinese Library, recommended me books and journals for my research. Mr. James Tan from the East Asian Institute vii (EAI) at NUS Bukit Timah Campus granted me a one-day access to the EAI Library, while Ms Ng Hui Hoon facilitated my research at the EAI Library. The staff from The National Archives in London, and the staff from the Second Historical Archives of China in Nanjing rendered me assistance during my archival research there in February 2014 and July 2014 respectively. In addition, Ms. Joy Chew from the Counselling and Psychological Services Centre, University Health Centre in NUS provided me with a listening hear and taught me ways to handle stress during the final phase of writing my thesis. The staff from Campus Supplies assisted me with the use of photocopying machines for my research materials at the NUS Central and Chinese Libraries. The staff from Goh Bros Enterprise helped me with the binding of this thesis. Most importantly, the food vendors at The Deck (Arts canteen at NUS), especially from the Chinese Food and Noodles stalls, fuelled my energy needed for my research. Eighthly, I owe special thanks to my classmates and friends. My graduate classmates, namely Qi Xiang, Joshua, Apicha, Kisho, Beiyu, Yanjie, and Sander provided me with suggestions to improve my topic when I first presented my preliminary research during the HY6770 class. Other fellow graduate students, like Patrick, Marek, Yu Ching, Phyo Win Latt, Anisur Rahman, and Sandeep Ray expressed their interests in my topic, raised questions which prodded me to think deeper, and offered me advice, especially during the Graduate Students’ Workshop. Furthermore, my fellow Tanjong Katong Supervised Homework Group volunteers at the Chinese Development Assistance Council gave me their moral support. My History viii undergraduate classmates (Class of 2013) and my friends from my National Service days encouraged me and were interested in my research. Last but not least, I am very fortunate to have the moral and material support of my family, namely my parents, my grandmother, and our family pet dog, Milo, who sustained me during these two years of my MA candidature, as well as, during the previous four years as an undergraduate. I thank my parents for her unwavering moral support and for accompanying me to London and Nanjing for my fieldwork in 2014, my grandmother for her appetising meals to sustain me with the energy to continue my research, and Milo for his affectionate company. Their loving understanding and their steadfast support have given me the necessary strength to persevere throughout these six years of my tertiary studies. While credit for this thesis goes to the people and institution mentioned above, I bear sole responsibility for any mistakes in this thesis.