Yan Xiaofeng: Carry Forward the Great Spirit of the Resistance Against Japanese Aggression; Forge Ahead in the Great 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 [1], remaining indomitable and struggling tenaciously, putting forth unremitting efforts to realize the great undertaking 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. It serves to strengthen the spiritual bond of unity and the spiritual drive for self-improvement, providing a powerful impetus for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the cause of national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization.
I. The Communist Party of China was the pillar [2] of the War of Resistance and the national vanguard in securing victory; upholding Party 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, as well as 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 [3], the CPC took the lead in holding high the banner of armed resistance against Japanese aggression. The Lugou Bridge Incident [4] marked the outbreak of the full-scale national War of Resistance, bringing the fate of the Chinese nation to its most critical juncture. At this moment of national peril, the CPC upheld the greater national interest, shouldered 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 CPC. 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 full commitment to practicing the anti-Japanese national united front.
After reorganization, the Eighth Route Army quickly rushed to the front lines. They coordinated with the regular front operations while extensively launching anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare, achieving the Great Victory at Pingxingguan [5], which greatly boosted the confidence of the nation's military and civilians and enhanced the prestige of the CPC and the Eighth Route Army. The first generation of the Party's collective central 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 orientation of protracted war [6] alongside a complete set of strategies and tactics for people's war. They opened 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, and persisted in progress and opposed regression. Through its political programs, firm will, and exemplary actions, the Party sustained the hope of national salvation, led 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 beckoning lighthouse for the people; countless progressive figures and patriotic youths traveled from all over the country and even from overseas to Pagoda Mountain [7] to follow the Communist Party. It was precisely because the CPC, as China's advanced political party, played its role as the pillar and vanguard model that the Chinese people were mobilized to resist in unity, eventually winning the first complete victory against foreign invasion in modern Chinese history and erecting an eternal monument in the history of the Chinese nation.
The Report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC explicitly pointed out: "From this day forward, the central task of the Communist Party of China 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 a Chinese path to modernization." The key to building a modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation lies with the Party. Less than a week after the closing 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 conviction of the new central leadership collective to carry forward the "red bloodline," inherit the spirit of struggle, and deliver a new and excellent "test response" [8] to history and the people on the "new journey to face the tests."
Currently, our country's development has entered a period where strategic opportunities coexist with risks and challenges, and uncertain and unpredictable factors are increasing. Party leadership is the "backbone" for responding to major risks and challenges and the "ballast stone" for the steady and long-term progress of the great ship of Chinese-path modernization. To further comprehensively deepen reform around the advancement of Chinese-path modernization, we must handle many important relationships, contradictions, and affairs. We must adhere to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party 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 effectively 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," with the courage to shoulder responsibilities and strive for achievement, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will surely forge new glories.
II. The War of Resistance manifested the great truths that justice will prevail, peace will prevail, and the people will prevail; the comprehensive advancement of building a strong country and national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization follows this very same "Righteous Path of the Human World"
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 together bear in mind the great truth revealed by history: Justice will prevail! Peace will prevail! The people will prevail!" This important discourse reveals an unshakeable historical law, articulates the fundamental reason for the inevitable victory of the War of Resistance, and manifests the important guidelines for advancing the building of a strong country and national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization.
Justice will prevail means that the inevitable trend of historical progress is unstoppable. Although the German, Italian, and Japanese fascists 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" [9]. In the 20th century, when the tide of independence, democracy, and freedom in the process of world modernization was unstoppable, any attempt to realize a global fascist rule through violence 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 the world undergoes changes unseen in a century at an accelerated pace, external suppression and containment could escalate at any time, and various "black swan" or "gray rhino" events could occur. CPC members consistently uphold 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 wheel of history toward a bright future. Advancing the building of a strong country and national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization is a just, bright, and progressive cause; walking on this "Broad Road" [10], victory is certain.
Peace will prevail means that the dialectic of war and peace—that 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, carrying the nature of fighting for permanent peace. As Comrade Mao Zedong said: "To achieve this goal, we must fight to the death, be prepared for all sacrifices, and persevere to the end; we shall not stop until the goal is reached." In the New Era, CPC members march 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 building 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 great cause of national reunification.
The people will prevail means that the core idea that "the army and the people are the foundation of victory" [11] is immutable. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance, two erroneous viewpoints existed regarding whether victory was possible: "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 in the victory; or seeing only the factor of weapons while ignoring the human factor; or failing to see that full-scale mobilization, organization, and participation of the entire people could not be achieved overnight. Comrade Mao Zedong deeply analyzed the balance of power between the two sides, emphasizing that "the decisive factor is man, not things," and pointing out that "by mobilizing the common people of the whole country, we create a vast ocean in which to drown the enemy," and that "the deepest source of the power of war exists among the masses." 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 conduct a people's war, and a victory of the Chinese people's spirit of "The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains" [12]. On the new journey, we must maintain a people-centered approach, do everything for the people, rely on the people in everything, maintain "flesh-and-blood ties" with the people, and pool the majestic strength to advance the building of a strong country and national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization.
III. The great spirit of resistance is the unyielding soul that forms the "New Great Wall" of the Chinese nation and is the powerful spiritual drive inspiring the Chinese people to strive for national rejuvenation
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "The great spirit of resistance is a precious spiritual asset of the Chinese people, which will forever inspire the Chinese people to overcome all difficulties and obstacles and strive for the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." The great spirit of resistance constitutes the soul of the "New Great Wall" of the Chinese nation—"four hundred million compatriots with one heart, a new Great Wall ten thousand li long" [13]. Faced with the ferocious Japanese aggressors, the resistance military and civilians rose up, vowing to live or die with the mountains and rivers of their motherland. With their own flesh and blood, they built an indestructible "great wall of steel," creating a "miracle in the history of war, a magnificent feat of the Chinese nation, and an earth-shaking great undertaking."
Inheriting the patriotic sentiment that "every man shares responsibility for the fate of his country" [14] and forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation. Faced with an unprecedented crisis of national survival, resisting aggression and saving the nation became the common will of all Chinese parties, ethnic groups, classes, strata, organizations, and overseas Chinese. All sons and daughters of the Chinese nation stood united as one [15], jointly resisting foreign insult, fighting for the nation, for the motherland, and for dignity. The awakening and unity of the Chinese nation reached an unprecedented height. On the new journey in the New Era, closely focused on the central tasks of the Party and the state, the people of all ethnic groups uphold the patriotic sentiment that every man shares responsibility for the fate of his country. They hold high the banner of the great unity of the Chinese nation, continuously forge a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, and firmly establish the concept of a community in which we share "weal and woe, honor and disgrace, life and death, and a common destiny," forming a powerful synergy for the unified realization of the Chinese Dream.
Upholding the national integrity of viewing death as a return home [16] and rather dying than submitting, and relying on tenacious struggle to open up new horizons for the development of our cause. Faced with the brutal and inhumane Japanese aggressors, the Chinese people were unafraid of sacrifice and refused to yield. With the conviction to fight to the last drop of blood and to the very end, they wrote a great chapter of resisting foreign insult in the history of the Chinese nation with their lives and blood. This dauntless national integrity was embodied in the countless soldiers who bravely killed the enemy on both the regular and enemy-rear battlefields, as well as in the elders and villagers in the anti-Japanese base areas who would rather die than submit to the Japanese. The heroic sacrifice of the nation greatly stimulated the firm conviction and tenacious will of the whole people. Only by thoroughly eliminating the Japanese aggressors and achieving final victory could the nation survive and the country have hope. We are currently at a time where "the boat reaches midstream where the current is swiftest, and the person reaches mid-mountain where the path is steepest" [17]. We must be brave and adept at struggle, enhancing the ambition, grit, and backbone of the whole nation. We must not believe in heresies, fear ghosts, or cower under pressure [18]; instead, we must forge ahead despite difficulties and meet challenges head-on, putting forth every effort to overcome various obstacles on the road ahead.
Carrying forward the heroic spirit of defying brute force and fighting to the end, and keeping the destiny of China's development and progress firmly in our own hands. The nation's heroic spirit, the military's combat spirit, and the soldiers' "bloody grit" erupted to the maximum during the War of Resistance, "shaking the heavens and moving the gods." This heroic spirit is a vivid manifestation of the national character of self-confidence, self-reliance, and self-improvement. Independence and self-reliance are the soul of the Chinese national spirit and are important principles for our Party and state building. In human history, no nation or country has ever achieved strength and revitalization by relying on external forces, mechanically copying foreign models, or following in the footsteps of others. Only by insisting on placing the development of the country and the nation on the basis of our own strength, and by adhering to the Chinese characteristics, essential requirements, and major principles of Chinese-path modernization, can we firmly hold the destiny of China's development and progress in our own hands.
Strengthen the indomitable and unyielding conviction in ultimate victory, firming up confidence, working with one heart and one mind [19], immersing ourselves in hard work, and forging ahead courageously. The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression achieved complete victory under extremely arduous conditions; the spiritual pillar of adhering to a "protracted war" [20] was the unbreakable conviction in the inevitability of victory. The "Three Alls" policy [21] could not intimidate us, and extreme hardships could not crush us. The Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region launched the Great Production Movement [22] to overcome difficulties, and the National Southwestern Associated University [23] carried on the heritage of science and culture amidst enemy bombings—the hope of victory was never extinguished. The Spirit of the Resistance is a spiritual monument; the deeper and more solid its foundations are within the entire nation, the greater the strength and hope for seizing victory. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Learning history to increase confidence means strengthening faith, belief, and confidence. This is our powerful spiritual force for defeating all strong enemies, overcoming all difficulties, and seizing all victories." To unite and strive for the comprehensive building of a modern socialist country, we must strengthen our faith in Marxism and communism, maintaining a tenacious will and daring to overcome various major difficulties and severe challenges; strengthen our belief in socialism with Chinese characteristics, remaining steadfast in the "Four Confidences" [24]; and strengthen our confidence in realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, firmly believing that our Party can certainly unite and lead the people to build China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful by the middle of this century.
IV. The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression stimulated the great creativity of the CPC and the Chinese people; promoting the comprehensive building of a great modern socialist country is a historic pioneering undertaking of the New Era.
The War of Resistance unfolded at a critical juncture of national survival, with an extremely unbalanced bridge of strength, a complex situation of struggle, and incredibly difficult conditions. There were no prior experiences to follow and no foreign practices 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 [25] and ultimately led the people to win the great victory. This was the inevitable result of exerting the spirit of historical initiative and stimulating the great creativity of the CPC and the Chinese people. At the Wayaobu Meeting [26] held in December 1935, the CPC Central Committee clearly proposed the establishment of a broad national revolutionary united front and bravely discarded "closed-doorism" [27]. After the July 7th Incident [28], the Party implemented the correct policy of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, opposed surrenderism, and insisted on independence and initiative within the united front. This formed a highly creative and correct political strategy for the war, solving the issues of the primary force of the resistance and the Party’s autonomous status. After the full outbreak of the war, 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 a protracted war was the only fundamental way to achieve 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 whole set of strategies and tactics for people's war, extensively carrying out guerrilla tactics such as ambush, sabotage, mine warfare, tunnel warfare, and "sparrow warfare" [29], composing a brilliant epic of the victory of people's war in military history. Starting in 1942, the Party conducted a Rectification Movement [30] across the entire membership, promoting the "three major styles of work"—integrating theory with practice, maintaining close ties with the masses, and practicing criticism and self-criticism—striving to build a nationwide, mass-based Marxist party 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 and, eventually, nationwide victory.
Our Party exerted a high degree of conscious dynamism and revolutionary creativity during the war, winning a great victory. On the new journey of the New Era, comprehensively building a great modern socialist country is a great pioneering undertaking in the process of world modernization, concerning the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The road ahead cannot be smooth and level; there will certainly be hardships and obstacles, and we may encounter major tests of "high winds and turbulent waves" or even "stormy seas." In this critical period of comprehensively promoting the building of a strong country and national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization, it is even more necessary for the entire Party and all the people to remain steadfast in "walking our own path," exerting the spirit of historical initiative, the spirit of daring to struggle, and the spirit of courage in innovation, and continuously creating new glories. Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of a huge population; a country with a population of over one billion entering the ranks of modernized nations is of such significance that it will be recorded in the annals of history. Its tasks are more arduous than those of any other country; there is no ready-made template or plan to copy. 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 socialism with Chinese characteristics, 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 promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, creating a new form of human civilization.
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, with its enormous national sacrifice, sustained the main eastern battlefield of the World Anti-Fascist War. It made contributions that shine in the annals of history for saving the nation from peril, achieving national independence and people's liberation, and striving for the great cause of world peace. It was an important 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 achievement of permanent peace for the whole world will undoubtedly be very great." The Chinese People's War of Resistance began the earliest and lasted the longest; the Chinese battlefield pinned down and resisted the main forces of Japanese militarism for a long period, playing a decisive role in the complete downfall of the Japanese aggressors. Strategically, the Chinese war supported the operations of the Allied forces, coordinated with strategic actions in the European and Pacific theaters, and constrained and disrupted the strategic coordination attempts of Japanese fascists with German and Italian fascists. The major contribution made by the Chinese people to the World Anti-Fascist War won the respect of peace-loving people worldwide and gained a high national reputation, significantly improving China's international status. The war received widespread support from the international community; it was a great victory achieved by the Chinese people fighting side-by-side with the anti-fascist Allied powers and the people of all nations.
After the end of World War II, the vast number of colonial and semi-colonial countries successively achieved independence and began the process of modernization. Achieving modernization is the common pursuit of the vast number of developing countries. Since the start of the New Era, our Party and country, in the process of promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, 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 imitating the "Western model" nor requires other developing countries to copy the "Chinese model." Instead, it insists on the localization and diversity of modernization paths. China does not seek to be a "solitary flower blooming alone," but rather hopes for "a hundred flowers to bloom together" [31]. It sincerely provides more wisdom and strength for the Global South, providing 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 create a beautiful future for human modernization. Chinese-path modernization not only solidly promotes the comprehensive modernization of all regions and ethnic groups in our country but also makes outstanding contributions to world modernization, helping more developing countries enter the ranks of modernized nations and promoting the development and progress of human civilization.
(The author is the Dean and Professor of the School of Marxism at Tianjin University) Source: Qiushi (Red Flag Manuscript), Issue No. 11, 2025 Online Editor: Ma Jingren