China and Japan at War: Suffering and Survival, 1937-1945

Extract

The War of Resistance Against Japan, also known as the Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945, devastated much of the Chinese countryside and its major cities. The war brought more Chinese into contact with Japan than ever before. Earlier contacts were sometimes peaceful interactions, ranging from intellectuals reading Japanese books to workers laboring in Japanese textile mills. After 1937 the contact primarily meant that ordinary Chinese were likely to be bombed, turned into refugees, or in some other way suffered direct violence under Japanese occupation, in some cases at the hands of fellow Chinese. In “China and Japan at War: Suffering and Survival, 1937-1945,” Diana Lary outlines the impact of the war on Chinese society. These years still have a profound influence on contemporary Chinese attitudes towards Japan because the war has also had a profound impact on Chinese national identity. The Chinese Communist Party came to power in part because of the war, and the Party claims their resistance to Japan as a key source of legitimacy.