Posts Tagged: japan

Remaking the Square

Tiananmen had been the site of Anti-Japanese demonstrations in 1895 and 1919 (the May Fourth Movement), inspirational moments for Mao and other Communist leaders. Fittingly, Mao chose Tiananmen to announce his new People’s Republic. One of Mao’s early acts as China’s ruler was launching a grand redevelopment of Tiananmen Square. Already very significant in the… Read more »

World War II

Forced to flee to the southwestern city of Chongqing by the Japanese advance, Chiang spent the next seven and a half years of the war ineffectively resisting the Japanese and worrying about the communists. Chiang received military aid from the British and Americans, and even had an American Chief of Staff, General “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell…. Read more »

The Rape of Nanjing

Despite a renewed focus on the Japanese, the war did not go well. Chiang’s forces proved unable to displace the Japanese from the northeast, and Japan began pushing southward with impunity. In late 1937, they reached the capital in Nanjing. The Chinese attempted to resist, holding their ground for several weeks, but eventually were forced… Read more »

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