Liu Sen: The Dissemination of Heroic Narratives in the History of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army
Technological innovation in the era of smart media has endowed the dissemination of Red Culture [1] with new kinetic energy. The history of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army (NAJUA) is a heroic epic written in the crucible of ice and fire. The heroic narrative of NAJUA history is by no means a simple repetition of historical facts; rather, it is a communicative activity that strengthens collective memory, transmits core values, and solidifies historical evidence. As the state places increasing importance on "Red Gene Culture," the heroic narratives of NAJUA history are being widely disseminated through diverse media such as documentaries, short videos, films, television dramas, and live-streamed exhibitions.
Reconstructing Dissemination Scenarios through Micro-Slices
Communication studies posit that memory is not a simple individual psychological activity, but a "social process" constructed and inherited through media, narratives, and rituals. Proactive narration lies in maintaining an autonomous and conscious subjective position, firmly grasping the initiative and dominance of the narrative in one's own hands. The narrative dissemination of heroic martyrs in NAJUA history can form a social consensus through shared, persuasive stories, effectively shaping the collective perception of the history of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
On one hand, the heroic narratives in NAJUA history use micro-slices to allow the audience to intuitively perceive history as vivid and tangible, guiding them to establish a correct outlook on history and the nation within story scenarios. In 2025, the program War of Resistance Tokens: A Dialogue Across Space and Time, launched by Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation, utilized "tokens" as a medium. Through objects such as the relics of Yang Jingyu [2] and Zhao Yiman’s [3] letter to her son, it recounted heroic deeds from the perspective of micro-objects, achieving a spatio-temporal dialogue between contemporary youth and heroes. This micro-narrative, possessing great emotional penetrative power, refines the grand history of the War of Resistance into touchable, empathetic lives, becoming the most effective carrier and transmission belt for historical memory.
On the other hand, in the era of digital-intelligent media dissemination, the heroic narratives of NAJUA history exhibit scenario-based and ritualistic characteristics, allowing the audience to enhance their national faith within solemn and serious settings. Commemorative activities for heroes, visits to memorial halls, and public sacrifices on Martyrs' Day all constitute communicative acts within the "ritual view" of communication studies. Through this ritualized dissemination, social members are no longer bystanders alienated from history, but active participants in a collective, solemn cultural experience. This generates a sense of awe toward heroic martyrs and a sense of identity regarding national culture and ethnicity. For instance, the multi-media live broadcast The Eternal Song of Beacon Fires, jointly created by Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces, aggregated over 30 new media accounts. It featured journalists venturing deep into important NAJUA ruins, memorials, and commemorative sites, achieving a resonant broadcast across both large and small screens, and effectively reinforcing the collective memory of revolutionary history.
The heroic narrative in NAJUA history can rapidly anchor historical coordinates, ensuring that every dissemination of heroic deeds becomes a confirmation of historical truth, and making conscious dissemination among the public a "Great Wall of Steel" against the erosion of time and historical nihilism [4].
Enriching Dissemination Carriers through Narrative Innovation
The spirit of the War of Resistance is not a frozen fossil, but a flowing river. When disseminating heroic narratives in the New Era, it is necessary to analyze the cognitive structures and reception habits of different audiences and adopt more flexible and rich dissemination strategies to achieve the goal of having the audience proactively "decode" the NAJUA heroic narrative.
From the perspective of cultural dissemination, innovative heroic narratives of the NAJUA provide rich "symbolic resources" for various cultural creations. In recent years, numerous literary and art workers across the country have created and launched a large number of artistic works commemorating the NAJUA. Iconic cultural imagery such as the "forests and snow-capped plains" [5], isolated guerrilla camps, and heroic group portraits constitute the cultural text of the heroic narrative. These heroic stories flow like streams into contemporary cultural creation, innovating the dissemination of the heroic spirit across different media carriers. From the traditional novel Tracks in the Snowy Forest to films like Along the Songhua River, Zhao Yiman, and There Will Be Followers, then to TV dramas like General Yang Jingyu, Eight Women Jumping into the River, and The First Shot, as well as documentaries like The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army and Forging the Heroic Soul in the White Mountains and Black Waters, every transition in media form represents a new interpretation of the heroic narrative. This ensures that audience groups of different tastes and generations can feel the emotional impact and national integrity transmitted through cultural works.
At the same time, the heroic narrative is established through a powerful "story framework." By selectively recounting historical heroic figures, it shapes people's understanding of reality and expectations for the future. For example, the CCTV documentary The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army presents a panoramic view of the magnificent epic of the NAJUA's bloody struggle under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. The documentary uses modern communication methods to innovate the "encoding" of the NAJUA heroic narrative, not only showcasing a nation's faith and unity in desperate straits but also emphasizing the indelible historical contribution made by the NAJUA to the national War of Resistance and the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War.
Furthermore, with the continuous development of information technology, NAJUA sites and memorials across the Northeast are no longer limited to static displays. They utilize VR/AR technology for situational reconstruction, narrowing the distance between the dissemination media, the process, and the audience, thereby forming a "cultural field" with a regional Intellectual Property (IP) character. For instance, on August 30, 2025, the "Special Exhibition of Cultural Relics Unearthed from NAJUA Sites" opened at the Museum of the Communist Party of China. This exhibition not only presented precious relics, archives, historical footage, and historical scenes in a narrative format but also broke through the single narrative mode of traditional museums. It skillfully integrated information technologies like cinematic scenography, allowing visitors to experience the arduous struggle of the NAJUA within a multi-layered interweaving of sound, light, shadow, and scenery, fully embodying the profound humanistic value of that historical period.
Transmitting National Faith through the Heroic Spirit
The most profound dissemination value of the heroic narrative in NAJUA history lies in the fact that its effects do not stop at the cognitive level; rather, they reach directly into the spiritual world of the audience, playing a role in value cultivation and spiritual shaping, and acting as a "foundry for the soul" of the national spirit. When many well-known Red sites require reservations days in advance, when school groups, families, and individuals spontaneously visit revolutionary shrines, and when countless visitors enter martyrs' cemeteries, museums, and memorials... the heroic narrative of NAJUA history repeatedly reaffirms "who we are" and "where we come from." This ritualistic dissemination continuously awakens and strengthens the national identity of participants, stimulating the shared sense of destiny among every member of the Chinese nation.
In the New Era, the NAJUA spirit, with its unique charismatic and guiding role, enlightens the mind, cleanses the spirit, and inspires progress. It possesses value that transcends time and space. Continually and systematically telling the stories of NAJUA heroes through social media, popular culture, and other media is akin to conducting "spiritual drip irrigation" in the soil of social culture, constantly consolidating the core value system of society.