Negotiating China's Destiny in World War II

by Hans van de Ven (Editor), Diana Lary (Editor), Stephen MacKinnon (Editor)

Overview

Negotiating China's Destiny explains how China developed from a country that hardly mattered internationally into the important world power it is today. Before World War II, China had suffered through five wars with European powers as well as American imperial policies resulting in economic, military, and political domination. This shifted dramatically during WWII, when alliances needed to be realigned, resulting in the evolution of China's relationships with the USSR, the U.S., Britain, France, India, and Japan. Based on key historical archives, memoirs, and periodicals from across East Asia and the West, this book explains how China was able to become one of the Allies with a seat on the Security Council, thus changing the course of its future.

Breaking with U.S.-centered analyses which stressed the incompetence of Chinese Nationalist diplomacy, Negotiating China's Destiny makes the first sustained use of the diaries of Chiang Kai-shek (which have only become available in the last few years) and who is revealed as instrumental in asserting China's claims at this pivotal point. Negotiating China's Destiny demonstrates that China's concerns were far broader than previously acknowledged and that despite the country's military weakness, it pursued its policy of enhancing its international stature, recovering control over borderlands it had lost to European imperialism in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, and becoming recognized as an important allied power with determination and success.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804789660
Publisher:	Stanford University Press
Publication date:	12/03/2014
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Stephen MacKinnon is Professor of History and former Director of the Center for Asian Studies at Arizona State University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Contributors ix

Introduction Diana Laky 1

Part I Old Empires and the Rise of China

1 France's Deluded Quest for Allies: Safeguarding Territorial Sovereignty and the Balance of Power in East Asia Marianne Bastid-Brugulere 11

2 British Diplomacy and Changing Views of Chinese Governmental Capability across the Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945 Rana Mitter 35

3 An Imperial Envoy: Shen Zonglian in Tibet, 1943-1946 Chang Jui-Te 52

4 The Evolution of the Relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and the Comintern during the Sino-Japanese War Yang Kuisong 70

5 Canada-China Relations in Wartime China Diana Lary 91

Part II Negotiating Alliances and Questions of Sovereignty

6 Declaring War as an Issue in Chinese Wartime Diplomacy Tsuchida Akio 111

7 Chiang Kai-shek and Jawaharlal Nehru Yang Tianshi 127

8 Chiang Kai-shek and Joseph Stalin during World War II Li Yuzhen 141

9 Reshaping China: American Strategic Thinking and China's Ethnic Frontiers during World War II Xiaoyuan Liu 156

10 Northeast China in Chongqing Politics: The Influence of "Recover the Northeast" on Domestic and International Politics Nishimura Shigeo 174

Part III Ending War

11 The Nationalist Government's Attitude toward Postwar Japan Wu Sufeng 193

12 Postwar Sino-French Negotiations about Vietnam, 1945-1946 Yang Weizhen 205

13 The T952 Treaty of Peace between China and Japan Hans Van De Ven 220

Conclusion Stephen R. Mackinnon 239

Notes 245

Index 293

Editorial Reviews

"Although one might have wished to see more attention given to the role of Madame Chiang Kai-shek (Soong Mei-ling); her brother, T. V. Soong; and her brother-in-law, H. H. K'ung, in influencing the policies of Chiang, this is a minor quibble. Given the diversity of the contributors to this collection, their credentials, and the quality of their research, this book should be a must- read for any serious students of World War II and modern Chinese history. My advice to these folks: Grab it!"—Ronald Heiferman, American Historical Review

"This book, a cohesive collection of essays by an international cast of scholars, stands out in its truly comprehensive treatment of China's international relations during WWII. It reveals not only the contorted diplomatic maneuvers pursued to insure China's survival, but also the determined efforts to 'negotiate China's destiny' to insure China's post-war international status. The book thus strengthens our understanding of how China's contemporary rise was in many ways rooted in the international transformation that accompanied the Pacific War."—Edward McCord, George Washington University

"Brimming with new revelations and fresh insights, this book greatly advances our understanding of Chiang Kai-shek's diplomacy during World War II. There is no better introduction to the subject than this collection of penetrating essays by some of the world's leading scholars. The volume is filled with cutting-edge research for the specialists but is also accessible to the general public."—Qiang Zhai, author of China and the Vietnam Wars, 1950–1975

"By bringing in scholars from Asia, Europe, and North America, three premier experts on Chinese history—Hans van de Ven, Diana Lary, and Stephen R. MacKinnon—have masterfully put together this edited volume on China's experiences in World War II. The result of their efforts is a collection of well-researched essays answering many important questions left out of previous studies...This book should be read by all students of Chinese history, especially those interested in the Chinese experience in the twentieth century."—Xin Zhang, China Review International

From the Publisher

"By bringing in scholars from Asia, Europe, and North America, three premier experts on Chinese history—Hans van de Ven, Diana Lary, and Stephen R. MacKinnon—have masterfully put together this edited volume on China's experiences in World War II. The result of their efforts is a collection of well-researched essays answering many important questions left out of previous studies...This book should be read by all students of Chinese history, especially those interested in the Chinese experience in the twentieth century."

China Review International - Xin Zhang

"This book, a cohesive collection of essays by an international cast of scholars, stands out in its truly comprehensive treatment of China's international relations during WWII. It reveals not only the contorted diplomatic maneuvers pursued to insure China's survival, but also the determined efforts to 'negotiate China's destiny' to insure China's post-war international status. The book thus strengthens our understanding of how China's contemporary rise was in many ways rooted in the international transformation that accompanied the Pacific War."

George Washington University - Edward McCord

"Brimming with new revelations and fresh insights, this book greatly advances our understanding of Chiang Kai-shek's diplomacy during World War II. There is no better introduction to the subject than this collection of penetrating essays by some of the world's leading scholars. The volume is filled with cutting-edge research for the specialists but is also accessible to the general public."

author of China and the Vietnam Wars, 1950–1975 - Qiang Zhai

"Although one might have wished to see more attention given to the role of Madame Chiang Kai-shek (Soong Mei-ling); her brother, T. V. Soong; and her brother-in-law, H. H. K'ung, in influencing the policies of Chiang, this is a minor quibble. Given the diversity of the contributors to this collection, their credentials, and the quality of their research, this book should be a must- read for any serious students of World War II and modern Chinese history. My advice to these folks: Grab it!"

American Historical Review - Ronald Heiferman