In the shadow of the rising sun : Shanghai under Japanese occupation (original) (raw)
Related papers
A Neighbourhood under Storm Zhabei and Shanghai Wars
European Journal of East Asian Studies, 2010
War was a major aspect of Shanghai history in the first half of the twentieth century. Yet, because of the particular political and territorial divisions that segmented the city, war struck only in Chinese-administered areas. In this paper, I examine the fate of the Zhabei district, a booming industrious area that came under fire on three successive occasions. Whereas Zhabei could be construed as a success story-a rag-to-riches, swamp-to-urbanity trajectory-the three instances of military conflict had an increasingly devastating impact, from shaking, to stifling, to finally erase Zhabei from the urban landscape. This area of Shanghai experienced the first large-scale modern warfare in an urban setting. The skirmish established the pattern in which the civilian population came to be exposed to extreme forms of violence, was turned overnight into a refugee population, and lost all its goods and properties to bombing and fires.
This article explores the impact of the Japanese invasion of 1937 on Chinese cities. Focusing on Wuxi, one hundred miles to the west of Shanghai, the author argues that bombing was mainly limited to those commercial and industrial areas of the city that had come to define its modern identity. At the same time, municipal authorities also took steps to prepare the city and its inhabitants for war, although these were largely ineffective. However, the destruction of the invasion actually led to changes in urban morphology as the city was rebuilt in 1938. Meanwhile, out in the countryside, some towns and villages remained wholly unaffected by the invasion. This exposes the need for a spatial analysis of how violence affects different areas in the city and countryside.
Recent Studies of Wartime China
Journal of Chinese History
The history of World War II has long been a favorite topic of military, diplomatic, and social historians (even more so for viewers of the History Channel), but the focus has typically been on the European theater. With a more limited archival record, the conflict in Asia has received less attention. This is certainly not because Asia was less important. The war undermined the legitimacy of colonial regimes throughout Southeast Asia, led to the division of Korea into two hostile states, and contributed in fundamental ways to the collapse of the Nationalist regime in China and the triumph of the Communist revolution. The last few years have seen substantial new scholarship on the 1937–45 War of Resistance in China and what Japanese historians often call the Fifteen-Year War, starting with the occupation of Manchuria in 1931. The number of titles falls far short of what has been written on Europe, but the war in China is now being approached in new and interesting ways.
This comprehensive volume traces the Chinese military and its experiences over the past 2,500 years, describing clashes with other kingdoms and nations as well as internal rebellions and revolutions. As the first book of its kind, China at War: An Encyclopedia expands far beyond the conventional military history book that is focused on describing key wars, battles, military leaders, and influential events. Author Xiaobing Li—an expert writer in the subjects of Asian history and military affairs—provides not only a broad, chronological account of China's long military history, but also addresses Chinese values, concepts, and attitudes regarding war. As a result, readers can better understand the wider sociopolitical history of the most populous and one of the largest countries in the world—and grasp the complex security concerns and strategic calculations often behind China's decision-making process. This encyclopedia contains an introductory essay written to place the reference entries within a larger contextual framework, allowing students to compare Chinese with Western and American views and approaches to war. Topics among the hundreds of entries by experts in the field include Sunzi's classic The Art of War, Mao Zedong's guerrilla warfare in the 20th century, Chinese involvement in the Korean War and Vietnam War, and China's nuclear program in the 21st century. Features •Approximately 300 A–Z entries covering China's military tradition over the past 2,500 years •Contributions from over 50 distinguished international scholars from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Great Britain, Canada, and the United States •Maps of China and Asia, depicting provinces and major cities, major battles and campaigns, and disputed borders •Photographs of military leaders, soldiers, weapon systems, and battle grounds •Selected multicultural bibliography of research materials from the field of military history, both in English and in Chinese •A helpful appendix of Chinese dynasties Highlights •Provides broad coverage of 2,500 years of Chinese military history, offering material with contemporary relevance consolidated in one convenient volume •Expands beyond the military perspective to describe the overall Chinese civilization, addressing a variety of political, economic, social, and foreign relations topics •Presents a uniquely Chinese perspective through cross-cultural comparison and explorations of untold stories from "the other side," including Communist doctrine and operational tactics
Beyond Glory : Modern warfare, medical assistance and casualties in the 1932 Shanghai Battle
2012
The 1932 Sino-Japanese confl ict in Shanghai was the fi rst example of a modern war waged in a large city between two heavily equipped armies. It was also the fi rst urban confl ict during which massive destruction, especially aerial bombing, ensued with utmost disregard for the consequences to civilians. This paper looks at the damage and losses the two contending armies suffered. The group of Chinese armies involved in the confl ict was not prepared either to handle the consequences of using highly lethal weapons or to provide the appropriate level of medical assistance to their soldiers involved. The result was a catastrophic level of casualties. The battle for Shanghai announced the frightening massive waves of destruction that World War II would unleash on European and Japanese cities.