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Keywords

Wuhan , Nanjing , Chongqing

Untitled

Title: Untitled
Artist: Unknown
Created: c. 1939
Media: leaflet (ink on paper)
Source: National Institute of Defense Studies, Tokyo
Notes:

The trope of flight has long been a common theme in anti-Chiang propaganda. In this Japanese military-produced leaflet which was clearly aimed at Chinese soldiers and was perhaps air dropped, Chiang's relocation to Wuhan and later Chongqing in the face of the Japanese invasion of China is lampooned. The text reads: 'Chiang Kai-shek and important members of the government stir up soldiers by saying that they will fight the Japanese to the very end, but when danger arrives they are the fastest to flee'.

While the image of Chiang here is certainly comic, it is not as vitriolic as many earlier images of Chiang produced during the first months and years of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Of note is the neatness of Chiang's uniform and the relative completeness of his body.

Note the similarities between this image and PRC propaganda.