Abstract
At the peak of the US military presence, over 100,000 US servicemen were stationed in post-World War II China for various missions, including accepting Japanese surrenders, repatriating Japanese soldiers and civilians, transporting half a million Nationalist troops to north and central China, and training the Chinese military. This large-scale military presence creating grass-roots interactions that were unprecedented in Sino-US history. Soon after their arrival, GIs launched victory marches on city streets, engaged in hunting trips during which they trampled the sanctity of the Imperial Palace in Beijing and Sun Yat-sen mausoleum in Nanjing, fenced off land to construct airports and military compounds, converted space for American entertainment sites and spectator sports, and affected local economies, including restaurants, brothels, dance halls, and rickshaws, as well as the black market. In addition to material goods, Americana troops brought with them cultural commodities such as dating practices. It is safe to say that the US military presence transformed the physical and mental geography of postwar China.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Uneasy Allies : Sino-American Relations at the Grassroots, 1937-1949 |
| Editors | Zach FREDMAN, Judd KINZLEY |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Chapter | 13 |
| Pages | 235-253 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781009534956 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781009534949 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 19 Dec 2024 |