A map of iron ore, sulfur and coal distribution in northern
China drawn and published by Japanese troops was recently
discovered in Changzhou, Jiangsu
Province.
The map, titled Resource Map of Iron Ore, Sulfur and Coal in
North Zhina (a derogatory term of China used by Japanese), was
drawn to a scale of 1:2 000 000 and can be folded into the size of
a 32mo (a measurement of book size) book. In short, it is portable.
It was published in March 1940 by a Japanese press in south
Manchuria.
The map covers areas including Manchukuo (a puppet regime
created in China's northeastern provinces by the Japanese
imperialists in 1931), the Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, Shanxi,
Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong provinces, and the northern parts of Anhui
and Jiangsu provinces.
It marks and numbers iron ore, sulfur and coal deposits in
Chinese and Japanese.
Besides marking the distribution, the map classifies resources
into different categories. For example, iron ore is categorized
into phospho-iron ores, pyrites and ferromanganese ores -- or
Zunhua Ore, Datong Ore and Qingdao Ore depending on the production
area.
Transportation networks linking production areas to counties and
villages are also detailed.
During the Japanese invasion, almost every Japanese officer had
such a map for reference, which suggests that the main reason why
the Japanese invaded China was to pillage and plunder China's rich
resources.
Japan needed lots of iron, sulfur and coal to make weapons and
ammunition to support its invasion, but was limited by its own
shortage of natural resources.
According to some experts, Japan had been planning to invade
China for its resources for many years. Before the Sino-Japanese
War of 1894-95, a Japanese spy stole military secrets and drew maps
of navy ports in Lvshun (now Dalian) and Weihai.
The spy collected detailed data relating to geography and
natural resource distribution under the pretext of sightseeing and
studying.
After several decades of preparation, Japan finally launched a
full-scale invasion in 1937.
(China.org.cn by Li Shen August 18, 2005)