The RAS cordially invites you to take part in a special commemoration of the end of World War II. There will be a limited number of tickets available for attending the event in person at the RAS Library; the event will also be live-streamed on Zoom.

Seventy-five years ago, on August 15, 1945, the Japanese State Radio NHK broadcast a recording of a speech by the Showa Emperor, announcing that, as the war "had not necessarily gone to Japan's advantage", he would ask for an end to hostilities. Here in China, the announcement was received with utter devastation and gloom by the occupiers, and with joy and celebration by the Chinese, interned Allied civilians, and others. It was the End, not just of the eight years of brutal occupation by Tokyo but also of the one hundred years of treaty ports, extraterritoriality, and privileges Western powers grabbed for themselves in China. The events, emotions, and repercussions on that surrender day will be recounted in a live reading of first-person accounts chosen from the books housed in the Royal Asiatic Library in Shanghai.

About the speaker:

Sven A. Serrano, the current RAS Librarian, is a history teacher at Shanghai High School International Division, the former site of the Lunghwa CAC Internment Camp. A resident of Shanghai since 2008, he is a specialist in the history of Lunghwa camp and gives frequent tours of the site. He will read from a variety of sources – Chinese, European, American and Japanese – and hopes to be joined by other readers, either online or in person on this occasion.

Dress code to enter the library is business smart. Please no jeans, sneakers, T-shirts or baseball caps.