# The Written Word | Jesse Ashcraft | TEDxNSFZ Youth Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9FTwGFq1YM Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/U9FTwGFq1YM Generated: 2025-11-11T15:32:19.735+00:00 --- ## 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. ![Screenshot at 00:00: Speaker Jesse Ashcraft is introduced on the TEDx stage with a quote emphasizing the written word's power to connect people across time and distance.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/U9FTwGFq1YM/00-00-00.png) **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. ## Detailed Analysis Jesse Ashcraft delivers a talk arguing that the written word serves as an essential thread connecting individuals across vast spans of time and geography, making historical experiences immediately relevant. He introduces Professor Miner Searle Bates (00:46), an American history professor and Christian missionary at Nanjing University, who chose not to evacuate Nanjing in 1937 during the Japanese invasion. Bates documented the atrocities committed by Japanese forces, including sending letters and testifying at the 1946 Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal (7:38). Ashcraft highlights a quote from a Japanese scholar, Professor Takamitsu Muraoka (8:39), who expressed deep shame regarding his nation's past actions, demonstrating that written accounts can foster cross-cultural empathy and historical reckoning. The speaker emphasizes that reading and writing put human connection at stake, allowing the audience to feel connected to the victims and the historical moment, even across 80 years (1:30). The presentation culminates with the question, 'When you read and write, understand what's at stake' (11:27), urging the audience to recognize the powerful, unifying role of preserved narratives. ### Introduction - The Power of the Written Word: The written word provides a gateway to those long ago and far away, connecting hearts and bridging the past to the present. - The speaker introduces Miner Searle Bates, an American missionary who traveled west from China to India seeking Buddhist scriptures, and later documented war crimes. - Bates stayed in Nanjing during the Japanese invasion to record the atrocities. ### Bates' Testimony and Impact - Bates helped create the non-Japanese safety zone (05:56) and later testified at the 1946 Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal (7:38). - His writings were crucial in establishing the credibility of accounts of Japanese wartime crimes. - He wrote to Rev. J.C. McKim, urging him to publish the truth about the massacres. ### Japanese Acknowledgment - The speaker shares a quote from Japanese scholar Takamitsu Muraoka (8:39) expressing deep shame for the actions committed by his nation and leaders, illustrating the impact of documented truth. - Muraoka's words weave through historical narratives across the world (10:31). ### Conclusion and Takeaway - The core takeaway is that reading and writing connect us deeply because they allow us to understand what is at stake, transcending time and distance. - The final message implores the audience to understand the stake when they read and write, connecting them to the narrative (12:25). ![Screenshot at 00:00: TEDxNSFZ Youth introduction screen featuring speaker Jesse Ashcraft and a quote about the written word.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/U9FTwGFq1YM/00-00-00.png) ![Screenshot at 00:12: Title slide for the talk: "The Written Word" by Speaker Jesse Ashcraft.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/U9FTwGFq1YM/00-00-12.png) ![Screenshot at 00:25: Slide displaying cartoon depictions of the companions from the Journey to the West, illustrating an example of Chinese literature.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/U9FTwGFq1YM/00-00-25.png) ![Screenshot at 01:02: Slide showing the monument to Xuan Zang in Xi'an, China, referencing ancient travel and scripture translation.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/U9FTwGFq1YM/00-01-02.png) ![Screenshot at 01:44: Visual metaphor showing threads woven together, illustrating the concept of the written word as a connecting thread.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/U9FTwGFq1YM/00-01-44.png) ![Screenshot at 02:23: Question slide: "How does the written word connect you and me?"](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/U9FTwGFq1YM/00-02-23.png) ![Screenshot at 02:24: Introduction slide for Miner Searle Bates, Professor of History at Nanjing University and Christian Missionary.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/U9FTwGFq1YM/00-02-24.png) ![Screenshot at 05:17: Slide displaying two pages of a historical letter, likely written by Miner Searle Bates, detailing events.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/U9FTwGFq1YM/00-05-17.png) ![Screenshot at 06:17: Map illustrating the journey of Bates' letters across the Pacific from Asia \(Japan/China\) to the United States \(New York Times\).](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/U9FTwGFq1YM/00-06-17.png) ![Screenshot at 07:37: Black and white photo of the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal in 1946, where Bates testified.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/U9FTwGFq1YM/00-07-37.png) ![Screenshot at 07:51: Slide displaying book covers: 'Asian History Oxford Research Encyclopedias,' 'The Nanjing Massacre,' and 'The Rape of Nanking' by Iris Chang.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/U9FTwGFq1YM/00-07-51.png) ![Screenshot at 09:09: Introduction slide for Professor Takamitsu Muraoka, renowned scholar of Semitic languages and Biblical philology.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/U9FTwGFq1YM/00-09-09.png) ![Screenshot at 09:28: Slide displaying a powerful quote from Professor Muraoka expressing deep shame regarding Japanese actions during the Sino-Japanese War.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/U9FTwGFq1YM/00-09-28.png) ![Screenshot at 11:19: Final slide asking the audience: "Takeaway?" over an image of a pen resting in an open notebook.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/U9FTwGFq1YM/00-11-19.png)