CGTN Revisits Japan's 1932 Attack on Shanghai's Libraries

War Memory Resurfaces as Tokyo Faces Yasukuni Decision

As Japan prepares to mark the 81st anniversary of its World War II surrender on August 15, a new documentary episode from China's CGTN is drawing attention to a lesser-known but devastating chapter of the Imperial Japanese Army's aggression: the deliberate destruction of Shanghai's Commercial Press and its famed Oriental Library in 1932. The episode, titled "A Catastrophe for Cultural Heritage," was released on August 12, 2026, as part of CGTN's ongoing "Evidence of Atrocities" series. It arrives at a politically sensitive moment, with Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi facing a decision on whether to visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, a site regarded by China and South Korea as a symbol of Japan's wartime militarism. The episode focuses on the January 28 Incident, also known as the Shanghai Incident, which took place from January 28 to March 3, 1932, and is widely considered a precursor to the full-scale Second Sino-Japanese War that began in 1937.

The Commercial Press: A Pillar of Modern Chinese Culture

To understand the magnitude of the loss, one must first appreciate what the Commercial Press represented. Founded in 1897 in Shanghai, the Commercial Press is the oldest publishing institution in China. By the early 20th century, it had become a cornerstone of Chinese intellectual life, often hailed alongside Peking University as one of the "Twin Stars of Modern Chinese Culture." The press was not merely a commercial enterprise; it was a national institution that produced textbooks, scholarly works, and translations that shaped modern Chinese thought.

The Oriental Library, known in Chinese as Dongfang Tushuguan, was established in 1925 as the first publicly accessible private library in China. Located on Baoshan Road in the Zhabei district, the library was owned and run by the Commercial Press. In the 1920s, it was widely considered "the most beautiful library in the East," a designation that reflected both its architectural elegance and its scholarly significance. The library housed a collection of more than 500,000 books, including tens of thousands of rare volumes that were irreplaceable.

The destruction of this institution was not collateral damage; it was a targeted assault on Chinese cultural heritage. According to CGTN's documentary, the Imperial Japanese Army's attack in 1932 destroyed 460,000 volumes of precious historical books housed in the Oriental Library. The bombing also leveled the Commercial Press headquarters in Zhabei, along with its attached library. The loss was catastrophic in material terms and even more so in symbolic terms: it amounted to an attempt to erase the intellectual foundation of a nation.

The January 28 Incident: A Prelude to Total War

The January 28 Incident was a conflict between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, triggered by Japanese military forces invading Shanghai. The fighting lasted just over a month, but its impact was devastating. More than 10,000 shops and hundreds of factories and public buildings were destroyed, leaving the Zhabei district in ruins. The area, which was a hub of commercial and cultural activity, was reduced to rubble. The attack on the Commercial Press and the Oriental Library was part of this broader campaign of destruction.

Historians note that the January 28 Incident was a significant escalation in Japan's aggression against China. It came just months after the Mukden Incident of September 1931, which had led to the Japanese occupation of Manchuria. The Shanghai conflict demonstrated that Japan was willing to extend its military operations to China's largest and most cosmopolitan city. The destruction of cultural institutions was a deliberate strategy, intended to demoralize the Chinese population and undermine their sense of national identity. The loss of the Oriental Library's collection was not merely a statistical tragedy; it was the destruction of centuries of accumulated knowledge, including rare manuscripts, historical records, and literary works that could never be recovered.

Documentary Evidence and Historical Record

CGTN's "Evidence of Atrocities" series has been running in the run-up to the August 15 surrender anniversary, part of China's broader war-memory campaign. The series aims to provide documentary evidence of Japanese wartime atrocities, using archival footage, photographs, and expert testimony. The episode on the Commercial Press and Oriental Library is one of several that focus on cultural destruction, a theme that is often overshadowed by accounts of military casualties and territorial conquest. The figures presented are stark: the bombing destroyed the Commercial Press headquarters in Zhabei, its attached Oriental Library, and a collection of more than 500,000 books, including tens of thousands of rare books, with CGTN citing 460,000 volumes in the Oriental Library alone.

Commemoration and Memory in Contemporary Shanghai

Today, the site of the former Commercial Press and Oriental Library is marked by a monument on the grounds of a vocational school on Baoshan Road in Jing'an District, Shanghai. The monument serves as a reminder of what was lost and as a testament to the resilience of Chinese culture. It is part of a broader effort in China to preserve the memory of the war and to educate younger generations about the sacrifices of their ancestors, with the CGTN documentary using modern media to reach a global audience.

For Japanese viewers, the documentary presents a challenge. It asks them to confront a part of their national history that is often glossed over in school textbooks and popular culture. The destruction of the Commercial Press and Oriental Library was not an accident of war; it was a deliberate act of cultural vandalism. Acknowledging this fact is a necessary step toward reconciliation, but it is a step that many in Japan have been reluctant to take.

Yasukuni Shrine and the Politics of August 15

The release of the CGTN documentary comes at a particularly fraught moment in Japan-China relations. August 15, 2026, marks the 81st anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II. In Tokyo, Prime Minister Takaichi faces a decision on whether to visit Yasukuni Shrine, a Shinto shrine that honors Japan's war dead, including convicted war criminals. The shrine is regarded by China and South Korea as a symbol of Japan's wartime militarism, and any visit by a sitting prime minister is met with strong diplomatic protests.

This year, the shrine has introduced new rules banning visitors from wearing military attire ahead of the anniversary. The move is seen as an attempt to manage the optics of the visit, but it does little to address the underlying tensions. For China, the Yasukuni issue is intertwined with the broader question of how Japan remembers its imperial past. The CGTN documentary is a reminder that the wounds of that past are still fresh, and that the destruction of cultural heritage is not a distant historical event but a living grievance.

The timing of the documentary's release is clearly intended to influence the debate. By highlighting the cultural destruction wrought by the Imperial Japanese Army, CGTN is making a moral argument: that Japan has not fully atoned for its wartime actions. The series is part of China's broader war-memory campaign, which seeks to keep the history of Japanese aggression in the public eye, both domestically and internationally.

What to Watch For

As August 15 approaches, all eyes will be on Prime Minister Takaichi. Her decision on whether to visit Yasukuni Shrine will be closely watched in Beijing, Seoul, and Washington. A visit would almost certainly trigger a sharp diplomatic response from China, potentially derailing efforts to stabilize bilateral relations. Conversely, a decision to stay away could be seen as a gesture of goodwill, though it would likely face criticism from conservative factions within Japan.

The CGTN documentary series will continue to run in the coming days, with additional episodes expected to focus on other aspects of Japanese wartime atrocities. The monument on Baoshan Road stands as a quiet witness to the past: a reminder that the destruction of the Oriental Library was not just a loss for China but for humanity. Despite the destruction of its greatest library, China rebuilt and moved forward. The Commercial Press, which relocated to Beijing in 1954, continues to operate as the oldest publishing institution in the country. But the loss of those 460,000 volumes remains a scar on the cultural landscape, a reminder of what war can destroy and what memory must preserve.

By Kenji Tanaka, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: CGTN, Shanghai Daily, public historical records.