[Tsingtao [Qingdao] during the Second Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945.] Ten long Autograph Letters Signed from Malcolm H. Young, English agent, to his sister Celia, describing conditions during Japanese occupation.

A good well-written correspondence, painting a good picture of the day-to-day life of an English expatriate in the occupied city. Letters are signed ‘Malcolm’ and (once) ‘Mac’. Young names himself in valedictions as Celia’s brother. He does not sign with his surname, which can however be deduced from the combination of postscripts signed ‘M H Y’; and Celia being named in the endorsement to one letter as ‘C. G. Young’. He is is presumably ‘Malcolm H. Young, agent’, who features in the Tsingtao / Hong Kong List for 1941. Several references indicate a conventionally Christian religiosity, and some connection with a church for English expatriates in the city. Ten long letters. Three from 1937 (18 January, 28 November and 10 December); seven from 1938 (13, 20 and 27 February, 6 March, 7 April, 6 May and 13 November). A total of 30pp, 4to, neatly and closely written. A little aged and worn, but in good overall condition. Two of the letters are incomplete; that of 10 December 1937 only consists of the first page; that of 13 November 1938 lacks the fourth page of five. The correspondence contains a deal of personal matter, but the extracts that follow concentrate on the political situation on the ground. Letter One (18 January 1937) puts us straight in the action: ‘I think I last wrote to you on Sunday before last, just before the Japanese came in. This took place on the Monday without incident or conflict of any kind - no one killed or injured & no shot fired. It was a tense time however all the forenoon, as it was not known what would happen. From early morning Airplanes were flying all over quite low & making an noise. It was alarming but they were only making quite sure that there were no soldiers here. They dropped a few bombs in the outskirts to frighten people - & where they thought there might be soldiers - but no harm was done. / It was a day of deliverance & thankfulness when in the afternoon they marched in quietly & took possession.’ He refers to ‘many unpleasantnesses’ as ‘a new City Govt: [is] inaugurated - this took place yesterday, just a week after the troops came in - we are glad to have the war cloud removed - that is we hope it will be - Shops have been kept close shut & the poor Chinese much frightened by their rough treatment & seizure of houses, goods & people. However they also gave employment to many coolies. Even the houses of Foreigners were not exempt from intrusion, but on the whole, as invading armies go, they have not been too bad.’ This brings us to the end of the first of the thirty pages of text. He continues the first letter with more news of the state of affairs, including: ‘We had a lot of the soldiers encamped just below here in empty summer bungalows, some of whom were a nuisance & our servants were alarmed; - they even intruded on ours and our neighbours premises, but did no harm: and on our complaining to the Consel, who took prompt action with the Japanese Military Head Quarters, were soon checked. This crowd has moved on elsewhere now, & I hope we shall have no more.’ He reports that ‘The Censors [...] are at work here in the P.O. making delay in delivery of mails’. In the second letter (November 28 1937) he reports: ‘The Japanese are advancing in the N. of the province, but rather hesitantly, - I suppose negotiations are going on. They have huge commercial interests in Shantung - especially at Tringtao, which it is to their interest to preserve. The Chinese may be using these to bargain with the enemy at our gates. It is hard to know what is happening. Meanwhile Shai is suffering terrible aftermath of war with its hungry crowds of refugees, poorly clad & with sickness among them; & still the Japanese advance & Nanking is threatened is threatened.’ He has every sympathy for ‘the Chinese who have fought so bravely’, but believes it is time to make peace, ‘since they cannot hope to win in the unequal struggle. Japan’s better trained & equipped armies carrying all before them. Locally the tension increases & the price of food & coal increases. The railway being, if not actually interrupted, so denuded of cars removed South by the Govt. that no coal trains can come from the mines.’ On 13 February 1938 he reports on ‘Work on clearing the port - blocked by departing Chinese troops with sunken ships & other obstructions - [...] while the demolition of buildings - destroyed by the Chinese - is progressing preparatory to re-building later. Whatever happens the Japanese are going to keep Tsingtao so the only thing is to make the best of things & as far as possible work with them - this for Chinese & Foreigners alike [...] I fear that the Chinese will be afraid to open up their shops much. The Japanese are opening & numbers of them returning by every steamer from Japan & Dairen. Commodities too are showing cheaper prices. Water is very short, but work is in hand for repairs & they say that after 10 days there will be improvement.’ On 6 March 1938: ‘As you surmise it is still far from plain sailing both for ourselves and the original inhabitants of these regions the Chinese. The power & authority of the new masters is everywhere felt, and we as well as the Chinese have to mind our Ps & Qs with them. The name and authority of the Occidental powers is not what it was - & they like to let us know it. [...] The Railway is not yet working fully & the harbour is still closed’. On 6 May 1938 he bemoans ‘the present disturbed state of the country, which alas shows no signs of improvement. - But what would you? - if the incomers win, peace & order follow, but naturally the people of the land oppose them in all ways with resulting chaos & danger to all. It is very sad. & fighting with heavy losses on both sides continues. [...] all along the Railways, we are told villages on both sides have been burned down. Business of all kinds is very little, except among the Japanese, who appear to be very busy & are re-building their factories & doing other business - giving employment it is true to some workmen, but as they are self-sufficient & very efficient, they have no use for Foreign help. Chinese with money have largely departed elsehwere & those remaining will not do anything this year. - The new regime have installed a very good & quick Bus service, which gives rapid & convenient transportation to & fro town’. In the last letter, 13 November 1938, he complains that ‘The days are short now, & “Tokyo” time is tiresome, but we adjust things to some extent by altering times. For instance Early Service (Holy Communion) is put at 8.30, instead of 8, which helps. We were glad to be there this morning & the church room was warmed by a welcome stove fire The first time it has been required this season. There were not so many present, [...] On Friday 11th. we went out to the Br[itish]. Cemetery, here at the Cenotaph the usual memorial service was held. It as a bitter day. A detachment from H.M.S. “Folkestone” now in port were present, many of the men being war veterans. There were also of course the United States Service Association members with their medals.’