Chiang’s China

The resurrection of the Chinese Civil War in the months following ‘peace’ in the Pacific.

Once Japan’s plans for surrender were known in August of 1945, it was a race to acquire and hold as much territory as possible in China. Mao’s Communist forces were supported by the Soviets (who recently invaded Manchuria), primarily in terms of captured Japanese weaponry. To offset this threat, Americans assisted with the airlift and amphibious deployment of Kuomintang troops to key cities and strategic points across the country. Much of the countryside had already been occupied by the Communist forces. The various units and their respective areas of influence are shown within this eye-catching image.

The map was designed by Robert M. Chapin, Jr. and published as a supplement for the October 22, 1945 issue of TIME Magazine. Chapin was a professionally trained architect who found jobs to be in low demand during the Great Depression. He took a job in the photo department at Newsweek in 1933, where he apparently picked up a knack for cartographic design. By 1937, he was hired by Time (a rival of Newsweek) as the head of the cartography department, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1970.

During his long tenure at Time, Chapin’s prolific output helped establish a pattern for 20th-century newsroom cartography. The use of bold colors, uncluttered design, and legible typography was immensely popular, and the maps were reprinted for distribution in classrooms and public spaces throughout the country. Despite their widespread appeal, the maps are uncommon on the market and often overlooked in institutional collections. This version is listed in only three examples in WorldCat as of May 2024, at Franklin & Marshall College, the Library of Congress, and University of Chicago. OCLC# 228067165.