A cool winter sun shone in a cloudless blue sky as some 600 mourners
gathered at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in the Los Altos hills Friday morning to
honor the life of author Iris Chang.

Floral wreaths of irises and roses filled the Mission-style chapel as
eulogies were delivered in English and Chinese by family and friends who
expressed shock and sorrow at Chang's death and appreciation for her life.
The historian, human-rights activist and author of "Thread of the Silkworm,"
" The Chinese in America" and the best-seller "The Rape of Nanking: The
Forgotten Holocaust of World War II," died Nov. 9 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Chang, of San Jose, is survived by her husband, Brett Douglas; their 2-
year-old son, Christopher; her parents, Shau-Jin and Ying-Ying Chang; and her
brother, Michael Chang.

Born in Princeton, N.J., on March 28, 1968, Chang graduated with a
journalism degree from the University of Illinois and earned a master's degree in
writing from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She worked for the
Associated Press and Chicago Tribune and wrote for Newsweek, the New York Times and
many other publications.

Douglas began his remarks by describing their first meeting 16 years ago
on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, where her
parents were professors and where Chang was studying journalism.

"She was a strikingly beautiful girl who carried herself like a queen,"
Douglas said. "I was struck by the intensity of her eyes. I'll remember the way
she looked at me forever."

He added: "At 20, she knew what she wanted to do with her life. And I
knew immediately that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her."

"We are here to celebrate her glorious life," said Ignatius Y. Ding,
senior vice president of Global Alliance for Preserving the History of World War
II in Asia. (Chang was a co-founder of the organization.)

"Iris accomplished so much in her short lifetime, and she has asked us to
remember the good times."
In "The Rape of Nanking," Chang traced the horrific atrocities that occurred
after the capture of Nanking during Japan's 1937 invasion of China. The book
stirred a firestorm of controversy. Her scholarship was criticized by some who
preferred that the story remain untold; Chang fiercely defended her work
against those who challenged its veracity.

Chang's early passion for writing was described by her father, Shau-Jin
Chang, who read an elegant short poem written by her at age 10, inspired by the
silkworm he had brought home from a trip to China.

"Iris was a sensitive and observing child," he said. "Curious,
imaginative, with a touch of innocence which she never had outgrown."

Her brother, Michael, 33, expressed his appreciation of the great public
outpouring of grief that emerged after news of her death.

"I didn't realize what a beloved figure she was until she passed away,"
he said. "She lived a full life. She achieved enough for many lifetimes. For
that fact, I am most grateful."

Paula Kamen, a college friend, fellow journalist and author, attested to
Chang's gift for friendship: "A minimum conversation with Iris would last 2 to
3 hours. She wanted to know every detail about my life and my work, barraged
me with a torrent of concrete advice to solve any of my problems, and reminded
me how lucky we both were to write about what we love."

Chang's New York literary agent, Susan Rabiner, said, "Iris came to me
and said, 'There's a certain book I must do.' " That book was "Rape of Nanking.
"

"Before she was 25, she had written a book that had already changed the
course of history," said Rabiner. "Now, some child will go to their library and
-- though there wasn't such a book for Iris when she was growing up -- there
will be a book in language they will understand. And they will see the
photograph and see a beautiful young woman, completely devoted to her cause.

"This was a life well-lived," she added.

In Washington, D.C., this week, Chang was honored on the floor of the
House of Representatives. At Friday's memorial, a family friend read from Rep.
Mike Honda's tribute to Chang, which has been entered into the congressional
record.

"Iris will be remembered for her work and service to the community,"
wrote Honda, D-San Jose. "Certainly, the millions of people whom she touched
through her writings and her activism will not forget ... the public impact of her
work promoting peace between peoples of differing races and backgrounds.

"Our community has lost a role model and a close friend; the world has
lost one of its finest and most passionate advocates of social and historical
justice."