The Sino-Japanese Wars: The History and Legacy of the Early 20th Century Conflicts That Made Japan the Dominant Power in Asia

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: Colin Fluxman

Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

For decades, Korea existed as a protectorate of China, paying homage to the mighty Chinese dynasties while minding its own business as best it could. However, sensing weakness in the former regional power after being defeated by the Europeans during the Second Opium War, escalating tensions over Korea between the old power of China and the new power of Japan led to the First Sino-Japanese War. In its first modern war, the modernized Japanese empire went to war against the dominant power in the region, and though interested Western powers favored China, Japan won the day. The conflict paved the way for the future Empire of Japan and the collapse of the Qing Dynasty.

Though both nations modernized, and China far outweighed Japan in terms of men and materiel potential, the island nation handily won its first modern war. The conflict resulted in Japan’s short-term gains in the wake of victory, and the long-term disaster for both sides’ new roles in Asia, for with the end of Chinese dominance in East Asia came a new era for the region as a whole, an era whose consequences and horrors would not be fully realized for several more decades.

Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931 resulted from a long, complex chain of historical events stretching back to the late 19th century. Approximately 380,000 square miles in extent, or 1.4 times the size of the American state of Texas, Manchuria came into Imperial Russia's possession in 1900 due to the “Boxer Rebellion” in China, but the Russians held it only briefly; their defeat in the Russo-Japanese War shook loose their control from important parts of Manchuria by the end of 1905.

The Kwantung Army deliberately shoved it over that brink in 1931, and the Japanese invasion and occupation of Manchuria is sometimes described as the true beginning of World War II. At the very least, it marked the expansion of Japan’s imperial empire, its ongoing friction with China, and what would turn into a Chinese resistance campaign that would last nearly 15 years until the end of World War II. 

In 1937, the Empire of Japan once more went to war with China, a nation broken into petty warlord fiefdoms and wracked by civil war. The most modern Asian nation enacted a brutal campaign over the fragmented realms that made up China, committing atrocities just as horrendous as their Axis ally in Europe. At the same time, China was experiencing an equally brutal civil war between Nationalist and Communist forces. This civil war became inextricably intertwined with the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, and the sheer scale of the horrors of the conflict remain hard to believe today. 

The Sino-Japanese Wars: The History and Legacy of the Early 20th Century Conflicts That Made Japan the Dominant Power in Asia examines what brought about the wars, the most notorious events, and the important aftermath. You will learn about the wars like never before.

©2018 Charles River Editors (P)2018 Charles River Editors

Story OK, Poor narration

Poor narration is the main problem - bad pronunciation of names of Chinese people and places (something that could have been researched prior to the recording), and the lines often ran together without enough inflection to separate items or sentences, making it difficult to follow sometimes.

The story was a bit lacking in details at times, making it feel more like a book summary, but overall not a major issue.

So much info

This is the fifth book I’ve read/listened to by Charles River Editors. I’ve enjoyed each one, including this book, and I’ve learned a lot. Each is a great guide for further research/ learning for me.
This is a topic I did not know very much about. I feel the book gave a well rounded look into the events during this time.

This is the fifth book I’ve listened to by this narrator ( Colin Fluxman ). He does well reading this historical book, but he ran sentences together. Since I listen to books at at least 1.5x speed, this was a bit awkward (even at normal speed).

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

Concise and informative

The Sino-Japanese Wars:.
Like all the the books by Charles River Editors it is concise and informative, with a bibleography for further reading.
These books are great little lunch time reads.
I was given a free copy of this audio book at my own request, and voluntarily leave this review.

Pre-war Asia

This outlines the conditions for the start of world war II and the alliances that set up the Pacific Theater, particularly the struggle for dominance between China and Japan. It was a great primer for a deep issue. I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.