铭记南京大屠杀是道义必须

The World Should Remember Nanjing Massacre for Historical Justice and Morality

钟声

Zhong Sheng

12月13日是第三个南京大屠杀死难者国家公祭日，中国人民同国际社会一道深切哀悼南京大屠杀死难者。让亚洲乃至世界的集体记忆中铭刻那段黑暗历史，是为了和平的长远。

December 13 marks the 3rd national commemoration of the Nanjing Massacre. Through the commemoration, also known as Nanjing Ji, Chinese people hope to, together with the rest of the world, remember the estimated 300,000 Chinese massacred during a six-week period 79 years ago by the imperial Japanese Army.

The annual event aims to engrave the dark days in the memory of Asia and the rest of the world for sustained peace.

近年来，世界关于南京大屠杀的认知正在逐步加深。中国政府设立国家公祭日，南京大屠杀档案被联合国教科文组织列入世界记忆名录，许多相关展览相继在海外举行，这些举措帮助越来越多的人去认识、思考作为第二次世界大战“三大惨案”之一的南京大屠杀。

The world has had a deeper recognition of the Nanjing Massacre over the past few years, thanks to a series of events. Besides the National Memorial Day, the historical documents of the Nanjing Massacre have been listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, and a series of exhibitions were also held around the world.

一个多月前，法国卡昂和平纪念馆馆长格里马尔迪在一场南京大屠杀相关展览开展仪式上说，二战实际上是从中国战场开始的，中国人民和包括日本人民在内的各国人民在战争中饱受非人道的痛楚。今天，类似的声音愈加普遍，充分说明随着南京大屠杀以及二战期间中国战场相关历史为更多人所了解，世界对二战的反思正在打开新维度。

“World War II, indeed, started in China. The Chinese people, like all peoples in the war, including the Japanese people, suffered terribly from this inhumanity,” Stephane Grimaldi, General Director of the Caen Memorial, said at an exhibition on the Nanjing Massacre about a month ago.

The growing number of voices like Grimaldi’s shows that after people learn more about the Nanjing Massacre and the Chinese battleground, the world sees World War II with a new perspective.

南京大屠杀发生在79年前，二战结束也有71年了。然而，历史从不会因时代变迁而改变。南京大屠杀是骇人听闻的反人类罪行，是人类历史上十分黑暗的一页。任何人要否认这一事实，历史都不会答应。今天，人们继续铭记这段历史，是出于捍卫国际公理正义，出于内心深处对和平的向往和坚守，而不是要延续仇恨。

The Nanjing Massacre was a horrendous crime against humanity and a very dark page in the history of mankind. Though 79 years have passed, history should not be altered with the passing of time, and facts not erased by crafty denials.

Today’s people commemorate the Nanjing Massacre for the purpose of upholding international justice.

不久前，有消息传出，日本首相安倍晋三将赴珍珠港进行访问。面对这一打着“历史牌”的外交举动，有日本媒体第一时间指出：安倍更应该去南京大屠杀遇难者纪念馆。

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly announced days earlier that he will visit Pearl Harbor to mourn the victims of the Japanese surprise attack 75 years ago. Japanese media then suggested he also visit the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall in Nanjing, China.

舆论的上述反应，恐怕只有放在日本处理历史问题的整体脉络中，才能得到更准确理解。近年来，以安倍政府为代表的日本右翼政治力量，在历史问题上开倒车的迹象十分明显。参拜靖国神社、修改历史教科书等问题密集爆发，引起亚洲邻国和国际社会广泛质疑。几个月前，日本文部科学省公布的新高中教科书审定结果，再次出现了粉饰战争罪行、删减南京大屠杀相关内容的做法。

Media’s response can be better understood after taking Japan’s acts over historic issues into consideration. In recent years, Japan’s right-wing politicians, represented by the Abe government, have been attempting to revise history and turn back the clock.

They, for instance, paid multiple visits to the notorious war-linked Yasukuni Shrine, and even distorted history books, triggering doubts from its neighbors and the international community.

A few months ago, Japan’s Education Ministry revised some junior high school history textbook passages on Japan’s war atrocities, in which it whitewashed its war crimes by deleting its maleficence in the 1937 Nanjing Massacre.

在此背景下，国际社会很难相信安倍的珍珠港之行，是真正意义上的“历史之旅”，也难怪各方多从战略层面审视该举动——通过访问珍珠港做出姿态，日本政府希望“减轻”日美同盟的“历史包袱”，进而为自己的一些现实战略考量服务。

It is difficult to comprehend Abe’s visit to Pearl Harbor as a true “historical trip.” Some said the Japanese government is using this friendly measure to relieve its historical burden from its alliance with the US, and serve its own strategic agenda.

且不说日本的战略考量是否能够拿得上台面，其对待历史的机会主义态度，本身就隐藏着真实危险。历史真相不容篡改，历史记忆不容抹去。历史就是历史，不想、不愿、不敢触碰某一段历史，并不意味着它就不存在。

Whether the strategic move succeeds or not, Abe’s opportunistic attitude to history is indeed risky. Historical facts cannot be distorted or forgotten since history is always there, even though some nations do not dare to touch it.

美国人不会忘记珍珠港被袭以及其后发生的太平洋战争；东南亚一些国家不会忘记日军摧毁他们的家园、奴役他们的人民；中国人民同样不会忘记日本军国主义侵略者给国家、民族带来的深重灾难。对于日本而言，历史认知不是可以随意取舍的战略筹码，不是可以自由选择的外交手段。昔日军国主义侵略历史是日本必须诚实对待的一段完整历史，而不是一道选择题——提起这一段却丢下另一段，这不是对待历史的应有态度。

Americans will not forget the Pearl Harbor attack and the Pacific War, Southeast Asian nations will remember the ruin caused by Japanese invaders, and Chinese people will engrave the suffering brought about by Japanese militarists in their minds as well.

Japan has to be honest about its wartime aggression, which is a complete period of history, not a few sections for it to choose from. Recognizing history can neither be Japan’s strategic card nor diplomatic move.

“昭昭前事，惕惕后人。”时至今日，铭记南京大屠杀的苦难，依旧是人类的道义必须。作为昔日的战争发动者、罪行实施者，日本能否真正承担起历史责任？这个问题，必然逃不脱世界的审视和正义的评判。

History sheds light on the future. Remembering the Nanjing Massacre is about morality and historical justice. Will Japan shoulder its historic responsibility as war instigator and criminal? The world will be the judge.