Acknowledgments

On a bright June day in 2017, I sat in the Shanghai Municipal Archives on the Bund, immersed in historical documents glowing on a computer screen. The room was still, save for the hum of the air-conditioning, when the iconic melody of “The East Is Red” suddenly echoed outside. The chime, emanating from the nearby Customs House clock – the Chinese Big Ben – rang out every fifteen minutes with deliberate, resonant notes. I looked up and turned to the towering windows. Below, the Huangpu River shimmered under the summer sun, while across the water, Pudong’s futuristic skyline rose, its glass towers cutting into the sky. The melody lingered, reverberating through the air, and I felt a parallel universe unfold – a merging of opposites: the extraordinary and the mundane, foreign imperialism and daily life, war and peace, remembering and forgetting. It was as if China’s history, with all its triumphs and tribulations, floated on the air with every note. The spell was broken by the footsteps of patrolling staff, pulling me back to reality. I sat quietly, reflecting on humanity’s enduring quest for survival and connection and the layers of historical amnesia.

This project has been made possible by the generosity and support of many individuals and institutions. My initial archival trip to China was supported by a scholar grant from the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, Western Kentucky University’s sabbatical leave program, a residential fellowship from the International Center for Studies of Chinese Civilization at Fudan University, and a visiting fellowship at the Xueheng Institute at Nanjing University. I am also deeply grateful for a one-year fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities (USA), grants from the Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme and General Research Fund provided by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, as well as direct grants and faculty research grants from Lingnan University. My sincere thanks go to the reviewers of these grants for their support and thoughtful feedback.

I have had the privilege of presenting this research at numerous conferences and venues around the world. I am indebted to Chang Li, Janet Chen, Jian Chen, Hu Cheng, Louise Edwards, Jin Guangyao, Li Gongzhong, Ma Jianbiao, Mei Jianjun, Niu Dayong, Sun Jiang, Hans van der Ven, Jeff Wasserstrom, Wen-hsin Yeh, Yang Yuqing, Zhang Ke, Zuo Chengying, and Zuo Shuangwen for sharing materials, research, and wisdom with me. I am especially grateful to Zach Fredman and Judd Kinzley for organizing two workshops on Sino-American relations at the grassroots, as well as to other participants, including Mary Brazelton, Covell Meyskens, Jack Neubauer, Ke Ren, Linh Vu, Zhiguo Yang, and Yanqiu Zheng, whose insights enriched this project. I also learned a great deal from the Warfare in Modern China Revisited workshop at Academia Sinica, organized by Kwong Chi Man and Su Sheng-hsiung.

Several colleagues have graciously read various portions of the book or provided feedback on grant proposals, including David Cheng Chang, Ian Chong, Mark Hampton, Tony Harkins, Yunte Huang, Chin Jou, Diana Lemberg, Ji Li, Aaron Moore, Shellen Wu, Zhiyi Yang, and Ying Zhang. Thoughtful comments from two anonymous reviewers for Cambridge University Press helped me refine the book’s focus. My former advisors, Ben Elman, Sue Naquin, David Howell, and Liu Houbin, continue to offer guidance and encouragement despite the passage of time and distance. I am truly grateful to all of them for their wisdom, generosity, and support.

Long-standing friendships have been a source of strength and joy throughout the years this book took shape. I am grateful to Huaiyu Chen, Liang Cai, Miao Feng, Min Ye, Enhua Zhang, and Yinghong Cheng for their unwavering support and camaraderie. In Hong Kong, I have had the privilege of learning from many remarkable colleagues, including Grace Chou, Haoming Gong, Peter Hamilton, C. P. Lau, Zhang Lei, Vincent Leung, Youjia Li, Carmen Tsui, Yuanfei Wang, Guoqi Xu, Bin Yang, and Emilie Yeh. I am also fortunate to be part of several nurturing and empowering intellectual and social communities in Hong Kong. My warm thanks go to Lang Chen, Tingting Chen, Agatha and Jonathan Fong, Janet Ho, Xiao Hu, Loretta Kim, Connie Lam, Donghui Li, Yu-Chieh Li, Pei-Yin Lin, Jianmei Liu, Jia Tan, Denise Tang, Yan Wei, Shengqing Wu, Zeying Wu, Catherine Yau, Minlei Ye, Yang Zhan, Lawrence Zhang, and Feifei Zhou. Their friendship, intellectual companionship, and emotional support have made this journey all the more meaningful.

My editors at Cambridge University Press, Lucy Rhymer and Rosa Martin, have been exceptional throughout the publication process, bringing professionalism and care that made this experience smooth. Connor Au-Yeung, Wenkuo Ma, Tiffany Yung, Jiahui Dong, and Nianhong Qiu provided invaluable research assistance. Xu Jianing kindly shared an American Navy photo from his collection. Special thanks go to Ann, Vincy, and Alston at the Department of History office, whose warmth and kindness made my transition to Lingnan University seamless and the campus truly feel like home. I also thank Miriam for her indispensable help, which gave me the time and flexibility to work late and travel for conferences and research trips.

This project would not have been possible without the generous assistance of archivists and staff at numerous institutions. I am deeply grateful to those at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland; the Marine Corps History Division in Quantico, Virginia; California State University, Northridge; the Hoover Institution Library & Archives at Stanford University; the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University; the Needham Research Institute at the University of Cambridge; Academia Historica and the Archives of the Institute of Modern History at Academia Sinica in Taipei; as well as the municipal archives in Beijing, Chongqing, Nanjing, Qingdao, Shanghai, and Tianjin. I also thank Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press for permission to include revised versions of my previously published articles: “Jeep Girls and American GIs: Gendered Nationalism in Post–World War II China,” Journal of Asian Studies 81, no. 2 (2022): 341–363, and “Occupational Hazard: American Servicemen’s Sensory Encounters with China, 1945–1949,” Diplomatic History 47, no. 1 (2023): 55–84.

Looking back, I feel fortunate to have begun this project at a serendipitous time, before the Covid-19 pandemic, the tightening of archival access in China, and the devastating federal funding cuts to American archives and institutions. Now, as the book reaches completion in 2025, the eightieth anniversary of the end of World War II, we find ourselves at another major crossroads in Sino-American relations and world geopolitics, facing an uncertain future.

Seven years have passed since I moved from Kentucky to Hong Kong, where this book came together. As I navigated new personal and intellectual terrain during this journey, the Du, Shi, and Powell families were my most steadfast support, enduring my exhaustion, frustration, and absences with patience and love. To them, I owe my deepest gratitude. Finally, I dedicate this book to Lincoln 長天, with the hope that he will embrace the motto Semper Fidelis and strive to make a meaningful difference in writing the next page of our shared history.