Far East War. Volume 2

Author: Luo Xianming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: This year marks the 60th anniversary of the World War II against Fascism and the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. Reflecting on the war half a century ago, people around the world united closely to fight an indomitable and heroic struggle for freedom and peace. As the ancient saying goes, "Learn from history to enlighten the future." In today's complex international situation, we should even more so revisit the history that has deeply wounded our Chinese nation, so that people can profoundly realize that autocracy and war can only bring disaster to humanity, while freedom and peace are the themes of the world's development today. This book interprets the Far East War through a cinematic lens, presenting a panoramic view of the bloody battle that took place in the Far East. The switching of scenes, the transformation of characters, and the alternation of war and peace happen in an instant. Open your eyes, and you will witness the epic grandeur and sorrow, the cruelty that froze flesh and blood, and the desperate longing for life. Authentic history requires the support of human spiritual character. The author, with courage, insight, and a natural, profound, sharp, and towering honesty, delves into the raw state of the Far East War—its turmoil, its tragedy, and its hidden depths—with natural force, insight, and structural power, reaching as far as the inhumane and brutal storm from June 1927 to September 1945; the earth-shaking rhythms and the boundless essence, original color, and original meaning of the anti-war struggles in China, the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, North Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, Myanmar, Indonesia, India, Thailand, and Vietnam; the crimson history of the rise, development, and demise of Japanese militarism; and the myriad forms of irredeemable disasters, sorrows, desolation, and truth. Ten years of labor and reflection, sifting through the vast and long-preserved historical records, have polished this work. It sets aside all biases of nation, ethnicity, party, religion, race, and culture, clinging only to the ultimate truth and compassion. Readers will see firsthand how the high commanders of the Far East War planned and won victories, how officers and soldiers fought bravely and died in the wilderness, with bones covering the plains; they will gain insight into how national leaders were swept up in the whirlwind of war, who supported and supplied the war groups that claimed supremacy in the Far East, and how tens of millions of common people were unjustly, brutally, and indiscriminately killed. Over 100 historical figures are vividly portrayed with strong realism, including high-level decision-makers on the Far East battlefield such as Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Chiang Kai-shek, Chester Nimitz, Douglas MacArthur, Joseph Stilwell, Soong Mei-ling, Hideki Tojo, Isoroku Yamamoto, Tomoyuki Yamashita, and Tadao Akamatsu, as well as ordinary anti-war soldiers such as the American pilot Robert Short, who sacrificed on the Chinese battlefield, the Filipino judge José Santos, who refused to cooperate with the Japanese to the death, the Malayan anti-war martyrs Katy and Susumu, the Indonesian anti-war martyr Subairiye, the American general Simon Buckner Jr., who died in the Okinawa landing battle, the Korean anti-war martyr Yun Bong-gil, and the brave and wise martyr Lin Mou-sheng of the "136th Brigade." The book vividly depicts the soldiers of the Communist and Kuomintang parties of China, such as Peng Dehuai, Zhu Guangqian, Yang Jingyu, Chen Ruoke, Zhao Chongde, Zhao Yiman, Zhang Zichong, Li Jiayu, Qi Xueqi, Li Zongren, and Ye Xueqing. The book also provides a light yet profound analysis of Japan, from the emperor Hirohito to the common people. It integrates history and literature, presenting the Far East War in an epic grandeur, depth, and boundless freedom, showcasing it in a way never seen before. This makes history, restored to its truth, possess the quality and significance of fossils and reliefs, leaving readers in awe and moved with a mix of emotions. Authentic history requires the support of human spiritual character. The author, with courage, insight, and a natural, profound, sharp, and towering honesty, delves into the raw state of the Far East War—its turmoil, its tragedy, and its hidden depths—with natural force, insight, and structural power, reaching as far as the inhumane and brutal storm from June 1927 to September 1945; the earth-shaking rhythms and the boundless essence, original color, and original meaning of the anti-war struggles in China, the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, North Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, Myanmar, Indonesia, India, Thailand, and Vietnam; the crimson history of the rise, development, and demise of Japanese militarism; and the myriad forms of irredeemable disasters, sorrows, desolation, and truth. Ten years of labor and reflection, sifting through the vast and long-preserved historical records, have polished this work. It sets aside all biases of nation, ethnicity, party, religion, race, and culture, clinging only to the ultimate truth and compassion. Readers will see firsthand how the high commanders of the Far East War planned and won victories, how officers and soldiers fought bravely and died in the wilderness, with bones covering the plains; they will gain insight into how national leaders were swept up in the whirlwind of war, who supported and supplied the war groups that claimed supremacy in the Far East, and how tens of millions of common people were unjustly, brutally, and indiscriminately killed. Over 100 historical figures are vividly portrayed with strong realism, including high-level decision-makers on the Far East battlefield such as Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Chiang Kai-shek, Chester Nimitz, Douglas MacArthur, Joseph Stilwell, Soong Mei-ling, Hideki Tojo, Isoroku Yamamoto, Tomoyuki Yamashita, and Tadao Akamatsu, as well as ordinary anti-war soldiers such as the American pilot Robert Short, who sacrificed on the Chinese battlefield, the Filipino judge José Santos, who refused to cooperate with the Japanese to the death, the Malayan anti-war martyrs Katy and Susumu, the Indonesian anti-war martyr Subairiye, the American general Simon Buckner Jr., who died in the Okinawa landing battle, the Korean anti-war martyr Yun Bong-gil, and the brave and wise martyr Lin Mou-sheng of the "136th Brigade." The book vividly depicts the soldiers of the Communist and Kuomintang parties of China, such as Peng Dehuai, Zhu Guangqian, Yang Jingyu, Chen Ruoke, Zhao Chongde, Zhao Yiman, Zhang Zichong, Li Jiayu, Qi Xueqi, Li Zongren, and Ye Xueqing. The book also provides a light yet profound analysis of Japan, from the emperor Hirohito to the common people.