Abstract
What might be gained from a reading of crucifixion in light of an atrocity like the Nanjing massacre? This chapter suggests that an acknowledgment of the ‘unspeakable things’ of the 1937 Nanjing massacre offers important insights into Roman crucifixions. Drawing on Iris Chang’s influential book, The Rape of Nanking (1997), it suggests a number of features in the violence at Nanjing that might help towards a more informed reading of the biblical accounts of crucifixion as assaults on human dignity.