Nanking - documentary film

Nanking is a 2007 documentary about the fall of Nanjing, then the capital of China, to the Japanese in 1937. Over 200,000 Chinese citizens were killed, many tens of thousands simply executed after the city fell, and tens of thousands of women were raped. It's difficult to adequate describe this story. It's depressing, horrific, and deeply moving. The actions of a handful of foreigners including Americans and Germans saved hundreds of thousands of lives. The documentary details their actions as well as the atrocities committed by the Japanese soldiers.

Actors read the actual text from diaries of these foreigners. Their words are inter-spaced with interviews with Chinese people who were really there and even several Japanese soldiers who were there. With regards to tens of thousands of unarmed Chinese men and boys who were suspected of being soldiers and were executed, one of the now elderly Japanese men chillingly states that there were 30,000 to 50,000 Chinese soldiers and the Japanese army was unable to tend to so many, so what else could they do? (but execute them)

I got a shock at the end of the film when text appeared on the screen saying "dedicated to Iris Chang, 1968-2004". That name sounded familiar and a quick wikipedia check confirmed my suspicion. Iris Chang was the young author of The Rape of Nanking. It's a book that I read a couple years ago and highly recommend. Published in 1997, sixty years after the fall of Nanking, it was the first non-fiction English language book about the terrible events of that time that were, startingly, little known outside of China for decades after they occurred. I had no idea that Iris Chang had died and was dismayed to read just now of her descent into mental illness that concluded with her suicide. Upon reading this line, "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." (SF Chronicle), I couldn't help but think that in some way the horrors of Nanjing claimed another victim.

Reading or watching documentaries about what happened in Nanjing certainly isn't the pleasant escapism that most of us prefer, but I think it's something about which the whole world should know.

Prague - Beauty and Beer

The first thing I noticed in Prague is how absolutely beautiful the downtown area is, especially high on the hill where the 17th-18th century government buildings are along with a massive cathedral. As it started to get dark, I wondered through this historic district with my group and descended down a crowded, narrow, cobblestone street to the rest of the city. We met the bus at our hotel and unloaded our luggage while our bus driver pissed off a bunch of Czechs because the coach was blocking most of the street.

Later that night, after being lost for awhile, a small group of us found a drinking establishment that had been recommended to us. It is a place that could never exist here in the States. The beer taps are actually in the middle of each table. A little digital display keeps track of how many liters have been poured at the table since the last bill was paid. When you’re ready to leave, you signal a waiter and pay the tab. Until then, pour your own and drink up. As if that’s not enough to encourage overindulging, the bar assigns each table a number and actually projects a visual count onto the wall of how much each table has consumed. If your table passes the quantity of beer quaffed by another table, your corresponding mug on the display will swap places with the other table’s mug. Yes, the entire bar is set up as a drinking contest. Even if such a place could ever open their doors here in the States, they’d quickly be sued out of existence when some drunk got in an accident on the way home. Ahhh… Prague.

I spent much of the next day exploring Prague on my own and it continued to blow me away with just how beautiful it really is. I mostly just walked all over the place including back up the hill to the historic government buildings and cathedral. It was good to see everything in full daylight. Unlike many of Europe’s major cities, Prague was not heavily damaged by either of the World Wars, so block after block of its grand old buildings are still fully intact.

I should note that while absolutely worth visiting, travelers should expect Prague to be crowded with tourists. Gone are the days soon after the Soviet Union dissolved when Prague was a very inexpensive, mostly undiscovered gem. Word is out and even in November some areas were quite crowded. It’s not what I’d call cheap either, but like I said, it’s definitely worth seeing.