Introduction to Major Achievements of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War
Click for Video In order to thoroughly implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions on strengthening research into the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and to carry forward the great spirit of patriotism and the great spirit of the War of Resistance, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has selected 11 representative achievements for centralized release from among those recommended by its affiliated research units. These include seven monographs, three theoretical articles and papers, and one data platform.
1. "The Victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a Great Victory for the National Spirit with Patriotism at its Core" Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Qiushi, Issue 14, 2025 This article posits that the War of Resistance stimulated and sublimated the national spirit centered on patriotism. The Communist Party of China (CPC) transformed the spiritual power of patriotism into a contemporary torrent leading the national struggle, playing the role of the "mainstay" [1] in the total national resistance. From taking the lead in issuing the call for resistance after the September 18th Incident [2] to establishing the Anti-Japanese National United Front, the CPC built a broad consensus and stimulated the profound power of patriotism inherent in the masses. In the arduous total national resistance, the CPC relied on and mobilized the people, composing a magnificent epic of patriotism and becoming the core force for winning victory in the war. Today, we must continue to carry forward the national spirit centered on patriotism, remember history, honor the martyrs, and strive in unity for the strength of the country and national rejuvenation.
2. "Macro-Reflections on the History of the Second World War" Zhang Haipeng Journal of CPC History Studies (Zhonggong Dangshi Yanjiu), Issue 8, 2015 Taking a longitudinal view of World War II history, this article finds that the war had two sources of origin, two starting points, two main battlefields, and two victory commemoration days. Clarifying these historical understandings is of great significance for breaking "Eurocentrism," revealing the complex process of war globalization, and providing theoretical support for the global status of the Chinese battlefield as the primary eastern theater. Breaking the traditional Eurocentric view that WWII had only one starting point in Europe and incorporating the Asian and Chinese battlefields into a global historical perspective helps construct a more complete and scientific view of WWII history, encouraging the international academic community to re-evaluate the global significance of China’s resistance.
3. "The Communist Party of China was the Mainstay of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression" Xia Chuntao Modern Chinese History Studies (Jindaishi Yanjiu), Issue 4, 2025 During the period of the total national resistance, the Kuomintang-led National Government represented the Chinese government externally; the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Revolutionary Base Area, where the CPC Central Committee was located, was renamed the "Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region" and was an administrative district directly under the Executive Yuan of the National Government. The Kuomintang possessed over two million troops, while the 50,000-strong Workers' and Peasants' Red Army led by the CPC was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army. The Kuomintang repeatedly emphasized its dominant status and role in the war. The actual situation, however, was that the CPC's influence and role grew daily. During the war, the CPC accomplished many major and difficult tasks that the Kuomintang should have done but did not or could not do, playing an irreplaceable and pivotal role in achieving the final victory of the arduous War of Resistance. Recognizing the CPC as the mainstay of the total national resistance is an inherent requirement for correctly understanding and summarizing the history of the War of Resistance.
4. History of the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (8 Volumes) Bu Ping and Wang Jianlang, Chief Editors Social Sciences Academic Press, October 2019 This work seeks to comprehensively reflect the changes in wartime China across politics, military affairs, economy, society, and diplomacy. It points out that the total national resistance was the foundation for China’s victory as the weaker party. The War of Resistance was the pivot of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, exerting a profound influence on China's internal affairs and diplomacy. While resisting foreign invasion, the war promoted transformations within Chinese society and nurtured new factors of modernization.
5. A New History of the Second World War Institute of World History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Chief Editor China Social Sciences Press, July 2025 This book adheres to a correct historical view of WWII, systematically examining the historical process whereby peace-loving righteous forces worldwide joined hands under the banner of the Anti-Fascist United Front to defeat the enemy and reshape the new world order. It highlights the decisive contribution of the primary eastern theater, fully demonstrates the great role of the CPC as the mainstay of the total national resistance and the surging power of "people’s war," and strives to construct a narrative of WWII history with distinct Chinese characteristics and the features of the New Era.
6. Literature and Data Platform of the War of Resistance and Modern Sino-Japanese Relations Developed by the Institute of Modern History, Chinese Academy of History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Released online September 2018 This platform is one of the representative achievements of the National Social Science Fund's "Special Project for Research on the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression." Officially launched on September 2, 2018, it is open to the public free of charge. The platform host over 83 million pages of high-definition images and nearly 180 million characters of indexed text. Currently, it is the world's largest database on the history of the War of Resistance, providing comprehensive historical support for research in the field.
7. Military Materials Collection of the Chinese National War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (100 Volumes) Edited by the Literature and Data Platform of the War of Resistance and Modern Sino-Japanese Relations Jin Yilin and Luo Min, Chief Editors Social Sciences Academic Press, April 2020 To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and to present the heroic historical landscape of the total national resistance, this 100-volume collection was compiled. It includes 341 types of documents totaling nearly 50,000 pages. The selected materials are primarily original historical documents published before 1945, focusing on rare official publications and internal documents with low survival rates, fully reflecting the combat situations of both the "frontal battlefield" [3] and the "enemy's rear battlefield" [4].
8. Research on the History of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Contemporary China (1949–2021) Du Jidong and Wu Minchao, Chief Editors China Social Sciences Press, June 2025 This book systematically sorts through and comprehensively reviews the overview of research on the War of Resistance in Mainland China since the founding of the New China, and especially since the start of reform and opening up. The book is organized into 15 topics, covering the enemy's rear and frontal battlefields, the construction of base areas, the "Great Rear" [5] and occupied areas, wartime foreign relations, overseas Chinese and the War of Resistance, and post-war legacy issues. It demonstrates the trajectory of research development, important achievements, and innovative breakthroughs while identifying deficiencies and providing outlooks.
9. Southwest Associated University and Modern China (1937–1946) Wen Liming Social Sciences Academic Press, January 2023 Utilizing abundant archival documents, local newspapers, and oral history materials, this book systematically traces the entire history of the establishment, development, and demobilization of the National Southwest Associated University (Lianda) between 1937 and 1946. It portrays the research, study, and daily lives of Lianda's faculty and students under extremely difficult conditions, describing how they contributed to politics, thought, culture, and education with a firm conviction in "saving the nation through resistance," thereby unifying personal careers and ideals with the destiny of the state and the future of the nation.
10. Research on the Establishment and Development of the Shandong Anti-Japanese Base Area Wang Shihua Social Sciences Academic Press, November 2024 The Shandong Anti-Japanese Base Area held a vital strategic position. This book utilizes Chinese and Japanese archives from home and abroad, survey data, diaries, yearbooks, memoirs, and local revolutionary documents from Shandong. It approaches the subject from topics seldom covered in previous research to discuss the arduous process and great achievements of the base area’s creation. It objectively presents the actual state of the CPC’s efforts to mobilize the masses, organize armed forces, persevere in resistance, and take root in Shandong. The book's discussion of the CPC’s small-unit construction, "two-faced regimes" [6], and communications work is highly original.
11. Rediscovering the Tokyo Trials: Seeking the International Rule of Law for Peace and Justice Xu Chi Contemporary China Publishing House, December 2023 From the dual perspectives of law and history, this book conducts an in-depth discussion of the Tokyo Trials. It reveals the dynamics and reasons behind the trials, analyzes core legal issues, and sorts through the contributions and value of the trials in the history of the development of the international rule of law. It excavates China's historical role in the Tokyo Trials and the process of international legal governance. It not only provides a direct response to and refutation of the fallacies of the "denialist school" in Japan but also points toward a future orientation for seeking peace through the rule of law and describing the shared memory of post-war Asia.
Source: Guangming Daily Web Editor: Tongxin