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The Second World War in China was the single most wrenching event in modern Chinese history. The conflict is often termed the second Sino-Japanese War, and known in China as the War of Resistance to Japan. There are arguments that the conflict began with the invasion of Manchuria in 1931, but between 1937 and 1945, China and Japan were at total war. When Japan was finally defeated in 1945, China was on the winning side, but lay devastated, having suffered some 15 million deaths, massive destruction of industrial infrastructure and agricultural production, and the shattering of the tentative modernization begun by the Nationalist government. This research group is based on a concept grounded in the discipline of history, but with rich implications for our understanding of postwar and contemporary China – that China’s conflict with Japan in the mid-twentieth century must be brought to the forefront of our understanding of the wider path of Chinese modernity, and that to do so will bring about significant new historical and political insights, not only for the academic world, but also for the wider public understanding of China, a major commercial and diplomatic power in the twenty-first century. In spring 2007, the Leverhulme Trust generously awarded a major grant to this project under its new Research Leadership Award Scheme. Over the period 2007-12, a dedicated research programme involving postdoctoral Research Associates, doctoral students, and research assistants will work on publications, fieldwork, and international collaborations including conferences and workshops. The programme is directed by Rana Mitter (Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China).
Recent Events
Rana Mitter:
Rana Mitter, Helen Schneider, and Sherman Lai:
Professor Shin Kawashima (University of Tokyo):
"New Approaches and Methods in the Study of the War of Resistance Against Japan (1931-45)"
Dr Alessio Patalano (Department of War Studies, KCL): 'Flying Imperial Colours': History, Memory and Professional Identity in the Museums of the Contemporary Japanese Navy
5:00-6:30pm, 15 November 2011
Dr Sherman Xiaogang Lai': "A Springboard to Victory, Shandong Province and Chinese Communist Military and Financial Strength, 1937-1945"
5:00pm 3 November 2011
Conference on Chiang Kai-shek and World War II
Workshop: China in Transition, 1945-1955
Jeffrey Wasserstrom, John Gittings, Duncan Hewitt:
Workshop: Relief and Reconstruction in Wartime and Postwar China, 1937-1949
Rana Mitter talks to former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger about his new book On China.
Workshop: Relief and Reconstruction in Wartime and Postwar China, 1937-1949
Jeffrey Wasserstrom, John Gittings, Duncan Hewitt: Reporting China, East and West
Workshop: China in Transition, 1945-1955
Dr Sherman Xiaogang Lai will talk about his new book on “A Springboard to Victory, Shandong Province and Chinese
Communist Military and Financial Strength, 1937-1945”
Dr Alessio Patalano (Department of War Studies, KCL) will give a talk on ‘Flying Imperial Colours’: History, Memory and Professional Identity in the Museums of the Contemporary Japanese Navy Video Links
New Publication:
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