Second Sino-Japanese War

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Second Sino-Japanese War

Mukden Incident

Investigate devastation wrought by Japan on Manchuria and China during the Great Depression

Henry Puyi, last emperor of the Chinese Qing dynasty, stands in traditional dress beside a table with a draped cloth and a clock, with potted plants in the background.

Chiang Kai-shek

How John Rabe Saved Lives During the Nanjing Massacre

Map of China in 1941 showing areas controlled by Japanese occupation in purple, Chinese Communists in red, and Chinese Nationalists in green. The Japanese-held territory includes Manchuria and much of the eastern coast and North China Plain. The map also marks the boundary of modern China, the route of the Long March, major cities such as Peking, Nanjing, Shanghai, and Chongqing, and neighboring countries.

Historical map showing Japanese territorial expansion in East and Southeast Asia from 1870 through 1942, with color-coded regions indicating the original Japanese empire, successive acquisitions, and areas occupied or conquered by Japan up to 1942. The map covers Japan, Korea, Manchuria, parts of China, Southeast Asia, and Pacific islands, with an inset locator map highlighting the full extent of Japanese occupation during World War II.

Wang Ching-wei (Wang Jingwei)

Chiang Kai Shek sits at a table with six military staff members, discussing over maps, with a large map covering the wall behind them.

Second Sino-Japanese War: Media

1937–1945

Videos

Investigate devastation wrought by Japan on Manchuria and China during the Great Depression

Investigate devastation wrought by Japan on Manchuria and China during the Great Depression

In September 1931 the Japanese Imperial Army invaded Manchuria, and refugees fled...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

How John Rabe Saved Lives During the Nanjing Massacre

How John Rabe Saved Lives During the Nanjing Massacre

Learn about German businessman John Rabe and his efforts to protect residents of...

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Vintage map of Japan and Indo China region.

Before World War II: The Rise of Imperial Japan

In September 1940 Imperial Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany and...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Images

Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

Sherman tanks in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Mukden Incident

Mukden Incident

Japanese troops gathering outside Mukden, Manchuria, September 1931.

Heritage Image/AGE fotostock

Henry Puyi, last emperor of the Chinese Qing dynasty, stands in traditional dress beside a table with a draped cloth and a clock, with potted plants in the background.

Puyi

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek, c. 1924.

General Photographic Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Map of China in 1941 showing areas controlled by Japanese occupation in purple, Chinese Communists in red, and Chinese Nationalists in green. The Japanese-held territory includes Manchuria and much of the eastern coast and North China Plain. The map also marks the boundary of modern China, the route of the Long March, major cities such as Peking, Nanjing, Shanghai, and Chongqing, and neighboring countries.

Pacific War: Japanese-controlled areas of China

The Japanese seized Manchuria in 1931 and occupied much of the coast and North China...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Historical map showing Japanese territorial expansion in East and Southeast Asia from 1870 through 1942, with color-coded regions indicating the original Japanese empire, successive acquisitions, and areas occupied or conquered by Japan up to 1942. The map covers Japan, Korea, Manchuria, parts of China, Southeast Asia, and Pacific islands, with an inset locator map highlighting the full extent of Japanese occupation during World War II.

Japanese expansion

A map of Japanese expansion in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Wang Ching-wei (Wang Jingwei)

Wang Ching-wei (Wang Jingwei)

Wang Ching-wei (Wang Jingwei), 1941.

© Bettmann/Getty Images

Chiang Kai Shek sits at a table with six military staff members, discussing over maps, with a large map covering the wall behind them.

Sino-Japanese War: Chiang Kai-shek and staff

Chiang Kai-shek meeting with his staff during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45).

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong addressing a group of his followers in 1944.

Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Soong Meiling, also known as Mrs. Chiang Kai Shek, sits at a desk speaking into an NBC microphone, with bookshelves in the background.

Soong Mei-ling

Soong Mei-ling giving a special radio broadcast to thank the American people for...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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