New History Textbook Pros And Cons

Textbook A is the “New History Textbook” published by Fusosha, a Japanese publishing company, in 2005. This can be inferred based on the excerpt of Textbook A, which notably avoids the use of words with strong imagery - such as ‘massacre’ - in describing the event. The only comment on how “the Japanese military killed and wounded many Chinese soldiers and civilians” was made in passing as part of the footnotes, and its mention was accompanied with a note that stressed how “historical facts” are unclear and continue to be debated today.
The inference above is supported by contextual knowledge, which reveals the pervasive historical revisionism in Japanese textbooks. While “some killing” in the Nanking incident came to be recognized in textbooks, …show more content…
This can be inferred from the excerpt’s overt use of strong emotive language that condemned the Japanese military’s “bloody atrocities” and “extremely cruel methods” of murder. Moreover, the victimization of China is obvious with the excerpt stating the “Nanjing Massacre” as “one of the greatest acts of violence…on the Chinese people”, which caused “more than 300,000” deaths.
This inference is supported by contextual knowledge, which states that the Chinese history education today is “centered on the conflicts between the Chinese nation and those foreign nations that invaded China in the past, especially Japan, so that it could inspire the people to redeem past humiliations and restore national glory”. Additionally, such narratives of Chinese victimhood that “[target] Japan as the national enemy” contributes to the creation of a vivid national collective memory that is rooted in “emotions of self-pity” and “grievances towards Japan” In light of the blatant ideological slant and explicit depiction of an injustice suffered by China at the hands of the Japanese, it can be inferred that Textbook B is the Chinese “New Century: Standard History Textbook in Mandatory