1904-1948- Years in Northeast

Author: Qin Feng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: In 1904, the major powers of Japan and Russia fully showed their cards, leading to war. Japan emerged victorious, seizing control of Port Arthur, Dalian, and the South Manchurian Railway from the Russian Empire. Japan also sought to dominate Northeast China. In 1928, the Zhang Zuolin assassination incident in Houghgu did not scare Zhang Xueliang but instead led to the change of the Northeast flag, openly resisting Japan's territorial ambitions in Northeast China. With the military occupation by the Kwantung Army, the long-planned "Manchukuo" finally made its appearance, with the last emperor Puyi becoming a puppet in the hands of the Kwantung Army. To secure the occupation, Japan forcibly migrated a large number of impoverished rural populations from its own country to Northeast China, weaving them a dream. Thinkers, educators, writers, and journalists all echoed this, portraying Northeast China as a paradise where anyone could strive for upward mobility and turn their dreams into reality. Behind the shiny facade of colonialism lay the continuous aggression of Japanese troops and the unprecedentedly brutal clearing operations. The Chinese people did not yield but instead grew stronger in the face of adversity, composing a tragic national epic in their struggle against oppression. In 1945, after the Soviet Red Army entered Northeast China, it immediately stirred the sensitive nerves of the U.S.-Soviet rivalry and China's domestic politics. This would determine who would be the true big boss in the post-war world and what social system China should choose in the future.