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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Kirby mentions in the Foreword that Nanking prompted China to do all BUT WHICH of the following?

2. What event does the author mention in the Introduction that prompted many Nanking survivors to speak out about the massacre?

3. On which of the following persons does Chang NOT concentrate during "The Nanking Safety Zone" chapter?

4. What can be considered ironic about John Rabe as a defender of the Safety Zone?

5. After Nanking falls, how many people are housed in the Safety Zone?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the responses of Japan and China when Nanking falls, as described by William Kirby in the Foreword?

2. What factors contribute to the end of Japan's golden era of prosperity, as discussed in "The Path to Nanking"?

3. In what way can we now think of Nanking as a different sort of turning point, according to Kirby?

4. At what point does the author state that she became aware of the Rape of Nanking, and what caused her to doubt the accuracy of the information with which she had been presented?

5. Describe the broad time line and details of the Rape of Nanking as outlined in the Introduction.

6. Describe the preparations the Chinese government ordered the citizens to undertake in order to prepare for possible invasions after the fall of Shanghai.

7. As discussed in "Six Weeks of Horror," why will the world never fully understand the psychic toll taken on the women of Nanking, despite best efforts to accurately count the number of rapes?

8. Briefly describe John Rabe's role in the Nanking Safety Zone.

9. As discussed in "The Fall of Nanking," what are the reasons historians have found for why Nanking fell in four days with so many Chinese soldiers present to defend the city?

10. According to Chang at the end of "The Nanking Safety Zone," what is chilling about the number of refugees in the Nanking Safety Zone?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the process by which Japanese soldiers learned to view the Chinese as less than human. At what point did this conditioning begin, and what cultural factors enabled it to be so successful?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the various responses of the Chinese women in Nanking to the widespread rapes committed by Japanese soldiers. Why did so few women fight back? Be sure to include the responses of the women who found themselves pregnant afterward, and also include supporting material from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Using examples from the text, discuss three ways in which the International Safety Zone Committee was able to turn and shape worldwide public opinion about the events in Nanking.

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