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ABSTRACT
Due to its equivocal character, the fall of Peking in 1937 was a historical moment that deserves a thorough revisit focusing on the city’s multifaceted structure. As a narrative strategy, “moment” aims at putting various spatial imageries of multiple events in a minimized temporal unit. This article focuses on two moments after the Marco Polo Bridge incident of July 7, 1937: July 29, when the Chinese troops withdrew from Peking, and August 8, when the Japanese troops entered the city. It reconstructs these historical scenarios by utilizing the reports of journalists, diary entries, and reminiscences, along with literary works to capture the moment of Peking’s fall. Using a “horizontal” perspective, this paper reveals Peking residents’ communal awareness and attempts to excavate nationalist elements from local experiences.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Glossary
| Caishikou | = | 菜市口 |
| Chang’an | = | 长安 |
| Chaoyang | = | 朝阳 |
| Chen Xueping | = | 陈雪屏 |
| Deng Zhicheng | = | 邓之诚 |
| Dongdan | = | 东单 |
| Dongdan-Xisi-Gulou-Qian | = | 东单西四鼓楼前 |
| Feng Yuanjun | = | 冯沅君 |
| Fengtai | = | 丰台 |
| Fu Zhongtao | = | 傅仲涛 |
| Ganshiqiao | = | 甘石桥 |
| Guan Xiaohe | = | 冠晓荷 |
| Guang’an | = | 广安 |
| Gulou | = | 鼓楼 |
| Haidian | = | 海淀 |
| Hutong | = | 胡同 |
| Langfang | = | 廊房 |
| Li Jingming | = | 李景铭 |
| Lu Kanru | = | 陆侃如 |
| Lugou | = | 卢沟 |
| Puyi | = | 溥仪 |
| Qianmen | = | 前门 |
| Qin Dechun | = | 秦德纯 |
| Ruiquan | = | 瑞全 |
| Shibao | = | 《实报》 |
| Sishi tongtang | = | 《四世同堂》 |
| Song Zheyuan | = | 宋哲元 |
| tian biao | = | 添膘 |
| tie qiu biao | = | 贴秋膘 |
| Tongzhou | = | 通州 |
| Wangfujing | = | 王府井 |
| Xia Renhu | = | 夏仁虎 |
| Xiaoyangjuan | = | 小羊圈 |
| Xidan | = | 西单 |
| Xisi | = | 西四 |
| Xiyuan | = | 西苑 |
| Yongding | = | 永定 |
| Yu Pingbo | = | 俞平伯 |
| Zhantan | = | 旃檀 |
| Zhong Fangshi | = | 仲芳氏 |
| Zhu Ziqing | = | 朱自清 |
Notes
1 Zhao Yuan, “Nayige lishi shunjian,” 9.
2 For the concept of “wartime everydayness,” see van de Ven, “Wartime Everydayness.”
3 For this allusion, see Lu Xun, “Shidiao de hao diyu,” 4.
4 Fu Zhongtao, “Beiping lunxian zhi huiyi,” 33.
5 Feng Yuanjun, “Dingwu jishi shi bing zhu,” 32.
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid., 32–33.
8 Ibid., 33.
9 See Kapferer, Yaoyan.
10 Chen Xueping, Yaoyan de xinli.
11 Ibid., 36.
12 Ibid., 36–37.
13 Zhu Ziqing, “Beiping lunxian de nayitian,” 14.
14 See Jian Xian’ai, Gucheng Ernü, 1–2.
15 Zhu Ziqing, ”Beiping lunxian de nayitian,“ 14.
16 Lu Yueming, “Gucheng de zuihou yipie,” 8.
17 Articles include “Kepa de duwasi,” and “Jinji shiqi jiandan fangdu fa.”
18 Zhu Ziqing, ”Beiping lunxian de nayitian,“ 14.
19 Hu Shi, “Hu Shi riji,” 203.
20 Shen Hong, Kangzhan xianchang, 12–15.
21 See note 13 above.
22 Fu Zhongtao, “Beiping lunxian zhi huiyi,” 32.
23 Eileen Chang, “Jinyu lu,” 46.
24 Chunfeng, “Jiuyue fenghuo dao biancheng,” 28.
25 Lao She, Sishi tongtang, vol. 1, Huanghuo, 41.
26 Zhong Fangshi, “Yangbing jin Jing zhuri jianwen,” 34–35.
27 Chunfeng, “Jiuyue fenghuo dao biancheng,” 28–29.
28 Deng Zhicheng, Deng Zhicheng riji, 582.
29 See Siren, Walls and Gates of Peking.
30 For the psychological effect of city walls, see Ashihara, The Aesthetic Townscape, 18–19.
31 Lao She, Sishi tongtang, vol. 2, Tousheng, 664.
32 Diary entry for August 8, 1937, Yu Pingbo, Yu Pingbo quanji, vol.10, 277.
33 Cited in Xia Yunxiang, Yanjing xiangtu ji, 447.
34 Xia Renhu, Jiujing qiuci, 1b.
35 “Zuori liqiu,” n.p.
36 Shibao, August 8, 1937, n.p.
37 Li Jingming, “Lugouqiao shibian hou Beiping wenjianlu,” 114–115.
38 Deng Zhicheng, Deng Zhicheng riji, 599.
39 Lao She, Sishi tongtang, vol. 1, Huanghuo, 47.
40 Lu Yueming, “Longcheng luori ji,” 56.
41 Lao She, Sishi tongtang, vol.1, Huanghuo, 47–49.
42 Tai Jingnong, “Shi jing sangluan,” 112.
43 Lu Yueming, “Longcheng luori ji,” 57.
44 Lao She, Sishi tongtang, vol.1, Huanghuo, 27.
45 Ibid.
46 Lao She, Sishi tongtang, vol. 1, Huanghuo, 193.
47 See Okamoto, “Suihei-jiku no hassō.”
48 See Sun Ge, “Ruhe xushu ‘zhanhou’ dongbei ya wenti,” 163–165.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
YUAN Yidan
YUAN Yidan obtained her doctoral degree in Chinese literature at Peking University. She is now an associate professor in the School of Literature at Capital Normal University in Beijing. Her research interests include Chinese modern literature and society, the occupied areas in the War of Resistance, and the New Culture Movement. She has published more than thirty research articles in academic journals.