A girl visits a museum commemorating Japan's surrender in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) on August 23, 2012 in Zhijiang, Hunan Province. Photo: CFP

Li Weijian, a taxi driver in Beijing, can still recall his grandmother's hatred toward Japan many years after her death, as her husband was killed by the Japanese army in 1938.

Li's grandfather, who lived in a village in Jiangsu Province, was caught by the Japanese army and made to deliver military supplies for them in early 1938, soon after they occupied Nanjing, China's then capital. One day he saw an opportunity to escape when the Japanese soldiers were distracted and jumped into a nearby river. Unfortunately, the soldiers soon came over and shot him dead.

Li's mother was only 2 years old when his grandfather was killed, and his grandmother has been resentful of Japan all her life.

But the 54-year-old driver did not share his grandmother's deep hatred, as he had not experienced in person the cruelty of war or the suffering it brought.

"It's undeniable that the Japanese nation is indeed strong in many respects, such as its hi-tech and people's civility," he said.

A joint survey conducted by Chinese media and the Genro NPO from Japan in 2012 showed electronic products were the first thing that came to Chinese respondents' minds when Japan was mentioned.

But when Li talked about the Japanese atrocities with his son, to his surprise the young man expressed no interest in the subject at all.

Seventy-six years after the Japanese army staged an all-out invasion of China, this wretched episode of history has been firmly planted in every Chinese person's mind. While many people have moved beyond mere resentment, some are suspicious of what they have learned about the past.

Information overload

Yang Xiaoyu, a college student in Lanzhou, Northwest China's Gansu Province, finds his parents get excited when they watch TV series showing Chinese battling the Japanese army.

 Although Yang doesn't like the neighboring country either, he realizes many of their merits are worth learning.

He noted that his camera was made by Canon, a Japanese brand. Although he had wanted to buy a non-Japanese brand, he believes that in this field the Japanese do make the best cameras.

Most people primarily learn about the history of the invasion from textbooks, as well as the media and Internet. But Yang feels confused by all the various information he gets.

"Official media often criticize Japan, while people on social networks like Weibo often list the advantages of the neighbor, not to mention some apparently ridiculous TV series showing Chinese battling the Japanese army," he said.

He says he is numb to the flood of recent reports condemning the remarks of Japanese right-wing politicians.

Many of his friends are more often distracted by things more pertinent to their everyday lives, such as courses and jobs.

Tian Fangxing, who is studying in Germany as a PhD candidate, doesn't put much faith in history books and reports, as she found what she had been told was not adequately objective or enlightening.

During a recent vacation, she visited a national museum in memory of the Chinese people's resistance against Japanese invasion, located at the Wanping Fortress on the outskirts of Beijing.

The 26-year-old was impressed by the exhibitions of items used by the Chinese army. "They are more real and reliable witnesses of history," she told the Global Times.

Tian disapproves of the way people in China have been taught to look at the invasion solely from a victim's perspective, with no attempt at cultivating independent thinking.

"It is the nature of war, which involves the ruthless killing of people under various names, that should be contemplated by all. We should look at the invasion as an act against humanity, not merely as victims demanding an apology," she said.

Tian's view was echoed by Wang Weixing, head of the History Institute at Jiangsu Academy of Social Sciences.

"China's patriotic education with regard to the Japanese invasion has been simplistic and doesn't help people form independent and objective attitudes," Wang said.

"People, especially young people, should be taught to think of its history beyond the circle of our own nation and from the perspective of humanity. Otherwise, this narrow and shallow understanding of the past will eventually hurt our own country."

Shifting perceptions

Despite the ups and downs seen in the China-Japan relationship often brought about by island disputes and right-wing activists in Japan, people-to-people exchanges between the two countries have grown quickly.

Statistics released by the Japanese government showed over 1 million Chinese visited Japan and over 3.5 million Japanese came to China in 2011.

Chang Zhiqiang, a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, witnessed his parents, brothers and elder sister being killed by Japanese soldiers in the atrocities.  For most of his life, he had not been able to forgive Japan, but in recent years he was found to be living evidence of the massacre and hence invited to visit Japan several times.

Through contact with Japanese people, he gradually shifted his attitude and is not as resentful of the nation as he was before. "There are many nice people who love peace in Japan and it's important to distinguish them from those right-wing activists," Chang told the Global Times.

A teacher in a university in Nanjing, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times that Japanese students, who keep low-key and work very hard, give her a different impression from the one she got from TV series and what she was taught.

These Japanese students also had many concerns before coming to China, but later they found people in Nanjing were nicer than they expected. "It's unavoidable that our lives have been influenced by Japanese culture, such as their cartoons, and people I know are friendly to Japanese," the 41-year-old said.

"There are far from enough bilateral exchanges and there should be more opportunities created for people, particularly young people from both countries, to get to know each other. This makes a huge difference," Wang said.

Wang Fei contributed to this story