A year after her wedding, the Second Sino-Japanese War erupted. The Imperial Japanese Army attacked Shanghai in August 1937, and the national capital Nanking in December. Tang's older brother, General Tang Shengzhi, was the chief commander of the doomed defense of Nanking, which resulted in the Nanking Massacre. Tang Shengming, meanwhile, was the deputy commander of Changsha and chief commander of Changde, both in Hunan province.