I've heard that Mao Zedong refused to accept Japanese Prime Minister Takuei apology for the Rape of Nanking on the grounds that Imperial Japan's invasion of the Republic of China greatly assisted Zedong's communist revolution. Is this true?
/u/akilroth234
I've heard that Mao Zedong refused to accept Japanese Prime Minister Takuei apology for the Rape of Nanking on the grounds that Imperial Japan's invasion of the Republic of China greatly assisted Zedong's communist revolution.
Maybe you can tell us from where you heard this. Thanks.
Sort of. Maybe.
AFAIK, the original source for this assertion is The Private Life of Chairman Mao, a book written by Li Zhisui, one of Mao's doctors. Here's the relevant passage (from page 568):
Mao thought his talks with Tanaka had been warmer and more intimate than his meeting with Nixon. When Tanaka tried to apologize for his country's invasion of China, Mao assured him that it was the "help" of the Japanese invasion that made the communist victory and this visit between communist and Japanese leaders possible.
It is my understanding that the reliability of Li's book is controversial among Chinese experts. Also, note that there's no specific mention of the Nanjing Massacre and that Mao didn't go so far as to thank Tanaka for the invasion.