Trivia

Witnesses at the time said at least 20,000 women were raped and there were widespread reports of other atrocities. Among the most notorious--which was not shown in the film--was a "contest" between two Japanese officers, Lt. Toshiaki Mukai and Lt. Tsuyochi Noda, to see who could behead the most prisoners in a given amount of time. Captured Chinese soldiers were lined up and each officer used his ceremonial sword to behead them. The final "score" was Mukai 106, Noda 105. The event was covered extensively in Japanese newspapers at the time, complete with photos of the two. After the war, they were captured, tried and executed.

Upon its release in China, it attracted some criticism for its sympathetic portrayal of the Japanese soldier Kadokawa. Director Chuan Lu received online death threats to both himself and his family on the strength of this.

The atrocities are referred to as the Nanking Massacre in China. However, in Japan it is the "Nanking Incident".

The film includes a portrayal of Japanese soldiers burying Chinese civilians alive. This scene depicts a scene from newsreel or Japanese military footage from Nanking which was shown on American television in the 1950s.

Early in its release, online criticism was so vehement that the film was nearly pulled from theaters, only to be saved by the personal support from Li Changchun, a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China.