Iris Chang quotes

Iris Chang was a Chinese-American historian and author, best known for her influential book "The Rape of Nanking." Her meticulous research brought worldwide attention to the atrocities committed during the Second Sino-Japanese War. She inspired new conversations about historical memory and justice. Here are 32 of her quotes:

Almost all people have this potential for evil, which would be unleashed only under certain dangerous social circumstances. (Iris Chang)
I don't mind solitude. I love talking to other people, but I do need my space. View quote
Iris Chang
Whatever is not commonly seen is condemned as alien. View quote
Iris Chang
The worst... was what the Pakistani soldiers did to the Bengali women after their failed rebellion. View quote
Iris Chang
It's a wonderful thing to see a segment of our population that is open and eager to learn more about Chinese culture. It has filtered into the mainstream. You see credit-card ads on TV with white couples and Chinese babies. View quote
Iris Chang
I may attempt a novel. I think that no matter what you write, it requires being honest with oneself, and you have to pull yourself out of the whirlwind of daily life. View quote
Iris Chang
As the Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel warned years ago, to forget a holocaust is to kill twice. View quote
Iris Chang
The whole story of the comfort women, the system of forced sexual slavery, the medical experiments of Unit 731, is not something that is in the US psyche. That is changing because many books are coming out. View quote
Iris Chang
Somebody who was born in this country who visited China would later face difficulty getting back in to the USA. We have to keep in mind that the struggles of the Chinese against these exclusion laws really laid down the foundations of civil rights law. View quote
Iris Chang
It's much more difficult to work on a broad subject than on a specific one, because even if it's hard to find the information, if you look hard enough for something specific you will find it, and you will discover things that you wouldn't have thought of before. View quote
Iris Chang
It is very difficult to hang onto the relics of history. (Iris Chang)
When you believe you have a future, you think in terms of generations and years. When you do not, you live not just by the day - but by the minute. View quote
Iris Chang
When the Chinese first came to San Francisco, they were actually welcomed by the mayor and they had special ceremonies for them-again this is when their colony was very small, only a few Chinese. View quote
Iris Chang
Often, what you see in the media is driven by economic forces. View quote
Iris Chang
I have to finish this book tour of almost 30 cities. View quote
Iris Chang
They probably do have an Asian Barbie. View quote
Iris Chang
After working as a journalist I went to a writing program at Johns Hopkins. It was interesting because it was neither journalistic nor historical, but it emphasized writing style, and afterwards I was asked to write my first book. View quote
Iris Chang
I have certainly amassed many historical research gathering skills. View quote
Iris Chang
There isn't much discussion of ruling class in America even in Boston, probably one of the most class-conscious cities in the country? View quote
Iris Chang
Racism is always there underneath, but usually it is exploited in these times of economic crisis, and it's hard to find out when one slides into another. View quote
Iris Chang
If the conditions were right there could be great acceptance. Often it is only when they pose an economic or political threat that it turns really ugly. (Iris Chang)
There isn't much in the way of pure communist spirit, because the whole nation seems to be engaged in capitalistic enterprises. Much of the country still operates under government control. View quote
Iris Chang
Your first duty as a writer is to write to please yourself. And you have no duty towards anyone else. View quote
Iris Chang
For some reason, I seem to be bothered whenever I see acts of injustice and assaults on people's civil liberties. I imagine what I write in the future will follow in that vein. Whether it's fiction or non-fiction. View quote
Iris Chang
It was clear that the special interest groups in California really wanted the Chinese to be shut out of the country, because that was where the racial tension was the greatest. View quote
Iris Chang

Iris Chang

Iris Chang - Image
Occupation: Chinese Historian
Born: March 28, 1968
Died: November 9, 2004
Quotes count: 32

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