September 18 Incident/Mukden Incident
1931
Records in Chinese
While the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (抗日战争, commonly known as the Second Sino-Japanese War in English records) was officially between 1937-1945, Japanese military actions began as early as 1931.
The September 18 Incident (九一八事变, also known as Mukden Incident) marked the start of Japanese invasion. On September 18, 1931, the Japanese Kwantung army bombed parts of the South Manchuria Railway (南满铁路). The army then proclaimed the Chinese to be responsible for the loss and launched an attack on the northern forts of China’s Northeast region. [See Note 1]
Jiang Jieshi (蒋介石, also known as Chiang Kai-shek), then the Chairman of the Republic of China, ordered soldiers to concede the territory in order to focus on fighting the CCP. As a result, the Japanese army occupied Shenyang (沈阳) the next day, and eventually took over the whole Northeast region by February 1932.
This strategy of non-resistance to invasion sparked protests, but these demonstrations were largely quelled by the Chinese Nationalist government. During the student protest in Nanjing known as the Pearl Bridge Tragedy [See Note 2] (珍珠桥惨案), for example, 30 students were killed, 100 were wounded, and 60 were arrested.
Even today, the September 18 Incident is seen as a national disgrace by the Chinese, and September 18 remains to be one of the national mourning days.
Records in English
On September 18, 1931, the Japanese Kwantung army asserted that Chinese soldiers have bombed a train passing on the South Manchurian Railway (南满铁路).
Some records in English state that the bombing was done by the Japanese and the Chinese were framed, while others did not mention which party sabotaged the railway. The train arrived at its destination and the railway suffered little harm. However, the Japanese still quickly captured Shenyang (沈阳, known as Mukden back then, and hence the event is known as the Mukden Incident in English records) and the whole Northeast region of China.
Analysis on Differences
Both Chinese and English records have the same basic facts: the Japanese proclaim the Chinese to have bombed a railroad, launched attacks on Chinese territory, and eventually occupied all of Northeastern China. However, records in English lean more to the Japanese than records in Chinese.
For example, immediately after a brief explanation of the event, Britannica also states that Tokyo was not in control of the Kwantung army by 1931, and that later attacks on the civilian government by military officers pushed the Japanese government to be more aggressive. These less relevant details about the incident could lead one to question whether the Japanese intended on committing the bombing atrocities. Based on the later Japanese invasion and the fact that Japan’s plan for the Northeastern region of China in June 1931 is to take military action, it is largely certain that the September 18/Mukden Incident is not an accident unintended by the Japanese government. Therefore, when it comes to the intention of the Japanese occupation of Northeastern China, minimization of the severity of Japanese military occupation in certain English sources is best not to be trusted.