NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Empire of the Sun

Empire of the Sun is a 1984 novel by J. G. Ballard. Though it is essentially fiction, it draws extensively on Ballard's experiences in World War II, recounting the story of a young English boy, Jim Graham, who is living with his parents in Shanghai just before its capture by the Japanese. The novel was developed from an earlier short story, "The Dead Time", published in the anthology Myths of the Near Future. Ballard later wrote a sequel to the book, called The Kindness of Women. J.G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (born November 15, 1930 in Shanghai) is a British writer. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... It has been suggested that Semi-autobiographical novel be merged into this article or section. ... A war novel is a novel in which the primary action takes place in a field of armed combat, or in a domestic setting (or home front) where the characters are preoccupied with the preparations for, or recovery from, war. ... Gollancz is a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century. ... A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) book is bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth or heavy paper) and a stitched spine. ... Paperback may refer to a kind of book binding by which papers are simply folded without cloth or leather and bound - usually with glue rather than stitches or staples - into a thick paper cover; or to a book with this type of binding. ... Image File history File links Empire_of_the_Sun. ... Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE (born December 18, 1946) is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director and producer. ... Producer Kathleen Kennedy Kathleen Kennedy (b. ... Frank Marshall (born September 13, 1946) is an American movie producer and director, often working in collaboration with Kathleen Kennedy. ... Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE (born December 18, 1946) is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director and producer. ... J.G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (born November 15, 1930 in Shanghai) is a British writer. ... Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE (born TomÃ¡Å¡ Straussler on 3 July 1937) is a British playwright. ... Christian Charles Philip Bale (also known professionally as Christian Morgan Bale; born January 30, 1974) is an English[1] actor. ... John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, producer and director. ... Miranda Richardson as Queenie in Blackadder II (1986) Miranda Richardson (born 3 March 1958, in Southport, Merseyside) is an English actress, noted for her distinctive ability to deeply delve into the minds of the characters she plays. ... Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1949), styled The Hon. ... Williams conducting the London Symphony Orchestra during the recording of the score for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. ... Allen Daviau (born June 14, 1942 in New Orleans) is an American cinematographer. ... Michael Kahn (born in New York, December 8, 1935) is a widely recognized film editor, whether from his work on Hogans Heroes or feature films directed by Steven Spielberg, having won the Academy Award for Film Editing in 1998 (Saving Private Ryan), 1993 (Schindlers List) and 1981 (Raiders... Warner Bros. ... December 9 is the 343rd day (344th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Mandarin, or Beifanghua (Chinese: åŒ—æ–¹è©±; Pinyin: BÄ›ifÄnghuÃ ; literally Northern Dialect(s)), or Guanhua (Traditional Chinese: å®˜è©±; Simplified Chinese: å®˜è¯; Pinyin: GuÄnhuÃ ; literally official speech) is a category of related Chinese dialects spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. ... now. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... J.G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (born November 15, 1930 in Shanghai) is a British writer. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Shanghai (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Shanghainese: ), stuated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta in East China, is the largest city of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Myths of the Near Future, a short-story collection by J. G. Ballard, contains the following stories: Myths of the Near Future Having a Wonderful Time A Host of Furious Fancies Zodiac 2000 News from the Sun Theatre of War The Dead Time The Smile Motel Architecture The Intensive Care... The Kindness of Women is a novel by J.G. Ballard. ...

Plot summary

In Shanghai, China, 1941, on the eve of the Japanese invasion of the foreign quarters of Shanghai (the city itself fell in December 1937), a young boy, Jim “Jamie” Graham, lives a privileged life. His father is a rich British businessman who owns a large house on the outskirts of Shanghai. Jamie attends an exclusive prep school where he sings lead in the choir and is generally sheltered from the Chinese culture and people that surround him daily. Jamie is also rude to the servants his father employs in their house. Shanghai (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Shanghainese: ), stuated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta in East China, is the largest city of the Peoples Republic of China. ... This article is about the year. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Jamie, his mother and his father all attend a costume ball at the estate of friends. While playing with a toy glider, Jamie, who is particularly fascinated with aircraft, encounters a unit of Japanese soldiers near the estate. Jamie comments that the soldiers all appear to be “waiting for something to happen.” The “something” they await is the attack on Pearl Harbor. Combatants United States Empire of Japan Commanders Husband Kimmel (USN), Walter Short (USA) Chuichi Nagumo (IJN) Strength 8 battleships, 8 cruisers, 29 destroyers, 9 submarines, ~50 other ships, ~390 planes 6 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, 3 cruisers, 9 destroyers, 8 tankers, 23 fleet submarines, 5 midget submarines, 441 planes Casualties...

The invasion of Shanghai occurs within a few days of the party, while Jamie’s father has his family housed in a downtown hotel. The evacuation of the city begins immediately. Forced from their limousine, the Graham family find themselves crushed in amongst the crowds fleeing the Japanese Army. Jamie and his mother are forcibly separated from his father and within moments Jamie and his mother are forced apart by the crowds. His mother yells for him to run home as she is carried away.

Jamie walks home and finds his house deserted. There is also a sign on the front door stating that the house is property of the Emperor of Japan. He also discovers signs of a struggle in his mother’s room. Jamie also finds two of his parent’s servants taking furniture from the house. Asking what they are doing, he is astonished when one of them does not answer but instead slaps him with impunity. His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Akihito. ...

Jamie lives in the house for an undetermined length of time, waiting his parent’s return. After what must be several days (indicated by the dropping level of water in the swimming pool) he ventures into Shanghai to find it occupied by the Japanese. Wishing to surrender to a group of soldiers for some food, he is laughed at. He is chased through the city’s back alleys by an orphaned Chinese boy trying to loot him for his clothes. As he tries to escape, he is nearly run over by a truck driven by an American, Frank. Frank takes Jamie to his partner, Basie, a self-centered American hiding out in an abandoned freighter in the harbor. He deftly steals several of Jamie’s personal belongings and assumes that the boy’s parents were captured with the other British who were unable to flee Shanghai. Basie gives Jamie a new nickname, “Jim.”

Basie and Frank try to rid themselves of Jim, offering to sell him to a Chinese man who would use him for manual labor. When Basie and Frank decide to abandon Jim to the streets, Jim tells them that he’ll show them houses in his former neighborhood with the promise of “rich pickings.” They travel to Jim’s old house and are captured by the Japanese who are now living there. The trio are placed in a temporary detention center where living conditions are horrible. Food is scarce, the dead are rarely removed, and stealing is the only way to survive. After a few days, a selection takes place; those who are chosen will be sent to an internment camp outside Shanghai. Basie is selected but Jim is not. Jim pleads with Basie to take him along but Basie ignores him. Jim’s tenacity pays off; he is able to convince the Japanese sergeant and the truck driver, who are seen arguing over a map, that he knows the location of the camp. He is allowed to guide the driver to the Soochow Creek Internment Camp. Suzhou Creek (Chinese: è‹å·žæ²³; Pinyin: SÅ«zhÅu HÃ©; Wade-Giles: Su-chou-ho; literally Suzhou River) is a river in China that passes through the Shanghai city centre. ...

The passengers arrive at the Soochow Creek and are quickly put to work constructing a runway for the Japanese airforce. Jim wanders away from the group and finds several Japanese Zeros. Overcome by his lifelong dream to be a pilot, Jim touches one of the planes, and is quickly noticed by a Japanese guard. The soldier shouts at Jim in Japanese, and is about to shoot when three Japanese pilots approach and see Jim. He turns around and solemnly salutes them, after which they return the salute, saving him from the soldier. Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero Model 21 on the flight deck of carrier Shokaku , 26 October 1942, Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a light-weight carrier-based fighter aircraft employed by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. ...

The story then jumps ahead to 1945, a few months before the end of World War II. Jim is now about 13 or 14 years old and has eked out a good living, despite the poor conditions of the camp. He has an extensive trading network, involving even the camp’s commanding officer, Sergeant Nagata. He is being schooled by the camp’s British doctor, Rawlins, who has a difficult time teaching Jim humility. Rawlins has Jim help him with a dying patient; Jim administers CPR (which was not in practice until the 1950s, this is possibly a deliberate error in the film) and the patient shows signs of life despite having obviously died. Jim is overly excited at his prowess and frantically continues CPR despite the patient’s passing. For other meanings of CPR, see CPR (disambiguation). ...

Jim visits Basie daily in the American men’s section of the camp. The Americans have a broad appeal for Jim; their lifestyle is considerably more relaxed and obviously more fun than their dull British counterparts. Jim’s goal is to impress Basie enough so that he can move into the American men’s barracks.

Jim later rescues Dr. Rawlins from the wrath of Sgt. Nagata, who beats the doctor for defiance. As the doctor lies bleeding on the porch of the camp hospital, Jim delivers an obeisance and a humble speech to the sergeant, who stops the beating and storms off. As a reward, the doctor gives Jim a pair of cleats that belonged to a deceased patient. Cleats are fittings on ships and boats that ropes are tied to; they are often shaped like horns, although other types exist. ...

Jim gets his chance to impress Basie when Basie charges him with setting snare traps outside the wire of the camp to catch wild pheasants that Basie claims have been roosting there. Jim creeps into the marsh undetected, but the golf shoes he left behind are discovered by a Japanese guard, who tromps into the marsh to find the owner. Just as the guard is about to find Jim, he is distracted by a Japanese boy from the air base on the other side of the wire, whom Jim has “befriended” despite their separation. Jim is able to escape undetected, and for having set the pheasant traps is allowed to move into the American barracks next to Basie. He is also given Frank’s bed (despite Frank's objections).

In the meantime, Basie has been plotting to escape the camp. Though not explicitly revealed, Basie’s reason for sending Jim into the marsh was to test the area for mines. While they use a makeshift compass to plot direction, Nagata unexpectedly visits Basie’s corner of the barracks. He becomes enraged when he finds a bar of soap that was discreetly stolen by Jim earlier. He severely beats Basie, enough to send him to the infirmary. While being beaten, Basie had charged Jim with watching his possessions. Jim proves to be an inadequate protector and Basie’s things are stolen by the other men in his barracks. Jim leaves the American barracks in shame.

One morning at dawn, Jim witnesses a kamikaze ritual of three Japanese pilots at the air base. Overcome with emotion at the solemnity of the ceremony, he begins to sing the same Welsh hymn he sang as a choir boy in the (Anglican) Cathedral School in Shanghai. As the pilots take off on their suicide mission, the base is attacked by a wing of P-51 Mustangs. Jim runs to the roof of a building and cheers them on. The base is heavily damaged in a matter of minutes, Dr. Rawlins finds Jim on the roof and brings Jim back to reality by telling him “not to think so much.” Navy Kamikaze pilot with the rank of Lieutenant (Chui) receives orders, pilots stand at attention in formation. ... The North American P-51 Mustang was an American long-range single-seat fighter aircraft that entered service with Allied air forces in the middle years of the Second World War and became one of the conflicts most successful and recognizable aircraft. ...

The Japanese decide to evacuate the camp. Jim returns excitedly to the American barracks to tell Basie and finds out his friend has already escaped. Jim is devastated that Basie would abandon him for another American prisoner, Dainty, especially when Basie led Jim to believe he'd take the boy with him.

The camp's population begins a grueling march to Nantow where they are told there will be food. Many die along the way, including Mrs. Victor, a British woman who was Jim's "neighbor" at Suzhou. As Jim sits with her body among the war spoils stored in Nantow Stadium by the Japanese, Jim sees a bright light in the sky to the East. He believes it to be Mrs. Victor's soul floating to Heaven but finds out later, through a radio broadcast, that it was the flash from the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, hundreds of miles away. The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ... Nagasaki City Hall Mayor {{{Mayor}}} Address ã€’850-8685 Nagasaki-shi, Sakura-machi 2-22 Phone number 095-825-5151 Official website: www1. ...

Starving and weak, Jim trudges back to the camp at Soochow. Making his way through rice paddies, he notices cylindrical objects attached to parachutes falling from the sky. They contain Red Cross relief packages and food items. Jim fills a parachute with supplies and arrives at the camp. He finds the same young Japanese boy he knew from his internment angrily slashing at the plants in the marsh with his samurai sword (earlier, the boy, now a pilot, had failed to start his plane as Jim and the other prisoners were leaving the camp). The boy offers Jim a mango and begins to cut it with his sword. A moment later he is shot dead by one of Basie’s companions, who have rushed into the camp, looting supply canisters. Jim is furious and throws the man who shot his friend into the marsh and begins to punch him. Basie drags him off and promises to take him back to Shanghai and find his parents. Jim refuses the offer and stays behind. The Anarchist Black Cross was originally called the Anarchist Red Cross. The band Redd Kross was originally called Red Cross. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Diagram showing the parts of a katana Katana (åˆ€) is the word for sword in the Japanese language. ... Species About 35 species, including: Mangifera altissima Mangifera applanata Mangifera caesia Mangifera camptosperma Mangifera casturi Mangifera decandra Mangifera foetida Mangifera gedebe Mangifera griffithii Mangifera indica Mangifera kemanga Mangifera laurina Mangifera longipes Mangifera macrocarpa Mangifera mekongensis Mangifera odorata Mangifera pajang Mangifera pentandra Mangifera persiciformis Mangifera quadrifida Mangifera siamensis Mangifera similis Mangifera...

Jim is found by a unit of American soldiers. He is sent back to Shanghai and housed with other children who have lost their parents. Jim is obviously more scarred by his experiences during the war than the other kids, so much so, that he doesn’t recognize his parents when they arrive at the home and they scarcely recognize him. The paralysis is broken when his mother finds him in the crowd. Jim collapses into his mother’s arms.

Major themes

The loss of innocence and the onset of adolescence are the themes that dominate the story. What makes Jim's situation unique is that the adolescent phase of his life develops against the backdrop of international war. Jim grows up rich and spoiled and is destined to be a foreign businessman, a tai-pan, like his father. This lifestyle is wholly shattered when World War II, which actually had been underway for several years since the Japanese had invaded Manchuria in 1932 and the Wehrmacht had invaded Poland in September of 1939, finally reaches the British concessions in Shanghai. Jim is forced into a life of pure survival when he is separated from his parents. He must also enter the seedy underworld of Shanghai that he had been previously (and deliberately) sheltered from his entire life. Manchuria (Manchu: Manju; Traditional Chinese: æ»¿æ´²; Simplified Chinese: æ»¡æ´²; pinyin: MÇŽnzhÅu, Russian: ) is a vast territorial region in northeast Asia. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... Wehrmacht troops of the Heer (military land forces) marching at a military parade in honour of the 50th birthday of Adolf Hitler, on April 20th, 1939. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The second half of the film shows how Jim is forced to deal with his impending transition into adulthood. Although a young teenager, Jim shows signs of the entrepreneurship that his father must have possessed in Shanghai. However, Jim does, as most teenagers do, experience a crisis of identity while interned at Soochow Creek: the lifestyle he is expected to assume as an Englishman is one that bores him. The carefree life of Americans is much more appealing, especially since one of his closest friends is Basie. What Jim does not (or cannot) surmise because of his young age is Basie's willingness to use Jim for his own selfish plans. Hence, Basie feels little or no guilt about sending a child into the marsh to see if it has been booby-trapped.

The question of whether or not Jim matures into a young adult is left open at the end of the film. When he is left alone in the prison camp he reverts to his childish ways; riding a bicycle indoors, laughing, horseplay and childishly "surrendering" to the American officer that finds him. When he is reunited with his parents, he has the haggard stare and physical look of a wartime survivor, one that has seen more horrors of war than most children normally would. This illusion is somewhat dispelled when he sees his mother for the first time in four years and touches her face as a younger child would.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The book was adapted for the big screen by Tom Stoppard and Menno Meyjes in 1987. Their screenplay was filmed by Steven Spielberg, to critical acclaim, being nominated for six Oscars and winning three British Academy Awards (for Cinematography, Music and Sound). It starred a 13-year-old Christian Bale, as well as John Malkovich and Miranda Richardson. It also had a not-yet-famous Ben Stiller in a bit part. Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE (born TomÃ¡Å¡ Straussler on 3 July 1937) is a British playwright. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE (born December 18, 1946) is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director and producer. ... The references in this article would be clearer with a different and/or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Christian Charles Philip Bale (also known professionally as Christian Morgan Bale; born January 30, 1974) is an English[1] actor. ... John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, producer and director. ... Miranda Richardson as Queenie in Blackadder II (1986) Miranda Richardson (born 3 March 1958, in Southport, Merseyside) is an English actress, noted for her distinctive ability to deeply delve into the minds of the characters she plays. ... Ben Stiller in Zoolander Benjamin Edward Stiller (born November 30, 1965 in New York City) is an Emmy-winning American comedian, actor, and film director, the son of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, both of whom are veteran comedians and actors themselves. ...

Bale received a special citation for Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor from the National Board of Review — an award specially created for his performance in Empire of the Sun. The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City, just 13 years after the birth of cinema, to protest New York City Mayor George McClennans revocation of moving-picture exhibition licenses on Christmas Eve 1908. ...

Bale's Welsh heritage reportedly inspired the director to use the Welsh song "Suo Gan," sung by James Rainbird and the Richard Williams Singers, as part of the music in the film. Motto: (Welsh for Wales forever) Anthem: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff Official language(s) English, Welsh Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056 Area - Total 20,779 kmÂ² (3rd in... Suo GÃ¢n (pronounced See-oh-gahn) is a traditional Welsh lullaby written by an anonymous composer. ...

External links

Categories: 1984 novels | Autobiographical novels | War novels | J. G. Ballard novels | 1987 films | Japan in non-Japanese culture | World War II films | Prisoner of war films | Films based on fiction books | Films directed by Steven Spielberg | Warner Bros. films The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about actors, films, television shows, video games and production crew personnel. ... Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE (born December 18, 1946) is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director and producer. ... Duel is a 1971 television movie directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Richard Matheson. ... The Sugarland Express is a movie starring Goldie Hawn. ... This article is about the film. ... This article is about the film; for the classification, see Close encounter. ... 1941 is a movie directed by Steven Spielberg and starred John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. ... Raiders of the Lost Ark, also known as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, is a 1981 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. ... E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is an Academy Award-winning 1982 science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg that tells the story of a young boy, Elliott, who befriends a benign alien being called E.T. stranded on Earth and trying to find his way home. ... Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 action/adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. ... The Color Purple is a 1985 film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker. ... Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott, Julian Glover, Alison Doody, River Phoenix and John Rhys-Davies. ... Always is a 1989 romantic comedy-drama directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, and John Goodman. ... Hook, the first live-action movie treatment of the Peter Pan stories by J.M. Barrie, was directed by Steven Spielberg in 1991 and starred Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins and Maggie Smith. ... Jurassic Park is a 1993 film adaptation, directed by Steven Spielberg, of the novel Jurassic Park written by Michael Crichton and published in 1990. ... Schindlers List is an Academy Award-winning 1993 movie based on the book Schindlers Ark by Thomas Keneally, published in the United States as Schindlers List and subsequently re-issued in Commonwealth countries under that name as well. ... The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a 1997 movie which is a sequel to the blockbuster Jurassic Park. ... Amistad (Spanish for friendship) is a 1997 Steven Spielberg film based on a slave mutiny that took place aboard a ship of the same name in 1839, and the legal activity that followed. ... Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 Academy Award winning film, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat, set in World War II. This film is particularly notable for the intensity of the scenes in its first 25 minutes, which depict the Omaha beachhead assault of June 6, 1944. ... Artificial Intelligence: AI (spelled A.I. Artificial Intelligence on posters and merchadising materials) is a science fiction film co-produced, written, and directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 2001. ... Minority Report is Steven Spielbergs 20th film. ... Catch Me If You Can is a 2002 motion picture set in the 1960s. ... For other uses of the word terminal, see Terminal (disambiguation). ... War of the Worlds is a 2005 Academy Award-nominated science fiction film based on H. G. Wells original novel of the same name. ... Munich is a 2005 Academy Award-nominated film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth. ... Indiana Jones 4, scheduled to be released in 2008 [1], will be the fourth in the Indiana Jones series of theatrical films. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Interstellar is a new film by Steven Spielberg which explores the academic study of wormholes. ...

Contents

Major themes

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

External links