What was going on with China during the few years before Japan attacked? Who was ruling China during this time? I never pictured China, at least during the 20th century, as being a country that could be invaded. I thought by the 1930's they were a pretty strong empire. Japan, to me, seemed a great deal smaller, not just in literal size, but also in every other way.
Also, do we know at what point the Japanese decided to attack Pearl Harbour? The book made it sound like they planned the whole attack in under a month (maybe I misread something)?
3 comments:
Barbara, (sorry, misspelled your name last time) I would direct you to the movie "The Last Emperor" for a fascinating look at exactly the China you are talking about. By the 1930s, the Emperor was in charge, but more of a figure head, and the rulers were more the various warlords and politicians like Chiang Kai-Shek. The emperor's influence had been weakened since he was instated as a very young boy. Later on, Pu Yi (the last emperor) has dealings with the Japanese in placing him as emperor of Manchuko, the Japanese puppet state of Manchuria.
Puyi was never really in charge and the power of the Qing Dynasty had been on the wane since the mid-1800s. Imperial rule ended in 1912. After that, there were a number of power struggles between military leaders, warlords, Nationalists and Communists to take control over part or all of China. This continued to some degree until the Communists took over in 1949.
I'd also recommend the movie Justin mentioned. It's excellent.
Post a Comment