Opinion | Why Nanking massacre remains such a powerful Chinese cultural symbol

The films have triggered a wave of reflection, especially among younger audiences. Many are watching depictions of these wartime events for the first time, discovering a legacy of trauma that still shapes Chinese national identity – and foreign policy.

I remember first learning about it in a history textbook. The shock, for a teenager, was beyond words. Just looking at the pictures was excruciating. There are things one never wants to see again, even as the images never leave you. I have not yet prepared myself to step into the cinema – not because I forget, but because I remember all too well.

For many Chinese, it is more than a tragic chapter in history – it is a moral wound, never properly acknowledged or atoned for by the Japanese government.