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Manchukuo

Manchukuo[note 2] was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostensibly founded as a republic, its territory consisting of the lands seized in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria; it was later declared to be a constitutional monarchy in 1934, though very little changed in the actual functioning of government. Manchukuo received limited diplomatic recognition, mostly from states aligned with the Axis powers, with its existence widely seen as illegitimate.

This article is about the Japanese puppet state. For the geographical region, see Manchuria.

State of Manchuria
(1932–1934)
滿洲國

ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ
ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ

Empire of (Great) Manchuria
(1934–1945)
大滿洲帝國

ᡩᠠᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ
ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ

Xinjing (Changchun)
(until 9 August 1945)
Tonghua
(from 9 August 1945)

18 September 1931

1 March 1932

4 March 1933

1 March 1934

30 November 1940

9 August 1945

17 August 1945

984,195 km2 (380,000 sq mi)

State of the Manchu region

Mǎnzhōuguó

Mǎnzhōuguó

ㄇㄢˇ ㄓㄡ ㄍㄨㄛˊ

Man3-chou1-kuo2

Mǎn-jhou-guó

Mon3-jiu1-goet6

Múhn jāu gwok

Mun5 zau1 gwok3

まんしゅうこく

Manshū-koku

Manshū-koku

Mansyuu-koku

Empire of Manchuria
Manchurian Empire

Mǎnzhōu Dìguó

Mǎnzhōu Dìguó

ㄇㄢˇ ㄓㄡ ㄉㄧˋ ㄍㄨㄛˊ

Man3-chou1 Ti4-kuo2

Mǎn-jhou Dì-guó

Múhn jāu Dai gwok

Mun5 zau1 Dai3 gwok3

Great Manchurian Empire

Dà Mǎnzhōu Dìguó

Dà Mǎnzhōu Dìguó

ㄉㄚˋ ㄇㄢˇ ㄓㄡ ㄉㄧˋ ㄍㄨㄛˊ

Ta4 Man3-chou1 Ti4-kuo2

Dà Mǎn-jhou Dì-guó

Daaih Múhn jāu Dai gwok

Daai6 Mun5 zau1 Dai3 gwok3

まんしゅうていこく

マンシュウテイコク

Manshū Teikoku

Manshū Teikoku

Mansyuu Teikoku

だいまんしゅうていこく

ダイマンシュウテイコク

Dai Manshū Teikoku

Dai Manshū Teikoku

Dai Mansyuu Teikoku

The region now known as Manchuria had historically been the homeland of the Manchu people, though by the 20th century they had long since become a minority in the region, with Han Chinese constituting by far the largest ethnic group. The Manchu-led Qing dynasty, which had governed China since 17th century, was overthrown with the permanent abolition of the dynastic system in the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, with Puyi, the final emperor of China, forced to abdicate at the age of six. In 1931, Manchuria was invaded and occupied by the Empire of Japan following the Mukden incident. A puppet government was set up the following year, with Puyi brought in by the Japanese to serve as its nominal regent, though he himself had no actual political power. Japanese officials ultimately made all pertinent decisions, and exercised total control over Puyi's court and personal safety. Upon the nominal transition from republic to empire, Puyi was proclaimed as the emperor of Manchukuo.[2]


The Japanese population of Manchuria increased dramatically during this period, largely due to Japan's efforts to resettle young, land-poor farmers from the inner islands. By 1945, more than a million Japanese people had settled within Manchukuo. The region's Korean population also increased during this period. Regions in the western part of the country with large Mongolian populations were ruled under a slightly different system, reflecting the distinct traditions extant there. The southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, now the city of Dalian, continued to be ruled directly by Japan as the Kwantung Leased Territory until the end of the war.


The state was ultimately toppled at the end of World War II with the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945; its government was formally dissolved following the Japanese surrender in September.[3] The territory was transferred to Chinese administration the following year.[note 3]

History[edit]

Background[edit]

The Qing dynasty was founded in the 17th century by Manchus hailing from northeastern China, conquering the ethnically Han Shun and Ming dynasties. Upon establishing themselves, the Qing referred to their state as 中國; Zhōngguó; 'central country' in Chinese and equivalently as ᡩᡠᠯᡳᠮᠪᠠᡳ
ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ
; Dulimbai gurun in Manchu.[11][12][13] The name was used in official documents and treaties, and while conducting foreign affairs. The Qing equated the territory of their state, which among other regions included present-day Manchuria, Xinjiang, Mongolia, and Tibet, with the idea of 'China' itself, rejecting notions that only Han areas were core parts of China. The Qing thought of China as fundamentally multi-ethnic: the term 'Chinese people' referred to all the Han, Manchu and Mongol subjects within the empire; likewise, the term 'Chinese language' was used to refer to the Manchu and Mongolian languages in addition to those language varieties that descended from Old Chinese. Moreover, the Qing stated explicitly in various edicts, as well as within the Treaty of Nerchinsk, that the Manchu home provinces belonged to China.[14]


The Manchu homeland was referred to as the 三東省; Sān dōngshěng; 'three eastern provinces' during the Qing, those provinces being Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning. These regions were first delineated in 1683, but would not become actual provinces until 1907.[15] Jilin and Heilongjiang, considered primarily Manchu, were separated from Han Liaoning along the Willow Palisade, with internal movement and migration regulated by ethnicity. These policies continued until after the end of the Second Opium War in the late 19th century, when the government started to encourage massive waves of Han migration to the northeast, collectively known as the Chuang Guandong, in order to prevent the Russian Empire from seizing more of the area. In 1907, the three provinces constituting Manchuria were officially constituted, and the Viceroy of the Three Northeast Provinces position was established to govern them.

Emperor of Manchukuo

Kangde

1 March 1934

15 August 1945

(119,000 or 180,871 in 1940)

Niuzhuang

(339,000 or 1,135,801 in 1940)

Mukden

(126,000 or 544,202 in 1940)

Xinjing

(405,000 or 661,948 in 1940)

Harbin

(92,000 or 315,242 in 1940)

Andong

(119,000 or 173,624 in 1940)

Kirin

(75,000 in 1940)

Tsitsihar

: Emperor of Manchukuo (1934–1945); formerly the last Emperor of China and the Qing dynasty

Puyi

: Head of the Manchukuo Imperial Guards (1933–1945), younger brother of Puyi, and former Qing prince

Pujie

: Empress of Manchukuo (1934–1945) and Empress Consort of Puyi

Empress Wanrong

: Younger sister of Puyi and former Qing princess

Jin Yunying

: Spy for the Kwantung Army and Manchukuo and former Qing princess

Yoshiko Kawashima

: First Prime Minister of Manchukuo (1932–1935) and close advisor and tutor to Puyi

Zheng Xiaoxu

: Chairman of the Japan-Manchukuo Cultural Cooperation Society, tutor and advisor to Puyi, and Qing loyalist

Luo Zhenyu

: Second and last Prime Minister of Manchukuo (1935–1945), Foreign Minister (1937), and Minister of Defense (1932–1935)

Zhang Jinghui

: Minister of Defense (1932) and governor of Heilongjiang province (1931–1933); former Chinese general who was one of the main leaders against the Japanese during the invasion of Manchuria

Ma Zhanshan

: Imperial Household Minister and Interior Minister (1935–1945) and later Minister of Finance (1932–1935)

Xi Qia

: Governor of Liaoning province, Speaker of the Senate (1935–1945), Vice Minister for Home Affairs, and ambassador to the Reorganized National Government of China

Zang Shiyi

: Foreign Minister (1932–1935), ambassador to Japan, and Minister of Industry

Xie Jieshi

: Minister of Defense (1935–1939), commander-in-chief of the 1st Army, and Army Minister

Yu Zhishan

: Director of the Spirits and Tobacco State Monopoly, governor of Heilongjiang province, governor of Longjiang province, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Civil Affairs

Sun Qichang

: Governor of Rehe province (1934–1937)

Liu Menggeng

: Mayor of Harbin and ambassador to Japan

Bao Guancheng

: Foreign Minister (1935–1937), Industry Minister, and co-director of the Concordia Association

Zhang Yanqing

: Foreign Minister (1942–1944), Minister of Transportation, and Special Envoy to the Reorganized National Government of China

Li Shaogeng

: Chief Secretary for Liaoning province, co-founder of the Concordia Association, Foreign Minister (1944–1945), Minister of Education (1935–1937), Minister of Transportation (1940–1942), and Minister of Finance (1942–1944)

Ruan Zhenduo

: Minister of Transportation (1934–1935) and Minister of Enterprises (1935–1937)

Ding Jianxiu

: Mayor of Harbin, Governor of Harbin Special Municipality (1933–1935), Governor of Binjiang Province (1934–1935), Minister of Civil Affairs (1935–1937) (1940–1941), Minister of Enterprises (1937), Minister of Industries (1937–1940), and special envoy to the Reorganized National Government of China (1941–1944)

Lü Ronghuan

: Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal

Yuan Jinkai

: Co-founder of the East Hebei Autonomous Council

Li Yuan

: Chief of Security to the Imperial Household Department

Tong Jixu

: Governor of Rehe province (1933–1934), Commander of the Taoliao Army, Commander of the Rehe Guard Army

Zhang Haipeng

: General and commander of the National Salvation Army (A Japanese puppet force)

Li Jizhun

: Manchukuo soldier and commander, involved in the actions in Inner Mongolia (1933–1936)

Liu Guitang

: Officer in the 55th army of Rehe under Tang Yulin and commanded the 9th Cavalry brigade during the Battle of Rehe before subsequently defecting to the Japanese; later involved in the actions in Inner Mongolia

Cui Xingwu

: Head of the Khorchin Left Wing Middle Banner and a Mongol prince from Southeastern Mongolia

Yangsanjab

In popular culture[edit]

in Hergé's 1934 Tintin: The Blue Lotus, Tintin and Snowy are invited to China in the midst of the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria, where he reveals the machinations of Japanese spies and uncovers a drug-smuggling ring.


The 1944 Australia radio serial Forgotten Men was set in the country.


In Masaki Kobayashi's The Human Condition (1959), Kaji, the main protagonist, is a labor supervisor assigned to a workforce consisting of Chinese prisoners in a large mining operation in Japanese-colonized Manchuria.[181]


Bernardo Bertolucci's 1987 film The Last Emperor presented a portrait of Manchukuo through the memories of Emperor Puyi, during his days as a political prisoner in the People's Republic of China.[182]


Haruki Murakami's 1995 novel The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle deals greatly with Manchukuo through the character of Lieutenant Mamiya. Mamiya recalls, in person and in correspondence, his time as an officer in the Kwantung Army in Manchukuo. While the period covered in these recollections extends over many years, the focus is on the final year of the war and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.[183]


The 2008 South Korean western The Good, the Bad, the Weird is set in the desert wilderness of 1930s Manchuria.[184]


Michael Chabon's 2007 novel The Yiddish Policemen's Union; in this alternative 2007 Manchukuo has broken off from the rest of China and is an independent nation in its own right, and has its own Space Programme.

Manchukuo Propaganda Posters & Bills

Manchukuo Imperial Army

Manchu Money Museum

Education in Mongolia and Manchukuo

Manchukuo Flags

"On Macro-economic Statistics for Manchukuo" by Yuzo Yamamoto

Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine

"Toshiro Matsumoto s research over Manchukuo"

"Vaticano-Manchukuo no sirve de mea culpa" by Gianni Valente

"Manchukuo National Anthem"

JAPAN-MANCHOUKUO PROTOCOL

"References over Manchukuo"

Zionism and the Japanese East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

Japanese references to Mantetsu Railway Company

Mukden Incident

World War II database (1)