World War II

Near the end of the Qing dynasty, Sun Yat-sen and three of his friends were collectively known to the Manchu government as the Four Bandits (四大寇). The picture shows the four friends (from left) Yang Heling, Sun Yat-sen, Chen Shaobai, and You Lie, with Guan Jingliang standing behind. This photo was taken at the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese (香港华人西医书院), established in 1887, now the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong.

[Photo story] Taiwan and the ROC: Same, yet different

Taiwan’s current situation is the result of historical factors and developments, including Sun Yat-sen’s revolution and the ensuing rivalry between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao re-examines that era with his collection of old pictures.
In 1914, after the Japanese army violently suppressed the resistance movement by the indigenous Taiwanese, they gathered the survivors and pointed their bayonets at their captives as instructed by the Japanese army photographer, facing the camera in a pose of victors.

[Photo story] The historical aftermath of Japan’s colonisation of Taiwan

Japan’s colonisation of Taiwan after the First Sino-Japanese War is a chapter of history that the Chinese would rather forget, along with the pain and suffering that the Japanese inflicted on the people of China and Taiwan. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao gives us an idea of that period.
On 29 June 1942, Madame Chiang Kai-shek was at a ceremony in Chongqing in recognition of the valour of the pilots of the Doolittle Raid, to boost the morale of the Allied forces.

[Photo story] The Doolittle Raid and the historical bonds between China and the US

Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao recounts the details of the Doolittle Raid, named after US Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, which saw US and Chinese soldiers fighting together against the Japanese in their first and biggest joint action in WWII.
The album owner when he was 17 and 18 years old.

A Japanese soldier’s photo album: To the hell of war and back

If pictures tell a thousand words, these images tell the harrowing tale of wartime units set up by the Japanese in northeast China to conduct experiments, allegedly on humans, in its chemical warfare programme. Yet sending a chill down the spine, they also depict the banality of life that soldiers return to after war. Life goes on but for aggressors and victims alike, the wounded are never the same again.
Nadine Hwang, who led a storied life, was known as the 'Chinese Joan of Arc'.

The story of Nadine Hwang: The ‘Chinese Joan of Arc’

Photo collector Zou Dehuai tells the story of Nadine Hwang, a half-Chinese woman who was a rare breed in every sense of the term. Her dramatic life took her from Madrid to China and the salons of Paris, to a concentration camp in Germany, and eventually to Belgium. Amid the tragedy of war, she found love, and through it all, lived life with great spirit.
Li-Ning's Fall/Winter collection included some looks reminiscent of WWII Japanese army uniforms. (Li-Ning/Weibo)

Chinese netizens chastise Li-Ning for Japanese military-style fashion

Some outfits at a showcase of Li-Ning’s Fall/Winter collection said to resemble uniforms worn by the Japanese military during their invasion of China have sparked a wave of controversy, and this is made worse by the fact that a member of Li-Ning’s senior management is Japanese-Chinese. Are the Chinese netizens too sensitive or is Li-Ning too insensitive?
The Xuanzang Temple in Nanjing. (Internet)

Corruption in China seeps into the Buddhist world

Amid the controversy over honouring Japanese war criminals, Xuanzang Temple in Nanjing has found itself in more hot water as its former abbot Chuanzhen was exposed for his connections in the business and official circles. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu gives a profile of this senior monk and what his secular activities mean for the temple and for Buddhism.
Aisin Gioro Puyi and wife Wanrong, 1925.

[Photo story] Puyi: The last emperor of China

The tragic life of the last emperor of China has been the subject of much popular culture, not least the movie The Last Emperor. But why was he often thought of as a political puppet and how did he go from emperor to commoner? Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao provides a glimpse into the final period of China’s imperial rule.
In June 1937, German leader Hitler received China’s Finance Minister H.H. Kung at the Kehlsteinhaus in the mountains, representing the peak of China-Germany military cooperation. Kung was the special personal representative of Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek.

[Photo story] The secret pre-World War II diplomacy between China and Germany

Before World War II, an unlikely alliance and friendship sprang up between China and Germany. As diplomatic ties warmed, Germany provided China with arms and equipment against the Japanese invasion. However, because China and the Soviet Union were military allies, Hitler drew closer to Japan, resulting in the subsequent deterioration of China-Germany relations, and the division of camps in WWII.