English Contents and Abstracts

1.AnEmpireunderSubcontract：TheNationalismofHikikomori(reclusivewithdrawal)andanInward-LookingSociety

NaokiSakaiTranslatedbyWangXiaoyang(4)

Since the end of the Asia Pacific War, the Japanese modernization had become a popular topic among the Japanese public. The Japanese modernization went through the glorious period of the Meiji Restoration, the protection period of the “"Pax Americana" and the special period of “Loss of Empire”. However, since the 1990’s, there was an obvious social and political trend in the Japanese society, namely, being “Hikikomori” and “Inward-looking”. The Nationalism of “Hikikomori” as a type of social phenomenon is not unique to Japan, the issue of whether it could be the repeat of the world history in 1920’s or 1930’s should be discussed.

2.SwedishDiplomatJohanBeck-Friis’ReportontheNanjingMassacre

CompiledandtranslatedbyDaiYuanzhi(13)

Swedish diplomat Johan Beck-Friis reported to Swedish Foreign Minister and MPs on December 24 of 1937, January 31 of 1938 and February 24 of 1938 respectively about the atrocities committed by the Japanese army in Nanjing, citing sources from American and Italian journalists, American missionaries and leaders of the International Committee for Nanking Safety Zone as well as those third-party observers. These reports, for one thing, revealed Japanese army’s atrocities and for another they prove that the news of the atrocities was spread all over the world at that time . The reports were from the Swedish Historical Archives and the original reports were written in Swedish, which had been translated into English by Peter Harmsen, research fellow of the Department of Cross-cultural and Religious Studies at the University of Copenhagen. This article was translated from the English version.

3.ThetrialModeofNanjingAtrocitiesinTokyoTrialandHistoricalMemory

XuChi(17)

The Tokyo trial was an international criminal trial conducted by the Allies after WWII against Japanese political and military leaders who committed war crimes such as the Nanjing Massacre. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East found that the seven accused constituted war crimes, including Iwane Matsui and Hirota Koki, who were accused of indulging the Japanese military atrocities in Nanjing by the International Prosecution Section; however, it did not adopt the Count 45 of the Indictment by the International Prosecution Section. The trial mode, applicable charges and imputation theories at this trial are all different from those of Nuremberg trials, which gave an excuse to Japanese “Fabrication School ” to deny Nanjing atrocities or even attack the Tokyo trial. Coupled with the psychological impact of the American occupation on Japanese people, the Japanese right-wingers’ attack, the "non-memory culture" as well as the impact of extreme relativism, the historical memory of the Tokyo Trial on Nanjing atrocities began to blur and encountered the dilemma of communication. Therefore, it’s necessary to solve the problem of contemporary communication regarding the history of the Tokyo trials and get rid of the misunderstanding of this historical memory after the war.

4.NarrativeDiscourseandtheHolocaustMemory:TakingtheU.S.HolocaustMemorialMuseumsandYadVashemofIsraelasanExample731

ChenZizhu(30)

Since WW II, the production and spread of Holocaust memory in the world has been a phenomenon attracting worldwide attention. The Holocaust memorial organizations established all around the world are an important force to promote the international spread of the Holocaust memory. Among them, two national Holocaust Memorial Museums in Israel and the United States are particularly noteworthy. Through differentiations in the artistic representations, narrative structures and techniques, these two museums shape the historical narrative respectively in dimensions of global history and Jewish history, from which deduced the implications of vigilance against totalitarianism and anti-semitism in political discourse, which has expanded the in-depth narratives and implications of Holocaust. Apart from establishing the basic paradigm of contemporary social narrative and memory of Holocaust, it also offered reference for the construction and development of memorial museums around similar themes.

5.ConfinementandSurveillance:TheLyttonCommissionandWesternJournalists’SecretInterviewofMaZhanshan

WangXiliang(45)

After the Mukden Incident, the ROC Government resorted to the League of Nations for mediation. The League of Nations passed a resolution demanding Japan to withdraw troops, which, however, was rejected by Japan, and then the Lytton Commission was dispatched to conduct an inquiry in Japan and China. After entering the Northeast, the Commission was under surveillance at all levels by the army, police, military policemen and secret service of the Japanese puppet regime, and they were banned from contacting people from all circles in the Northeast, and even their meeting with Ma Zhanshan was obstructed. Under this background, two Western journalists secretly interviewed Ma Zhanshan with the help of some Chinese and obtained some precious materials that reflected Northeasterners’ will of anti-Japanese and anti-manchu . However, when returning , they were immediately arrested and searched by the Japanese puppet regime and their interview records as well as personal belongings were even rudely confiscated, triggering a certain disturbance.

6.The“HMSLadybird”IncidentandtheBritish-JapaneseDiplomaticGame

CuiWei(52)

On December 12, 1937, one day before the occupation of Nanjing , the Japanese army attacked British gunboat the HMS Ladybird on the Yangtze River near Wuhu inflicting casualties and property loss on the British. As an incident in which the Japanese army once again seriously infringed upon British rights after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, it was closely related to the Japanese attack on Nanjing. Both the British and Japanese sides launched intense diplomatic manoeuvre in this regard. Due to the repeated violation of their rights and interests by the Japanese army and the possibility of powerful backing from the United States, UK took a tougher stance in the negotiations than that of the incident of Japanese air raid on the British ambassador to China. The Japanese side took a relatively weak stance for the fear of simultaneously offending U.K. and U.S. . The UK finally achieved their goal set at the beginning of the negotiations. This incident reflects the brutal nature of the Japanese army and the deep conflicts between Japan and the two great powers, which also indicates the basic trend of the international relations in the Far East.

7.StudiesontheWartimeJapanesePatrioticWomen'sAssociation:FocusontheMukdenIncident

ShiJia(65)

The Japanese Patriotic Women’s Association was a group that mobilized women to serve the war of aggression, which played an important role in previous wars of this kind. During the Mukden Incident, the Japanese Patriotic Women’s Association carried out a series of social activities including military medical aid, “Women’s Campaign to Serve the Country”, “National Flag Movement”, “Birthday Festival Celebrations for the Japanese Empress”, “Patriotic Saving Movement”, “The Livelihood Improvement Movement” and “Rural Relief Movement”, mobilizing a large number of women to serve the war of aggression against China and become “cooperators” of the war of aggression. The Association continuously strengthened the links with the Japanese authorities and the military as their influences had been expanding through the war of aggression and eventually became a underling and accomplice of Japan’s aggressive policy. Thus it turned completely into the opposite side of the women’s liberation movement.

8.ReflectionsandLimitationsofTaijiroTamura’sWarNovels

LiMinWangZhenping(75)

The Japanese novelist Taijiro Tamura who had participated in the Japanese invasion of China has created a great number of war literature works after the war. Taijiro Tamura’s thoughts have undergone a series of changes, namely, from his “heartfelt” confession as a witness at the beginning to his bold exposure of the war crimes of Japanese invaders and then to his redemption to cure the wound. He finally recognized the animal instinct of the Japanese invaders in this process of constant reflections. Since the Japanese government and some Japanese people lack a clear understanding of the Japanese invasion, war crimes committed by the Japanese invaders are deliberately avoided or even denied. It is particularly commendable for Taijiro Tamura to have this understanding and reflection of the war crimes. Though there’re some limitations, it does reflect some Japanese people’s viewpoint on war with retrospection and also has a positive meaning to urge the Japanese society to re-examine the history.

9.ThePuppetArmy’sSurvivalStrategyintheOccupiedAreasofEastHenan—FocusingontheFoodCompetitionbetweenthePuppetArmyandPuppetRegime

DuEnyi(83)

With the outbreak of the total war of resistance, the Japanese army used the puppet army to control the villages. Supported by the armed forces, the puppet army began to play the leading role of the rural areas in the occupied areas while the civil service department of the puppet regime were marginalized. Leaders of the puppet army recruited soldiers and bought weapons to improve their personal status and maintained military expenditure and provisions by all kinds of legal and illegal means . Combined with the military strength, food and wealth as well as the human resources, the puppet army could be used not only to frighten the Japanese authorities and puppet regime, but also to counter the resistant forces against Japan. Within this abnormal political framework, it had become a “rational choice” for the puppet army to enlarge the forces for food requisition without any limit. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Japanese military authorities shifted the food burden in the cities of North China to peasants and the puppet army’s relying on the rural area had become the biggest obstacle for the puppet regime to plunder agricultural products. Admittedly, the puppet regime must ensure to meet the demands for food, while the puppet army’s leaders couldn’t allow the loss of the valuable food resources. The puppet army did help the puppet regime in terms of the military, however they competed with the civil service department of the puppet regime regarding the food and goods. The conflict of interests among the Japanese military authorities, puppet regime and puppet army provide a new perspective to understand the military and political environment of the occupied areas.

10.AnalysisoftheBacteriologicalWarfarePreparationoftheUnit100ofJapaneseInvaders

ZhaoShijian(93)

The Unit 100 of the Japanese Invaders was a force particularly set up by the Japan to launch the bacteriological warfare, which mainly engaged in the research, experimentation and actual combat with potent pathogenic bacteria such as anthrax and glanders. From 1931 to 1936, while engaging in quarantine for war-horses, Unit 100 actively collected and studied the epidemic virulent vaccines in the Northeast and made initial preparations for future studies on the “military bacteria” and bacteriological warfare. From 1936 to 1941, Unit 100 accelerated research on “military bacteria” as a basis to launch the bacteriological warfare in terms of technology, personnel and facilities. From 1941 to 1945, the troops not only carried out experiments on the human body, but also carried out bacterial efficacy tests in winter and summer. They also dispatched "expeditionary teams" to implement the bacteriological war in the name of field practices.

11.AReviewofDomesticStudiesontheChongqingBombingoverthePast30Years

LiuMaowei(100)

Chongqing Bombing is an important part of the atrocities committed in China by the Japanese invaders. Over the past 30 years, the domestic academia has made great progress in the studies on the Chongqing Bombing. However, due to the influence of research perspectives and constraints of historical materials and the like , scholars have failed to reach a consensus in terms of the concept of Chongqing Bombing, casualties and property loss, etc. Therefore, the cooperation with international academia shall be strengthened to further broaden the research perspectives and dig into historical records . On this basis, we could promote the progress and in-depth studies on the Chongqing Bombing.

12.ElectionPublicityofGrass-rootsRegimeofCCPduringtheWarofResistanceagainstJapan:TakingtheShanxi-Chaha’er-HebeiBorderAreaasanExample

ShiZeyuan(110)

The means of publicity is one of the decisive factors for the effect of the publicity and mobilization. During the full-scale war of resistance against Japan, the Shanxi-Chaha’er-Hebei Border Area used different means of publicity in the election campaign for the grass-roots regime including constructing the popular and interesting publicity discourse, organizing publicity teams with the participation of the mass organizations, fostering a symbolic environment and carrying out educational activities through practices. Those means of publicity not only publicized the democratic thoughts among the public in the border area, but also played an important role in consolidating the grass-roots regime of resistance against Japan, building the collective spirit and presented the good image of the CCP. Those effective means of publicity during the election campaign for the grass-roots regime in the Shanxi-Chaha’er-Hebei border area promoted the public participation in the election and basically achieved the goal of the CCP for the official selection and appointment.

13.FestivalsandWarofResistanceagainstJapan:FocusingontheSpringFestivalinWartimeChongqing

WangHaoZhouYong(118)

After the outbreak of the total war of resistance against Japan, the traditional Chinese Spring Festival was deeply marked by the war. In the shadow of war, Chinese people spent eight Lunar New Years. As the seat of the wartime national government, people in Chongqing continued their war of resistance by actively organizing a series of activities during Spring Festival such as the donation campaign for comforting the troops and encouraging frugality in celebration. The Wartime Spring Festival became an important opportunity of war mobilization in the provisional capital. . Those activities during Spring Festival greatly supported the war of resistance against Japan.

14.TheBattleofFengCounty:aCaseStudyoftheGuerrillaWaragainstJapaneseInvadersbytheKMTLocalArmedForces

XiangHaonan(127)

In the middle of May 1938, the Japanese army occupied Feng County in Jiangsu, the armed force of the Feng County was completely routed. With the support of his former subordinates, Huang Tirun, the Section Chief of the No.1 Section of the Feng County Government, decided to rebuild the standing force of the county and began the guerrilla war against the Japanese army. The local elites was the backbones of the standing force while mobilizing the farmers on one hand and incorporating the bandits and puppet army on the other hand increased its size . The standing force had basically solved the problem of provisions, funds and weapons through various measures. During the battle against the Japanese and puppet army, with the influence from the Eighth Route Army, the standing force had its guerrilla warfare tactics continuously enhanced, and achieved many victories. It always posed a threat to the Japanese and puppet army and its efforts as well as the patriotic enthusiasm shall be recognized. Throughout the process of its development, the Kuomintang always failed to provide help in terms of organization and their political training was merely formalistic, which resulted in its lack of the KMT organization and beliefs. As a local armed force led by the KMT county regime, the standing force of the Feng County continued the guerrilla warfare in the occupied areas. Studies in this regard could help to fill the gap in the research on the KMT guerrilla warfare and could also add another vivid and detailed case to the grand history of the Chinese War of Resistance against Japan.

15.HesitationandChoice:TheMentalityofChiangKai-shekinReorganizationoftheMilitaryCommittee(1944-1946)

WangHan(134)

At the later stage of the war of resistance against Japan, the military committee system had increasingly revealed its defects. The over-staffed organization coupled with the corruption in both the military and governments and slack disciplines further deteriorated the situations in the battlefield. He Yingqin, Minister of Junzhengbu( roughly the department of military adminstration) therefore became the target of public criticism. Though Chiang Kai-shek as the top leader of the KMT government did notice the problem , he still attempted to save the situation through individual personnel adjustment and became particularly hesitant in terms of transforming the whole system. The defeat in the Battle of Henan made Chiang Kai-Shek realize that the core military organizations must be reformed. Around this time, China had resumed their close relationship with the U.S. government after the Stillwell Incident. The American side also urged and proposed a reform scheme of the Military Committee to Chiang Kai-Shek. Finally, Chiang Kai-Shek made a decision to reorganize the Military Committee to the Ministry of Defense. The whole reorganization process overlapped the historical moment of the victory of the war of resistance against Japan.