The Map of National Shame (simplified Chinese: 国耻地图; traditional Chinese: 國恥地圖; Japanese: 国恥地図) is a map created around 1930 by the Nationalist government of the Republic of China, depicting territories that China was perceived to have lost control or influence over to the Western powers and Japan.

An example of the "Map of National Shame": the 1933 "New National Map for Elementary School Use" by the World Geographical Society

Overview

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This map was used in geography textbooks for elementary schools, published in 1933 by the World Geography Society in Shanghai, and it portrayed territories that China taught as having lost. These included the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, Taiwan (then under Japanese rule), the Pratas Island, Palawan in the Philippines, the Indochinese Peninsula, the northern part of Borneo (present-day Malaysia), Brunei, the Malay Peninsula (including modern Malaysia and Singapore), the Andaman Islands of India, Sakhalin, and other territories.[1]

The total area of these territories are double the present land area of the People's Republic of China.[1]

According to Professor Yusuke Anami [ja] of Tohoku University, although the territorial scope may differ, the elites in modern China hold similar historical views.[2] In other words, what Japan and Western countries refer to as Chinese attempts to "change the status quo by force" is seen in China as the "recovery of lost lands".[2]

Discussion by the U.S. military

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It was revealed that instructors at the U.S. military's reconnaissance and intelligence officer training institution at Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas have been using this map as a basis for "discussion".[3] According to Professor Tomohide Murai of Tokyo International University, the U.S. Air Force may have examined the concern that "the People's Liberation Army of China is accelerating its actions under the banner of 'recovering lost territories'".[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "中国が考える本当の領土?「国恥地図」実物を入手". 東洋経済オンライン. 2021-10-18. Retrieved 2022-01-06. "What does China really think its territory is?" We have obtained the actual "Map of National Shame". Toyo Keizai Online, Tan Romi [ja]
  2. ^ a b TBS NEWS DIG Powered by JNN (2022-06-03). 「ウクライナ侵攻と重なる? "国恥地図"に覗く中国の領土への野心」【6月3日㈮ #報道1930】. Retrieved 2024-10-21 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ a b "90年前の「中国国恥地図」、米軍が利用 「失地回復」掲げる膨張主義を警戒". 産経新聞. 2021-12-06. Retrieved 2022-01-06. 90-year-old “China's national shame map” is used by the U.S. military to warn against expansionism with the goal of “recovering lost ground. Sankei