Bay Area author Iris Chang's 'Rape of Nanking' brought 'forgotten holocaust' to the West

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Before San Jose author Iris Chang’s book "The Rape of Nanking" was published in 1997 – few in the West knew about the atrocities in the former Chinese capital during the outbreak of World War II.

Now 20 years after her death, friends, family and Bay Area historians are working to keep the influential author’s legacy alive – along with the important history she helped uncover.

 "You have to record. You have to write down to let people know, so we would never want this kind of atrocity repeat again," Chang’s mother, Ying-Ying Chang told KTVU in a recent interview. 

Iris Chang’s parents met with KTVU at a San Jose park honoring their daughter during Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Chang died by suicide in 1997, but her impact on the Bay Area and beyond is almost impossible to overstate. 

"She is a really a major force in the history study," said Ignatius Ding, a historian with the Global Alliance for Preserving the History of World War II in Asia. "Her book came out and really shocked the conscience of the US historians."

Chang wrote her seminal book 60 years after the horrors committed by the imperial Japanese forces in 1937 

The book documents the systematic slaughter of an estimated 300,000 people – and rapes of countless women. The horrors were largely absent from us history books up to that point.

The book became a bestseller and made Chang a nationally-celebrated author. She toured the country, describing what she called a "forgotten holocaust." 

Her friends and loved ones believe she internalized the cruelty she wrote about, and fell into a deep depression. In 2004, Chang took her own life at age 36. 

"I'm sure the content of the rape of Nanking made her very sad how human being can do such a thing," Ying-Ying Chang said.

Upon her death, Iris Chang’s influence became immediately apparent. Over 600 people – many Chinese Americans -- packed her funeral at the Gate of Heaven cemetery in Los Altos. Admirer’s still leave fresh flowers on her grave stone to this day. 

Before she died, Chang donated her research to the Hoover Institute at Stanford – where a bronze bust honors her. The Chinese government also built a statue of her at the national memorial for the massacre in Nanjing – the new name of Nanking.

"Now she becomes a national hero in China," Ding said. "It's mandatory for grade school through 12 to visit the Nanjing massacre exhibit at least once."

Walking the flower-lined paths of Iris Chang Park in San Jose, Her parents, now 80, find comfort knowing their daughter will live on through her work

"She followed her of her own beliefs," Ying-Ying Chang said. "That's why I think people are inspired by her life, because she's a strong woman."

Evan Sernoffsky is an investigative reporter for KTVU. Email Evan at evan.sernoffsky@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @EvanSernoffsky