Yu Zuhua: The Profound Significance of the Victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression from the Perspective of the History of Civilization
The Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War constituted a life-and-death struggle between the world’s peace-loving and righteous nations and peoples against the brutal enemies of human civilization. This conflict occurred at a historical moment when Chinese civilization faced a severe catastrophe and human civilization faced a grave challenge. In order to defend the achievements of Chinese civilization and rescue human civilization, the Communist Party of China (CPC) led the Chinese people in composing a glorious chapter of civilization triumphing over barbarism.
Defending the achievements of the Chinese nation’s civilization. The War of Resistance was the first complete victory in a struggle against foreign aggression won by China in its modern history. It curbed the downward trend of "the nation’s humiliation, the people’s suffering, and the civilization’s decline" [1] experienced since the Opium War. It thoroughly terminated Japanese imperialism’s destructive devastation of Chinese civilization and turned a page on a period of profound calamity in the history of Chinese civilization.
The living space of the Chinese nation was resolutely defended. Faced with the barbaric invasion of Japanese imperialism, the CPC led the people in fighting powerful enemies with unyielding character, building a "Great Wall" with their own flesh and blood, and rushing to the national crisis in successive waves, "defending the Yellow River, defending North China, and defending all of China." Through arduous struggle, the Chinese people realized the goal of "not allowing Japanese imperialism to occupy a single inch of Chinese soil." They secured the return to the motherland of territories ceded to Japan, including Taiwan, proving once again that the Chinese nation is a great nation that does not fear brute force and maintains self-reliance and self-strengthening.
The memory-carriers of Chinese civilization were better protected. Cultural relics and remains are the memory-carriers of Chinese civilization and the precious accumulation of over 5,000 years of the Chinese nation's achievements. Protecting the national cultural heritage was an important task of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. After Japanese imperialism launched the September 18th Incident [2] in 1931, in order to prevent looting and destruction by the Japanese invaders, five batches totaling approximately 13,000 cases of cultural relics from the Palace Museum were moved out of Beiping (Beijing) between February and May 1933. They were moved south to Shanghai and Nanjing, and after the outbreak of the July 7th Incident [3], they were evacuated through the chaos of war to the rear in the Southwest, eventually returning to Nanjing after the victory of the War of Resistance.
The victory of the War of Resistance was a great victory for the national spirit centered on patriotism. The magnificent process of the War of Resistance gave birth to the Great Spirit of Resistance, which contains the patriotic sentiment that "every man shares responsibility for the fate of his country" [4], the national integrity of facing death with equanimity and preferring death to surrender, the heroic spirit of defying brute force and fighting to the finish, and the conviction of victory characterized by unyielding perseverance. During the war period, cultural and educational institutions such as Southwest Associated University and Northwest Associated University moved inland under difficult conditions, writing a magnificent chapter of guarding the Chinese cultural lineage (wenmai) amidst the flames and smoke of the War of Resistance.
Maintaining the continuity of Chinese civilization and initiating a new journey of rebirth through fire. The victory of the War of Resistance not only "defended the achievements of civilization developed by the Chinese nation over more than 5,000 years," but was also dedicated to "building a new society and a new nation for the Chinese people." [5] It opened up bright prospects for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and initiated a new journey for ancient China to undergo a "phoenix-like nirvana" and rebirth through fire.
Chinese civilization has flourished for over 5,000 years; despite experiencing many vicissitudes and hardships, it has become the only great civilization in the world that has remained continuous and developed to the present day in the form of a state. During the War of Resistance, the sons and daughters of China sought survival through transformation and rejuvenation through innovation. They enabled this ancient country of China to "establish a new mandate within an old state," [6] transformed the Chinese nation—a "long-standing and weathered ancient nation"—into a "self-strengthening and vigorous youthful nation," and allowed Chinese civilization to radiate new vitality by being endowed with modern power.
In the tempering fires of the War of Resistance, "the mast of the ship of New China had already appeared on the horizon." [7] During the period of partial resistance, the CPC proposed the establishment of a "Soviet New China," and during the period of comprehensive resistance, it expounded the ideology of a "New Democratic New China." In On New Democracy, Mao Zedong systematically elaborated the CPC’s vision for establishing a New Democratic New China. The CPC's proposals to transform the old China and build a New China represented the correct direction of historical development and therefore quickly turned from a blueprint into reality. On the basis of the victory in the War of Resistance, the CPC united and led the people to establish the New China. Socialist modernization is the "establishment of a New Mandate" within the "Old State," realizing the organic unity of the continuity and innovativeness of Chinese civilization.
Under the tempering of the war, the Chinese nation transitioned from a "nation-in-itself" to a "nation-for-itself." [8] Since the beginning of the modern era, the national crisis had deepened continuously. In particular, the aggression of Japanese imperialism brought the Chinese nation to a crisis of national subjugation and racial extinction (wangguo miezhong). This national crisis stimulated the awakening of the Chinese nation and the growth of the consciousness of the community for the Chinese nation. In the article "The Chinese Revolution and the Chinese Communist Party" published in December 1939, Mao Zedong expounded on the formation and history of the Chinese nation, emphasizing that "the people of all ethnic groups in the Chinese nation oppose the oppression of foreign nations." This marked the establishment of the CPC's concept of a "pluralistic unity" (duoyuan yiti) of the Chinese nation and the formalization of "the Chinese nation" (Zhonghua minzu) as a "state-nation" (guozu) designation.
Under the tempering of the war, the Chinese civilization’s Daotong [9] (orthodoxy) extended into Sinicized Marxism. During the War of Resistance, through the process of opposing Japanese imperialist aggression and resisting colonial education, the spirit of self-reliance of the Chinese nation was promoted, and the autonomy of Chinese culture was enhanced. In October 1938, in the political report "On the New Stage" delivered at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth CPC Central Committee, Mao Zedong proposed "making Marxism concrete in China" and emphasized: "From Confucius to Sun Yat-sen, we should summarize and inherit this precious legacy." The CPC achieved the first historic leap in the Sinicization of Marxism, forming Mao Zedong Thought as the first major theoretical achievement of Sinicized Marxism. Yan’an became the "mainstay" (zhongliu dizhu) for creating the new culture and building the new civilization of the Chinese nation during the resistance. On June 10, 1941, an editorial in the Liberation Daily titled "Welcome Scientific and Artistic Talent" pointed out: "Yan’an serves as a mainstay not only politically but also culturally, becoming the active heart of the nation’s culture."
Saving human civilization and promoting the transformation and upgrading of civilizational forms. The Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was of great significance for saving human civilization and defending world peace; it was an important integral part of the World Anti-Fascist War. The victory of the War of Resistance will be forever recorded in the annals of the Chinese nation for advancing the rejuvenation of Chinese civilization, and it will be forever engraved in the annals of the cause of human justice for promoting the progress of human civilization.
The victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance and the World Anti-Fascist War saved human civilization. Fascism was a malignant tumor of human civilization, creating the greatest catastrophe of human society in the 20th century. Facing the catastrophe of the destruction of the achievements of human civilization and the challenge of the reversal of the process of human civilization, the Chinese people were the first to rise up. They joined forces with the world's progressive forces to fight the enemy, collectively defeating the fascist aggressors and thereby rescuing human civilization.
The victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance and the World Anti-Fascist War defended world peace. China became a major ally and victory-state in the world anti-fascist camp alongside the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. As one of the "Big Four," China took the lead in signing the Declaration by United Nations on January 1, 1942. China promoted the formulation of the UN Charter and other basic norms of international relations, forming a new mechanism for maintaining international peace and security, and playing an important role in safeguarding world peace. The Chinese people stand firmly on the right side of history and the side of human civilizational progress, adhering to the path of peaceful development and working hand-in-hand with the people of all countries to build a community with a shared future for humanity.
The Chinese People’s War of Resistance and the World Anti-Fascist War gave birth to a new form of civilization. The victory of these wars promoted the development of national liberation movements in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as well as the development of the international communist movement. It promoted the spread of common values for all humanity, such as peace and development, exerting a lasting and profound influence on the process of human civilization. During the War of Resistance, based on a profound reflection on Western-style modernization and Soviet-style modernization, the CPC proposed the theory of New Democracy and designed a roadmap for "developing from a New Democratic society to a future socialist society." It achieved victory in the New Democratic Revolution, conducting a preliminary exploration for the journey toward Chinese-path modernization and the creation of a new form of human civilization. This great practice shows that the Chinese people will surely make indelible contributions once again to maintaining world peace and promoting the progress of human civilization.