4. How did the war shape Chinese society?

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we think about the longer-term impact of the Second Sino-Japanese War on Chinese society, focusing in particular on: (i) the increased centralisation of the state, especially following the transfer of the Nationalist capital from Nanjing to Chongqing after 1937; (ii) the centralisation and expansion of education; (iii) the use of mass mobilisation campaigns among both the Nationalists and the Communists, and their relative effectiveness in each case; (iv) the growth in democratic sentiment as a result of the greater intervention of the state in people’s lives; (v) changes in the role of women among both the Nationalists and the Communists, and the extent to which the changes in wartime continued after 1949.

Course

In this course, Dr Tehyun Ma (University of Sheffield) explores the causes, course and consequences of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-45). In the first module, we think about why the Japanese occupied Manchuria in 1931. After that, in the second module, we consider why the Japanese launched a full invasion in China in 1937, before turning in the third module to think about why the Japanese lost the war. In the fourth, fifth, and sixth modules, we think about the impact of the Second Sino-Japanese War on Chinese society, the Chinese economy, and Chinese politics, respectively.

Lecturer

Dr Tehyun Ma is Lecturer in International History at the University of Sheffield. Her main research interest is in the history of state- and nation-building in twentieth-century China and Taiwan, particularly under the Chinese Nationalist (Guomindang) government.