Iris Shun-Run Chang was a notable journalist and author of several historical articles and a handful of novels. She was a very outspoken young woman who felt her voice and words were her strongest power. She held very strong beliefs and was proud of her heritage as a Chinese-American woman. What made her significant was not necessarily the subjects that she chose to tell but the way in which she portrayed the scenarios and the dreadful truths that needed to be shared. Even within criticism Chang did not falter and continued her work until it ate her inside out, leading to her untimely death.
Iris Chang was born to be an intelligent and well-educated individual. She was born to two university instructors who like many other of Chang’s ancestors, emigrated from China. Chang attended the University of Illinois from 1985-1989 where she studied journalism. As she grew up she knew her passion would be within writing and she decided during college that she would do it through journalism. Something about gathering facts quickly and sharing it with the world enticed Chang. Most of the mentors she looked up to started out in journalism before becoming prolific novelist. As she continued with journalism she discovered a distinct style shared with another Chinese author. Much like Maxine Hong Kingston, Chang was interested in telling biographical stories through fictional methods. Iris Chang was very successful during her time in college, writing as a stringer for New York Times where she wrote six front-page articles in her first year. She loved her work as a journalist and just a few years after college she embarked on the research for her first book.
Thread of the Silkworm was published in 1995 and was well received by critics. In her first book it was already clear that Chang was insistent that her people’s history in relation to American history was not ignored nor neglected. In the book she discusses a Chinese professor, Dr. Tsien Hsue-shen, whom was a great help to American after World War II during the development of many missile experiments and debriefing Nazi soldiers. However, Dr. Hsue-shen worked during the Red Scare and was accused of being a communist. Thus, he was deported from the United States of America where he helped the Republic of China develop the Silkworm missile that would later be used in the war on Iran between Iran and the United States. Chang’s book put the United States blunder on the forefront and showcased the importance and power of the Chinese people. She would use her skills of uncovering historical truth not only to illustrate the command of her Chinese ancestors, but also to showcase their vulnerability.
Her most prolific and important book to date is The Rape of Nanking, a book that highlights the massacre of countless Chinese people by the Imperial soldiers of Japan. Change spent months interviewing survivors of the incident and researching the horrific events that took place. Chang got the idea to write the story on Nanking after listening to the stories of her grandparents who survived and escaped the ordeal. It was at this time that Chang became more and more depressed as she attempted to empathize with the horror stories she heard by imagining she was there. Her book was met with the most criticism of any of her other works. Some thought some of the passages she wrote were not historically accurate. However, Chang was the first author to write extensively on the occasion, which before had been understated. Before The Rape of Nanking, many Americans were not even aware of the incident. After the publication of her book she made many motions to the Japanese government to give reparations to the people and families of Nanking who were affected. Not only was Iris Chang becoming more famous, she was using her fame to assist her people.
Her last book, again in the vain of Maxine Hong Kingston, discussed the history of the Chinese in American in the book titled The Chinese in America. Chang discusses how the Chinese that came to America were a vital resource to the birth and progression of America, from the laborers that came during the gold rush to Chinese evading Communism in their country to finally when the United States formerly accepted the Chinese into the country. The most profound element of her final book was how Chang related and equated China to America’s culture. She explains how the Chinese have thrived in America with small and large businesses further implementing Chinese culture into America more greatly, even through the discrimination they faced.
While promoting The Chinese in America, Iris Chang was researching for her new book depicting the Bataan Death March. During the time she had several cases of depression, bordering on bipolar disorder. Like with The Rape of Nanking, while researching the Bataan Death March, Chang went into a contemplative state where she placed herself into the mindset of those who were a part of the tragedy. She had already been left emotionally weak by the research she did with Nanking, but the horrors she heard with Bataan left her emotionally distressed. On November 9, 2004, after several attempts with medication and psychiatric wards, Iris Chang was found dead. She shot herself through her head in her car.
Iris Shun-Run Chang was an extraordinarily incredible and massively significant author within the Chinese community. She had a resounding voice that helped the Nanking people to be heard. She shed light on some of America’s blunders in regards to a Chinese scientist who was wrongly accused for being a Communist. She illustrated how important the entire Chinese people were to the American culture and how today they prosper in the country they were once discriminated in. Though her death was tragic and heartbreaking, she did it while unearthing truth, providing closure, validating the nameless. Her legacy will live on through the stories she told and the people she represented.
No comments:
Post a Comment