Figure 1.-- Food was a major attraction drawing Japan into China. Japan was not self sufficient in food and needed to import rice and other food stuffs. China across the East China Sea beckoned as a seeminly ineeaustable source of not only raw materials, but food as well. Million of Chinese peaants given lived on a razor edge of survival, producing just enough to feed themselnes. Thus any decline in production could have dire consequences for the Chinese people. The Nationalist Government did a reasonably good joib of managing food production and distribution in the immediate aftermath of the Japanese invasion. And at first the Japanese primarily occupied northern China and coastal areas around Shanghai and the major ports. As the war dragged on, however, the situation began to worsen.

Food was a major attraction drawing Japan into China. Japan was not self sufficent in food and needed to import rice and other food stuffs. China across the East China Sea beckoned as a seeminly ineeaustable source of not only raw materials, but food as well. China also offered a market for Japan's expanding industrial economy. Manchuria and Korea only wetted the Japanese appetite for acquiring sources of raw material and food. And developments in Europe meant that there were few allies that China could turn to help resist the Japanese. Food would proive to be central to the Chinese war effort. Million of Chinese peaants lived on a razor edge of survival, producing just enough to feed themselnes. Thus any decline in production could have dire consequences for the Chinese people. The Nationalist Government did a reasonably good joib of managing food production and distribution in the immeciate afytermath of the Japanese invasion. And at first the Japanese primarily occupied northern China and coastal areas around Shanghai and the major ports. As the war dragged on, however, the situation worsened. The Japanese seized more inland areas, inckuding important agricultural areas. They also seized food to feed their huge army in China. Shipments make to the Home Islands, one of the goals of invading China, however, proved disappoining. The Japanese advances in China removed sunstantial important agricultural areas from Nationalist comtrol. This mean that the Governmrnt had less food at its disposl at th same time that refugees fleeing the rapacious Japanese flooded into Nationlist areas increasing the mouths to be fed with declining harvests. The Natinalists were unable to even feed its armies properly, let alone the civilian population and refugees. The result in the last years of the war was famine and starbation. Unlike Britain, America had no way to get food into China. The Japanese had cut the Burma Road (1942). Military sypplies were flown in over the Hump, but there wa no way to get in large quantities of food, The Nationalists had to use draconian measures to seize food from the peasanyry. The Comminists did to, but wigh more circumspection. The brutality of the Nationslist Army would poroive to be a major factor in the Communist victory after the war. Some food arrived with the opening of the Ledo Road (January 1945). The quantities were, however, very limited. Only with the Japanese surrender (August 1945) and the opening of Chinese ports did American food ship,mrnts begin to reach China in quantity.

Japnese Agriculture

Food was a major attraction drawing Japan into China. Japan was not self sufficent in food and needed to import rice and other food stuffs. Japan's focus was on indistrialization. Very little attention was given to modernizing agriculture. Japan before the World War II made ome limited efforts to raise agricultural production by imprioving methods, but the miltarists who dominated the govrnment refused to considr a land reform that would transfter land tenure from landlors to the peasantry. (The pressure of the War would eventually force land reform on Japan, but it was not until after the War and American occupation that the peasantry began reaping any benefits.) In fact the posibilities of increasing domestic food production were limited. Japan is a series of highly mointaneous islands. There is a large population with limitd areas of land.

Japanese Imperial Ambitions: China

The industrializarion of the country took population off the land and no longer able to grow their own food And it made the country more dependent on food imports. Thus actully was a dngerous combination. Industrialization gve Japan military power in East Asia and at the same time made it increasingly dependent of the food and raw matetials produced by it neighbors, China and Korea. And given the militaristic tradition of Japan, the country began using its power from a very early point in the industrialization process, seizing Formosa (1894) and Korea (1909). These were, however, relatively small places Japan's growing imperial objectives. Icreasingly he Jpanese began covetubg the immense resources of China in the same way the Germans begn to look at Russia. China across the East China Sea beckoned as a seeminly ineeaustable source of not only raw materials, but food as well. China also offered a market for Japan's expanding industrial economy. Manchuria and Korea only wetted the Japanese appetite for acquireing sources of raw material and food. And developments in Europe meant that there were few allies that China could turn to help resist the Japanese.

Chinese Agriculture

Chinese agriculture has serious limitations. Both topographic and climatic features pose serious limitations to agriculture in China. The area suitable for cultivation is limited. Large areas of the country is rugged an mountanous. TheGobi Dsert cover a large ae of northwestrn China. Percipitation is limited in large ares of northern China (Manchuria). One estimate suggests that only about 10 percent of the country's total land area is suitable for agriculture. A little more than half of that area is unirrigated. The other half includes approximately equal areas of paddy and irrigated fields. Critical to Chinese agriculture had been irrigation and water managment. This was a powerful force in incouraging state develipment. The quality of the soil in cultivated regions varies substantially from region to region. The agricultural revolution and the birth of civilization occurred first in the Middle East. This occured later in China, but entirely independently. The Yellow (Hueng He) River valley Civilization began in China (about 4000 BC). This would be basis for sucessve Chinese empires. A vast area populated by diverse ethnic groups became, gradually over time became a single culture cntered on the Yellow River Valley--the Han Chinese. The Yellow stretches across China for more than 2,900 miles. It carries a rich yellow silt all the way from Mongolia to the Pacific Ocean. The Yangtze River is even longer, stretching about 3,400 miles across central China. China's two major rivers merge together to create a vast food-producing area. While the last of the four great river valley civilizations to develop, China developed the most efficient agricultural economy. And until very modern times, agriculture was the most important economic sector which supported the great bulk of the population. This was why China was such a rich society and during the medieval area a mor advaned and prosperous society than the West. Even so, environmental problems such as floods, drought, and erosion created serious threats. There was a major regional divide in China. Initially it was the north that was heavily populated. The Chinese in the densly populated north developed wheat farming. Those in the more lightly populre south developed an agriculture based on rice. Technological advances meant that Chinese agriculture was more advanced than European agriculture. Major technological imprvements were made both in ancient and medival times. Here China was aorld leader and some of the developments in China would have enormous consequnces in the west, such as the cast iron plow, but it would be centuries before the idea trabsited the Silk Road. (The primary goods carried over the Silk Road were light-weight, high valued itens.) No one carried a heavy iron plow west, but ideas did flow east and west. What did not occur ib Chin dspite ll its riches and technological advances was modernity--the idea offreedom, capitalism, idemocracy, scince and ndustrialization. As a result, China began to fall behind the West. Not only did China not industrialize in the 18-19th century like Europe. In addition, agriculture also changed little. China at the turn-of-the 20th century was still a largely agricultitral, peasant society with the great bulk of the population living on farms in the countryside. Agriculture continud to be extremly labor intensive. Much of the peasantry produced only a small suplus beyond personal consumption, but given the huge number of Chinese peasants, the agricultural surplus was sizeable as long as natural disasters or wars did not intrvene. Food would prove to be central to the Chinese war effort against the Japanese. It was one reason tht Japan wanted to control China. Million of Chinese peasants lived on a razor edge of survival, producing just enough to feed themselves. Thus any decline in production could have dire consequences for the Chinese people.

Nationalist Food Policy

The bulk of the War with Japan was carried by the Nationalists. The Nationalist Government did a reasonably good job of managing food production and distribution in the immeciate afytermath of the Japanese invasion. And at first the Japanese primarily occupied northern China and coastal areas around Shanghai and the major ports. As the war dragged on, however, the situation worsened. The Japanese seized more and more inland areas, including important agricultural areas. They also seized food to feed their huge army in China. Shipments make to the Home Islands, one of the goals of invading China proved disappoining. The Germans would have the same experience in the Soviet Union. Their occupation policies adversely affected food production. The Japanese advances in China removed substantial important agricultural areas from Nationalist control. This meant that the Governmrnt had less food at its disposl at the same time that refugees fleeing the rapacious Japanese flooded into Nationlist areas increasing the mouths thatvneeded to be fed with declining harvests. The Nationalists were unable to even feed its armies properly, let alone the civilian population and refugees. The result in the last years of the war was famine and starvation. Unlike Britain, America had no way to get food into China. The Japanese had cut the Burma Road (1942). The Americans flew in military supplies over the Hump, but not what was needed by the Chinese Army. Most od the supplies flown in over the Hump. Most of the supplies delivered were for the american air campaign in China. There wa no way to even begin to deliver by air the massive quantities of food neeed. The Nationalists had to use draconian measures to seize food from the peasantry. The Comminists did too, but were somewhat more circumspect. The brutality of the Nationalist Army in the final years of the War is believed by many to have been a major factor in the Communist victory after the war. Some food arrived with the opening of the Ledo Road (January 1945). The quantities were, however, very limited. Only with the Japanese surrender (August 1945) and the subsequent opening of Chinese ports did American food shippmrnts begin to reach China in quantity. The retreat of the Japanese Army was another factor in the final year of the War.

Sources

Collingham, Lizzie. The Taste of War: World War II and the Battle for Food (Penguin Books: New York, 1962), 634p.

Created: 4:37 AM 12/16/2014
Last updated: 12:18 PM 3/20/2017