War and Nationalism in China: 1925-1945

Hans J. van de Ven, educated at Leiden and Harvard universities, is a Reader in Chinese Studies at the University of Cambridge. He is also the author of the award-winning book From Friend to Comrade.

'War and Nationalism in China will stand as one of the single most important works to deal with war and its impact on modern China...This book should be read by all who are interested in the shaping of modern China or the history of World War II... This is military history at its most exciting and significant.' - Asian Affairs'A remarkable and bold piece of scholarship.' - The China Quarterly'Scholars wishing to challenge this revisionist history will need to match van de Ven's discovery and mastery of documentary sources, his meticulous attention to detail and his formidable capacity to draft hypotheses and draw conclusions on some of the most controversial issues of the day. This important book is a must for anyone who wants to understand not only what happened in wartime China but how the wartime record came to be remembered, and perhaps misremembered, for six decades, both inside and outside China.' - The China Journal 'Should be sent to every member and ex-member of the Politburo and the Central Military Commission in Beijing, their counterparts in Taipei, and those who make cross-Straits policy in Washington. It may terrify a few key men in each place enough to make them steer away from the inevitable catastrophe resulting from a war between the Mainland and Taiwan.' - Asian Wall Street Journal

• Introduction 1. Stilwell Revisited 2. Raising the National Revolutionary Army 3. Cultures of Violence during the Northern Expedition 4. Nationalism and Military Reform during the Nanjing Decade 5. A Forward Policy in the North 6. The War of Resistance before Japan's Southern Advance 7. Wartime Mobilisation Conclusion