The 2nd Sino-Japanese War March 10, 2015
Review Who was Sun Yatsen? Did he have a typical Qingera education? What were the Three People s Principles? Who was Yuan Shikai? What was the GMD (KMT)? What is a warlord?
Communism What is Communism: "Common--ism:" refers to a politico-economic system in which tools of economic production (land, factories, etc) are to be held in common, as is control over the distribution of goods. (In theory, at least. In reality, the state replaces the landlords and the capitalists.) Communism also assumes that beliefs and values should be held in common, and that a diversity of opinions is not only unhealthy but is also dangerous to the common good. Characterized by one-party rule, a dictatorship of the proletariat. claims to be scientific and anti-imperialist. Communism, like democracy and unlike Fascism, recognizes that there are real conflicts of interest. However, rather than trying to peacefully resolve such conflicts, Communism tries to eliminate them through force. Communism tries to eliminate conflicts between landlords and peasants by eliminating landlords, and eliminate conflicts between capitalists and workers by eliminating capitalists.
Communism Defined Communism recognizes that there are real conflicts of interest. However, rather than trying to peaceful resolve such conflicts, Communism tries to eliminate them through force. Communism tries to eliminate conflicts between landlords and peasants by eliminating landlords, and eliminate conflicts between capitalists and workers by eliminating capitalists. The tool Communism uses to end conflicts of interests is the end of private ownership and its replacement by communal ownership. It appealed to those who were moved by the suffering of peasants and workers in the early modern era (peasants and workers had to accept less pay than the value of what they produced so that a surplus could be accumulated to pay for industrialization). It also appealed to some nationalists because, first of all, it condemned colonialism and imperialism and it also claimed to offer a scientific methodology which would allow less-developed nations to skip the capitalist stage of development and move immediately into the modern advanced stage of socialism.
Three Ideologies Fascism: denies that there are any real conflicts of interest in a society Democracy: says that conflicts of interest are real, but they can be resolved peacefully Communism: says that conflicts of interest are real, but they need to be resolved through a violent revolution.
The CCP and the KMT (GMD) At first, the Chinese Communist Party worked with the KMT(GMD) but that changed when Chiang Kaishek attacked his erstwhile allies in Shanghai in 1927. (p. 440) Chiang then established a government in Nanjing that moved to the right. Did Chiang address the problem of rural poverty? Was he a progressive force in modern Chinese history? (p. 444) Was Chiang a fascist? (p. 444) Was his government a coalition of warlords?
The Long March to Power Mao Zedong and the transformation of Communism into a philosophy of peasant revolution. (p. 452) The Long March (see map on p. 449)
The Republic of China: Chiang Kaeshek and the Nanjing Decade Passed laws that made life easier for peasants by limiting rents, but those laws were not widely enforced. (p. 443) Tried to improve status of women by outlawing concubinage and allowing women to initiate divorces. Invested $500 million in industrialization, but foreigners, with $3.5 billion in investment in industry in China, still controlled the modern sector of the economy. Failed to build a mass base, create a popular ideology, or bring democracy to China. (p. 444) Instead, he concentrated on using German advisors to create a modern military. It is fair to call a fascist.
Meanwhile, in Japan Fascism and militarism were on the rise. (See p. 457--the individual was associated with community, community with army, and army with emperor-- that s fascist thinking) glorified violence and engaged in aggressive behavior overseas. However, no Brown Shirts (or even Blue Shirts -p. 444) or ethnic cleansing. promoted a vision of the Japanese community as a family, with loyalty to the emperor compared to filial piety toward a parent. Denied any real conflicts of interest within the Japanese community--any conflict that emerged was believed to be caused by outsiders. Saw no need for democracy Idealized the perceived traditional values of rural life. Anti-capitalist and anti-socialist.
The fight against Japan 1932: Japan creates a new country (Manchukuo) in Manchuria. (p.431, 448-450) 1936 CCP (Chinese Communist Party), led by Mao Zedong, establishes a base in Yan an, in the northwest, after the Long March (p. 446-47) Xi an kidnapping of Chiang Kaishek creates a united front against Japan (p. 450 Marco Polo Bridge incident 1937 leads to full-scale Japanese attack on China, including Rape of Nanking (p. 419, 432, 450) [It is unlikely 300,000 were killed, but the dead were in the 10s of thousands.] Chiang s realism in the fight against Japan led to public relations gains for the CCP.
Japan s Imperial Expansion A brutal assault on China, beginning in 1937 The Nanjing Massacre, in Dec. 1937 and Jan. 1938, remains controversial today. Scholars disagree on how many 10s of thousands were killed, as well as why Japanese troops killed some many surrendered soldiers and unarmed civilians. Why was Japan initially so successful in the war against China? Did Chiang Kaishek resist the Japanese? (p. 450) Why did he blow up the dikes holding back the Yellow River? (p. 450) Why was Japan unable to totally defeat China? What was more important, the ability of the KMT to retreat deeper into China or the entrance of the US into the War? Why did Japan expand the war to include the Western powers in 1941? Why did some Chinese, such as Wang Jingwei, collaborate with Japan? (p. 433)
Impact of the War on Chinese politics Chiang s apparent unwillingness to resist the Japanese as much as the Communists were cost him the nationalist banner. Chiang s inability to manage the economy in wartime also cost him legitimacy. (Inflation was a major problem) (p. 451, 453) The Japanese advances chased landlords from villages and businessmen from cities, and that meant there was no one left there to support Chiang. The Chinese Communist Party re-branded itself as a strong nationalist force by fighting the Japanese, and deemphasizing class struggle. (p. 451)
Japan s Empire See the map on p. 435.
Korea and Taiwan in wartime Japan created comfort stations for its troops overseas. Most of the comfort women were Korean. (p. 432) Both Koreans and Taiwanese were drafted into the Japanese military. Some volunteered for the officer corps. There was little resistance within Taiwan or Korea to the war effort.
Cost of the war to China Possibly as many as 3 million soldiers killed. Possibly as many as 15 to 20 million civilians died. Tens of millions had become homeless over the course of the war. The economy was bankrupt, and therefore so was the Nationalist Party (KMT) (p. 453).
The Battle for Okinawa In spring, 1945, the US invaded the Japanese homeland, picking Okinawa as the place to establish a beachhead. (p. 437) What was the impact of the Battle of Okinawa on the Okinawans? Did it make them feel more Japanese? What was the impact of the Battle of Okinawa on the Japanese? Did it convince them to surrender? What was the impact of the Battle of Okinawa on the Americans? Did it lead to the A-bomb?
The Atomic Bomb Why did the US drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Were the atomic bombs worse than the firebombings that preceded them? (p. 437) Were such attacks on civilians justified? What convinced the Japanese to surrender on August 15? (p. 437)
Videos of the Atomic Bombings For a photo-essay on the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, go to http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/levine/bombing.htm For a short video of the bombing of Hiroshima, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf4lqawjrdg You can watch a short video on the Bombing of Nagasaki: The US Justification at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncq_wye43tm