On November 9, 2019, Iris Chang Park opened in San Jose, California, to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the death of the historian Iris Chang, author of The Rape of Nanking. On the day of the opening, residents of the neighborhood, representatives of community organizations, and a number of elected officials gathered to pay their respects to a remarkable historian.
Iris Chang Park stands at the corner of River Oaks Parkway and Seely Avenue in San Jose, near the home in which Iris had lived. The park sets aside the conventions of a children’s playground, and gives instead a wide green expanse, a winding path, and six pieces of public art — a quiet “oasis” in form. The art works, with their arcs, ripples, and water lines, stand for Iris Chang’s belief in “the power of one,” and remember the influence she has had on the world.
At the opening, Iris's mother, Ying-Ying Chang, gave an address that moved everyone present. She said she hoped the park would offer those who came a measure of inward peace, and would inspire them to bring change to the world without fear. She recalled that the San Jose City Council had passed the plan for the memorial park in 2015 and that the family had followed its progress for four years. With deep feeling, she said: "Fifteen years ago today, Iris left us. But her work and her spirit continue to move countless people. I believe that, in heaven, she takes comfort from this." Mrs. Chang also urged everyone to keep their dreams, to refuse to compromise with society, and she expressed the hope that the park would be a place from which people could draw inspiration in their own lives. San Jose Council Member Lan Diep, of District 4, said that Iris Chang Park was, for San Jose, a kind of green oasis able to bring inward stillness to those who came. "People in our age," he said, "tend to cling to the past and worry about the future, and so cannot enjoy the present. I hope that, in this new park, everyone will find a moment of stillness, and learn to live in the present." California Assembly Member Kansen Chu thanked the City of San Jose for honoring Iris Chang with the park, and emphasized the importance of attending to mental health. Richard Deutsch, the designer of the park, has many works of public art across the United States, including pieces at Stanford University and in Santa Cruz. While preparing for the memorial park, he came to know Iris Chang's work, her character, and her influence in depth. He said that Iris's influence spread out like ripples in water — connecting different communities and different places — and so he chose curved paths to stand for that connection, and several pieces drawn from the idea of ripples to stand for "the power of one." He also brought back from a Chinese village a stone mill nearly five hundred years old, in order to insist on the importance of the past.
The opening of Iris Chang Park is more than a deep act of remembrance for a fine historian. It is the carrying-on of the conviction she lived by — that every person has the power to bring change. May this park bring inward stillness, and inward strength, to all who come.
* Note: this article is excerpted from the *World Journal*, November 10, 2019.
