Collaboration : Japanese Agents and Local Elites in Wartime China Collaboration : Japanese Agents and Local Elites in Wartime China is a history book which investigates collaboration between the Chinese elite s and Japan ese , following the attack on the Chinese city of Shanghai in August 1937 , just before the outbreak of the Second World War , and during the subsequent military occupation of the Yangtze River Delta in China by Japan . The book is written by Timothy Brook , a distinguished Canadian historian who specializes in the study of China ( Sinology ) . Synopsis . Following the attack on the Chinese city of Shanghai by the Japanese forces in August 1937 , just before the outbreak of World War II , and during the subsequent occupation of the Yangtze River Delta in China by Japan , despite the violence of the assault , many of the Chinese elite came forward to collaborate with the occupying forces , mirroring collaboration with the Nazis in the occupied countries of Europe . Brook analyzes both Chinese and Japanese archive s in order to build up a picture of the collaboration , which extended from Shanghi to Nanjing . He argues that " collaboration proved to be politically unstable and morally awkward for both sides , provoking tensions that undercut the authority of the occupation state and undermined Japan ' s long - term prospects for occupying China . " Reception . Lucian Pye , writing in the journal " Foreign Affairs " states that Brook has carefully handled the subject of collaboration which the Chinese are still hesitant to address . He points out that " [ Brook ' s ] study concentrates on local collaboration in the Yangtze delta region in Shanghai ' s hinterland , avoiding the more shocking cases of puppet regimes in north and northeast China and the ' national government ' in Nanjing . " Despite there being " no shortage of Chinese elites ready to work for the Japanese , [ . . . ] the relationship remained complicated and tense . " David P . Barrett , writing in the " Chinese Historical Review " describes the book as a " finely researched " and " subtly nuanced " study . He says that " what is remarkable is that Professor Brook has uncovered from both the Chinese and Japanese sides archival and memoir literature of a quality that allows him to present case studies that illuminate the ambiguities and complexities of collaboration , not to mention the essential mechanics of how it was sought and arranged . " The reviewer concludes that " this work is not only a major contribution to the history of the [ Second ] Sino - Japanese War and that of modern China ; it also makes an invaluable addition to the comparative history of wartime collaboration through recounting the Chinese experience of survival under the occupation state . " R . Keith Schoppa writing in " The American Historical Review " describes the book as a " superb " example of the doing and writing of history at its best . In addition to painting a compelling picture of the multileveled and multidirectional complexity and ambiguity of politics and society under the occupation , Brook ' s work is studded with notable insights . " The reviewer goes on to say that " Brook ' s writing style is at the same time urbane and engaging . In sum , this is an excellent study and a great read as well . " Rana Mitter in the " International History Review " states that the book is " a welcome and necessary part of the new historical thinking about wartime China " . It is " meticulously researched , subtly argued , and courageous study of a still delicate topic . It will be of value to all readers who wish to explore the dynamics of the 1937 - 45 Sino - Japanese War in more detail , and adds depth and maturity to a field that has sometimes seemed the prisoner of the type of nationalist paradigms that Brook seeks to undermine . " Prasenjit Duara in " The China Journal " states that " Brook has produced a superb book about the vexed problem of collaboration " and commends Brook for providing a most interesting perspective and for " the clear and methodical way in which it proceeds through its historical investigation . "