Exhibition Commemorating the 65th Anniversary of Victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan and the Retrocession of Taiwan-Ⅰ.The Nation in Peril

Ⅰ.The Nation in Peril

With the advent of the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan began its ascendancy in Asia, taking to military expansion into nearby countries in its pursuit of Western-style imperialism. Ching-ruled China, poor and weak with vast lands and a large population, quickly became a target. In 1894, during a dispute between China and Japan over an uprising in Korea, Japan initiated conflict under the pretext of protecting its interests on the peninsula, igniting the First Sino-Japanese War. The war concluded with the defeat of the Ching-dynasty government and the 1895 signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, by which China ceded territories and paid war reparations to Japan.

Despite this, Japan’s appetite for more of China’s land and resources grew unabated, and on September 18, 1931, Imperial Japanese forces sabotaged a section of the Japanese-owned South Manchurian Railway—the so-called Mukden Incident—setting the stage for an invasion of northeast China and the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo. Japan’s ambition for domination over all of Asia became increasingly clear.

The Japanese employed a strategy of picking off territories piecemeal before swallowing the whole country. The Republic of China, plagued by internal revolts, bore such humiliation but trudged forward with the work of self-strengthening, quietly planning and awaiting the opportunity to strike back. After the Mukden Incident, the government began building up its forces in preparation for battle, while the Xi’an Incident ended peacefully in December 1936, resulting in a united front against Japan between China’s internal factions. The time for mounting a resistance was drawing near.

Eager to strike and annex additional territories, the Japanese continued their aggressive advances in northern China. On seeing China’s growing cohesion and readiness for combat, Japanese troops launched an attack on July 7, 1937 on the Marco Polo Bridge in Wanping County in Hebei Province, escalating their offensive in fulfillment of their ambition, “To conquer the world, we must first conquer China.”

Peace was no longer to be found for the peace-loving Chinese, who were left with no recourse but to fight for their homeland. On July 17, 1937, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek issued the Lushan Declaration: The nation is in peril; victory is only possible through fighting to the death and sacrificing everything. Chiang’s impassioned plea roused the people, and “the Marco Polo Bridge Incident” became a call to arms. The Republic of China thus entered a bloody fight against Japanese aggression that would last eight years.

Blaming Chinese terrorists for blasting a section of the Japanese-controlled South Manchurian Railway, Japanese troops occupied the city of Mukden (today’s Shenyang City). The “Mukden Incident” of September 18, 1931 marked the beginning of Japan’s full-scale invasion and occupation of northeastern China in line with Japan’s rallying cry, “To conquer China, we must first conquer Manchuria and Mongolia.”

The day after the railway bombing incident of September 18, 1931, a public notice by Shigeru Honjou, commander of the Japanese forces in Manchuria, appeared on walls in Mukden City, indicating that the Japanese had premeditated the attack.

Six years after the seizure of Manchuria, Japanese forces instigated a military clash southwest of Beijing. Japan took this “Marco Polo Bridge Incident” as a pretext for launching an all-out invasion of China.

In March 1932, Japan set up the puppet state of Manchukuo and installed dethroned Ching Emperor Puyi as Emperor Kangde in 1934. Shown here is Puyi (front left) receiving foreign visitors.

A soldier of the ROC's 29th Route Army remains on guard against a Japanese incursion in the vicinity of the Marco Polo Bridge.

The Marco Polo Bridge Incident of July 7, 1937 erupted when Japanese troops, in response to being denied permission to search for a missing soldier, attacked Chinese troops near the bridge. This intentional provocation marked the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japan.

Damage to an ancient stone tablet erected next to the Marco Polo Bridge. Engraved with characters describing a pre-dawn moon over Marco Polo Bridge, the tablet bears witness to the mindless destructiveness of the Japanese invaders.

At Lushan, Jiangxi Province, National Military Council Chairman Chiang Kai-shek declares that China will fight against Japanese aggression through any peril to attain victory. (July 17, 1937)

29th Route Army Commander Sung Che-yuan, who defended Wanping County.

Chi Hsing-wen, commander of the 219th Regiment, 37th Division, 29th Route Army, was charged with defending the Marco Polo Bridge to the last.

Chinese soldiers leave Wanping County, Hebei Province, on their way to the Marco Polo Bridge battle zone.

Chinese soldiers defending Shanghai against Japanese attack take position in the city's district of Zhabei. The battle went on for three months, putting paid to Japan's boast that it would “wipe out China” within three months. (August 13, 1937)

Chinese soldiers defending Shanghai against Japanese attack take position in the city’s district of Zhabei. The battle went on for three months, putting paid to Japan’s boast that it would “wipe out China” within three months. (August 13, 1937)

National Military Council Chairman Chiang Kai-shek personally takes stock of the battle at the front line.

ROC soldiers of the 524th Regiment, 226th Brigade, 88th Division sacrifice themselves as they hold their ground against Japanese attack at the Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai under commanders Hsieh Chin-yuan and Yang Jui-fu, protecting the army's retreat.

One regiment singlehandedly defends the Sihang Warehouse for four straight nights, having refused offers of British aid from within the International Settlement. Their efforts moved their compatriots and nations abroad, earning them the moniker “the Eight Hundred Heroes.”

Hsieh Chin-yuan (center), commander of the regiment, tenaciously defended the Sihang Warehouse. Shanghai residents kept the regiment supplied with food, and Yang Hui-min, a Girl Scout, braved death to bring the soldiers a flag. The unit is honored in the war ballad “China Shall Not Perish.”

As Japanese troops attack the ROC capital of Nanjing, a Chinese artillery brigade defends a position on the city's outskirts. (December 1937)

As Japanese troops attack the ROC capital of Nanjing, a Chinese artillery brigade defends a position on the city’s outskirts. (December 1937)

Nanjing was reduced to rubble after being savaged by the Japanese, while unspeakable tragedies were meted out upon Chinese soldiers and civilians by the invaders in the Nanjing Massacre.

An article in the Tokyo Nichi-Nichi Shimbun describes a sword competition between two Japanese officers of the 16th Army Division, in which they killed over 200 unarmed Chinese civilians in a vicious display of cruelty.

An article in the Tokyo Nichi-Nichi Shimbun describes a sword competition between two Japanese officers of the 16th Army Division, in which they killed over 200 unarmed Chinese civilians in a vicious display of cruelty.

Japanese soldiers use live Chinese soldiers captured in the Xuzhou area for bayonet practice. (May 1938)

Japanese soldiers occupying Nanjing gather round to witness the spectacle of Chinese people being buried alive.

Chinese soldiers aggressively pursue withdrawing Japanese troops in the battle of Tai'erzhuang after the Japanese attempted to take Xuzhou following the fall of Nanjing. (April 7, 1938)

Chinese soldiers aggressively pursue withdrawing Japanese troops in the battle of Tai’erzhuang after the Japanese attempted to take Xuzhou following the fall of Nanjing. (April 7, 1938)

Wrecked armored vehicles left behind by retreating Japanese troops.

In celebration of victory in the battle of Tai'erzhuang, representatives of anti-Japanese literary and art circles pay respects to Commander-in-Chief Li Tsung-ren. (April 1938)

In celebration of victory in the battle of Tai’erzhuang, representatives of anti-Japanese literary and art circles pay respects to Commander-in-Chief Li Tsung-ren. (April 1938)

Chinese troops posted along the Ping-Han (Beijing-Hankou) Railway use an anti-aircraft device.

Chinese troops make a stand along the Ping-Han Railway.

Refugees in Ci County salvage grains of rice at a Ping-Han Railway Station.

Chinese surgeons treat soldiers injured by poison gas bombs used by the Japanese in the area of Wuhan City in contravention of international rules of war. (August 21, 1938)

Chongqing is bombed frequently by Japanese forces as part of an attack that had begun in May 1939. The National Government had established Chongqing as its provisional capital in November 1937, from which it prepared to conduct long-term military operations.

Thousands of people were wounded or killed after downtown Chongqing City was devastated by four air raids involving 190 Japanese warplanes. (August 1940)

Children sit helplessly by the roadside as their family flees an attack of Japanese forces.

Guilin residents scramble to get onto a train to flee the ravages of war. (June 28, 1944)

Chinese soldiers cheer after defeating Japanese forces at the Kunlun Pass in Guangxi Province. (December 1939)

Refusing to surrender to Japanese forces at the front line in western Hubei Province, General Chang Tsu-chung, commander of the 33rd Army Group, laid down his life for his country on May 16, 1940 after being hit by five enemy bullets.

Stones stained by General Chang Tsu-chung's blood as he lay mortally wounded.

Stones stained by General Chang Tsu-chung’s blood as he lay mortally wounded.

General Chang Tsu-chung's tomb in Beipei District of Chongqing City is faced by a stone engraving of Chiang Kai-shek's calligraphic tribute, which reads “Heroes are Honored Eternally.”

General Chang Tsu-chung’s tomb in Beipei District of Chongqing City is faced by a stone engraving of Chiang Kai-shek’s calligraphic tribute, which reads “Heroes are Honored Eternally.”