Wartime Shanghai / Edition 1

by Wen-hsin Yeh

Overview

Wartime Shanghai is a lively account of the political and social situation between 1937 and 1946. It explores the deep political rivalries between Nationalist groups, the intrigue of international espionage and how Shanghai society, from European administrators to Chinese film makers, collaborated with, or resisted, the Japanese occupation.
Drawing on archival and published sources in English, French, Chinese and Japanese, the authors show the diversity of groups and communities that made up wartime Shanghai. This book is an engaging collection of essays written on an exciting, but often neglected episode of Chinese history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415174411
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/14/1998
Pages:	236
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Preface: Shanghai Besieged, 1937-1945, Wen-hsin Yeh Introduction: The Struggle to Survive, Wen-hsin Yeh Ambiguities of Occupation: Foreign Resisters, Bernard Wasserstein The Other Japanese Community, Joshua A. Fogel Chinese Capitalists and the Japanese, Parks M. Coble Projecting Ambivalence, Poshek Fu Urban Warfare and Underground Resistance, Wen-hsin Yeh Urban Controls in Wartime Shanghai, Frederic Wakeman Jr. The Purge in Shanghai (1945-1946), Marie-Claire Bergere

Editorial Reviews

A collection of essays by world-renowned China scholars, this book effectively demonstrates the fragmented qualities of life in Shanghai's foreign concession areas during the Japanese occupation (1937-45). Drawing on seminal works, including research by Akira, Fewsmith, Honig, Tang, Wakeman, and Wasserstrom (to name a few diverse scholars), and marked by primary research in English, Chinese, Japanese, and French, it complements contemporary literary works such as R.C. Binstock's Tree of Heaven (LJ 10/1/95) in that it, too, presents the dark complexities of Japanese occupation. Early essays lay the groundwork for understanding the problems of distinguishing between "foreign resistors" and "collaborators" or for following the era's rival Nationalist groups. Subjects include left-wing Japanese activities, Chinese capitalists, Chinese cinema, underground resistance, and police activities. With the exception of Chapter 5, written by Parks Coble (history, Univ. of Nebraska- Lincoln), the statistics of Japanese occupation are contained in extensive footnotes. Detailed and scholarly in its treatment, this book is most suitable for academic libraries and specialized collections.--Peggy Spitzer Christoff, Oak Park, IL

Library Journal

Nine essays describe how the foreign concessions of the Chinese city declared neutrality in 1937 and so some were spared Japanese occupation, but how behind the facade of prosperity raged political intrigue, violence, and assassination. Drawing on archival sources in English, French, Chinese, and Japanese to reveal the diversity of groups, interests, and activities until 1946. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

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