China's Bitter Victory: The War With Japan, 1937-1945 (Studies on Modern China)

"China's Bitter Victory" is a comprehensive analysis of China's epochal war with Japan. Striving for a holistic understanding of China's wartime experience, the contributors examine developments in the Nationalist, communist, and Japanese-occupied areas of the country. More than just a history of battles and conferences, the book portrays the significant impact of the war on every dimension of Chinese life, including politics, the economy, culture, legal affairs, and science. For within the overriding struggle for national survival, the competition for political goals continued. China ultimately triumphed, but at a price of between 15 and 20 million lives and vast destruction of property and resources. And China's bitter victory brought new trials for the Chinese people in the form of civil war and revolution. This book tells the story of China during a crucial period pregnant with consequences not only for China but also for Asia and the world as well. Addressed to students, scholars, and general readers, the book aims to fill a gap in the existing literature on modern Chinese history and on World War II. Social Science,Ethnic Studies,General,Regional Studies

China's Bitter Victory is the first comprehensive scholarly analysis of China's epochal war with Japan. Striving for a holistic understanding of China's wartime experience, the contributors examine developments in the Nationalist, Communist, and Japanese-occupied areas of the country. Much more than just a history of battles and conferences, the book portrays the significant impact of the war on every dimension of Chinese life, including politics, the economy, culture, legal affairs, and science. For within the overriding struggle for national survival, the competition for political power and the striving for individual and group goals continued. China ultimately triumphed, but at a price of between 15 and 20 million lives and vast destruction of property and resources. And China's bitter victory brought new trials for the Chinese people in the form of civil war and revolution. This book tells the story of China during a crucial period pregnant with consequences not only for China but also for Asia and the world as well. Addressed to students, scholars, and general readers, the book fills a large gap in the existing literature on modern Chinese history and on World War II.

Library Journal

The Sino-Japanese War was a principal source of tension between Washington and Tokyo in 1941, when the U.S. demand that Japan give up the fruits of its victory on the mainland led to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the transformation of a local conflict into the Asian phase of World War II. Descriptive accounts of the war are available, but analytical studies like this are scarce and welcome. Twelve essays by Western and Chinese writers plumb a wealth of recent Chinese-language sources from both Taiwan and the mainland to elucidate a wide range of subjects that include but go far beyond traditional inquiries into the conflict's military dimensions. Noteworthy essays cover the wartime economy, judicial reform, literature and art, and China's scientific elite. Editor Hsiung's concluding chapter emphasizes the role that historical memories play in contemporary Sino-Japanese relations. A little heavy for the general reader, this valuable book will greatly interest specialists in modern Asian history.-- John H. Boyle, California State Univ., Chico

A comprehensive analysis of China's epochal war with Japan. Examining developments in the Nationalist, communist, and Japanese-occupied areas of the country, it portrays the impact of the war on every dimension of Chinese life, including politics, the economy, culture, legal affairs and science.