Race the Rising Sun

A Chinese University's Exodus during the Second World War

By (author) Chiao-Min Hsieh, Jean Kan Hsieh

Not available to order

Publication date:

16 May 2009

Length of book:

214 pages

Publisher

Hamilton Books

ISBN-13: 9780761842682

This book is about Zhejiang University, one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China, which was forced to evacuate from the Hangzhou when the Japanese arrived in 1937 and began torturing civilians, raping women, bombing towns, burning farms, and destroying factories, homes, schools, and libraries. The faculty, staff, and students fled to a succession of towns where they sought refuge from the war and set up temporary classrooms to continue with their educational mission. This exodus lasted eight years and spanned over a thousand miles. They faced constant fear and worry due to malnutrition, disease, abject poverty, and enemy air strikes. But with the resilience and spirit of its faculty and students, the University survived to help revitalize a devastated nation.
During China's Anti-Japanese War between 1937 and 1945, the arduous movement of government, universities, and other institutions from coastal areas to safer inland redoubts is a tale not only of hardship but also of courage, devotion, fortitude, and patriotism. In this book, Chiao-min Hsieh and Jean Kan Hsieh, as participants in this great trek, have successfully given voice to many fellow students and professors as well as folks encountered on their travels...This is a compelling story told with clarity,honesty, and insight, as well as occasional humor...