A Study of Chinese Children’s Rhymes about the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression

Abstract

Children’s rhymes related to political affairs have a long history in China. Between 1931 and 1945, facing Japanese invasion, Chinese children’s rhymes about the War of Resistance against Japan developed across various regions of China. These rhymes works were rich in content, directly confronting the details of war, presenting the cruel reality of war to children, and serving as important tools for disseminating ideologies such as patriotism and nationalism. In these children’s rhymes, children were viewed both as objects of education and as anticipated potential forces for national salvation. However, these rhymes should not be simply regarded as political propaganda slogans but should be valued as a special type of children’s literature from a special historical period. Through rhythm, rhetoric, and other means, these children’s rhymes provided children with precious entertainment content during wartime in the form of ‘new wine in old bottles’, that is, the form of children’s rhymes and the content of the war. Children’s active participation in creation further demonstrated their agency during wartime. Similar propaganda methods and children’s experience can also be observed in Allied nations such as Britain and the United States, as well as Axis powers represented by Japan during World War II. This thesis, focusing on children’s rhymes, helps people understand multiple aspects, including how children’s literature transmits war and trauma narratives, how it carries children’s experiences of wars and their needs of entertainment, and how it establishes collective national memory.