World War Two Legacies in East Asia
China Remembers the War
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Book Description
How to remember World War Two in East Asia is a huge source of friction between China and Japan, causing major diplomatic and political difficulties right up to the present. As this book shows, however, there is also disagreement within these countries as to how to remember the war, which in the case of China began immediately after the war and lasted with varying degrees of intensity until the famous "textbook incident" of 1982 marked the beginning of a more strongly anti-Japanese position. Based on extensive original research, the book explores how China’s remembrance of the war has evolved over time. It not only explores the roles played by the national as well as local state actors in the formation of the Chinese war memory, but also pays attention to the individual Chinese people. It considers particular aspects of commemoration in China, explores the corresponding situation in Japan and discusses the continuing impact on the relationship between the two countries.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Remembrance of the War and Sino–Japanese Relations
3. The Necessity of Commemorating the War: Honouring the Martyrs
4. Remembrance of the War: Using the Past to Serve the Present
5. Beyond the State: Non-Official Agents of the Fifteen-Year War Memory
6. Conclusion
Author(s)
Biography
Chan Yang is a Lecturer in the Institute for International Studies at Wuhan University, China.