The Written Word | Jesse Ashcraft | TEDxNSFZ Youth

Quick Overview

Jesse Ashcraft emphasizes that the written word acts as a vital thread connecting people across time and space, using the historical example of Professor Miner Searle Bates, who documented Japanese atrocities in China during the Sino-Japanese War, to illustrate how written accounts preserve truth and foster empathy, connecting individuals like the audience members to historical victims and their shared humanity.

Key Points: Educator Jesse Ashcraft uses the story of Professor Miner Searle Bates, who documented Japanese war crimes in China, to argue that the written word creates a connecting thread across time and space. Professor Bates, an American historian and missionary at Nanjing University, stayed in the non-Japanese safety zone during the 1937 invasion, documenting atrocities like the Nanjing Massacre. Bates' letters and writings, including testimony at the 1946 Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, provided crucial, credible accounts of events that the Japanese government attempted to minimize or deny. The speaker references a quote from Japanese scholar Takamitsu Muraoka expressing deep shame for the actions done by his nation and leaders during the Sino-Japanese War. Ashcraft uses a physical string as a metaphor for the written word, showing how it weaves across the globe (China to the US) and through time (1937 to the present). The ultimate takeaway is that understanding what is at stake when reading and writing allows people to connect deeply with historical narratives and shared human experiences, regardless of temporal or geographical distance.

Context: Jesse Ashcraft, speaking at a TEDxNSFZ Youth event, explores the profound, enduring connection forged by the written word, using the historical context of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and the testimony of an American missionary and historian, Miner Searle Bates. Bates chose to remain in China during the war to document atrocities, specifically those related to the Nanjing Massacre, and his subsequent writings served to bridge the gap between past events and future understanding.