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Kumen de biaoxian (An expression of dejection)

Title: Kumen de biaoxian (An expression of dejection)
Artist: San Yuan 三源
Created: 9 March 1940
Media: cartoon
Source: Minzhong shibao
Notes:

Images of Chiang from the 1939-40 era often made use of the trope of flight, with Chiang's relocation to Chongqing (and the rumour that he was planning to flee to Hong Kong) often referenced in visual images produced by the Japanese and their allies in China. This image was reproduced in a number of pro-collaborationist newspapers in 1940, and was produced by an artist who we know little about, but whose work was particularly common in sources such as the Zhonghua Ribao - a newspaper closely associated with Wang Jingwei. It appeared just prior to Wang's 'return' to Nanjing to reform the Nationalist government under Japanese support.

Chiang (in Chongqing) is shown shouting 'Fight the Japanese to the very end' while his wife, Soong May-ling, hides behind a fan (in Hong Kong) which reads 'gouda heyi' (looking to sign a peace deal). The theme of Madame Chiang as the seductive wife to the stubborn Nationalist leader was also a common theme of much anti-Chiang propaganda.