Analyzing the “Photographic Evidence” of the Nanking Massacre

army’s conduct after its entry into the city on December 13. Since the editors judged thatthe presence of a Chinese soldier and other civilians in the photo may not impress theviewer with a tension-packed atmosphere, only the portion marked with the dotted line inPhoto S was printed in RON-YY.Photo 106Photo SPhoto 106: “Trying desperately to revive their dead children.” RON-YY, p. 69.Photo S: Life, 10 January 1938, p. 50.Photo 107 appears to show a man about to place the dead body of a child into acoffin. The viewers may be struck by what appears to be an imprudent way of handlingthe little soulless body. RON-YY’s caption explains this scene as “A child killed bymerciless Japanese soldiers was picked up by a self-organized burial team after theNanking massacre.”Actually, this photograph made its first appearance in the February 21, 1938, issueof Life. Close examination of that original—Photo T—reveals that the jacket worn by the177