Japanese studies on the political history of the Republic of China 1928-1949

Major Japanese studies on the history of modern China until the end of the 1960s had been based on the presupposition of viewing the Chinese revolution of 1949, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which led it, in a positive light. However, after the Cultural Revolution many scholars began to reconsider this viewpoint. Therefore, most Japanese sholars have also revised their assessment of the history of the CCP. Furthermore, the National Government, the Nationalist Party (i.e. the Guomindang) and the democratic parties (民主党派) had also come to arouse scholars' interest too. This new trend in research has become known as "The History of the Republic of China 1912-1949" and its fundamental theme has been the building of a nation state in China. Why does this essay discuss articles written in 1928 or later? This is because the Northern Expedition (北伐) was almost entirely over by 1928, and from this year onwards China began its full-scale state building program. This essay surveys research trends regarding the latter half of the Republic of China (i.e. 1928-1949). The author discusses the following three points: 1. What is the theoretical framework of Japanese studies? What have the results of Japanese studies been? and 3. What problems remain unsolved