The Study Of Puppet Manchukuo's Religious Rule During The Japan-occupied Period

On September 18 1931, the Japanese colonial Kwantung Army waged an aggressive war and occupied the Northeast Provinces of China. The Puppet Manchukuo was established in 1932 and soon the Puppet government began colonial rule over Chinese peoples after the Northeast China was reduced to the status of a colony. The local religious sects were forced to yield to the need of Japanese imperialism and its obscurantist policy and were used as a ruling tool of the Puppet Government to control the local people. On the base of the analysis and study of the relevant documents, the dissertation tries to explore the religious rule over Chinese people enforced by the puppet government.The dissertation consists of the introduction, the main body and the conclusion. The introduction describes the present situation of the academic research on the religion of the Northeast China during the Japan-occupied period (1931-1945). It also briefs the research method and approach, as well as the definition of religion in the dissertation.The main body of the dissertation is composed of three parts. The first part discusses religious administrative offices that controlled the religious sects by religious regulations and activities. The offices include the brunches concerned in the Department of Education, the Department of Livelihood, the Department of Public Security etc. The second part deals with the nongovernmental religious organizations among religious systems established by the Puppet Government, with the aid of these nongovernmental religious organizations the puppet government controlled the religious activities. These include the General Headquarters of Buddhism, the General Headquarters of Taoism, General Headquarters of Islam, the Christian Association and the Mission of the Catholic Church etc. The third part is about the evaluation of the religious rule of the Puppet government on the people of the Occupied Northeast China.The concluding remarks summaries to the religious rule of the Puppet government and draws the following conclusion: the Puppet government pursued a policy of colonial Propaganda and education and obscurantism towards the religious sects in the Occupied Northeast China. It is also hoped to expose the aggressive facts of Japanese Imperialism and the untold suffering caused by the colonial rule in the Northeast China so as to refute the fallacy of Japanese Rightists who deny the aggressive war.