Homeseeking

Homeseeking takes place between 1938 and 2008. The turbulent events of the Japanese invasion of China during World War II and the Chinese Civil War shape the lives of the protagonists, Haiwen and Suchi. Following the First Opium War (1839-1842), the Nanking Treaty established the Shanghai International Settlement in Shanghai, which was a territory that shared sovereignty between the Chinese, American, and British governments. The French likewise established a concession in the city. Hong Kong was designated a British colony, which it remained as until 1997 except for four years of Japanese occupation during World War II. In 1895, the Japanese invaded Taiwan and controlled it until 1945. In 1931, the fictional Suchi and Haiwen are born in Shanghai and Hong Kong, respectively.

In 1937, during the Second Sino-Japanese War between China and Japan, some of the fiercest fighting took place in Shanghai. The Chinese National Revolutionary Army, led by General Chiang Kai-Shek, lost, and the Japanese occupied most of Shanghai. During World War II, Japan, an Axis power, continued its campaign of territorial expansion throughout the Pacific Theater. They took over all of Shanghai and, in keeping with antisemitic Axis policies, established the Shanghai Ghetto for Jewish refugees.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This prompted the United States to join the Allied forces to defend their Pacific territories. On August 6 and 9, 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Japanese cities. On August 15, the Japanese emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender, and Japanese troops withdrew from Shanghai. The United States armed forces established a presence in the city and elsewhere in China.

Following the Japanese withdrawal in 1945, the Chinese Civil War heated back up. The main factions were the communist People’s Republic of China, led by Mao Tse-Tong, and the anti-communist, US-backed Nationalist Republic of China Army, led by Chiang Kai-shek. In 1946, American Marine William Pierson raped university student Shen Chong in Beijing. He was convicted, but the charges were later overturned. This prompted anti-American sentiment and hostility toward American troops throughout China.

In 1947, the nationalist government established martial law in Taiwan during the “White Terror.” It was a repressive political regime on the island that forced men into military service. Thousands of Taiwanese people were killed for dissenting. In 1949, the communists beat the Nationalist Army for control of Shanghai. In October of that year, the communists established the People’s Republic of China on the mainland. Chiang Kai-shek and the nationalist government fled to Taiwan in the hope of consolidating power in exile. Contact between the mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan was largely severed, as Chen highlights in Homeseeking. Specifically, when the protagonists Haiwen and Suchi are sent to Taiwan and Hong Kong, respectively, they are cut off from contacting their family in mainland China, namely Shanghai.

In 1971, the United Nations recognized the communist government of the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate government of China. The nationalist government lost its legitimacy internationally. In 1972, President Richard Nixon went to China and reestablished diplomatic relations with the communist Chinese government. It became easier for those outside mainland China to contact relatives. On April 5, 1975, “Generalissimo” Chiang Kai-shek died of a heart attack in Taiwan at the age of 88. This complex history impacts the characters in Homeseeking, as political unrest and war significantly influence their lives and experiences.