Cadre Education of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army during the War of Resistance against Japan

Starting in 1933, the Northeast anti-Japanese armed forces under the leadership of the Manchuria Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party began to unite on a large scale with anti-Japanese forces such as the Volunteer Armies, Red Spear Societies, and Forest Bands [1]1 The Manchuria Provincial Committee (Manzhou Shengwei) was the Chinese Communist Party's leading body in Northeast China, established in 1927 and dissolved in 1936; it directed the anti-Japanese struggle in the region. The Volunteer Armies (yiyongjun), Red Spear Societies (hongqiang hui), and Forest Bands (shanlin dui) were different types of anti-Japanese armed forces in the Northeast: the Volunteers were spontaneously organized popular armies, the Red Spear Societies were folk groups with religious overtones, and the Forest Bands were guerrilla units active in the mountains.. They were successively reorganized into the Northeast People's Revolutionary Army and the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, tying down hundreds of thousands of Japanese and puppet regular troops [2]2 Japanese and puppet regular troops (riwei zhengguijun) refers to the Japanese Kwantung Army and the army of the puppet state of Manchukuo. and forming powerful support for the national War of Resistance. With the expansion of the army, problems of shortage in the number and inadequacy in the ability of cadres began to appear, severely restricting the army's development. Therefore, strengthening cadre education to ensure the effective implementation of the Party's line in the army became an important issue facing the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army.

从1933年起，中共满洲省委领导下的东北抗日武装开始大规模联合义勇军、红枪会、山林队等抗日力量，先后整编为东北人民革命军、东北抗日联军，牵制了数十万日伪正规军，形成了对全国抗日战争的有力支持。伴随着军队的扩张，军中干部数量上缺乏、能力上欠缺的问题开始显露，并严重制约着军队的发展。因此，加强干部教育，保证党的路线在军中有效落实，成为东北抗日联军面临的重要问题。

Methods of Cadre Education in the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army

东北抗日联军干部教育的方式

The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army fought year-round in the mountains and forests against Japanese and puppet military and police, making conventional schooling difficult. Therefore, its cadre education methods were diverse, broadly as follows.

东北抗日联军常年辗转于山林与日伪军警作战，常规办学难度较大，因此其干部教育方式较为多样，大体有以下几种。

Establishing short-term training classes and army-run schools. Short-term training classes were generally held in base areas or secret camps, while army-run schools were training classes attached to the troops, capable of training cadres without disrupting normal military activities. Both mainly recruited lower-level commanders and activists among the soldiers, aiming to improve cadres' command ability and ideological level through short-term training. For example, the Hadong Detachment [3]3 The Hadong Detachment was a unit of the Third Army of the Northeast People's Revolutionary Army, active in the area east of Harbin. ran several mobile training classes in 1934, each with 6 to 8 members, “one class dedicated to soldier work, one class for youth masses and anti-Japanese youth army work”; in 1939, the Third Route Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army opened short-term training classes to “train company commanders, political instructors, and equivalent military-political cadres and local staff” [4]4 The Third Route Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army was formed in 1939, commanded by Li Zhaolin..

创设短期训练班和随营学校。短期训练班一般在根据地或密营举办，随营学校是随军性质的训练班，既能够训练干部，又不影响军队正常活动。二者主要招收下级指挥员和士兵中的积极分子，旨在通过短期的训练，提高干部的指挥能力和思想水平。例如，哈东支队在1934年举办的几期流动训练班，每班6到8人不等，“一班专门作士兵工作，一班为青群及青反军工作的”；1939年抗联第三路军开办短期训练班以“培养连长、政治指导员及同等军政干部和地方工作人员”。

Establishing field training detachments. This was the most common way for the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army to train middle- and lower-level cadres. Training detachments generally moved with the troops and, in addition to training, also undertook combat missions. After completing their studies, outstanding members could be assigned by higher authorities to various units to assume corresponding leadership. Almost every army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army had established training detachments, training regiments, or training companies. The First Army established a training company in May 1934, selecting 20 trainees for a three-month course, after which they were assigned to various units to take up management positions. At the end of 1937, the Second Route Army established the Xiajiang Training Detachment, specifically training officers below the regimental level [5]5 The Xiajiang Training Detachment was a training unit in the Xiajiang region (lower reaches of the Heilong River)..

建立随军教导队。这是抗联培养中下级干部最普遍的一种途径。教导队一般随军行动，除了培训外，还承担作战任务，学习期满后，上级可将其中优秀者派往各队担负相应的领导工作。抗联各军几乎都成立过教导队、教导团或教导连等组织。第一军在1934年5月就成立了教导连，选招学员20名，训练期限为3个月，结束后分配至各队承担管理工作；1937年底抗联二路军成立下江教导队，专门培训团以下军官干部。

Establishing the Anti-Japanese United Army Military-Political School. The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army Political and Military School, established in 1936, was a school specially for training senior cadres of the United Army, mainly to meet the needs of the development of the United Army troops and the expansion of anti-Japanese guerrilla areas. Its principal was Zhao Shangzhi [6]6 Zhao Shangzhi was a major leader of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, commander of the Third Army and commander-in-chief of the North Manchuria Anti-Japanese United Army; he was killed in 1942.. Trainees were mainly selected from the military or recommended by mass organizations in the base areas, and were divided into officer classes and student classes. The school ran three sessions, training nearly 300 outstanding senior military-political cadres for the United Army, making a tremendous contribution to the army's development.

建立抗联军政学校。1936年设立的东北抗日联军政治军事学校是专门针对抗联高级干部进行培训的学校，主要为满足抗联部队的发展和抗日游击区域扩大的需求。校长为赵尚志，学员主要从军中选拔或根据地群团组织推荐，层级分为军官班和学生班。学校共举办了3期，为抗联培养了近300名优秀的高级军政干部，对军队发展作出了巨大的贡献。

Selecting cadres to study in the Soviet Union. Due to limited conditions for schooling in the Northeast, sending young cadres to the Soviet Union was also a way for the United Army to train cadres, with study periods generally ranging from one to three years, mainly for training technical and senior cadres. In December 1933, the Manchuria Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League sent Yu Baohe [7]7 Yu Baohe was a radio communications technology specialist in the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. to Moscow to study radio communication technology. After returning to China, he secretly established the “Telecommunications School of the Third Army Headquarters of the Northeast People's Revolutionary Army” in Tonghe County [8]8 Tonghe County is a county in central Heilongjiang Province that was an area of activity for the United Army during the war. to train specialized telecommunications personnel. Among senior cadres, Li Yanping, commander of the Fourth Army, and Chen Rongjiu, commander of the Seventh Army, were sent to study at the Moscow Eastern University [9]9 The Moscow Eastern University (full name: Moscow Eastern Workers' Communist University) was founded in 1921 to train revolutionary cadres for the Soviet Union and other countries, including Chinese students..

选送干部赴苏联学习。由于东北地区办学条件有限，选送青年干部赴苏联学习也是抗联培养干部的一种途径，学习期限一般从1年到3年不等，主要培养技术干部和高级干部。1933年12月，满洲团省委派于保合赴莫斯科学习无线电通信技术，其学成归国后，在通河县秘密组建“东北人民革命军第三军司令部电信学校”培养专门的电信技术人才。高级干部当中，抗联四军军长李延平、七军军长陈荣久都曾被派往莫斯科东方大学学习。

Content of Cadre Education in the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army

东北抗日联军干部教育的内容

Although the methods of cadre education in the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army varied, the content generally included three categories: military skills, political theory, and cultural knowledge.

东北抗日联军干部教育开展的途径虽有所不同，但其所学内容一般包括军事技能、政治理论和文化知识三大类。

The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army mainly undertook military operations; therefore, military education was the focus of cadre training. The military education for cadres varied in emphasis according to the target audience. For example, short-term training classes and training detachments for middle- and lower-level commanders mainly trained in guerrilla tactics, marksmanship, and some simple unit management, military topography, and combat service. In contrast, the military courses at the Military-Political School for senior cadres mainly explained guerrilla tactics and the thought of people's war, studied the 16-character guerrilla guidelines [10]10 The 16-character guerrilla guidelines (16 zi youji fangzhen) refers to Mao Zedong's guerrilla tactics: “The enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy encamps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue.”, and learned about weapons use, map reading, scale and distance measurement, military geography and meteorology.

东北抗日联军主要承担军事行动，因此，军事教育是抗联培养干部的重点。抗联对干部的军事教育根据教学对象的不同，侧重点也有所不同。如培养中下级指挥员的短期训练班、教导队在军事方面的训练多为游击战术、射击技术，有的还学些简单的部队管理和军事地形学、战斗勤务等。而培养高级干部的抗联军政学校开设的军事课，则主要讲解游击战术和人民战争思想，学习16字游击方针，学习武器使用、地图识别、比例尺及距离测算、军事地理与气象等知识。

“Having both ability and moral integrity” was the consistent standard of the Chinese Communist Party's cadre training; therefore, in addition to military skills, improving cadres' political quality was equally important. In 1935, the training detachment of the Fifth Army offered four political courses, including Problems of the Chinese Revolution, History of the World Revolution, Political Economy, and Theory and Practice of the Proletarian Revolution, etc. The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army Political and Military School, established in 1936, also placed political education in the foremost position; its entrance examination questions for trainees were highly political. At the same time, the school offered multiple political courses, teaching trainees basic knowledge of political economy, modern Chinese history, and the line and policies of the Chinese Communist Party.

“德才兼备”是中国共产党干部培养的一贯标准，因此除军事技能外，提高干部的政治素养同样十分重要。1935年，五军教导队开设的政治课程就有4门，包括中国革命问题、世界革命史、政治经济学及无产阶级革命理论与实际等。1936年建立的东北抗日联军军政学校同样将政治教育放在首要位置，其招收学员的入校试题就具有较强的政治性。同时，学校开设多门政治课，向学员讲授政治经济学常识、中国近代史和中国共产党的路线政策。

The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army was established on the basis of broadly uniting various anti-Japanese armed forces. Its cadres came from different social strata and groups; some were from old armies, some from poor peasant families, with varying levels of education. Therefore, the short-term training classes, army-run schools, and military-political schools all offered cultural education, focusing on literacy, writing, and arithmetic. The goal was to enable cadres to reach the level of reading and writing documents and military orders, so as to ensure they could understand the Party's line, principles, and policies, and conduct necessary communication between superiors and subordinates.

抗联是在广泛联合各种抗日武装的基础上建立起来的，其干部来自不同的社会阶层和群体，有的出身旧军队，有的出身贫苦农家，文化程度参差不齐。因此，抗联举办的短期训练班、随营学校、军政学校等都开设有文化课教育，文化课以识字、写字、算术为主，目的是使干部能够达到读写文件、军令的水平，以保证其能够理解党的路线方针政策，进行必要的上下级信息沟通。

Characteristics of Cadre Education in the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army

东北抗日联军干部教育的特点

The cadre education of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army inherited the Chinese Communist Party's cadre education theory, while also integrating the external environment of the War of Resistance in the Northeast, reflecting its own unique characteristics.

东北抗日联军的干部教育承袭中国共产党的干部教育理论，又结合东北地区抗战的外部环境，体现出自身独有的特点。

First, the methods and content of cadre education were flexible and diverse. The cadre education of the United Army not only had multiple forms such as training classes, training detachments, military-political schools, and sending abroad, but each form could be flexibly adjusted according to specific circumstances and effectiveness. For example, when forming a training detachment, members were generally selected as outstanding young backbone from various companies or mass organizations. However, if it was impossible to extract activists to form a separate team under the circumstances, a flexible method was adopted: “take an entire company or platoon as the training detachment; all soldiers of that company or platoon, regardless of quality, are considered trainees.” In terms of content, for example, in the winter of 1933, the Raohe Guerrilla Unit [11]11 The Raohe Guerrilla Unit was founded in Raohe County in 1932 and later developed into the Seventh Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army., in order to break the Japanese-puppet “mopping-up” campaign in winter, formed a skiing team for emergency training, enabling members to master skiing skills, which played a good role in subsequent battles.

第一，干部教育的方式内容灵活多样。抗联的干部教育不仅有训练班、教导队、军政学校、派送出国等多种形式，而且每种教育形式又能够依据具体情况，从效果出发，灵活多变。在形式上如组建教导队时，队员一般是从各连队或者群团组织中挑选优秀青年骨干组成，但如当时情形下无法抽调出积极分子单独组队时，也采取变通的方法，“把某个连或排整个作为教导队，某个连或排全体士兵不论优劣一律作为教导队学员”。内容上如1933年冬，饶河游击队为打破日伪军冬季“讨伐”，组成滑雪队进行紧急训练，使队员熟练掌握滑雪技巧，在后续的战斗中发挥了很好的作用。

Second, emphasis was placed on cultivating cadres' exemplary role. The “Rules for the First Training Class” issued by the training class run by the Third Route Army in 1939 included learning discipline, alert and combat discipline, military courtesy discipline, hygiene discipline, arms and storage discipline, and soldier conduct, aiming to enable trainees to “cultivate a pure and exemplary revolutionary soldier style,” which shows the importance attached to cadres' exemplary role. The same was true for training detachments. Training detachments emphasized equal importance on politics and military in teaching; the trained members had firm political stands and excellent military quality, often fighting more bravely in battle, becoming models for the entire army: “As soon as soldiers and commanders hear gunfire, they have work to do, they are extremely delighted, advance bravely, charge automatically, which other troops cannot do.”

第二，注重培养干部的模范作用。1939年抗联第三路军开办的训练班发布的《第一期训练班规则》当中包括学习纪律、警戒及战斗纪律、军礼纪律、卫生纪律、武装及保管纪律、军人品行等方面，旨在使学员“养成纯洁模范的革命军人风尚”，其注重干部模范作用可见一斑。教导队亦是如此，教导队在教学中讲求政治军事并重，培养出的队员政治立场坚定、军事素质过硬，在作战时往往更加英勇，成为全军模范，“战士及指挥员一闻枪响或有工作，即欢喜之至，英勇前进，自动冲锋，其他部队不能”。

Third, emphasis on integrating theory with practice. The cadre education work of the United Army was usually closely combined with the combat environment and the trainees' own experiences. Militarily, training detachments and army-run schools focused on combining tactical training with actual combat. For example, when explaining guerrilla tactics, they would combine recent battle cases, analyze how to use terrain and how to choose combat timing, enabling cadres to apply the learned theory to practice and improve the army's combat capability. In ideological and political theory education, instructors also managed to integrate theory with practice. For instance, when teaching about the evils of capitalism, instructors at the Military-Political School often inspired trainees to compare their own experiences with the learned theory, enabling them to recognize the connection between joining the revolution and changing their poor fate, thereby strengthening their revolutionary conviction.

第三，注重理论联系实际。抗联的干部教育工作，通常与战斗环境和学员的自身经历紧密结合。军事方面，教导队和随营学校注重战术训练与实战结合，例如，在讲解游击战术时，会结合军队近期的战斗案例，分析如何利用地形、如何选择作战时机，让干部将所学理论应用于实际，提高军队作战能力。而在思想政治理论教育中，教官也能够做到理论联系实际，如抗联军政学校教官在讲授资本主义的罪恶时，常常启发学员将自身遭遇与所学理论相对照，使学员认识到投身革命与改变穷苦命运之间的联系，更加坚定革命信念。

From its inception, the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army attached great importance to cadre education, and its cadre education work achieved remarkable results. The overall quality of cadres was improved, and their will became firmer. These cadres undertook the responsibility of transmitting orders upward and downward and serving as role models, greatly enhancing the army's centripetal force and cohesion, and powerfully promoting the development of the anti-Japanese struggle in the Northeast.

东北抗日联军自成立伊始就高度重视干部教育，其干部教育工作也取得了显著成效，干部整体素质得到了提高，意志更为坚定。这些干部承担着上传下达的责任和为人表率的作用，极大增强了军队的向心力和凝聚力，有力推动了东北抗日斗争的发展。

(The authors are a lecturer at the School of Marxism, Changchun University of Science and Technology, and an associate professor at the School of Marxism, Jilin University.)

（作者系长春理工大学马克思主义学院讲师；吉林大学马克思主义学院副教授）

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