Zhang Jiru: The "Press Resistance" Played an Important Role in the Early Stages of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression
Following the September 18th Incident [1], Japan intensified its aggression against China. Faced with the profound crisis of "national peril," the anti-Japanese sentiment of the Chinese people rose steadily, and spontaneous anti-Japanese patriotic movements erupted across the country. Within intellectual circles, voices advocating for "national salvation through culture" rose in succession, and the cry for "national salvation" (救亡, jiùwáng) resounded north and south of the Yangtze River. As the vanguard of public opinion, the press utilized the propaganda power of the "pen" to strive toward constructing a formidable spiritual line of national defense.
The Press Mobilizes to Face the National Peril Together
Confronted by the deepening national crisis, the press took the initiative to mobilize and face the national peril together. On January 1, 1936, the Ping-Jin Journalism Association (平津新闻学会) was formally established in Beiping [2]. The assembly's manifesto emphasized that colleagues in the Ping-Jin press, situated in a precarious environment, had no choice but to urgently unite and strive toward a common goal. It took as a central theme the study of how Chinese journalism could "adapt to the urgent needs of the present nation and people." It asserted the principle that "perseverance through hardship rejuvenates the nation" (多难兴邦 [3]), stating: "The severity of the national peril is not in itself something to fear; however, if the peril is severe and the government still does not permit the citizens to contribute their opinions on saving the nation from extinction, then the country will face the true danger of eternal damnation." It called upon the authorities to actively support the development of journalism so that "those above and below might cooperate to unlock the current precarious and difficult national fate." From May 7 to 9, the Department of Journalism at Yenching University held its Fifth Journalism Symposium. The topic was established as "Journalism and the National Peril," focusing on the mission the press should shoulder during times of national crisis. Although China’s journalistic power remained relatively weak at the time, this series of movements indicated that journalists were beginning to link their profession directly to the national peril, gathering strength to actively explore the path of "national salvation through journalism" under new circumstances.
Between August and September 1936, spontaneous mass resistance incidents against Japanese aggression broke out in Chengdu, Beihai, Hankou, and Shanghai. Following these incidents, Japan attempted to exploit local events to suppress the Chinese people's anti-Japanese movement and expand its aggressive interests; the "tension in the atmosphere between China and Japan truly reached its limit." Under these conditions, the press rapidly converged. On October 2, more than 20 newspapers in Shanghai and Nanjing published a joint manifesto titled Our Common Opinions and Convictions Amidst Sino-Japanese Tensions. On one hand, it pointed out the tense state of Sino-Japanese relations, calling on citizens to recognize the gravity of the relationship and clarify their own responsibilities; it urged all domestic political parties to eliminate political differences and focus on the greater survival of the nation. On the other hand, it expressed that the key to improving relations lay with Japan, hoping that the Japanese government and public would fully recognize the nature of the "Sino-Japanese incidents" and handle the tensions with caution, seeking a restoration of normal relations based on long-term interests. This manifesto from peers in the press exerted a tremendous influence on public opinion. According to incomplete statistics, within a mere ten days of its publication, the press in Guangzhou, Hankou, Beiping, Tianjin, Chengdu, Zhenjiang, Xi'an, Nanchang, Luoyang, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Fuzhou, Henan, and Hunan issued telegrams or manifestos in warm response, forming a highly influential press movement. This can be described as a concentrated demonstration of the press’s influence on public opinion on the eve of the full-scale outbreak of the War of Resistance, significantly impacting the concept of "national salvation through journalism" during the war period.
Facing the new situation, the Sixth Journalism Symposium at Yenching University, held from May 6 to 8, 1937, continued the theme of the fifth session, designating the theme as "The Mission of the Chinese Press Today." It explored the mission of the press to the state from multiple levels against the backdrop of national salvation. On June 5, Gu Zhizhong, feeling that the responsibility was "growing heavier day by day," called upon journalists in the inaugural "Letter to Readers" of the monthly magazine The Journalist (新闻记者) published in Shanghai. He urged them to take up "sharp weapons of war," bravely shoulder their responsibilities, mobilize the entire nation to defend the country and the home, strive for independence, freedom, and equality, and build a solid fortress for world peace.
Constructing the Anti-Japanese National United Front of the Press
After the full-scale outbreak of the War of Resistance [4], the enthusiasm for national salvation within the press reached new heights. Many journalists abandoned their comfortable lives to organize wartime work groups and service teams, braving dangers to go deep into the front lines for interviews and reporting. They immersed themselves in national salvation work and vigorously strengthened propaganda regarding the War of Resistance. Some journalism scholars also intensified their research into wartime journalism. According to incomplete statistics, in the two years of 1937 and 1938 alone, as many as 15 works directly related to wartime journalism were published, including Wang Xinchang’s The War of Resistance and Journalism, Ren Baitao’s News Propaganda During the War of Resistance, and Ren Biming’s Wartime Journalism. Notably, in September 1938, the Zhejiang Provincial Wartime Journalism Association published the magazine The Wartime Reporter, specifically featuring articles on wartime news operations to "waive the flag and shout" (摇旗呐喊 [5]) for the struggle against aggression. Beyond this, the number of related articles published in various journals was countless. Press organizations in various regions acted quickly to denounce the aggressive acts of the Japanese invaders, launched fundraising drives to comfort front-line soldiers, and strengthened contact with foreign journalists in China, making significant contributions to propaganda work in the early stages of the war.
As the war progressed, newspapers with national influence such as Ta Kung Pao and Shen Bao relocated to Hankou for publication. A large number of journalists moved from the coastal areas to the interior. Coupled with the successful founding of Xinhua Daily [6] in Hankou and the existence of newspapers like Wuhan Daily and Sao Dang Pao, Wuhan temporarily became the national news center for resistance propaganda, where journalists gathered in great numbers. On March 30, 1938, the Chinese Young Journalists Association (hereafter referred to as "the Association") was inaugurated in Wuhan. Subsequently, branches were established across the country, including in Yan'an and Hong Kong, forming a vast network of journalists with the headquarters as the leader and branches as the support. It called upon young journalists nationwide to shoulder the tasks of the era, picking up their weapons—their pens—to strive for final victory. This formed a journalistic united front under the guidance of the Anti-Japanese National United Front [7], which not only united young journalists nationwide but also supported journalistic work throughout the war.
The Actions of the "Young Journalists Association" Inspire the People
To ground the confidence in victory and boost morale, and simultaneously to solve the difficulties of wartime news dissemination and strengthen journalistic work, the Association organized special wartime interview teams. These teams went deep into the front lines of various war zones to broadcast the latest news of the resistance to the Chinese public and the international community, using their reporting to expose the enemy's aggressive acts. This constituted a significant activity of the Association in the movement against aggression. The Association also relied on social organizations to hold various forms of welcome and farewell parties. On one hand, these provided comfort and a welcome to war correspondents who had returned safely from the front, allowing them to share their experiences of escaping danger and conducting interviews. On the other hand, they served as farewells and encouragement for those about to depart for the front. The Association thus became a "home" for journalists from across the country; given the prominence of the nation's primary task, these occasions effectively became "oath-taking rallies" for war correspondents before their departure.
The "Journalist Symposiums," serving as an important form of strengthening member contact and serving wartime journalism, became a unique activity of the Association. In early 1938, at a symposium themed "The Work Journalists Should Do During the War of Resistance," Fan Changjiang, a standing director of the Association, specifically pointed out that journalists during this period should establish the principle that "national interests are above all else." The selection of news material should "take this as the standard," and the Association, as a gathering of young journalists, "should emphasize this principle even more." Jin Zhonghua, an honorary director, also emphasized that journalists "must take national liberation as the highest goal and the work of national salvation as the primary task." It was through this special form of symposium that journalists from various regions were not only gathered but the strength of the press for the War of Resistance was also consolidated.
Furthermore, faced with unprecedented national peril, the Association founded the magazine The Journalist as its official publication. Combining the tasks of different stages of the war, the journal organized special issues on "National Reconstruction through Resistance," "Wartime Journalistic Work," "Wartime Information Policy," and "Front-line Newspaper Issues." It published a large number of articles resisting aggression and adhering to "journalistic resistance," emphasizing that journalists "are a fighting force for propaganda, organization, and education within the extremely broad Anti-Japanese National United Front." It cried out that "Unity is strength!" and called upon "every news warrior" on the front lines "to exert even greater combat effectiveness and increase the strength of the resistance." It even proposed establishing a national association for anti-enemy journalists, calling for "journalists nationwide and even pressmen in the broader sense to unite, join hands, and strive for the sacred cause of national reconstruction through resistance!" These discourses, imbued with the conviction of "national salvation through journalism," both inspired the confidence of journalists nationwide and further strengthened wartime journalistic work, becoming a major stronghold of public opinion for "journalistic resistance." At the moment of national peril, the press took the initiative to pick up their pens as weapons against aggression, upholding the common position that "national interests are above all else." They struck back relentlessly at the enemy and constructed a spiritual line of national defense, playing an irreplaceable and special role in "national salvation through journalism" and in grounding the entire nation's belief in the resistance. It can be said they truly constructed a journalistic defense line to protect the home and defend the country.
In summary, in the history of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the press played an important and special role. Journalists not only strictly adhered to their duties of news reporting but also, at the critical juncture of national peril, took the initiative to shoulder the mission of the era: "national salvation through journalism." They sounded the bugle call for public opinion mobilization in the history of China's War of Resistance and made an indelible contribution to the war effort.
(The author is a researcher at the Institute of CPC History and Party Building, Henan Normal University) Source: Chinese Social Sciences Net - China Social Sciences Gazette, August 18, 2025. Web Editor: Tongxin