Japan Prepares for Total War: The Search for Economic Security, 1919–1941 (Michael A. Barnhart)

This is a book that explores why Japan went to war in China in the 1930s and got herself entangled in a war with the British, Dutch, and most of all, the Americans, guaranteeing their own eventual destruction. The story takes the reader back to the end of the First World War when the the military learned two lessons from Germany's defeat:

1. The army should avoid politics so that politics would not interfere with the army.
2. Japan needs to find a way to keep herself economically self-sufficient or risk an inevitably decline given the rapid grow in her population.

Ironically, the former, instead of keeping politics out of the army, the army came to dominate politics so much so that the political system in Japan almost ceased to exist by the late 1930s. And in the case of the latter, the quest to avoid decline would eventually lead to her near-annihilation.

Japan's story in the 1920s and 30s is quite an amazing one. Today, depending on how they see that period of their history, people are still arguing whether Japan waged a war or aggression or self-preservation. Japan was facing a population explosion at that time, they needed land to emigrate their people to and they needed resources which Japan scarcely had. Couple this with her recent victory over both China (1894/5) and Russia (1905), not only did the opportunity presented itself in the shape of Manchuria, it also gave the army the confidence to pursue what they deemed the politicians were not capable of. When the early policies of bribery and working with the regional warlord (in this case Zhang Zhuolin) did not work out, the Japanese murdered him, driving his son to eventually align the Northeastern provinces with the central government of Chiang Kaishek. That developed into the Manchurian Incident giving the Japanese the opportunity to occupy the provinces which later unexpectedly led to the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. One thing led to another, and in no time the Americans were openly showing displeasure with the Japanese.

This book looks at the events from both the Japanese and American perspectives. It was like a movie jumping from scene to scene, alternating between what the Japanese were contemplating and how the Americans were responding. If one wants to know how politicians in the US engage in discussions, arguments and decision-making, this book has it all. Many people are familiar with the doctrine of "graduated escalation" McNamara introduced in the lead up to the Vietnam War. It is not that different in the Second World War; the Americans would respond to a Japanese escalation, who in turn would take some measures in the belief that the Americans were go to suffocate them. The Americans, on seeing the Japanese not backing down, would consider them belligerent and take more severe measures, in the end, Pearl Habor was quite inevitable, and so would the Japanese's surrender.

This very detailed book is full of important information and would be of immense interest to the enthusiast who wants to know the longer story of Japan's step-by-step journey to war with the Americans. In a sense this is more complete than an earlier book that I read, Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy by Eri Hotta. However, this one is much harder to reader compared to Hotta's book which was written in a more story-telling style. Still, a reader who makes it through the book will be rewarded with a good understanding of the unfortunate circumstances that drew both the Japanese and Americans into the final showdown.


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The Manchurian Myth (Rana Mitter)

A little after 10.30 pm on September 18, 1931, a bomb went off at a section of the railway line belonging to the Southern Manchuria Railway. Although located in Manchuria, the railway was the property of the Japanese, having secured it from the Russians after the Russo-Japanese War. The event was the brainchild of two army officers from the Kwantung Army, Ishiwara Kanji (石原莞尔) and Itagaki Seishiro (板垣征四郎). Their intention was to create an excuse for the Kwantung army to send their troops into Mukden (now Shenyang) as part of their plan to occupy Manchuria. This is today known as the Mukden Incident or Manchurian Incident (9-1-8 Incident as known to the Chinese, 九一八事变). This incident would launch the 15-Year War with China, as it is known in Japan.

Manchuria was made up of the Three Eastern Provinces of China (东三省) and was the power-base of Zhang Xueliang (张学良), popularly known as the 'Young Marshal' (少帅). Zhang had a good-size army, but was told not to resist the Japanese. Zhang himself was not in Fengtian, the capital of Shenyang when the incident took place and neither were his deputies. In a short time, the Kwantung Army occupied Fengtian and in a few months, the rest of the three provinces.The Incident would precipitate a long list of discussion topics and scholarly research including the effectiveness of the League of Nations, the motivation of Chiang Kaishek, then leader of China, the stain on Zhang's reputation hence, and so on. Few, however, ventured into the lives of the Chinese caught in the unexpected turmoil, fewer have explored their attitudes towards the occupation.

In this book, Professor Rana Mitter attempted just that. But more, he wanted to explore why many in the occupied provinces even collaborated with instead of resisting the Japanese. This is dangerous grounds to tread. No Chinese today today would admit to not resisting or at least hating the Japanese during the occupation. As such, the author could only look to official documents, newspapers, records and also known events to reconstruct the climate in Manchukuo, as the three occupied provinces were known after they were made a puppet state by the Japanese. Prof Mitter's research question was this: how was the Kwantung Army, with relatively few troops in the area, able to control an area over 350,000 square miles with a population of 30 million with it own strength alone? Did they enlist the help of the local population since help was unlikely to come from Japan given the Japanese government's extreme disapproval of the incident?

Indeed the Kwantung Army was able to enlist widespread collaboration of many Chinese including the elites (pg. 6), local leaders (pg. 72), local warlords like Ma Zhanshan, and one might even argue, Chiang himself, for his assent to the Tanggu Truce was tacit agreement to the Japanese occupation. The commoners were however, largely indifferent; this applies to those from either side of the border separating intramural China (关内) from the three eastern provinces. The elites and students in intramural China were indignant to the occupation but the commoners were not really concerned.

This is a complex problem. Although in contemporary China, everyone considers the three eastern provinces as integral to China, this was not always the case. While the Qing Dynasty was by then no more, the Manchus, who originated from the three eastern provinces, after differentiating themselves deliberately from the Han Chinese, made it difficult for the Han Chinese in the 1920s and 30s to see the three provinces as part of China proper. The occupation of the provinces did not appear to many Chinese as a violation of their own country (pg. 187). Even among those living in the occupied provinces, who by then were overwhelmingly Han Chinese (pg. 23), there was little evidence of active resistance. This might be down to two principal reasons. Firstly, the fear of reprisal. The Japanese were ready to take extremely brutal measures against those suspected of engaging in subversive activities (pg. 112-113). Secondly, non-resistance could mean that life went on as usual and in some cases, life even got better than under Zhang (pg. 56, 119, 122, 124). Adding to this was the fact that only a small portion of the locals had enough knowledge to understand what was going on (pg. 99), it therefore comes as no surprise that Manchukuo was more or less peaceful in its years. This state of affairs was similarly depicted by Cordes (2013) in his travelogue where he described the indifference he witnessed among the Chinese in Manchukuo, painfully living their cheap lives which could be taken away from them at any moment. This was also more or less how Chi (2004) depicted the lives of the Chinese in her novel. Some were resentful of the Japanese, but they largely went on living their lives by avoiding the Japanese where possible.

Which goes counter to the contemporary narrative from China about the determined resistance and even uprising against the Japanese. And if there was indeed resistance, it was mainly through propaganda efforts made by the elites and students in intramural China, far away from Manchukuo. Armed resistance was carried out by bandits who were ever ready to plunder the commoners when necessary and at times they would think nothing of switching sides (pg. 175). Organised armed resistance was dominated by people with nothing to lose, the bankrupt peasants and bandits (pg. 197).

But lest one thinks that Chinese were generally unpatriotic and would gladly identify with the Japanese, it must be stressed that they were never in doubt of their identity. Against the reality of the non-resistance policy of Chiang, what could a commoner do? Help was not forthcoming from the own government (KMT) nor from their most recent ruler (Zhang) and even less likely from an noncommittal League of Nations (see the findings of the Lytton Commission). Life had to go on, so most went about it pragmatically, fully aware of the Japanese presense and brutality but finding a way to cope.

Prof Mitter can be an engaging writer. This is evident from his other book, Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, 1937-1941 (Mitter 2013). But the book under review is adapted from this PhD thesis and I must say that theses are seldom written to engage. While I'm sure this book has been edited for readability, the thesis undertone is still widely felt. Having said that, one must recognise the value of the work. If nothing, it presents the complexity of nationalism in China then. In contrast to what is popularly brandished about today, Chinese in all strata of the society were able to adjust and accommodate the reality of Japanese occupation. We are not talking about a few black sheeps, we are talking about a whole society. This is unlikely to be palatable to the Chinese government of today. They have conscientiously sought to portray that part of history as one of Japanese brutality and Chinese resistance. Some strategies they have used include blaming Chiang for his policy of non-resistance (correctly in my view) and instead using his army to pursue the Communists, and fervently referring to Manchukuo as 伪满洲国 (fictitious Manchukuo) to stress its illegitimacy (compare the title of Chi's novel in the Chinese and the Taiwanese editions). The truth, at least at the commoners' level, is more of ambivalence on one side of the border and trying to maintain life as usual on the other.

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Chi, Z. J. (迟子建) (2004). 伪满洲国. Beijing, China, 人民文学出版社.

Cordes, E. (柯德士) (2013). 沉睡的与惊醒的“满洲国”. Liaoning, China, 辽宁人民出版社.

Mitter, R. (2013). Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, 1937-1945. NY, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

百年家族-张学良 （李翠莲）

This is yet another book on the Young Marshal, Zhang Xueliang, this time written by a Chinese scholar (as compared to Taiwanese). Although most of the book is on the Young Marshal, the first quarter of it is on his father, Zhang Zhuolin. The inclusion of the elder Zhang is useful, for it gives the reader the background of the Young Marshals' life, his upbringing and in particular how his father has influenced the direction of his life.

Any book on Zhang Xueliang would not miss the Xi'an Incident, and to a lesser extent, the Manchurian Incident, this book is no exception. However, the author took a broader view of Zhang's life and so did not give a disproporationate amount of attention to just these two incidents. Instead, she focused on the various important events that took place throughout his life, including his more than half century of internment and more importantly, the different people that are important in his life: his father, his first wife Yu Fengzhi, his second wife Edith Zhao, his siblings and most all, Chiang.

Although there was no chapter dedicated to Chiang, he was mentioned throughout the book and invariably in a bad light. All decisions made cast him as a devious, selfish and crafty leader, unworthy of a loyal and somewhat naive Zhang. As a book published in China shortly after the Cultural Revolution, it is not surprising that the author took on such a position and tone. Unfortunately this makes the book come across as biased and may lead the reader to devalue it as a resource. Zhang made several decisions that could be interpreted in different ways, and he was vague about them in later life in various interviews. But while the author made him look patriotic and compassionate throughout, sometimes even naive against the indespicable Chiang, one must remember that Zhang is not incapable of duplicity. For example, how does one interpret his back-channel and eventually direct communications with the Communist while serving as the deputy to Chiang who had overall command of the KMT army? How does one look at Zhang's hedging of bets during the Central Plains War (中原大战) as he twiddled his thumbs and decalred that he would support Chiang if Chiang could take Jinan (济南) (pg 185)?

Having said that, this book is actually packed with good facts and information, especially with regards to the dates and events. This shows good research which unfortunately is weakened by an overly anti-Chiang interpretation on the author's part.

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伪满洲国(迟子建)

This is a story about the lives of a cross-section of people in Manchukuo when it existed between 1932 and 1945. The author gave a very broad sweep of people from various social classes to give readers an idea of how people in the different strata of society lived their lives in a state that functioned more like a Japanese colony. All were affected in some ways, the poor more than the rich as the rich inevitably have better connections. But besides being more adversely affected, the poor were also affected much earlier than the rich. For the rich, as long as the Japanese were winning the war, life carried on more or less as it used to be. For the poor though, many were already forced enlisted into the many labour teams used by the Japanese to build the facilities and infrastructure that they needed. The labourers joined up either because they were deceived by the promises of food and lodging or because they had nowhere to hide from the militias going after them. Villagers who were not enlisted fared worst; what was left of their grains were forcibly taken and many were killed indiscriminately.

What makes the book truly a compelling read is how individuals were depicted in the book. Structured into 14 chapters (over the 14 years of Manchukuo's history), each carrying 6 sections, and each section focusing on one person or a group of people as they lived through the years, one can see how lives of different people changed along with the destiny of Manchukuo, or more accurately, Japan. The lives of some of the characters crossed path, while those of others did not, but everyone has a story and collectively,  their stories tell the story of Manchukuo.

With great nuance, the author explored the individuals and how they felt about life then. People like 王亭业 (pg 3) and 张容彩 (pg 26) harboured animosity towards the Japanese, but were careful about expressing their feelings publicly. Pragmatic ones among the populace would cooperate if not for actual rewards which can come in the form of extra food, (see pg 371), then just to stay out of trouble, happy to let others do the resisting (pg 35). But there were others who collaborated, yet where they could, they tried to help their own (pg 434). Of course there were also those who took up arms by joining the militia. Unfortunately in this book, their plight invariably involved a life of hardship, deprivation and in many cases, betrayal leading to torture and death.

Most intriguing to me has got to be the way the author depticted specific Japanese characters. Although there is a general negative portrayal of the faceless Japanese military man, when it came to individuals, the author was a lot more nuanced. There was one that did research on living and dead humans in the notorious Unit 731 (北也南次郎) and had no compunction about watching his subjects suffer the most inhuman treatment, all because of his passion for his research. But he too was to exhibit some feelings especially after establishing a curiosity about Patient 26 (王亭业). His friend 羽田, on the other hand, is perhaps more paradoxical. As a Japanese military personnel, he defied that general image of cruelty and arrogance to always save his feelings for that one special girl who gave him that lucky scarf. Throughout his time in Manchukuo, he did not participate in any of the excesses commonly associated with Japanese soldiers. It makes one wonder about the motives of the author in her inclusion of this character.

One particular character stood out ironically despite his relative immunity from the political and military upheavals. 胡二 started off as a bandit, but after an operation that went wrong largely because of him, he escaped into the mountains with his abducted wife. From then on, his life would have its ups and downs mainly due to his inability to control his libido. This is an interesting character that would be usually missed out in books depicting lives of people in those times for his life was unscathed despite the great political turmoils and human sufferings. For that I credit the author for being able to give the story of Manchukuo a wholesome treatment, almost missing out no one. But more, I credit the author for so skillfully placing this character in the reader's heart. One that would be easy to dislike, if not hate, yet through his love for his family, especially his son, his big-heartedness in his business dealings, and his generousity towards a Japanese fugitive at the end of the story, he redeems himself in the eyes of the reader making the reader feel for him, and if it carries some reluctance, there is a lot more forgiveness.

At the start of the story, an old man gave his two grandsons two halves of a mirror just before they left home to pursue their own careers. They were to reunite the two halves of the mirror as a commitment to their own reunion. Alas, the two halves of a mirror were united, only that they were in the hands of two other people. Like the story of China and Manchukuo, the three north-eastern provinces would eventually reunite with the rest of China, but it would be through a long and tortuous path. And despite all the sufferings and death in the book, one hopes for live to be better.

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最后的帝国 （恩斯特·柯德士 / 王迎宪）

Ernst Cordes was a German journalist who covered China in the tumultuous period in the 1930's. This book is a travelogue detailing the important trip he made to Manchukuo after its formation in 1931 as a result of Japan's annexation of the three eastern provinces in China, namely Heilongjiang (黑龙江), Liaoning (辽宁) [Used to be named Fengtian, 奉天], and Jilin (吉林). This book was originally published in German in 1936 and the version reviewed here is a translation by Wang Ying Bin (王迎宪).

Although the object of the author's trip was to interview the re-installed emperor, Pu Yi, the section that described that interview was very short, and likely because that was how the interview was. But the interview, while potentially able to provide a good historical record, would not provide readers with the rich account of China (not just Manchukuo) at that time. Fortunately for us, Cordes was conversant in Chinese and was therefore able to communicate with the many common man (老百姓) he met along the way. Add to that his keen sense of observation, and we have a book that is able to paint a most lively picture of what life was like in Manchukuo.

Manchukuo at that time was just going through a spate of construction and this one could easily get from the description provided by the author. The palace where he interviewed Pu Yi was none too grand compared to the Forbidden City the deposed emperor was more used to. More vivid was the 'chicken coop' where the immigration officer worked on the author's arrival. It was a temporary structure hastily constructed while the actual building was being built.

More interesting surely was his description and depiction of the people in Manchukuo. As it happened, Manchukuo was a rather cosmopolitan place. There were the Chinese aplenty, the Japanese predictably, and Russians, surprisingly. The Russians were mainly people who escaped the Russian Revolution and could no longer go back. Each of these races appeared to live separate lives and occupied different strata of the society.

The Japanese were an occupying power, despite all the political theatre of Manchukuo being an independent country, there was no question who was boss. The Japanese were by then a confident and powerful race. Unlike the Chinese, they did not treat Westerners with reverence, and perceiving themselves to be highly superior to the Chinese, they treated the Chinese like dirt. Throughout the book, there were examples of the Japanese's efficiency mixed with brutality. But they also had their quirks (like taking their pants down when they felt hot), but more importantly, their militarism, which even extended to the toys and military-themed candies meant for children.

The author's was at his best however, when he was talking about the Chinese. And if there was one word to describe Chinese live, it was cheap. First of all, then, as with half a century later, Chinese labour could be bought at rock-bottom prices. Already then, the author recognised that at those prices, no European country would be able to match the prices of products coming out of Manchukuo. Secondly, Chinese themselves would gladly give up their lives for a small price. The incredible example of how a general managed to stage a battle with live bullets and real people dying by just offering the winner $500 said it all, this was all done in the name of producing a documentary about the warlords fighting amongst themselves.

If that sounded unbelievable, the description of the everyday life of an average Chinese would substantiate that story. From his own accounts of how the Chinese labourers were treated, to the poverty he witnessed from how the Chinese had to sell their children, to how people were dying in the streets. His description of the filthy restaurant where he had a delicious dinner with the poorest of the Chinese would give one an idea of the general hygiene condition the Chinese put up with everyday.

The best account however, was his own encounter with the bandits who were trying to rob the train he was riding in. Soon after the bandits were repelled by the Japanese soldiers tasked to secure the train, the Chinese passengers seemed to be able to put the whole episode behind them so quickly that it appeared to never have happen (他们谈笑风生). The journalists would later report their disappointment when referring to the incident, saying that "only one baby was killed, everyone else was safe."

Interestingly, throughout the book there wasn't a mention of the Manchus, who were supposed to be of a different race from the Han Chinese. It could be that he could not tell the difference, or more likely, the Manchus had by then been assimilated into the Han race. The author himself made this comment about how Chinese culture is one that easy absorbs another and it appears that the Japanese are the only ones who knew it all along and had deliberately maintain a chasm between themselves and the Chinese. There were few inter-marriages and the few attempts from the more idealistic Japanese to see Chinese as the same (the tea-ist view) ended up in frustration more for the Japanese than the Chinese. If the author failed to discern between the Manchus and the Chinese, he was more than able to aptly describe the difference between the Chinese and the Japanese - 此黄非彼黄。(This yellow is not [the same as] that yellow.) He put it down to the races being 'fundamentally different' (本性差异). Indeed, the Japanese appeared to be a race that was determine to show the world that they were to be reckoned with. The Chinese, on the other hand, appeared to only base their existence on their 5000 years of history and was more than laid back about their lives. The Manchuria Incident (which precipitated the formation of Manchukuo and Japan's eventually withdrawal from the League of Nations) went unchallenged militarily for years. The Chinese themselves, while unhappy about the annexation, nevertheless appeared ambivalent about it (pg 123).

When this account was being written, there was still no agreement on who killed Zhang Zhuolin. Much would eventually happen in China. This book is by no means a scholastic account of China in the early 1930s, it is however a vivid account of what China was through the eyes of a very observant and interested journalist. Capturing a moment in China's history, he served Chinese history enthusiasts greatly by painting a picture of the life of an ordinary Chinese and was able to help one understand the events that would follow later.

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