History's Most Famous Traitors

A divisive character with an impressive career history, Wang Jingwei is China's Benedict Arnold. As a young man, Wang was heavily involved in Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary movement that aimed to modernize China and found a republic. Wang even attempted to assassinate one of the last Qing royals, Prince Chun. During the pre-war years, he went

A divisive character with an impressive career history, Wang Jingwei is China's Benedict Arnold. As a young man, Wang was heavily involved in Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary movement that aimed to modernize China and found a republic. Wang even attempted to assassinate one of the last Qing royals, Prince Chun. During the pre-war years, he went on to become a prominent politician.

Then, in 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War began, and the Japanese seized Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing. To the horror of many, Wang cooperated with the invaders. The Japanese created a new puppet government in Nanjing, and in 1940, Wang was made the head of that government. Wang argued that he was only trying to protect the Chinese people; appeasement seemed like a sensible option against a much stronger Japan.

For most Chinese people, Wang's actions would prove to be unforgivable in light of Japanese atrocities in the country. The so-called "Rape of Nanjing," for example, conducted by the Japanese in 1937, is still one of the worst disasters to ever befall China. Thousands of men were killed, and thousands of women were systematically raped in a six-week orgy of brutal sadism. The controversial politician was never held accountable for his treachery and died before the end of the war, in 1944.

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