In June 2014, the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China began preparations for the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of China’s War of Resistance Against Japan, the end of World War II, and the retrocession of Taiwan to the ROC. Among the groups invited to plan and host activities are the Academia Historica, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the General Association of Chinese Culture. A series of 16 different events will begin in July of this year, including an international academic conference, forums, lectures, and exhibitions of historical artifacts related to the War of Resistance.
The Academia Historica (AH) in particular is broadening the scope of commemorative activities for this historic anniversary. Look for example at the international academic conference on “History and Memories of War” being organized by the AH, which has invited scholars and experts from more than 50 countries.
Chen Li-wen, chief secretary at the AH, says that in addition to offering a comprehensive overview of the War of Resistance Against Japan (WRJ), the conference will include panels on the roles of women in wartime, daily life in the zones controlled by the Japanese puppet regime of Wang Ching-wei, and guerrilla forces. Of particular note is that the agenda was put together in cooperation with 20 museums worldwide dedicated to WWII. These international connections will help the outside world to better understand the role played by the ROC in the global conflict.
Meanwhile, the AH and the ROC Armed Forces Museum will co-host a three-month commemorative exhibition, scheduled to open in August. Besides giving a general introduction to the history of the WRJ, the exhibition has seven special exhibit areas devoted to themes like “Military Combat,” “Times and Places,” “Documents,” and “Music of Resistance,” thereby offering a very well-rounded look at the events of that period.
To make the exhibit easier to understand, each exhibit area will have specific subthemes. For instance, the Military Combat area will feature special displays on such aspects as the use of biological and chemical warfare in China, and the most violent campaigns in terms of casualties. Taking one angle at a time, these will help guide visitors back through history.
The experience of the common people will also get more attention in the commemorative exhibition. In recent years the memories of ordinary folks, rather than just the words and deeds of leaders, have finally been getting greater attention, and many documents and historical materials belonging to private citizens have been made public, filling in more pieces of history’s jigsaw puzzle. In addition to official documents, the exhibition will show newspapers and periodicals that testify to the background of that era and the ferocity of the war, and, even more movingly, personal letters written by soldiers and officers from the military.
The AH is simultaneously issuing 14 books related to the war, including Xinbian Kangzhan Shi (A History of the War of Resistance Against Japan: Revised and Updated Edition) and the diaries of generals Chen Cheng and Ji Xingwen. One of these new volumes, Dian Mian Yuanzhengjun (The ROC Expeditionary Force in Yunnan and Burma), will include historical materials being released to the public for the first time. Chen Li-wen explains that the book documents the support provided to the British military in Burma by China’s armed forces, giving a clear view of the international contributions made by the ROC during WWII.
Tragedy and triumph
The cultural and historical materials that will be discussed at conferences and displayed in exhibitions are tangible manifestations of the traumatic experiences and indelible memories of the individuals who lived through those days. The Ministry of Culture’s “National Memories Database” has recorded the personal stories of many of these people, telling of tragedy, joy, separation, and reuniting of ordinary folk in a time of dramatic historical upheavals.
At one recent event, five elderly people in their 80s and 90s, who personally lived through the chaos of war, gathered in the Qidong Poetry Salon to recount their experiences in an event entitled “A Look Back: Memories of the Years of the War of Resistance Against Japan.”
Gao Shuangyin, now in his 80s and living in Yilan County, was only three or four when the Marco Polo Bridge Incident occurred in 1937, sparking the outbreak of full-scale war between Japan and China. His father went to the front to fight, leaving him and his mother in the care of his grandmother. He talked about how, when Japanese bombers attacked, his mother would take them fleeing to an air raid shelter, and how the smell of the shelter—of all those people packed into a dark, dank place—remains imprinted on his memory even today. When he got older, Gao went along with his father when the latter joined a guerilla force. Part of the experience was learning resistance songs like “Song of the Orphan,” “The Little Army,” and “Guerillas.” Gao says that even though the war is long past, he only has to hear or sing one of these melodies and the memories come flooding back, so clearly that the tears well up in his eyes.
A three-hour documentary
As we greet the 70th anniversary of victory in the WRJ, the EBC television network is coming out with a three-hour documentary entitled Kang Zhan (War of Resistance). It will cover the history of the ROC from the Mukden Incident of September 18, 1931 (staged by the Japanese military as a pretext to occupy Manchuria) to final victory in 1945 and the subsequent retrocession of Taiwan to the ROC.
Matthew Wang, deputy editor-in-chief in the news division of EBC, says that with the passage of time the war is fading from our collective memory. He hopes that this film can remind the younger generation to seriously study history because, as he says, “Only if you understand the past can you know what your next step should be.”
Following on the 2005 documentary Ri Shi Zhongguo (Japan Invades China), this is the second time that the production team at EBC is using the documentary format to bring the history of the WRJ to the public eye. Wang says that in addition to the history of the full-scale fighting between China and Japan that went on between 1937 and 1945, which is very well known already to all citizens of Taiwan, the documentary Kang Zhan will also cover cooperation between the ROC and Allied forces, and the interrelationship between China and the international situation. There are quite a few episodes in the film that portray details about the war in Europe and American wartime foreign policy decisions, telling viewers that the events of the WRJ cannot be fully understood in isolation from other theaters of WWII.
While providing a macroscopic view of the broad sweep of history, Kang Zhan also records events as seen from the point of view of ordinary people. Therefore, in addition to covering major historical figures like ROC President Chang Kai-shek, First Lady Soong May-ling and the like, the film also includes the stories of many common folk, such as recently deceased actor Wang Jue.
One of the more interesting side stories covered in the documentary is that of the elephant Lin Wang, who became one of the most treasured animals in the Taipei Municipal Zoo. The documentary relates how, during that period of international war and then civil war, Lin Wang was brought all the way from Burma to Taiwan. These kinds of events from the wartime era can help people to understand, as Wang says, that “at that time the war was not the only thing happening—there were many other connections and stories.”
To make two full-length documentaries on the same subject in the space of ten years requires quite a commitment. Wang explains, his voice betraying deep feeling, that many elders who were still hale and hearty even just a decade ago when they made the first film have passed away in the intervening years, and now they are few and far between. Moreover, as time has passed their memories have become obscured or forgotten. As a result Wang has felt a sense of urgency to record all that he can.
Wang also has strong feelings about the efforts in recent years by mainland China to wrest sole control over interpretation of the WRJ from anyone else. He says that many of the interpretations of the war, as a result of relentless propaganda by the mainland side, have deviated farther and farther from the truth. “No matter what the international situation might be now,” says Wang, “the War of Resistance resulted in victory as a result of the efforts of the Republic of China, and it is essential that we get the international community and the public to understand the truth about this period of history.”
Wang also says that even though at that time the people of mainland China and Taiwan—which belonged to Japan from 1895 until the end of WWII—were in different camps, no matter what opinions they held or what their status, every person has their own unique memories of the wartime era. People should make an effort to recognize and accept each other’s memories. That is the key to mutual understanding, and it will also demonstrate to everyone that Taiwan’s society is characterized by pluralism, with respect for differences.
“Three hours is not even remotely close to enough time to cover that era,” Wang points out. Despite this, while he accepts that the emotional impact of the war must necessarily fade with each succeeding generation, we should not fail to think about history and understand the war, through every possible medium and channel. “We of this generation should also do our duty.”
ROC units stationed in India, in a ceremony marking the completion of their training (courtesy of the Academia Historica).
The group photo shown here was taken after the ceremony in which the ROC recieved the instrument of surrender from Japan. (courtesy of the Academia Historica)
The group photo shown here was taken after the ceremony in which the ROC recieved the instrument of surrender from Japan. (courtesy of the Academia Historica)
The ROC government and nongovernmental groups are holding a variety of activities to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the War of Resistance against Japan. The Academia Historica has released a number of related books to coincide with the anniversary.
The ROC government and nongovernmental groups are holding a variety of activities to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the War of Resistance against Japan. The Academia Historica has released a number of related books to coincide with the anniversary.
At an event held in April at the Qidong Poetry Salon, five elderly people talked about their wartime experiences, both traumatic and joyful.
