Yan Xiaofeng: Carry Forward the Great Spirit of the War of Resistance and Strive Toward the Grand Cause of Building a Strong Country and Rejuvenating the Nation
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Over the past 80 years, the great Chinese people have followed one another in succession, showing unyielding and tenacious struggle, making unremitting efforts to realize the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation. Deeply understanding the great national awakening and the sublimation of the national spirit during the War of Resistance, and vigorously promoting the great spirit of resistance, is of significant importance for strengthening the spiritual bond of unity, enhancing the spiritual motivation of self-improvement, and providing a powerful spiritual impetus for comprehensively promoting the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization.
I. The Communist Party of China was the pillar [1] of the War of Resistance and the national vanguard in seizing victory; upholding the Party's leadership is the fundamental guarantee for achieving the Second Centenary Goal.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) is the vanguard of the Chinese working class, and at the same time, the vanguard of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. Since its founding, it has unswervingly sought happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. After the September 18th Incident [2], the CPC was the first to hold high the banner of armed resistance against Japanese aggression. The Lugou Bridge Incident [3] marked the outbreak of the full-scale War of Resistance, bringing the fate of the Chinese nation to its most critical juncture. At this moment of national peril, the CPC upheld national righteousness, shoulder the historical heavy responsibility of national salvation, and called for the establishment of an anti-Japanese national united front based on cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. In August 1937, the main force of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army. This fully demonstrated our Party's position of prioritizing national interests and the victory of the War of Resistance, and its total commitment to practicing the anti-Japanese national united front.
Following the reorganization, the Eighth Route Army quickly moved to the front lines. On one hand, it coordinated with the frontline battlefield operations; on the other, it extensively carried out anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare and achieved the Great Victory at Pingxingguan [4], which greatly boosted the confidence of the military and civilians nationwide and enhanced the prestige of the CPC and the Eighth Route Army. The first-generation central collective leadership with Comrade Mao Zedong at its core led our Party in implementing the correct policy of the anti-Japanese national united front, adhering to the line of total resistance, and proposing and implementing the general strategic guideline of protracted war along with a comprehensive set of strategies and tactics for people's war, opening up vast enemy-rear battlefields and anti-Japanese base areas.
The Party consistently persisted in resistance and opposed surrender; persisted in unity and opposed division; persisted in progress and opposed regression. Through its political programs, firm will, and exemplary actions, it sustained the hope of national salvation, guided the correct direction toward victory, and became the backbone of the resistance and the national vanguard of victory. During the War of Resistance, Yan'an became the hope for national victory and a beacon for the people; countless progressive figures and patriotic youths traveled from all over the country and even from overseas to Pagoda Mountain to follow the Communist Party. It was precisely because the CPC, as China's advanced political party, played its role as a pillar and an exemplary vanguard that it could mobilize the Chinese people to resist in unity, eventually winning the first complete victory of the Chinese people against foreign invasion in modern history and erecting an eternal monument in the history of the Chinese nation.
The Report to the 20th CPC National Congress explicitly stated: From this day forward, the central task of the CPC will be to lead the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in a concerted effort to realize the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through Chinese-path modernization. The key to building a modern socialist country in all respects and the comprehensive promotion of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation lies with the Party. Less than a week after the conclusion of the 20th National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping led the newly elected members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee to Yan'an to pay homage to the revolutionary holy land and commemorate the great achievements of the older generation of revolutionaries. This declared the firm belief of the new central leadership in continuing the "red lineage," inheriting the spirit of struggle, and delivering a new and excellent "examination paper" [5] to history and the people on the new "path to the exam."
Currently, our country's development has entered a period where strategic opportunities, risks, and challenges coexist, and uncertain and unpredictable factors are increasing. The Party's leadership is the "backbone" for responding to major risks and challenges and the "ballast" for the steady and far-reaching voyage of the great ship of Chinese-path modernization. To further comprehensively deepen reform closely around the promotion of Chinese-path modernization, we must handle many important relationships, contradictions, and affairs. We must adhere to the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, give full play to the Party's core leadership role in overseeing the overall situation and coordinating all parties, and ensure the Party's comprehensive leadership is fully implemented. By deeply studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, profoundly grasping the decisive significance of the "Two Establishments," and resolutely achieving the "Two Upholds," while showing the courage to take responsibility and being proactive, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will surely forge new glories.
II. The War of Resistance revealed the great truth of the inevitable victory of justice, peace, and the people; this is exactly the "Righteous Path of the World" [6] followed by Chinese-path modernization in promoting the cause of a strong country and national rejuvenation.
In his important speech at the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, General Secretary Xi Jinping solemnly declared: "Let us jointly remember the great truth revealed by history: Justice will prevail! Peace will prevail! The people will prevail!" This important discourse reveals an unbreakable historical law, articulates the fundamental reason for the victory of the resistance, and also points to important principles for Chinese-path modernization.
Justice will prevail means that the inevitable trend of historical progress is unstoppable. Although the fascists of Germany, Italy, and Japan were aggressive and overbearing in the early stages of the war, "those who follow the Way find much support, while those who go against it find little." In the 20th century, where the tide of independence, democracy, and freedom was unstoppable in the process of world modernization, any attempt to achieve a unified world under the violent rule of fascism was destined to fail and perish. The world's anti-fascist forces firmly believed that justice would eventually defeat evil, light would defeat darkness, and progress would defeat reaction. Currently, as changes unseen in a century accelerate, external containment and suppression could escalate at any time, and various "Black Swan" and "Grey Rhino" events may occur. Chinese Communists have always insisted on upholding fairness and justice, standing firmly on the right side of history and the side of human progress, working with people of all countries to push the wheels of history toward a bright future. Chinese-path modernization is a just, bright, and progressive cause; walking on this broad "Golden Road," it will surely achieve victory.
Peace will prevail means that the dialectic of war and peace—where only the ability to fight can stop a war—cannot be violated. The Chinese People's War of Resistance and the World Anti-Fascist War were wars of justice, peace, and progress fought by forces pursuing peace against militarist forces that launched wars of aggression. Only by being capable of fighting can one stop a war; to win peace, one must win the war. The War of Resistance was a national revolutionary war against aggression, possessing the character of fighting for perpetual peace. As Comrade Mao Zedong said: "To achieve this end, we must fight to the death, be prepared for every sacrifice, and persevere to the end; we shall never stop until our end is reached." In the New Era, Chinese Communists move forward hand-in-hand with all forces to promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, promote the common values of humanity—peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom—and promote the construction of a world of lasting peace. Simultaneously, we must accelerate the transformation of the People's Liberation Army into a world-class military, improve its winning capabilities, shape the security situation, contain crises and conflicts, and win local wars. In promoting the resolution of the Taiwan question and achieving the complete reunification of the motherland, we persist in seeking the prospect of peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and effort, but we make no promise to renounce the use of force and will unswervingly advance the cause of national reunification.
The people will prevail means that the core idea that "the army and the people are the foundation of victory" remains immutable. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance, two erroneous viewpoints existed regarding whether victory could be achieved: the "Theory of National Subjugation" and the "Theory of Quick Victory." The erroneous root of both views lay in the failure to see the decisive role of the Chinese people's strength; or in seeing only the factor of weaponry while ignoring the human factor; or in failing to see that total mobilization, organization, and participation of the people cannot be achieved overnight. Comrade Mao Zedong profoundly analyzed the balance of power between both sides, emphasizing that "the decisive factor is man, not matter," and noting that "by mobilizing the common people of the whole country, we create a vast ocean in which the enemy will be drowned." The great victory of the War of Resistance was a victory won by relying on the people's protracted resistance, a victory of mobilizing the masses to carry out people's war, and a victory of the Chinese people's "Yugong moving mountains" [7] spirit. On the new journey, we must persist in a people-centered approach, ensuring everything is for the people and everything relies on the people, maintaining flesh-and-blood ties with them, and gathering the monumental strength of Chinese-path modernization.
III. The great spirit of the War of Resistance is the unyielding soul that forms the new Great Wall of the Chinese nation, providing a powerful spiritual impetus for the Chinese people to strive for national rejuvenation.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The great spirit of the War of Resistance is a precious spiritual wealth for the Chinese people, which will forever inspire them to overcome all difficulties and obstacles and strive for the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." This spirit builds the soul of the new Great Wall of the nation: "Four hundred million compatriots share one heart, making the new Great Wall ten thousand li long." Facing the brutal Japanese invaders, the resisting military and civilians rose up, existing or dying with the mountains and rivers of the motherland, using their own flesh and blood to build an indestructible "Great Wall of Steel," creating a "wonder in the history of war, a magnificent feat of the Chinese nation, and a world-shaking great cause."
Inheriting the patriotic sentiment that "every man shares responsibility for the rise and fall of the nation" [8] and forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation. Facing an unprecedented crisis of national survival, resisting aggression and saving the nation became the common will of all Chinese political parties, ethnic groups, classes, strata, organizations, and overseas Chinese. All sons and daughters of China united as one, jointly resisted foreign insults, and fought for the nation, the motherland, and dignity. The awakening and unity of the Chinese nation reached an unprecedented height. On the new journey of the New Era, centered on the tasks of the Party and the state, the people of all ethnic groups should uphold this sentiment, hold high the banner of great unity, and continuously forge a sense of community for the Chinese nation. We must firmly establish the concept of a community that shares breath, destiny, honor, and disgrace, forming a powerful synergy to realize the Chinese Dream.
Upholding the national integrity of "facing death with equanimity and preferring death to surrender," and relying on tenacious struggle to open up new horizons for the development of our cause. Facing the ferocious and inhumane Japanese invaders, the Chinese people were neither afraid of sacrifice nor willing to yield. With the conviction to fight to the blood-soaked end, they wrote a great chapter of resisting foreign aggression with their lives and blood. This undaunted national integrity was reflected in the countless soldiers who bravely killed the enemy on both the front lines and in the enemy's rear, as well as in the elders in the anti-Japanese base areas who would rather die than submit. The nation's tragic sacrifice greatly stimulated firm convictions and tenacious will; only by completely eliminating the Japanese invaders could the nation survive and the country have hope. We are now at a point where "the boat is in midstream where the current is swiftest, and the path is halfway up the mountain where the slope is steepest" [9]. We must be brave and skilled in struggle, enhancing the ambition, backbone, and confidence of the entire nation. We must not believe in heresies, nor fear ghosts or pressure, but rather move forward despite difficulties to overcome all challenges on the road ahead.
Promoting the heroic spirit of "fearing no brute force and fighting to the end," and always keeping the fate of China’s development and progress firmly in our own hands. The nation's heroic spirit, the military's combat spirit, and the soldiers' grit and backbone burst forth to the greatest extent during the War of Resistance, "shaking the heavens and moving the spirits." This heroic spirit is a vivid manifestation of the national character of self-reliance, independence, and self-improvement. Independence and self-reliance are the soul of the Chinese national spirit and are important principles for our Party and country. In human history, no nation or country has ever achieved strength and revitalization by relying on external forces, copying foreign models, or following in the footsteps of others. Only by insisting on basing national development on the foundation of our own strength, and adhering to the Chinese characteristics, essential requirements, and major principles of Chinese-path modernization, can we firmly hold the fate of China's development and progress in our own hands.
Strengthen our indomitable and persevering conviction in victory, solidify our confidence, maintain unity of heart and mind [10], immerse ourselves in hard work, and forge ahead with courage. The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression achieved total victory under conditions of extreme hardship; the spiritual pillar that sustained the Protracted War [11] was the unbreakable conviction that the War of Resistance would be won. The "Three Alls" Policy [12] could not intimidate us, and extreme difficulties could not crush us. The Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region launched the Great Production Movement [13] to overcome hardships; the National Southwestern Associated University [14] carried on the torch of science and culture amidst enemy bombings; the hope of victory was never extinguished. The spirit of resistance is a spiritual monument: the deeper and firmer its foundations are among the whole nation, the greater the strength and hope for victory. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Learning history to increase confidence means strengthening our faith, conviction, and confidence. This is the powerful spiritual force for us to defeat all strong enemies, overcome all difficulties, and seize all victories." To unite and strive for the comprehensive building of a modern socialist country, we must strengthen our faith in Marxism and communism and maintain a tenacious will, daring to overcome all major difficulties and severe challenges; strengthen our conviction in Chinese-path socialism and remain steadfast in the "Four Confidences" [15]; and strengthen our confidence in achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, firmly believing that our Party can certainly unite and lead the people to build China into a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful modern socialist powerhouse by the middle of this century.
IV. The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression inspired the great creativity of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people; advancing the comprehensive building of a modern socialist powerhouse is a historical pioneering feat of the New Era
The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression unfolded at a critical juncture of national survival, where the balance of power was extremely uneven, the situation of struggle was intricately complex, and the conditions of war were exceptionally difficult. There was no prior experience to follow and no practices from other countries to borrow. Starting from the general trend of the World Anti-Fascist War and the strong desire of the Chinese people for national salvation, our Party brought about the Anti-Japanese National United Front [16] and ultimately led the people to win the great victory. This was the inevitable result of exerting historical initiative and stimulating the great creativity of the CPC and the Chinese people. At the Wayaobu Meeting convened by the CPC Central Committee in December 1935, the Party explicitly proposed building a broad national revolutionary united front and bravely discarded "closed-doorism" [17]. After the July 7th Incident [18], the Party implemented the correct policy for the Anti-Japanese National United Front, opposed capitulationism, and insisted on independence and autonomy within the united front. This formed a highly creative and correct political strategy for the War of Resistance, solving the problems of the primary force of the war and the Party’s autonomous status. After the outbreak of the full-scale War of Resistance, Comrade Mao Zedong wrote Problems of Strategy in Guerrilla War Against Japan, elevating guerrilla warfare to a strategic level; he also wrote On Protracted War, which, based on the fundamental factors of the balance of power between China and Japan, scientifically pointed out that only a protracted war was the fundamental path to final victory. This formed a highly creative and correct military strategy, solving the problem of the general strategic guidelines for the war. Our Party proposed and implemented a comprehensive set of strategies and tactics for people's war, extensively carrying out guerrilla tactics such as ambush warfare, sabotage warfare, mine warfare, tunnel warfare, and "sparrow warfare" [19], composing a glorious epic of the victory of people's war in military history. Starting in 1942, a rectification movement [20] was conducted throughout the Party to promote the three great styles of work—integrating theory with practice, maintaining close ties with the masses, and practicing criticism and self-criticism—striving to build a nationwide Marxist party of a broad mass character that was completely consolidated ideologically, politically, and organizationally. This forged a peerlessly strong CPC, rich in combat effectiveness and creativity, nurturing a powerful organizational force for seizing victory in the War of Resistance and, eventually, nationwide victory.
Our Party exerted a high degree of conscious dynamism and revolutionary creativity during the War of Resistance, winning a great victory. In the New Era and on the new journey, the comprehensive building of a modern socialist powerhouse is a great pioneering feat in the process of world modernization, concerning the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The road ahead will not be smooth; there will certainly be difficulties and obstacles, and we may encounter major tests of high winds, surging waves, or even perilous storms. At this critical period of comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization, it is all the more necessary for the whole Party and the entire people to remain steadfast in following our own path, exerting historical initiative, the spirit of daring to struggle, and the spirit of courage in innovation, continuously creating new glories. Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of a huge population. The entry of a country with a population of over one billion into the ranks of modern nations is a feat significant enough to be recorded in the annals of history, with tasks more arduous than those of any other country. There is no ready-made template or "copy-paste" solution; we must pioneer the development path, strategy, and mode of Chinese-path modernization. On the road ahead, we must unswervingly uphold the leadership of the CPC, adhere to Chinese-path socialism, achieve high-quality development, develop whole-process people's democracy, enrich the people’s spiritual world, achieve common prosperity for all, promote harmony between humanity and nature, and push for the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, thereby creating a new form of human advancement.
V. The Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression made a major contribution to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War; China promotes the building of a community with a shared future for humanity and joins hands with the vast number of developing countries to achieve modernization, making new and greater contributions to humanity
The great War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, sustained by immense national sacrifice, served as the main theater in the East for the World Anti-Fascist War. It made a contribution that will shine in the annals of history toward saving the nation from peril, achieving national independence and people's liberation, and striving for the great cause of world peace. It was an essential component of the World Anti-Fascist War. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out: "The 450 million Chinese people account for one-fourth of all humanity. If they can work together to strike down Japanese imperialism and create a free and equal New China, their contribution to the cause of permanent world peace will undoubtedly be very great." The Chinese people's War of Resistance began the earliest and lasted the longest; the Chinese theater pinned down and combated the main forces of Japanese militarism over a long period, playing a decisive role in the total collapse of the Japanese invaders. Strategically, the War of Resistance supported the operations of the Allied forces, coordinated with the strategic actions of the European and Pacific theaters, and constrained and disrupted the attempts at strategic coordination between Japanese fascists and German-Italian fascists. The major contributions made by the Chinese people to the World Anti-Fascist War won the respect of peace-loving people worldwide, earned high national prestige, and significantly elevated China’s international status. The War of Resistance received broad support from the international community; it was a great victory won by the Chinese people fighting side-by-side with the Anti-Fascist Allies and the people of all nations. The people of various countries made precious contributions to the victory of the Chinese people's War of Resistance.
After the end of the Second World War, the vast number of colonial and semi-colonial countries successively gained independence and began their processes of modernization. Achieving modernization is the common pursuit of the vast number of developing countries. Since the New Era, in the process of promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, our Party and state have closely linked Chinese-path modernization with the modernization of developing countries, contributing Chinese wisdom to world modernization. On October 24, 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the "BRICS Plus" Leaders' Dialogue, pointing out: "The collective march of 'Global South' countries toward modernization is a major event in world history and an unprecedented feat in the process of human civilization." As the largest developing country and a member of the Global South, China neither advocates for following the "Western model" nor requires other developing countries to copy the "Chinese model." Instead, it insists on the indigenization and diversity of modernization paths. China does not seek to be a "solitary blossom" but rather hopes for a "hundred flowers to bloom in beauty" [21]. It sincerely provides more wisdom and strength for the Global South, offering new choices, new space, and new possibilities for the modernization of developing countries, and is committed to joining hands with the vast number of Southern countries to co-create a beautiful future for human modernization. Chinese-path modernization not only solidly advances the comprehensive modernization of all regions and ethnic groups within our country but also makes outstanding contributions to world modernization, helping more developing countries enter the ranks of modern nations and promoting the development and progress of human civilization.
(The author is the Dean and Professor of the School of Marxism, Tianjin University) Source: Red Flag Manuscript (Hongqi Wengao), Issue 11, 2025 Online Editor: Tongxin