Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book shows how World War II has been depicted in information sources available to young people, and what is the quality of that information in term of an accurate and balanced reflection of the history. It extends the national and cultural scope of its inquiry to America, which played a powerful role during the second Sino-Japanese War as China's military ally and during the Cold War by putting Japan under aegis. The book describes the birth and development of youth-oriented trade publications in modern China, and highlights the extended period of cross-age cultural consumption of popular illustrated story books by young readers and by the vast number of adults in a country of low literacy rate. It presents a case study of private family narratives as a potential information source.