World War II Weekend!
From the World War Two Weekend at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, PA. The photos have kindly been provided by Ryan Daniels, a true expert on China’s long war from 1937 to 1945.
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Childhood in Shadow of War
Margaret Blair was born in Shanghai in 1936 and spent the years from 1942 to 1945 in a Japanese internment camp. In her memoir Gudao, Lone Islet she paints a vivid picture of a childhood in the shadow of war. In the Q&A below she explains what moved her to write this much-praised book, and also introduces her next book,…
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War On Display
The Armed Forces Museum in Taipei is one of the best places in the world to view objects from the Second Sino-Japanese War. Ryan Daniels recently paid the museum a visit and left with a number of great photos. To Ryan: thanks for letting us use the photos. To everyone else: enjoy!
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What War Does to Human Hearts: Interview with Geling Yan
The Second Sino-Japanese War formed the backdrop for Chinese-born author Geling Yan’s novella 13 Flowers of War, which was adapted for the big screen as The Flowers of War. Now the legacy of the war has inspired yet another work by the author. In this interview with Karen Ma she shares her thoughts about her…
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Flying ‘The Hump’
This article, about one of the many American pilots who risked their lives to keep China supplied across the ‘Hump’ air route, is written by seasoned journalist George Morris. It is reproduced with his kind permission from his website WW2: The Big One. Check it out – it’s a gem, full of original interviews with…
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China’s War as History: A Paradox
How have western views of China’s role in World War Two changed over the past couple of decades? Recently, the Chinese website The Paper published an article on its history channel on this subject, written by Peter Harmsen, author of Nanjing 1937: Battle for a Doomed City and Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze. The English version is…
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‘Uninvited’ War and the Mongol Trophy
When Japan surrendered in 1945, the race was on to grab as much territory in China as possible. Participants included Nationalist China and the Soviet Union, but also, unknown to many, Mongolia. This article is part of a large online project — End of Empire — launched by the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS)….
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China’s Schindler
This article, by Dirk de Klein, was originally carried on his website. It is reproduced here with his kind permission. Ho Feng-Shan (born September 10, 1901 in Yiyang, Hunan; died September 28, 1997 in San Francisco) was a Chinese diplomat in Vienna who risked his own life and career during World War II to save…
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Macao and the British reoccupation of Hong Kong
This article is part of a large online project — End of Empire — launched by the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS). The idea is simple: To describe day by day the 100 days immediately after Hiroshima. This article, by Geoffrey Gunn, emeritus professor at Nagasaki University, is reproduced with the kind permission of…
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The Fate of Japanese Settlers in Manchuria
Large numbers of Japanese fell into Soviet hands at the end of World War Two. This happened to both soldiers (see photo above) and civilians. This article is part of a large online project — End of Empire — launched by the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS). The idea is simple: To describe day by day the…
