300,000 Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

The infamous 'Nanjing Massacre' took place in December 1937, & continued on until early March 1938. Nanjing at that time had a population of about 1,000,000, swollen by refugees from Manchuria & other occupied parts of China, fleeing the Japanese invasion.

Taken at the Nanjing museum. The pathway loops in a figure 8, & enters a macabre burial pit beneath the aerial bridge. It is alleged that the Japanese killed 300,000 Chinese soldiers & civilians, about the same number of fatalities as the recent Tsunami on 26 December 2004.

The bronze sculpture artwork depicts a severed head, & a severed arm. More information & some original photos from the 1937 massacre here:

http://www.library.yale.edu/NotaBene/nbx3/divupdat.htm

http://www.gendercide.org/case_nanking.html

cmartos, Fixfocus, delaufer, PixelTerror, jrj, mitternacht, jhm, papagolf21, Kenny10pin, PLD_images, weswang, nwoehnl, carper, anakin, elihesamian, Jeppe has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Fixfocus (9377) 2005-03-01 3:57

Hi Chris!
You have a great talent to find the best PoV which gives the best perspective,again proven with the capture of this monument.The exposure is perfect,you kept some structures in the sky.
Never heard of this brutal massacre before,a real tragedy and another proof that war is the most stupid thing on earth.

cmartos (6086) 2005-03-01 3:58

Terrible history, and very impressive place. The bronze sculpture artwork is a very strong element here. Well composed, with a strong impact, increased by the 300'000 painted on the wall. Thanks for sharing Chris.

bantonbuju (48574) 2005-03-01 4:06

hi chris, an elegant pic of that monument; i can't help feeling that its a kind of surrealistic shot - the effects on the floor and the walls make it;
nice!

Zepi (22848) 2005-03-01 4:21

Superbe architecture
J’aime ces tons grisâtres et ce superbe cadrage !
Belle mise ne valeur de ce site !
Petite question :
Tu as fais combien de tour du monde ? ? ?Tu semble être allé au 4 coins du globe déjà ! ! !
:-)
Beau travail !
Amicalement – Sébastien

PixelTerror (86058) 2005-03-01 5:34

Hi Chris,
A reminder that the world history is full of such barbarian acts, why are we humans so stupid. Good perspective and framing of the monument for this post where the note adds the full historical value.
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

jrj (34779) 2005-03-01 6:26

Good shot from this place Chris, very good to follow the dramatic contence of your note. Very interesting.

mitternacht (1836) 2005-03-01 6:58

Hi Chris,
The grey light here suits the concrete structures very well and is in line with the sad story behind this picture. I find the troll-like bronze (?) statue stretching out from under th trees kind of interesting too.

jhm (82341) 2005-03-01 7:23

Hi Chris,
A very great story a pity with the victims, but it's reality. I find this bronze sculpture artwork depicts a severed head, and a severed arm a very nice honor. Nice perspective and well composition.
Greetings,
John.

papagolf21 (56261) 2005-03-01 7:30

Bonjour Chris,
Une photo qui se passe de commentaires au sujet de l'histoire qu'elle représente.
Je remercie le voyageur infatigable qui nous rapporte des photos surprenantes.
Très bien fait.
Amitiés.
Philippe

Graal (57773) 2005-03-01 8:06

Interesting, unusual and the sorrowful place. Shocking informations in your note. Very good picture - all is ok.

Kenny10pin (19301) 2005-03-01 8:09

great work, i have been there too, now i am spreading the news to japan and they are fascinated too by it, alot of high school students in Japan go there, but are bad mouthed by the older generation Chinese

sandip (3492) 2005-03-01 8:17

A good shot Chris.i liked that u remembered the recent TSUNAMI when u figured out the pic from ur album.I moody shot for me..

PLD_images (7141) 2005-03-01 8:33

Very powerfull scene Chris,

It makes one take time to think and appreciate life. The grey tones are well done here and compliment this kind of shot. A perfect blue sky would not give the same effect.

Thanks for sharing.

capthaddock (28640) 2005-03-01 10:09

Very well captured mood for the subject. The eye shattering ugliness of modern chinese architecture and the perpetually gray smoggy skies complement the tragic scene.

weswang (18223) 2005-03-01 12:43

Hi Chris, Thanks for post this picture. All Chinese remembers the massacre. It is a period of heavy history to all Chinese. Your picture has shown the powerful memorial. I will be visiting there when I go back to China next time.
Your note is very informative.

nwoehnl (120) 2005-03-01 13:57

A well-made photo of the monument, Chris - important to pass the memory of such atrocities and their victims on to future generations. The slightly faded-looking color palette actually suits the subject quite well, and the perspective choice was a good one.

carper (64706) 2005-03-01 14:02

very good photo Chris,
I like the good composing shot , the point of view is good, the lines are nice with the good depth, and I like the note, very good job

RGatward (19737) 2005-03-02 6:52

Rather a low contrast shot, but a fascinating subject and note. Good compo too, but I think I'd have liked to have been closer to the head sculture, just for the detail.

anakin (2775) 2005-03-02 8:35

Hi Chris, interesante lugar el que aquí nos muestras, aunque lo veo un poco falto de color, si se aumentara la saturación creo que mejoraría algo, de todas formas un interesante paisaje el que nos muestras, en una buen perspectiva.
well done
saludos

elihesamian (26091) 2005-03-02 11:07

Sad story!
And the history is full of this kind of shame works.
Very well captured and great POV you choosed here,and very well composed,too.
very good note and a god proportion of semi sepia for this sad matter,nicely done,Chris.

joseelias (367) 2005-03-03 12:08

A monument to something that should not be forgotten because we tend to forget and repeat the same actions…

Jeppe (18623) 2005-03-08 15:07

Oh - Too bad I missed this one - I spend some time study Nanjing on the net after meeting a chinese friend on the chat.

And yes this a sad and bad chapter of the "southern capitol" Nanjing. Thanks Chris for the image and note to explain.

Kipper (40) 2005-11-04 21:37

Great photo! I was here in May 2005, and it was one of the most emotion-filled places I have ever been. Although I stood in the exact same spot you did, this shot never even occured to me. The site isn't exactly photo-friendly, and I'm impressed with your composition.

As a side note, I also visited the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo; it's quite a different story they tell there.

By the way, what do you think the structure with 300,000 on it is? It always looked like the bow of a ship to me, but friends lookin at my pictures think it is a sword.