The representation of the cultural memory of the Nanjing Massacre in Chinese World War II films / Zheng Jiaqi, Jiang Wenyu and Wan Aida Wan Yahaya

The Nanjing Massacre has remained a focal point of World War II in China, with ongoing debates persisting to the present day. The denial of the Nanjing Massacre by Japan and the marginalization of its recognition by other nations worldwide have transformed it into an enduring war trauma for the Chinese people. This paper employs Jan Assmann's theory of cultural memory to analyze the film City of Life and Death, a cinematic portrayal of the Nanjing Massacre. Through an examination of the cultural memory constructed in the film, this study aims to explore how cultural memory contributes to the construction of historical consciousness. Furthermore, it seeks to uncover the core reasons behind the difficulty of transitioning the Nanjing Massacre from a national trauma to a global cultural trauma.