War and Occupation in China

The Letters of an American Missionary from Hangzhou, 1937–1938

Edited by Charles Bright and Joseph W. Ho

A fresh eyewitness account of the Japanese invasion of mid-China in 1937-1938, these letters by an American missionary in Hangzhou provide a vividly detailed, first-hand account of the spread of war from Shanghai across the Yangzi valley and the subsequent ordeals of military occupation seen against the better-known backdrop of the Nanjing Massacre – one man’s embedded experience in one major Chinese city of one chaotic year of war.

Already 25 years in Republican China and fluent in the language when the Japanese arrived, the author was well-placed as both an observer of, and participant in harrowing events – the provost of the Hangzhou Christian College and responsible for its campus, president of the local Red Cross which organized refugee camps and shelter for those displaced by the looting and raping that ensued, and chairman of an International Committee which sought to mediate between Japanese and Chinese forces in an effort to limit destruction and then to negotiate with the occupation regime on a day-to-day basis. The letters – written twice weekly – describe pitched battles and aerial bombing, the fearful conditions of civilian refugees, the exigencies of the missionary enterprise and the experiences of foreign neutrals in wartime China, as well as the practical dilemmas of collaboration that arose under occupation – moving about, protecting refugees, procuring food, tending a dairy herd, and ministering to embattled congregations.

The letters are fully annotated to give readers a fuller perspective on places, people, and events that surround the eyewitness accounts. A substantially researched introductory essay provides necessary historical background and situates the author in a longer missionary career that began in 1911 and ended with wartime internment in 1943.

University Press Copublishing Division / Lehigh University Press

Pages: 336 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½

978-1-61146-231-9 • Hardback • October 2017 • $142.00 • (£109.00)

978-1-61146-233-3 • Paperback • September 2019 • $53.99 • (£42.00)

978-1-61146-232-6 • eBook • October 2017 • $51.00 • (£39.00)

Series: Studies in Christianity in China

Subjects: Religion / Christian Ministry / Missions, History / Asia / China, Religion / Christian Church / General

War and Occupation in China

The Letters of an American Missionary from Hangzhou, 1937–1938

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

A fresh eyewitness account of the Japanese invasion of mid-China in 1937-1938, these letters by an American missionary in Hangzhou provide a vividly detailed, first-hand account of the spread of war from Shanghai across the Yangzi valley and the subsequent ordeals of military occupation seen against the better-known backdrop of the Nanjing Massacre – one man’s embedded experience in one major Chinese city of one chaotic year of war.

Already 25 years in Republican China and fluent in the language when the Japanese arrived, the author was well-placed as both an observer of, and participant in harrowing events – the provost of the Hangzhou Christian College and responsible for its campus, president of the local Red Cross which organized refugee camps and shelter for those displaced by the looting and raping that ensued, and chairman of an International Committee which sought to mediate between Japanese and Chinese forces in an effort to limit destruction and then to negotiate with the occupation regime on a day-to-day basis. The letters – written twice weekly – describe pitched battles and aerial bombing, the fearful conditions of civilian refugees, the exigencies of the missionary enterprise and the experiences of foreign neutrals in wartime China, as well as the practical dilemmas of collaboration that arose under occupation – moving about, protecting refugees, procuring food, tending a dairy herd, and ministering to embattled congregations.

The letters are fully annotated to give readers a fuller perspective on places, people, and events that surround the eyewitness accounts. A substantially researched introductory essay provides necessary historical background and situates the author in a longer missionary career that began in 1911 and ended with wartime internment in 1943.

Details

University Press Copublishing Division / Lehigh University Press

Pages: 336 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½

978-1-61146-231-9 • Hardback • October 2017 • $142.00 • (£109.00)

978-1-61146-233-3 • Paperback • September 2019 • $53.99 • (£42.00)

978-1-61146-232-6 • eBook • October 2017 • $51.00 • (£39.00)

Series: Studies in Christianity in China

Subjects: Religion / Christian Ministry / Missions, History / Asia / China, Religion / Christian Church / General

Author

Charles C. Bright is Arthur J. Thurnau professor of history at the University of Michigan.

Joseph W. Ho is assistant professor of history at Albion College.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
The Letters from Hangzhou: September 1937 – August 1938
Epilogue
Bibliography
Glossary of Chinese Terms
Glossary of Western names