Sino-Soviet split

The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang relates the invasion of Nanking by the Japanese army and narrates what the Japanese did to the Chinese army, citizens and other people of the city and how the different people acted during the event. Iris Chang's description of the Japanese soldiers, the Chinese, and the Westerners follow what Machiavelli, Locke, and Rousseau say about human nature. Their ideas on how people behave in the state of nature and Machiavelli's behaviors that leaders should exhibit…

However, Japan’s attitude towards overseas expansion, though being recognized as aggressive and imperialistic, was tied and restricted by several treaties and by the established international law. The Asian country started to claim new territories, but under the Powers’ dictations, these movements were clearly limited, revealing a Western imperialist mood that impacted on Japan to set in motion for a dramatic change in their thoughts of growth. “The Manchurian Incident”, happening in September…

Manhua Journey to the West, a graphic novel by Zhang Guangyu in 1945, is a nod to the Chinese classic Journey to the Wets by Wu Cheng'en written in the year 1592. It is written around the reign of the KMT and during the second Sino-Japanese War. From which Zhang uses the style in which Journey to the West was written to "implicate" poke fun of the government and their policies. How does Zhang Guang use the classic Journey to the west to explain the events around 1945 circa China? Why does he…

‘This book was written with George Santayana’s immortal warning in mind: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Iris Chang wrote this book in order to spread the stories of the atrocities Japan had committed during 1937 through 1945. It touches on the treatments Korea, Thailand, and Philippines had endured, however it focuses the most on Nanking, China. Chang writes every blunt detail about the horror the Chinese people had to endure, because the Japanese government…

Over several decades, there has been greater responsibility in pushing media coverage and human rights initiatives, especially in the 21st Century, a current example being the conflict in Syria. However, there have been numerous drawbacks in society varying throughout the world with the Nanking Massacre being an event that took an entire country into utter misery and helplessness. 1937 was a year that Nanking, China will always keep logged into memory and history due to the horrendous acts of…

Nanking Massacre In a matter of 6 weeks, two hundred to three hundred thousand people in Nanjing, China were killed. This would later be known as the Nanking Massacre. Before Japan’s Central China Army entered Nanking on December 13, 1937, leader of China, Kai-Shek removed all official Chinese troops from the capital. He left the untrained auxiliary troops to defend the city at all costs, but sadly a significant amount of soldiers fled before the Japanese entered the city. When the Japanese…

Between 1945 and 1948 war crimes trials were taking place in Japan and began hearing the case against 28 Japanese military and government officials accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during World War II. On November 4, 1948, the trial ended with 25 of 28 Japanese defendants being found guilty. Of the three other defendants, two had died during the lengthy trial, and one was declared insane. On November 12, the war crimes tribunal passed death sentences on seven of the…

During the summer of 1937, the Japanese and Chinese started facing off in a series of battles, now known as the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese Imperial Army and the Chinese Army first encountered each other in Shanghai. While the Japanese originally believed it to be an easy victory, the Chinese proved that they were a force to be reckoned with, causing the battle…

Introduction Fukoku-Kyōhei, meaning “enrich the country and strengthen the military” quickly became the motto for a reinvigorated Japan stepping onto the global stage commanded by the West, while also acting as the mold for which they would inevitably fit through their rather abrupt transformation: The Meiji Restoration (Christensen 1). What may have ultimately began as an endeavor to modernize, may have also become the trigger for exponential societal change and an undertaking that would…

It’s undeniable that we as human beings tend to do things for our own interests and profits. Believe it or not, countries are not exceptions. It is the hidden interests under every event that drives countries to endeavor to accomplish a certain tasks at any cost. In world war one, although it had its origin in Europe, it was common to see many African and Asian who were sent to fight in the trenches of the Western Front in Belgium and France. Why is that? Coincidental to every giant warfare…