Liu Guopu: Drawing the Strength to Forge Ahead from the Great Spirit of Resistance Against Aggression [1]
By Liu Guopu
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. Looking back from this significant historical juncture, General Secretary Xi Jinping, guided by the Marxist materialist conception of history and possessing a broad global vision and profound historical thinking, has delivered a series of important expositions regarding the War of Resistance. These important expositions are not only a scientific summation of the history of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance but also, within the dual context of the "changes unseen in a century" [1] and the deepening of Chinese-path modernization, demonstrate a theoretical penetrative power and practical leadership that transcend time and space. They provide the fundamental guiding principles for us to anchor our historical position and gather strength for our forward synthesis.
The Innovative Development of the Marxist View of History
The theoretical construction and breakthroughs in General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on the War of Resistance are first reflected in the creative application and development of Marxist historical materialism. These expositions are by no means a simple chronological narration of history; rather, they are rooted in the height of the "Two Combinations" [2], deeply integrating the positions, viewpoints, and methods of the Marxist view of history with the concrete practice of researching the Chinese People’s War of Resistance, thereby forming a logically rigorous and substantively rich theoretical system.
From the dimension of historical cognition, taking "the masses of the people are the deepest source of power for victory in war" as the value cornerstone, these expositions break through the narrative limitations of traditional historiography. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions organically incorporate multiple forces—including the theater behind enemy lines and the frontal battlefield, the construction of democratic political power in base areas and the salvation movements in the rear, and support from overseas Chinese and international friends—into the theoretical framework of "People’s War." They profoundly explain the "code" of the historical turning point of modern China moving from "a heap of loose sand" [3] to "ten thousand hearts beating as one," revealing the internal mechanism through which the consciousness of the community for the Chinese nation [4] was tempered in the fires of war. This historical cognition centered on "people’s subjectivity" both inherits the CPC’s basic judgments on the history of the War of Resistance and integrates the overall strategic situation of national rejuvenation in the New Era, endowing it with richer contemporary connotations.
From the dimension of methodological innovation, by examining historical events over long durations and across vast spaces, a dual expansion of historical cognitive horizons has been achieved. Temporally, placing the War of Resistance within the long river of modern Chinese history and the 5,000-year civilization of the Chinese nation highlights its status as the "major turning point from decline to rejuvenation" while revealing its internal connection with the spiritual tradition of "constant self-improvement and social virtue" [5]. Spatially, by transcending a single nation-state perspective, the Chinese War of Resistance is integrated into the overall process of the World Anti-Fascist War, constructing an inter-embedded "China-World" dual vision. This effectively refutes the one-sided interpretation of WWII history by "Eurocentrism" and sharply corrects the cognitive bias of narrow nationalism, providing a more objective and comprehensive "China solution" for the study of global wartime history.
A Sharp Ideological Weapon for Criticizing Historical Nihilism
Historical nihilism uses the guises of "re-evaluating history" and "restoring the truth" to perform fragmented interpretations, selective editing, and even malicious distortions of the history of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance. Its essence is to dissolve mainstream values and shake spiritual foundations by deconstructing history. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on the War of Resistance, characterized by a clear problem-oriented approach and powerful logical force, have become a sharp ideological weapon for criticizing this erroneous trend of thought.
In the construction of historical narrative, these expositions systematically lay out the role of the Communist Party of China as the "pillar of strength" (mainstay) [6] in the national War of Resistance. They clearly elucidate the historical fact of the Chinese theater as the main eastern battlefield of the World Anti-Fascist War and completely outline the historical trajectory—from local resistance to total resistance, and from strategic defense to strategic counter-offensive. This panoramic historical narrative both respects the complexity of historical details and grasps the mainstream direction of historical development, depriving those historical nihilist remarks that attempt to sever history or smear heroes of any ground to stand on.
Based on undeniable historical materials and through regularized historical education and commemorative activities, General Secretary Xi Jinping’s expositions foster a social atmosphere of venerating, defending, learning from, and caring for heroes. This ensures that the heroic spirit becomes an inviolable national baseline. More profoundly, by constructing a scientifically complete system of historical cognition, they provide the whole of society with an ideological yardstick for distinguishing historical right from wrong. This is clearly reflected in the emphasis that "history must not be forgotten," requiring us to remember the aggressive crimes of Japanese militarism while opposing historical revanchism, and to affirm the sacrifices and contributions of the Chinese people while respecting the historical contributions of people of all nations in the Anti-Fascist War. This dialectical and rational historical attitude not only enhances society’s discernment and immunity against historical nihilism but also guides people to draw wisdom from history and cherish the hard-won peace.
Coalescing Spiritual Momentum for the Development of Chinese-path Modernization
Great history nurtures a great spirit; a great spirit drives a great cause. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s profound explanation of the Great Spirit of the War of Resistance and the contemporary activation of historical memory have injected a continuous stream of spiritual momentum into Chinese-path modernization.
The Great Spirit of the War of Resistance contains "the patriotic sentiment of taking responsibility for the rise and fall of the nation; the national integrity of facing death with equanimity and preferring death over surrender; the heroic spirit of defying brute force and fighting to the end; and the conviction of victory characterized by perseverance and unyielding will." These values are highly consistent with the core values of the Great Practice of the Party leading the people in continuous struggle in the New Era. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that the Great Spirit of the War of Resistance is an invaluable spiritual asset of the Chinese people that will forever inspire them to overcome all difficulties and obstacles and strive for the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. On the journey of advancing Chinese-path modernization, we face unprecedented risks and challenges—from the "chokehold" [7] problems in science and technology to the constraints of unbalanced and inadequate development—all of which require us to draw courage and wisdom from the Great Spirit of the War of Resistance to overcome difficulties.
By systematically explaining how the victory of the War of Resistance historically elevated China’s international status—from a semi-colonial country to a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and from the "Sick Man of East Asia" [8] to an important force for world peace—these expositions allow the Chinese people to deeply recognize that the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is not an abstract slogan, but an inevitable process with a solid historical foundation. The deep mobilization of the "Great Rear" in the Southwest and Northwest and the border ethnic minority areas during the war laid the modern foundation for the building of a community for the Chinese nation. The contemporary activation of these historical memories effectively coalesces the ideological consensus and concerted action of the whole society to advance Chinese-path modernization.
Contributing Chinese Historical Wisdom to Building a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity
At a time when the "changes of the century" are accelerating and local conflicts and turbulence occur frequently, the concepts of peace and the international vision contained in General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on the War of Resistance provide profound historical insights for building a community with a shared future for humanity and demonstrate clear global significance.
Based on the historical practice of China’s War of Resistance, these expositions profoundly explain the historical law that "justice will prevail, peace will prevail, and the people will prevail." The Chinese People's War of Resistance was an important part of the World Anti-Fascist War; China fought not only for the future of the Chinese nation but also for the future of all humanity. Through immense national sacrifice, China blocked Japan’s "Northward" and "Southward" strategies, preventing the Soviet Union from fighting on two fronts and creating favorable conditions for the US and UK Allied forces to gain the initiative in the Pacific theater. This made an outstanding contribution to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and clearly demonstrated China’s important status and responsibility as a major power. By detailing the enormous sacrifices made by the Chinese people, China declares to the world: any attempt to subject other countries by force or bully the weak through hegemony will eventually be discarded by history. Simultaneously, China actively advocates the concept of international cooperation—taking history as a mirror to look toward the future—prompting the international community to jointly safeguard the fruits of victory in WWII and international fairness and justice, providing historical wisdom to solve current dilemmas in global governance.
In the field of global research and communication of the history of the War of Resistance, the global significance of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s expositions is particularly prominent. We must resolutely oppose any act of beautifying aggression or distorting history, while advocating that all countries transcend differences in ideology and national interests to jointly write an objective and complete history of WWII. China’s establishment of the National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre and the holding of commemorative activities for the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War are vivid embodiments of the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s expositions. These actions effectively promote the formation of a common understanding of WWII history in the international community and inject spiritual nourishment from both historical and realistic dimensions into the construction of a new type of international relations characterized by mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation.
Eighty years have passed in the blink of an eye; the smoke of history has long dissipated, but the echoes of reality still resonate. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on the War of Resistance are rooted in the materialist conception of history, based on the people’s position, and winged by a global vision. They achieve an organic unity of historical, theoretical, and practical logic. They provide a "key" for China in the New Era to "take history as a mirror to create the future," and contribute Chinese wisdom to humanity’s choice of peace and development at the crossroads. Facing the future, we must transform historical memory into the momentum for progress, continue to deepen and expand the academic interpretation and practical transformation of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions, and continuously gather the majestic power to advance Chinese-path modernization and jointly create a better future for humanity.
(The author is the Vice Dean of the School of Marxism at Guangxi University for Nationalities and the Vice Dean of the Institute of CPC History and Party Building at Guangxi University for Nationalities) Source: Chinese Social Sciences Today (CASS), September 1, 2025.