Mainland ChinaGeopolitical term for China without Hong Kong, Macau, TaiwanAlternative Chinese nameSimplified Chinese中国内地Traditional Chinese中國內地Literal meaningInland ChinaMainland Area of the Republic of ChinaSimplified Chinese中华民国大陆地区Traditional Chinese中華民國大陸地區"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War.
TaiwanTaiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south.
Chinese languageChinese (spoken: simplified Chinese: 汉语; traditional Chinese: 漢語; pinyin: Hànyǔ, written: 中文; Zhōngwén) is a collection of language varieties containing almost all Sinitic languages except Macro-Bai languages, natively spoken by the Han Chinese and some ethnic minorities in Greater China, as well as by communities of the overseas Chinese.
ChongqingMunicipality in Southwestern ChinaMunicipality in ChinaChongqing is a provincial-level direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. It is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of China and the only one located inland. The municipality covers a large geographical area roughly the size of Austria, which includes several disjunct urban areas in addition to Chongqing proper.
KuomintangPolitical party in the Republic of ChinaAbbreviationTraditional Chinese國民黨Simplified Chinese国民党Literal meaningNationals' PartyThe Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the sole ruling party of Mainland Chinafrom 1928 to 1949 until its relocation to Taiwan, and in Taiwan ruled under martial law until 1987.NanjingNanjing is the capital of Jiangsu, East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of 6,600 square kilometres (2,500 sq mi), and as of 2021 a population of 9,423,400.Imperial Japanese Armed ForcesThe Imperial Japanese Armed Forces (IJAF, full Japanese: 帝国陸海軍, romanized: Teikoku riku-kaigun or Nippon-gun (日本軍) for short, meaning "Japanese Forces") were the unified forces of the Empire of Japan.
HankouHankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (simplified Chinese: 汉口; traditional Chinese: 漢口; pinyin: Hànkǒu), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers where the Han flows into the Yangtze.HubeiHubei is a province in Central China. It has the seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland provinces. Its provincial capital at Wuhan serves as a major political, cultural, and economic hub for the region. Hubei is associated with the historical state of E that existed during the Western Zhou dynasty (c. 1045 – 771 BC). Its name means 'north of the lake', referring to Dongting Lake.
Wang Jingwei regimeThe Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China (RNG), commonly known as the Wang Jingwei regime, was a collaborationist government with the Empire of Japan that administered Japanese-occupied China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In late 1938, Wang Jingwei, then second in the leadership of the Republic of China (ROC) after Chiang Kai-shek, departed the wartime capital Chongqing for Hanoi to call for a negotiated peace with Japan.
Second Sino-Japanese War1937–1945 conflict in East AsiaBelligerentsChinaKuomintangCommunist Party of ChinaSoviet Volunteer GroupAmerican Volunteer GroupUnited StatesChina Burma India theaterJapanManchukuoWang Jingwei regimeMengjiangNorth China Political CouncilCommanders and leadersKMT:Chiang Kai-shekHe YingqinChen ChengBai ChongxiCheng QianXu YongchangCPC:Mao ZedongZhu DeYe TingChen YiS.E.A.C.:Lord MountbattenJoseph StilwellSun Li-jenLiao YaoxiangImperial General HQ:HirohitoKan'in KotohitoHajime SugiyamaHideki TojoYoshijirō UmezuNorth China Area Army:Hisaichi TerauchiHayao TadaCentral China Area Army:Iwane MatsuiOtozō Yamada:Shunroku HataToshizō NishioYasuji OkamuraUnits involvedSee combatantsStrength 16 million+ totalNationalists1.7 million (1937)2.6 million (1939)5.7 million (1945)Communists640,000 (1937)166,700 (1938)488,744 (1940)1.2 million (1945) 4.1 million totalJapan600,000 (1937)1,015,000 (1939)1,124,900 (1945) (excluding Manchuria and Burma campaign)Puppet states900,000–1,006,086 (1945)Casualties and lossesOfficial Nationalist data1,319,958 killed1,761,335 wounded130,116 missing3,211,409 total casualtiesWestern Estimate2,000,000+ killedCommunist data160,603–161,067 killed285,669–290,467 wounded87,208 missing45,989 POWs446,736 to 584,267 total casualtiesTotal3.85 million casualties1 million+ captured266,800–1,000,000 POWs deadJapanese medical data455,700–700,000 military dead900,000 wounded22,293+ captured1.5~ million total casualtiesPuppet state forces288,140–574,560 dead742,000 woundedMiddle estimate: 960,000 dead and woundedTotal2.4–3.0 million casualties 12,000,000+ civilian deaths14,000,000–22,000,000 total deaths 35,000,000 total Chinese casualties (Chinese claim)^From December 1941.^Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek was the Supreme Allied Commander in the China Theater, meaning U.S. forces technically fell under his overall command.
PinyinScheme for the Chinese Phonetic AlphabetSimplified ChineseTraditional ChineseLiteral meaningscheme of spelled Han language sounds This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see .*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.