Republican personality cults in wartime China: contradistinction and collaboration
This paper explores the development of the Wang Jingwei personality cult during the Japanese occupation of China (1937–1945). It examines how the collaborationist Chinese state led by Wang sought to distinguish its figurehead from the person he had replaced, Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek. Drawi...
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| Format: | Article |
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Cambridge University Press
2015
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31388/ |
| _version_ | 1848794190543060992 |
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| author | Taylor, Jeremy E. |
| author_facet | Taylor, Jeremy E. |
| author_sort | Taylor, Jeremy E. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This paper explores the development of the Wang Jingwei personality cult during the Japanese occupation of China (1937–1945). It examines how the collaborationist Chinese state led by Wang sought to distinguish its figurehead from the person he had replaced, Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek. Drawing on visual, archival, and published sources, it traces the development of the Wang cult from the early years of the war, and argues that the unusual context in which the cult evolved ultimately undermined its coherence. The case of Wang Jingwei illustrates how the Chinese case more broadly can enhance our understandings of personality cults that develop under occupation. To this end, I compare the Wang regime with various European “collaborationist” governments that sought to promote their leaders in similar ways. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:12:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-31388 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:12:15Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-313882020-05-04T20:08:19Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31388/ Republican personality cults in wartime China: contradistinction and collaboration Taylor, Jeremy E. This paper explores the development of the Wang Jingwei personality cult during the Japanese occupation of China (1937–1945). It examines how the collaborationist Chinese state led by Wang sought to distinguish its figurehead from the person he had replaced, Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek. Drawing on visual, archival, and published sources, it traces the development of the Wang cult from the early years of the war, and argues that the unusual context in which the cult evolved ultimately undermined its coherence. The case of Wang Jingwei illustrates how the Chinese case more broadly can enhance our understandings of personality cults that develop under occupation. To this end, I compare the Wang regime with various European “collaborationist” governments that sought to promote their leaders in similar ways. Cambridge University Press 2015-07 Article PeerReviewed Taylor, Jeremy E. (2015) Republican personality cults in wartime China: contradistinction and collaboration. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 57 (3). pp. 665-693. ISSN 1475-2999 http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=1&fid=9805188&jid=CSS&volumeId=57&issueId=03&aid=9805183 doi:10.1017/S0010417515000249 doi:10.1017/S0010417515000249 |
| spellingShingle | Taylor, Jeremy E. Republican personality cults in wartime China: contradistinction and collaboration |
| title | Republican personality cults in wartime China: contradistinction and collaboration |
| title_full | Republican personality cults in wartime China: contradistinction and collaboration |
| title_fullStr | Republican personality cults in wartime China: contradistinction and collaboration |
| title_full_unstemmed | Republican personality cults in wartime China: contradistinction and collaboration |
| title_short | Republican personality cults in wartime China: contradistinction and collaboration |
| title_sort | republican personality cults in wartime china: contradistinction and collaboration |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31388/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31388/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31388/ |