Iris Chang
To my surprise, I found out today that Iris Chang, noted author of The Rape of Nanking, took her own life in November after a battle with depression.
She shot herself to death on the morning of November 9. Chang was found in her car near her home in northern California. She leaves behind a husband and a young son.
The Rape of Nanking was a landmark document of atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers in China during the second world war, and the book sparked outrage from conservative Japanese critics. It became a long-time New York Times bestseller, and made Chang a star among historical writers. The book was hailed by many Chinese-Americans and even by the Chinese government.
Her first work was Thread of the Silkworm, which documented the life of Tsien Hsue-shen, who is considered the father of the modern Chinese rocket program.
Tsien is probably more noteworthy to readers of science fiction -- he is the inspiration for a Chinese spacecraft named after him in Arthur C. Clarke's novel 2010: Odyssey Two.
Tsien, an engineer and professor at Cal Tech, was thrown out of the U.S. in 1955 on allegations that he was a former member of the Communist party. Having been forced to resettle in China, Tsien proceeded to build China's rocket program from the ground up, creating one of the largest military rocket programs in the world. His ouster from the United States, which Chang characterized in her book as baseless, casts an extremely ironic light on the American struggle against communism during the McCarthy era.
I have not read any of Chang's books yet. I knew of her fame from The Rape of Nanking, but only learned of her previous book later on. Some reviewers criticized her writing in Thread of the Silkworm for a seeming lack of journalistic focus. But I was attracted to that book because of my interest in spaceflight, and also because as far as I know, it is the only work in English chronicling the life and work of Dr. Tsien.
Chang's death leaves a large void in Chinese-American literature. The Rape of Nanking was widely considered an accomplished piece of historic journalism. And her work on the life of Dr. Tsien in Thread of the Silkworm, while flawed, perhaps, was a necessary and even groundbreaking work, not only of Chinese history but also of American history.
Few, if any, writers would have been interested in telling the story of Tsien, much less someone who could navigate the many sources within China (read: a speaker of Chinese). Thread of the Silkworm may not have even been written in our time if not for Chang's effort.
Her death is unfortunate, if not tragic, because Chang was a leading voice among Chinese-American writers -- like a bridge between two very different histories and societies. She was obviously passionate about her work -- indeed, her books are informed by that passion -- and it is too bad that she could not avoid whatever demons brought an end to her life and her work.
She shot herself to death on the morning of November 9. Chang was found in her car near her home in northern California. She leaves behind a husband and a young son.
The Rape of Nanking was a landmark document of atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers in China during the second world war, and the book sparked outrage from conservative Japanese critics. It became a long-time New York Times bestseller, and made Chang a star among historical writers. The book was hailed by many Chinese-Americans and even by the Chinese government.
Her first work was Thread of the Silkworm, which documented the life of Tsien Hsue-shen, who is considered the father of the modern Chinese rocket program.
Tsien is probably more noteworthy to readers of science fiction -- he is the inspiration for a Chinese spacecraft named after him in Arthur C. Clarke's novel 2010: Odyssey Two.
Tsien, an engineer and professor at Cal Tech, was thrown out of the U.S. in 1955 on allegations that he was a former member of the Communist party. Having been forced to resettle in China, Tsien proceeded to build China's rocket program from the ground up, creating one of the largest military rocket programs in the world. His ouster from the United States, which Chang characterized in her book as baseless, casts an extremely ironic light on the American struggle against communism during the McCarthy era.
I have not read any of Chang's books yet. I knew of her fame from The Rape of Nanking, but only learned of her previous book later on. Some reviewers criticized her writing in Thread of the Silkworm for a seeming lack of journalistic focus. But I was attracted to that book because of my interest in spaceflight, and also because as far as I know, it is the only work in English chronicling the life and work of Dr. Tsien.
Chang's death leaves a large void in Chinese-American literature. The Rape of Nanking was widely considered an accomplished piece of historic journalism. And her work on the life of Dr. Tsien in Thread of the Silkworm, while flawed, perhaps, was a necessary and even groundbreaking work, not only of Chinese history but also of American history.
Few, if any, writers would have been interested in telling the story of Tsien, much less someone who could navigate the many sources within China (read: a speaker of Chinese). Thread of the Silkworm may not have even been written in our time if not for Chang's effort.
Her death is unfortunate, if not tragic, because Chang was a leading voice among Chinese-American writers -- like a bridge between two very different histories and societies. She was obviously passionate about her work -- indeed, her books are informed by that passion -- and it is too bad that she could not avoid whatever demons brought an end to her life and her work.
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