Second Sino-Japanese War
Largest Asian war of the 20th century, intertwined with World War II.
Last updated
Unknown photographer, Ministry of the Navy · via Wikipedia: Second Sino-Japanese War · Public domain
From 1937 to 1945, the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, along with its puppet states, were engaged in a conflict that followed localized fighting in Manchuria beginning in 1931.[1] This war is frequently seen as the Asian start of World War II and was the 20th century's largest conflict in Asia.[1][2] Roughly 20 million people died in the war, the vast majority being Chinese civilians.[3]
Last updated 2026-09-30 from the source article.
Life and work
The Chinese Communist Party issued the August First Declaration in 1935, calling for a United Front to oppose Japan.[4] A false flag event fabricated by Japan, the Mukden incident of 18 September 1931, provided a pretext for invading Manchuria and creating the puppet state of Manchukuo.[5] Skirmishes between China and Japan occurred from 1931 to 1937, with locations including Shanghai and Northern China.[5] The 28 January battle in 1932 saw Chinese and Japanese forces fight in Shanghai, leading to that city being demilitarized.[6]
Chiang Kai-shek was compelled to speed up United Front negotiations with the Communists after being kidnapped in December 1936 during the Xi'an Incident.[4]
What the cited sources add
The Japanese monograph "Political Strategy Prior to Outbreak of War" states that a clash between Japanese and Chinese troops occurred near Mukden on 18 September 1931.[7] That monograph also lists over 120 cases of infringement of Japanese rights and interests between 1928 and the outbreak of the Manchurian Incident.[7] Carter's article "The Origins of World War II in Asia" argues that World War II began at 10:22 p.m. on September 18, 1931.[8] The same BBC article states that Taiwan was ceded to Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Second Sino-Japanese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Carter, "The Origins of World War II in Asia", The China Project, 20 September 2023; "China's War with Japan", Faculty of History, University of Oxford (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Second Sino-Japanese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bix, "The Showa Emperor's 'Monologue' and the Problem of War Responsibility", Journal of Japanese Studies, 1992, p. 295–363 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Second Sino-Japanese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Guillemin, "Scientists and the history of biological weapons. A brief historical overview of the development of biological weapons in the twentieth century", EMBO Reports, 2006, p. S45–49; Frischknecht, "The history of biological warfare. Human experimentation, modern nightmares and lone madmen in the twentieth century", EMBO Reports, 2003, p. S47–52; Frank 2020, p. 112 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Second Sino-Japanese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Weng, "Shaping Leviathan's Teeth", 2018, p. 61; Pan, "Not Just a Man's War: Chinese Women's Memories of the War of Resistance Against Japan, 1931-45", University of British Columbia Press, 2025; Pan, "Not Just a Man's War: Chinese Women's Memories of the War of Resistance Against Japan, 1931-45", University of British Columbia Press, 2025; Eastman, "Nationalist China during the Nanking decade, 1927–1937", Cambridge University Press, 1991, p. 48–49 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Second Sino-Japanese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hotta, "Pan-Asianism and Japan's War 1931–1945", Palgrave Macmillan, 25 December 2007, p. 40; Paine 2012, p. 214 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Second Sino-Japanese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Iriye, "The Origins of the Second World War in Asia and the Pacific", Routledge, 1987 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Political Strategy Prior to Outbreak of War Part I Japanese monograph No. 144. facts only, no text reused. ibiblio.org
- Carter, "The Origins of World War II in Asia", The China Project, 20 September 2023. facts only, no text reused. thechinaproject.com
- "How uninhabited islands soured China-Japan ties", BBC News, 10 November 2014. facts only, no text reused. bbc.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Second Sino-Japanese War (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
Also in the Codexery
More in Wars & Conflicts
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Second Sino-Japanese War (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced