The Japanese sacked a Chinese city, killing thousands and horrifying the world.
China in Chaos
In the early 20th century, China and Japan were developing in opposite directions. China had suffered domination by European powers for decades and was beset by chaos. A democratic revolution had overthrown the emperor in 1912, but disorder followed. By the late 1920s, a civil war was raging between two groups. The Nationalists,led by Chiang Kai-shek (now spelled Jiang Jie-shi), wanted to maintain the power of middle class and wealthy people. Opposed to them were the Communists,who wanted to strip the wealthy of their property and give it to masses of peasants. Japan was a nation on the rise. Closed to all European contact until the 1950s, it transformed itself thereafter. The government was controlled by business and military leaders. They had developed an industrial economy and built a strong army and navy. Japan sought areas to expand its influence. It eyed China as ripe for the picking.
The War with Japan
Beginnings On the pretext of avenging the murder of a Japanese officer in 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria. It took this area of northern China easily. The Japanese installed Pu Yi, the last surviving Chinese emperor,as a puppet ruler. But he was emperor in name only. The appealed to the league of Nations for help. The League charged the Japanese with disturbing the peace, but the weak organization could do nothing to force them out. For the next few years, little happened in the conflict between China and Japan. The Japanese made occasional inroads into Mongolia but mainly stayed in Manchuria. The Nationalists, meanwhile, continued their civil war against the Communists. In late 1936, however, the two sides agreed to join to fight Japan. That fight intensified the next year. After an incident in which some shots were fired at Japanese troops near Peking. (now called. Beijing), Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China. It quickly captured the northern cities of Tientsin (now called Tianjin) and Peking. The capture of Tientsin signaled things to come: the Japanese looted, burned, and destroyed much of the city. Chinese prisoners were executed,as were the wounded. The purpose was to instill fear and obedience in the Chinese. The Chinese,too, were cruel. A loosely assembled army of Chinese civilians massacred Japanese in one city. They killed woman and children as well as soldiers. But the Japanese were carrying out a determined policy called the"three all's": kill all,burn all, destroy all.
The Destruction of Nanking
Later in the year, the Japanese began moving south. The Chinese fought hard, but the Japanese had stronger forces and continued to press on. By early Decem-ber, they had surrounded Nanking (now called Nanjing). Bombs fell each day, and thousands of civilians died. As the days went by, the Japanese advanced without being stopped. Finally, on December 13, 1937, they captured the city. One Chinese army group was able to escape, but the rest of the soldiers were captured. The city that the Japanese entered was a shell of its former self. Buildings had been destroyed by days of bombing. Thousands of Chinese had already died. The conquering army proceeded to make the destruction even more widespread. They began with mass execution of captured Chinese soldiers. One Japanese regiment reported killing 13,000 prisoners over a few days. But more than soldiers were killed. In a typical incedent, about 500 Chinese men were lined up and shot by machine guns.Death followed for many other civilians, including women and children. In all, about 300,000 Chinese were killed in the taking of Nanking. Along with the killing came looting and burning. What ever had been left after the bombing was destroyed.
After Nanking
The destruction of Nanking horrified the world. It symbolized the brutality of modern warfare and the growing tendency of armies to kill civilians. including women and children. After the ruin of Nanking, the Japanese advance continued. By 1938, Japan controlled most of China. Mao Zedong, leader of the Communists, maintained a constant guerrilla war against the Japanese. The Nationalists, however, were reluctant to fight. Even after the United States entered World War II in 1941 and joined with the Chinese to fight the Japanese, the Nationalists had to be forced into battle. Some Nationalists even worked with the Japanese. These two different responses to the Japanese occupation of China eventually decided China's future. The Chinese people began to support the Communists. By doing so, they helped the Communists win control of China after World War II, when the civil war erupted again.
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