This book examines the development of Chinese literature journals and social ideologies from 1931 to 1938, combining first-hand historical materials, historical data and four important literature journals to study the competition and cooperation between various powers such as the Kuomintang, the CCP, the “Third Party”, and intellectuals. This book describes the most influential Chinese literature journals and their political background during that period, and explains the relations between disparate political and social powers, helping to decipher Chinese intellectuals’ cultural positions during this time. The author concludes with the provocative thesis that there was a progression in literature of the Nanjing Decade from an emphasis on class struggle to national salvation to a humanism that transcended these differences. ——Arif Dirlik, author of "Culture and History in Postrevolutionary China: The Perspective of Global Modernity" The author looks into sources drawn from various camps and areas, identifies ideological and affective contestations, debates theoretical agendas, and ponders the consequences of literature as a unique manifestation of wartime engagements. Both historically informed and methodologically engaged, Han’s book is a most important source for anyone interested in the cultural and political dynamics of modern China in an extraordinary time. ——David Der-wei Wang, Professor of Harvard University

This book examines, in turn, Chinese resistance to the Japanese-backed smuggling trade in north China on the eve of the War, the deployment of German military advisers, currency manipulations, the not-so-successful effort at organizing a military medical service, the mobilization of reformed Japanese prisoners of war, and the contest for the support of the local population among the Communists, the Nationalists, and the Japanese. Besides fresh perspectives on the War, these studies illuminate the background of the contest for power after the War.

In this book, Japanese literature, which played a prominent role in the aggressive war against China, is analysed as “Invasion Literature”. The book conducts an in-depth study and discussion focusing on the origin and development of invasion literature, the writers, their works and the important role they played in the war against China, and the influence that such writings have had on Japanese post-war literature. It examines in particular detail under-discussed and lesser-known texts, thus compensating for lack of other scholarly writings researching the history and representation of the Japanese invasion of China in Japanese literature. This book was first published in Chinese by the “Quality Engineering” Project of Beijing Philosophy and Social Sciences “Nine Five” Planning. Upon publication, it was well-received by the public and led to various television and newspaper interviews for the author. It was republished by Kunlun Press in 2005, and again met with a great reception. The preface of this book was published in People’s Daily and several chapters were reprinted in six issues of Journal of Literature and Art. The book won first prize of the Sixth Excellent Achievements of Beijing Philosophy and Social Sciences, and the Book Award of the Sixth Chinese People’s Liberation Army. It was also selected to be part of the first national “Three One Hundred” original publication project.

In Rana Mitter's tense, moving and hugely important book, the war between China and Japan - one of the most important struggles of the Second World War - at last gets the masterly history it deserves Different countries give different opening dates for the period of the Second World War, but perhaps the most compelling is 1937, when the 'Marco Polo Bridge Incident' plunged China and Japan into a conflict of extraordinary duration and ferocity - a war which would result in many millions of deaths and completely reshape East Asia in ways which we continue to confront today. With great vividness and narrative drive Rana Mitter's new book draws on a huge range of new sources to recreate this terrible conflict. He writes both about the major leaders (Chiang Kaishek, Mao Zedong and Wang Jingwei) and about the ordinary people swept up by terrible times. Mitter puts at the heart of our understanding of the Second World War that it was Japan's failure to defeat China which was the key dynamic for what happened in Asia. Reviews: 'A remarkable story, told with humanity and intelligence; all historians of the second world war will be in Mitter's debt ... [he] explores this complex politics with remarkable clarity and economy ... No one could ask for a better guide than Mitter to how [the rise of modern China] began in the cauldron of the Chinese war' Richard Overy, Guardian 'Rana Mitter's history of the Sino-Japanese War is not only a very important book, it also has a wonderful clarity of thought and prose which make it a pleasure to read' Antony Beevor 'The best study of China's war with Japan written in any language ... comprehensive, thoroughly based on research, and totally non-partisan. Above all, the book presents a moving account of the Chinese people's incredible suffering ... A must read for anyone interested in the origins of China's contribution to the making of today's world' Akira Iriye About the author: Rana Mitter is Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St Cross College. He is the author of A Bitter Revolution: China's Struggle with the Modern World. He is a regular presenter of Night Waves on Radio 3.

In Rana Mitter's tense, moving and hugely important book, the war between China and Japan - one of the most important struggles of the Second World War - at last gets the masterly history it deserves.

The Reluctant Combatant offers proof that Japanese political leaders were reluctant to engage China in a full-scale conflict during the Second Sino-Japanese War. This book reveals that the Communists, the National Government, local gentry, peasants, and bandits occasionally collaborated with the enemy--Japanese troops--to expand their spheres of influence.

The New York Times bestselling account of one of history's most brutal—and forgotten—massacres, when the Japanese army destroyed China's capital city on the eve of World War II, "piecing together the abundant eyewitness reports into an undeniable tapestry of horror". (Adam Hochschild, Salon) In December 1937, one of the most horrific atrocities in the long annals of wartime barbarity occurred. The Japanese army swept into the ancient city of Nanking (what was then the capital of China), and within weeks, more than 300,000 Chinese civilians and soldiers were systematically raped, tortured, and murdered. In this seminal work, Iris Chang, whose own grandparents barely escaped the massacre, tells this history from three perspectives: that of the Japanese soldiers, that of the Chinese, and that of a group of Westerners who refused to abandon the city and created a safety zone, which saved almost 300,000 Chinese. Drawing on extensive interviews with survivors and documents brought to light for the first time, Iris Chang's classic book is the definitive history of this horrifying episode.