Japan China

Between December 13, 1937, and the beginning of February 1938, Japanese soldiers entered the Chinese city of Nanjing, following a very brief fight for the city. For over six weeks, they committed some of the worst atrocities, first against the Chinese soldiers after they surrendered, then against the civilians. The Westerners who did not flee from the city prior to the Japanese arrival set up a safety zone in the weeks leading up to the Imperial Army entering the city. This was the only place where there was relative safety.

The Imperial Japanese Military had invaded Shanghai on August 13, 1937, rapidly reducing the once-prosperous city to a pile of burning rubble after three months of brutal urban combat. Countless blazing fires raged throughout the city, some of which had been caused by the fighting, but most had been set by the retreating Chinese Army in a futile effort to stall the Japanese invaders.

Keine Welt ist so fern, so fremd und so verzaubert wie die Länder der aufgehenden Sonne im fernen Asien. Viele Sagen und Mythen ranken um Land und Leute, Religion und Kultur. Drachen und Fabelwesen spielen oft eine Hauptrolle in Märchen und Erzählungen. Die Märchensammlung zeigt die erzählerische Vielfalt des Kontinents der aufgehenden Sonne.

Completing the Meiji Restoration that heralded the dawn of a new era for both Japan and Asia, the island nation found itself thrust into the modern world, a world of industry and conquest. Flexing its new muscles, the burgeoning power soon came to blows with the regional power that for centuries dominated the area politically and culturally: China. Also seeking to modernize in the wake of Western exploitation, China struggled to adapt to the changing times, doing everything it could to maintain a balance between modernity and tradition. Japan found that balance.

The Sino-Japanese Wars: The History and Legacy of the Early 20th Century Conflicts That Made Japan the Dominant Power in Asia examines what brought about the wars, the most notorious events, and the important aftermath.