Plot

"The Unparalleled Invasion" begins in 1910s China. Under the influence of Japan, China modernizes and has its own Meiji Reforms

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

. In 1922, China breaks away from Japan and fights a brief war that culminates in the Chinese annexation of the Japanese possessions of Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

, Formosa

Formosa

Formosa or Ilha Formosa is a Portuguese historical name for Taiwan , literally meaning, "Beautiful Island". The term may also refer to:-Places:* Formosa Strait, another name for the Taiwan Strait...

, and Manchuria

Manchuria

Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...

. Over the next half century, China's population steadily grows, and eventually migration overwhelms European colonies in Asia. The United States of America and the other Western powers launch a biological warfare

Biological warfare

Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...

 campaign against China, resulting in the destruction of China's population. China is then colonized by the Western powers.

Controversy

"The Unparalleled Invasion" has been controversial for its depiction of genocide

Genocide

Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...

and is often cited as evidence of London's racism. The genocide is described in considerable detail and nowhere is there mentioned any objection to it. The terms "yellow life" and "yellow populace" appear in the story. It ends with the "sanitation of China" and its re-settlement by Westerners.