Xu boxiong (1 Ergebnisse)

Second edition, first printing, of this Chinese propaganda photobook condemning Japan's imperialist aggression and describing the 1932 defence of Shanghai. Three editions were produced in quick succession, and all are now scarce, with only four of any edition in total held institutionally. This is "a fascinating example of the battle waged over the control of the public narrative" during the 1930s Sino-Japanese conflicts (Parr & WassinkLundgren, p. 106). In September 1931 the Japanese military sabotaged its own railway line in the Chinese province of Manchuria as an excuse to annex the territory and form the puppet state of Manchukuo. The present work focuses on the so-called 1932 "January 28 Incident" when, in an extension of the strategy used so successfully in Manchuria, Japanese agent provocateurs fomented attacks on Japanese citizens in Shanghai to justify the deployment of large numbers of troops in the city. In the following months, Shanghai witnessed bitter fighting between Chinese and Japanese forces until the signing of a peace treaty in May, with China forced to accept the demilitarisation of important cities including Shanghai. The events of early 1932 previewed Japan's expansionist ambitions and were a prelude to the 1937-1945 Second Sino-Japanese War. The present work is a nationalist account of Chinese heroism and an appeal to hearts and minds. Battle plans and profiles of leading generals mix with lists of Chinese soldiers killed by the Japanese, while colour and black-and-white illustrations show captured Japanese flags, the execution of an enemy combatant, Shanghainese fleeing enemy forces, and images of Chinese soldiers guarding the front. Striking images emblazoned in red flames draw attention to Japan's extensive bombing of the city and the resultant destruction of property and human life. As noted by Parr & WassinkLundgren, the present publication was perhaps issued in response to the Japanese-sponsored Complete Pictorial Description of the Emergency in Manchuria and Shanghai (Tokyo, April 1932). As such, it was the opening Chinese salvo in a long-running propaganda war to control the narrative surrounding Japan's actions in China. This edition was released with a new cover design only two months after the first. A third edition followed in 1933. Martin Parr & WassinkLundgren, The Chinese Photobook: From the 1900s to the Present, second edition, 2016. Folio. Frontispiece portrait of former Kuomintang Premier Sun Yat-sen. Illustrated throughout with maps (1 folding) and colour and black-and-white photographs, several full-page, calligraphic endorsements preceding the text, and many in-text advertisements. Original blue moiré-patterned straight-grain cloth, spine lettered in Chinese characters in gilt, front board with titles in silver in both Roman and Chinese characters, colour image of war-torn Shanghai mounted on a blindstamped panel, publisher's device to rear board in blind, blue endpapers illustrated with aerial warfare imagery. Slight bowing to rear board, silver title oxidized, extremities bumped with light wear to tips, inner hinges slightly cracked with small split to upper front joint, stitching visible at a couple of gatherings, a little bubbling and foxing to endpapers, contents overall clean and bright with attractive visual material. A very good copy.…