A Study of Chinese and Us Youth Literature About The
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"FRIENDS AND FOES ON THE BATTLEFIELD": A STUDY OF CHINESE AND U.S. YOUTH LITERATURE ABOUT THE SINO-JAPANESE WAR (1937-1945) BY MINJIE CHEN DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Library and Information Science in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor Betsy Hearne, Chair & Director of Research Associate Professor Christine Jenkins Assistant Professor Dan Shao Assistant Professor Carol Tilley Abstract In order to understand how postwar generations’ understanding of the history of World War II has been shaped by the information sources made available to them, this dissertation examines the representation of the Sino-Japanese War (1937-45)—fought between Imperial Japan and China, with U.S. as the latter’s major military ally—in youth literature published in mainland China and the United States from 1937 through 2007. The study is based on a sociopolitical analysis of the historical context in which Chinese and American youth literature about ethnic Chinese experiences during the Second World War was produced; a content analysis of 360 titles of illustrated popular reading materials in Chinese; and a literary and visual analysis of important works of youth literature in both countries. Those who obtained the opportunity to “tell” the war history, which part of it they told, and how they told it were all highly politicized. In China, the subject matter and main themes of war stories served the shifting agendas and needs that might or might not be shared among different political and interest groups, from the war years, through the establishment of the Communist regime in 1949, to the post-Mao era after 1976. Further comparison between public literary sources about the war and Chinese private memories of it suggest a chasm between the ruling Party’s master narrative and the way individuals remember their own experiences during the years of 1937-45. In the United States, the narrative space for ethnic Chinese wartime experiences expanded or contracted in a racialized society that perpetuated Asian Americans’ alien identity. The result was a dearth of information that could help ethnic Chinese youth to understand their ancestors’ role during the war and, in the larger American society, amnesia about a military conflict with ongoing political, economic, and social ramifications. ii To victims of Japan’s biological warfare at Yunhe County, Zhejiang Province, China, and to the memory of my grandmother, XU Lannü ( 徐兰女, 1925-1997) iii Acknowledgments This project would not have been possible without the support of many people. My adviser Betsy Hearne and committee member Christine Jenkins patiently guided me through the academic apprenticeship, nurtured the seed of the project from day one, and read my numerous revisions. Their unfailing faith in the significance of my inquiry sustained me through the most challenging phase of my research. Committee members Dan Shao and Carol Tilley, as well as Professor Poshek Fu, offered guidance at various stages of my work. The University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) awarded me a travel grant to conduct data collection work in China, Fall 2007. Funding from GSLIS, most often made possible by our wonderful Associate Dean Linda Smith, and from the University of Illinois Library provided me with the financial means to complete my doctoral program. I thank Lian Ruan, Nancy O’Brien, Kate McDowell, and the entire GSLIS community for continuous intellectual inspiration, moral support, and mentorship. I received crucial help from SUN Jun ( 孙俊) and Ziying You in accessing the collection of the National Library of China in Beijing. The Shanghai Library employee BIAN Weili (卞伟莉) brought warmth and joy to my research work. The Yunhe County Public Library of the Zhejiang Province, China, kindly granted me free access to all its materials. These people and institutions have to take half the credit for the richness of raw data I was able to analyze in this study. I was honored to be entrusted with my interviewees’ memories of their wartime experiences. The graciousness and tenacity of these courageous women would continue to inspire me long after the completion of the project. I gained a substantially better understanding of the Fangshanling battlefield at the border of Yunhe, thanks to indispensable assistance from many people, iv including Mr. ZHANG Feng ( 张峰), head of the Publicity Department of the Yunhe County, his staff, elder villagers at Fangshanling, and officials of local village government. Chinese children’s literature scholars FANG Weiping ( 方卫平), WANG Quangen (王泉根) and MEI Zihan (梅子涵) shared with me their great insights into my research. My parents, now a retired elemenatary school teacher and a retired public librarian, were the first ones to tell me about Japanese biological warfare in Yunhe, China, and to instill in me an interest in children’s literature and the Chinese history of the twentieth century. They shared intense passion with me throughout my endeavor, which benefited immensely from their knowledge, network, and assistance. This project is their child as much as I am. Finally, I thank Wei Zhang for having accompanied me for the most intensive years of my doctoral program. I appreciate and cherish your generous love, friendship and care. July 7, 2011 (The seventy-fourth anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War [1937-45]) v Table of Contents List of Figures..............................................................................................................................viii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix Chapter 1. Introduction............................................................................................................. 1 Prelude: “Plague-pits is good eatin’ ”......................................................................................... 1 The Sino-Japanese War (1937-45).............................................................................................. 4 Research Questions................................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 2. Chinese Youth Literature: An Overview.............................................................. 17 The Historical Transformation of Chinese Youth Literature.................................................... 18 Lianhuanhua : Popular Culture Meets Youth Literature ........................................................... 33 Issues......................................................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 3. The Sino-Japanese War as Depicted in Chinese Youth Literature....................... 62 Scope and Data Source ............................................................................................................. 62 Limitation of the Data............................................................................................................... 68 Methods..................................................................................................................................... 69 An Overview of Publication Patterns ....................................................................................... 72 Subject Matter: A General Pattern............................................................................................ 91 Portrayal of Military Combat.................................................................................................... 96 Portrayal of Violence and Wartime Atrocities........................................................................ 108 Portrayal of Class.................................................................................................................... 156 Portrayal of Partisan Membership .......................................................................................... 168 Summary................................................................................................................................. 186 Chapter 4. Family Narrative as Information Source: A Case Study .................................... 189 Wartime Yunhe in History and Historiography...................................................................... 191 Method .................................................................................................................................... 200 Her Story of the War............................................................................................................... 204 Discussion............................................................................................................................... 228 Epilogue .................................................................................................................................. 234 Chapter 5. Ethnic Chinese Wartime Experience in American Youth Literature.................. 236 World War II in American Youth Literature .......................................................................... 236 Chinese American Youth Literature: From the Gold Rush to World War II ......................... 240 Scope and Data Source ..........................................................................................................