Drawing Wisdom and Strength for Continuous Progress from the Great Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression

The great Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression is a stirring and tragic chapter in the history of the Chinese people’s struggle for independence and freedom in modern times, and a section marked by vicissitudes in the historical development of the Chinese nation. The great victory of the War of Resistance was the first complete victory in a national liberation war against foreign invasion in modern times, a historical turning point for the Chinese nation from the deep crisis it had fallen into since modern times toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and an important component of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. It is a victory for the Chinese people and also a victory for the peoples of the world. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “The memory and truth of history will not fade with the passage of time; the enlightenment they bring will forever reflect reality and illuminate the future.” [1]1 “以少兵临大国” (yong shao bing lin da guo): A classical Chinese phrase meaning to confront a large country with a small military force, used here to describe Japan’s strategic arrogance during the invasion of China. As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, we must remember history, honor the martyrs, cherish peace, and create the future, drawing wisdom and strength from the great victory of the War of Resistance to comprehensively advance the building of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization.

伟大的中国人民抗日战争，是中国人民近代以来争取独立自由史册上可歌可泣的一页，是中华民族历史发展进程中饱经沧桑的一章。抗日战争的伟大胜利，是近代以来反抗外敌入侵的民族解放战争的第一次完全胜利，是中华民族从近代以来陷入深重危机走向伟大复兴的历史转折点、也是世界反法西斯战争胜利的重要组成部分，是中国人民的胜利、也是世界人民的胜利。习近平总书记指出：“历史的记忆和真相不会随着岁月流逝而褪色，带给我们的启迪永远映照现实、昭示未来。”我们纪念中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利80周年，就是要铭记历史、缅怀先烈、珍爱和平、开创未来，从抗日战争的伟大胜利中汲取以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业的智慧和力量。

I. We Must Uphold the Comprehensive Leadership of the Party

一、必须坚持党的全面领导

In 1931, Japanese imperialism brazenly launched the September 18th Incident, [2]2 “一个主义”、“一个政党” (yige zhuyi, yige zhengdang): Slogans promoted by the Kuomintang during the War of Resistance, advocating the supremacy of Sun Yat-sen’s Three People’s Principles and the exclusive leadership of the Kuomintang, rejecting communist ideology and multi-party cooperation. forcibly occupying Northeast China, and then extended the flames of war south of the Great Wall. The Chinese nation was at its most perilous moment. It was the Communist Party of China that raised the first voice for resisting Japan and saving the nation, awakening the national soul of the entire people to save the nation from subjugation and ensure its survival, guiding the correct direction of the War of Resistance, and becoming the national vanguard in seizing victory in the War of Resistance.

1931年日本帝国主义悍然发动九一八事变，强占中国东北，随后又把战火烧至长城以南，中华民族到了最危险的时候。是中国共产党发出抗日救国先声，唤醒了全民族救亡图存的民魂，引领着抗日战争的正确方向，成为夺取抗战胜利的民族先锋。

The Communist Party of China guided the direction with correct political propositions, advocating for and maintaining the Anti-Japanese National United Front. After the September 18th Incident, the Party took the lead in proposing the war stance of “unanimously mobilizing and arming ourselves,” [3]3 三民主义 (sanmin zhuyi): The Three People’s Principles—nationalism, democracy, and people’s livelihood—formulated by Sun Yat-sen, which served as the official ideology of the Kuomintang. took the lead in issuing a declaration of war against Japan, and took the lead in organizing the anti-Japanese guerrilla war in the Northeast. It issued the August First Declaration, [4]4 西南联大 (Xi’nan Lianda): The National Southwestern Associated University, a wartime university formed by the merger of Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Nankai University in Kunming during the War of Resistance, known for its intellectual and patriotic atmosphere. calling for a cessation of the civil war and united resistance against Japan; convened the Wayaobu Conference, [5]5 闻一多 (Wen Yiduo, 1899–1946): A prominent Chinese poet, scholar, and professor at Southwest Associated University, who became a supporter of the Communist cause and was assassinated by Kuomintang agents in 1946. clearly proposing the establishment of a broad Anti-Japanese National United Front; and later facilitated the peaceful resolution of the Xi’an Incident, [6]6 Mao Zedong, "On the International Anti-Fascist United Front" (May 1941), a speech calling for a global alliance against fascism. promoting unity between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to resist Japan. In response to the dual nature of the Kuomintang, the Party both united with and struggled against it, maintaining the overall situation of the War of Resistance and ensuring that the Anti-Japanese National United Front “played a decisive role in defeating Japanese imperialism.” The Communist Party of China guided the overall situation with outstanding strategic thinking, formulated a line of total resistance, and proposed the general strategic policy of protracted war. Facing the objective reality of the enemy being strong and ourselves being weak, the Party creatively answered the fundamental and strategic questions determining the success or failure of the War of Resistance, profoundly elucidating that the soldiers and the people are the foundation of victory, and emphasizing that a comprehensive, nationwide war of resistance was “the central key to achieving victory in the War of Resistance.” The Party scientifically foresaw the protracted nature of the War of Resistance and that the war would pass through three major stages—strategic defense, strategic stalemate, and strategic counteroffensive—proposed a complete set of specific operational principles and policies for waging protracted war, pointed out the strategic position of guerrilla warfare, ideologically armed the broad masses of soldiers and civilians, and truly became the “general staff for resisting Japan and saving the nation.” The Communist Party of China, with its powerful organizational mobilization, opened up vast enemy rear areas, led the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and others deep behind enemy lines, mobilized and armed the masses, turning the “rear” into the “frontline.” After entering the strategic stalemate stage, the enemy rear areas gradually rose to become the main battlefield of China’s War of Resistance, using guerrilla warfare to pin down and engage 58%–75% of the Japanese invading forces and nearly all puppet troops. The Party implemented anti-Japanese democratic policies and principles, led the establishment of 19 anti-Japanese democratic base areas with a total area of nearly 1 million square kilometers and a population of nearly 100 million, which became the forefront and strongholds for persisting in the War of Resistance. The people’s anti-Japanese armed forces led by the Party also grew and developed continuously, becoming the decisive force for persisting in and seizing victory in the War of Resistance.

中国共产党以正确的政治主张引领方向，倡导和维护抗日民族统一战线。九一八事变后，党率先提出“一致动员武装起来”的抗战主张，率先发布对日战争宣言，率先组织东北抗日游击战争。发表八一宣言，号召停止内战，一致抗日；召开瓦窑堡会议，明确提出建立广泛的抗日民族统一战线；后又促成西安事变和平解决，推动国共团结抗日。针对国民党的两面性，党又联合又斗争，维护抗战大局，确保抗日民族统一战线“对于打倒日本帝国主义发生决定的作用”。中国共产党以卓越的战略思想指导全局，制定全面抗战路线，提出持久战战略总方针。面对敌强我弱的客观实际，党创造性地解答了决定抗日战争成败的根本性、战略性问题，深刻阐明兵民是胜利之本，强调全面的全民族的抗战是“争取抗战胜利的中心关键”。党科学预见抗日战争的持久性与战争将经过战略防御、战略相持和战略反攻三大阶段，提出实行持久战的一整套具体作战方针与原则，指明游击战的战略地位，从思想上武装了广大军民，真正成为“抗日救国的总参谋部”。中国共产党以强大的组织动员开辟广大敌后战场，领导八路军、新四军等深入敌后，动员武装群众，变“后方”为“前线”。进入战略相持阶段后，敌后战场逐步上升为中国抗战的主要战场，以游击战牵制和抗击了58%—75%的侵华日军和几乎全部伪军。党实行抗日民主的方针政策，领导建立了总面积近100万平方公里、人口近1亿的19块抗日民主根据地，成为坚持抗战的前沿和堡垒。党领导的人民抗日武装也不断发展壮大，成为坚持抗战和夺取抗战胜利的决定性力量。

History proves that the key to the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression lay in the role of the Communist Party of China as the mainstay. Comrade Mao Zedong profoundly pointed out: “Without the efforts of the Chinese Communist Party, without the Chinese Communists serving as the mainstay of the Chinese people, China’s independence and liberation would have been impossible, and so would China’s industrialization and agricultural modernization.” [7]7 This quotation is from Xi Jinping’s speech at a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the global war against fascism, delivered on September 3, 2015. General Secretary Xi Jinping also profoundly pointed out: “Without the leadership of the

历史证明，中国人民抗日战争的胜利，关键在于中国共产党的中流砥柱作用。毛泽东同志深刻指出：“没有中国共产党的努力，没有中国共产党人做中国人民的中流砥柱，中国的独立和解放是不可能的，中国的工业化和农业近代化也是不可能的。”习近平总书记也深刻指出：“如果没有中国共产党领导，完成民族独立和解放的任务就可能拖得更久、付出的代价更大，我们的国家更不可能取得今天这样的发展成就、更不可能具有今天这样的国际地位。”坚持中国共产党的领导，是国家和民族兴旺发达的根本所在，是全国各族人民幸福安康的根本所在。新征程上，必须深刻领悟“两个确立”的决定性意义，坚决做到“两个维护”，全面贯彻习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想，坚持和加强党的全面领导，不断增强党的政治领导力、思想引领力、群众组织力、社会号召力，使党始终成为风雨来袭时全体人民最可靠的主心骨。

II. We must adhere to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

二、必须坚持走中国特色社会主义道路

An important reason why Japanese imperialism dared to “use a small force to confront a large country” and attempted to turn China into its exclusive colony was that, after the Opium War, China had long failed to find a correct development path, leaving the country impoverished and weak. After suffering unprecedented calamities, China tried various plans to save the nation, but all ended in failure. When all roads seemed blocked and every path was impassable, China’s advanced elements resolutely chose Marxism and the socialist path, steering China’s history in the right direction. However, during the War of Resistance, the die-hard Kuomintang faction constantly created public opinion that distorted Marxism and vilified socialism, advocating the ideas of “one doctrine” and “one party,” and claiming that “the Three People’s Principles can satisfy all of China’s present and future demands. With their realization, China will have no need for socialism.” This sharply posed the question of “where is China heading” before everyone concerned about the nation’s fate, demanding that the Communist Party of China provide further theoretical answers regarding the path it had chosen. During the War of Resistance, Comrade Mao Zedong wrote important works such as “Introducing The Communist,” “The Chinese Revolution and the Chinese Communist Party,” and “On New Democracy,” systematically analyzing the nature of modern Chinese society and the targets, nature, driving forces, and prospects of the Chinese revolution. These works clarified the prospect of China moving from the new-democratic revolution to the socialist revolution, dispelled the fog of public opinion created by the die-hard Kuomintang faction, and brought more and more people under the banner of new democracy and socialism. Wen Yiduo, a professor at Southwest Associated University, spoke of his learning experience, saying, “My thinking has suddenly become clear. In the past, I only knew how to love the country abstractly, but I didn’t know what kind of country to love. Now I understand that ‘loving the country can only mean loving the new-democratic country, striving for new democracy now, and striving for socialism and communism in the future.’”

日本帝国主义之所以敢“以少兵临大国”，妄图变中国为其独霸的殖民地，一个重要原因，是中国在鸦片战争以后长时期没有找到一条正确的发展道路，国家积贫积弱。在遭受前所未有的劫难后，中国尝试过各种救国方案，但都以失败而告终。在山穷水尽、诸路不通的情况下，中国先进分子毅然选择马克思主义、选择社会主义道路，使中国的历史走向了正确的方向。但是，抗日战争时期，国民党顽固派不断制造歪曲马克思主义、丑化社会主义的舆论，鼓吹“一个主义”、“一个政党”的主张，声称“三民主义可以满足中国现在和将来的一切要求。它的实现，中国便不需要社会主义了”。这就把“中国向何处去”的问题，尖锐地提到每一个关心国家命运的人面前，要求中国共产党对自己选择的道路，作出进一步的理论回答。抗战期间，毛泽东同志撰写了《〈共产党人〉发刊词》、《中国革命和中国共产党》、《新民主主义论》等重要著作，系统分析了近代中国社会的性质和中国革命的对象、性质、动力、前途等问题，指明了中国经过新民主主义革命通向社会主义革命的前途，廓清了国民党顽固派制造的舆论迷雾，使越来越多的人汇集到新民主主义和社会主义的旗帜下面。西南联大教授闻一多谈起自己的学习感受时说道，“我现在思想豁然开朗了，过去我只晓得抽象地爱国，不知爱什么国”，现在我才知道“爱国只能是爱新民主主义的国，现在为新民主主义而奋斗，将来为社会主义、共产主义奋斗”。

The question of the path is directly related to the success or failure of the cause of the Party and the people. Since its founding, our Party has closely united and relied on the people, endured untold hardships, and paid various prices to achieve great victories in revolution, construction, and reform, to initiate and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, and to fundamentally change the future and destiny of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: “Only socialism can save China, and only adhering to and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics can achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” On the new journey, we must strengthen our confidence in the path, confidence in the theory, confidence in the system, and confidence in the culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and strive unswervingly to win new victories for socialism with Chinese characteristics. No matter what storms we encounter, we must be consistent on the fundamental issue of adhering to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, never change course due to various noises and distractions, and unswervingly advance the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, making our path broader and our system more mature and complete.

道路问题直接关系党和人民事业兴衰成败。我们党成立以来，紧紧团结依靠人民，历经千辛万苦，付出各种代价，取得革命、建设、改革伟大胜利，开创和发展了中国特色社会主义，从根本上改变了中国人民和中华民族的前途命运。习近平总书记深刻指出：“只有社会主义才能救中国，只有坚持和发展中国特色社会主义才能实现中华民族伟大复兴。”新征程上，必须坚定中国特色社会主义道路自信、理论自信、制度自信、文化自信，为夺取中国特色社会主义新胜利而矢志奋斗。无论遇到什么风浪，在坚持中国特色社会主义道路这个根本问题上都要一以贯之，决不因各种杂音噪音而改弦更张，坚定不移把中国特色社会主义伟大实践不断推向前进，使我们的道路越走越宽广、制度越来越成熟完善。

III. We must adhere to the people-centered approach.

三、必须坚持以人民为中心

The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a great war concerning the survival or extinction of the Chinese nation; only by mobilizing the masses could victory be achieved. The Communist Party of China deeply recognized that the comparison of forces between the enemy and ourselves was not only a comparison of military strength and economic power, but also a comparison of manpower and popular sentiment. Mobilizing the entire nation’s common people created a vast ocean that would drown the enemy in an overwhelming disaster, created conditions to compensate for deficiencies such as weaponry, and created the prerequisite for overcoming all war difficulties. The Party mobilized the masses from multiple aspects including politics, military affairs, economy, culture, and people’s livelihood. All anti-Japanese democratic base area regimes implemented the “Three-Thirds System” principle [6]6 Mao Zedong, "On the International Anti-Fascist United Front" (May 1941), a speech calling for a global alliance against fascism., broadly uniting all anti-Japanese classes and strata, and mobilizing all positive factors to throw themselves into the War of Resistance. The Party also devoted efforts to developing the economy, implementing a series of specific policies such as reducing rent and interest rates to improve the people’s livelihood, providing the broad laboring masses with tangible and palpable concrete benefits, and greatly stimulating the masses’ enthusiasm for the War of Resistance.

抗日战争是关乎中华民族生死存亡的大战，只有动员民众才能取得胜利。中国共产党深刻认识到：敌我双方力量的对比，不但是军事力量和经济实力的对比，而且是人力和人心的对比。动员了全国的老百姓，就造成了陷敌于灭顶之灾的汪洋大海，造成了弥补武器等等缺陷的补救条件，造成了克服一切战争困难的前提。党从政治、军事、经济、文化、民生等多个方面对民众进行动员，各抗日民主根据地政权均实行“三三制”原则，广泛团结各抗日阶级、阶层，调动了一切积极因素投入抗战。党还致力发展经济，实行减租减息等一系列改善人民生活的具体政策，给广大劳苦群众以看得见、摸得着的切实利益，极大地调动了广大群众的抗战积极性。

Comrade Nie Rongzhen, who led the creation of the first anti-Japanese base area behind enemy lines, the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region [7]7 This quotation is from Xi Jinping’s speech at a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the global war against fascism, delivered on September 3, 2015., recalled: “After the people were fully mobilized, we were like fish in water, like tigers with wings, in the ocean of the masses. And the enemy? They encountered obstacles everywhere, difficulties everywhere; they could find no guides, no food, no utensils; even finding a pot to cook a meal was not easy; it was like a deaf and blind man falling into an abyss. The people loved us so much and hated the enemy so much—how could the Japanese aggressors not fail?” In many anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines, men and women, old and young, all served as the eyes and ears of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army. The masses set up various liaison signals on hilltops and between villages to report enemy movements. It can be said that in the history of the Chinese nation’s resistance against foreign invasion, never before had there been such a profound national awakening, such an extensive degree of popular mobilization, and such tenacious fighting will among the people’s armed forces as in the anti-Japanese base areas led by the Party.

领导创建第一个敌后抗日根据地晋察冀边区的聂荣臻同志回忆说，“人民充分发动起来之后，我们在群众的海洋里，是如鱼得水，如虎添翼。而敌人呢？处处碰壁，处处困难，找不到向导，找不到粮食，找不到用具，想找一口锅做饭也不容易，就像一个既聋又瞎的人坠入了深渊。人民这样爱戴我们，这样仇视敌人，日本侵略军还有什么办法不失败呢”。在很多敌后抗日根据地，男女老幼都是八路军、新四军的耳目，群众在各个山头和村庄之间设置各种报告敌情的联络信号。可以说，在中华民族反抗外来侵略的历史上，从来没有像党领导的敌后抗日根据地这样，民族觉醒如此深刻，人民动员程度如此广泛，人民武装战斗意志如此顽强。

The country is the people, and the people are the country. In the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, all sons and daughters of the Chinese nation united with one heart and shared a common hatred for the enemy, demonstrating an indestructible and mighty force. On the new journey, we must bear in mind the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, uphold that the people’s aspiration for a better life is our goal, and ensure that the people forever become our most solid support and our greatest source of confidence. We must always adhere to putting the people first, follow the mass line well in the New Era, persist in doing everything for the people and relying on the people, firmly stand with the people, grasp the people’s aspirations, respect the people’s creativity, and concentrate the people’s wisdom. We must wholeheartedly and with genuine feeling solve the people’s urgent, difficult, and anxious problems, so that the fruits of modernization benefit all the people more and more fairly.

江山就是人民，人民就是江山。抗日战争中全体中华儿女勠力同心、同仇敌忾，显示了坚不可摧的磅礴力量。新征程上，我们要牢记全心全意为人民服务的根本宗旨，坚持人民对美好生活的向往就是我们的奋斗目标，使人民永远成为我们最坚实的依托、最强大的底气。要始终坚持人民至上，走好新时代群众路线，坚持一切为了人民、一切依靠人民，站稳人民立场、把握人民愿望、尊重人民创造、集中人民智慧，用心用情解决群众急难愁盼问题，让现代化建设成果更多更公平惠及全体人民。

IV. We Must Uphold the Spirit of Struggle

四、必须坚持斗争精神

The barbaric aggression of Japanese imperialism pushed the Chinese nation to the brink of national subjugation and extinction, arousing in the Chinese people a stronger and broader resistance than in any previous struggle against foreign invasion. The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression became the longest-lasting, largest-scale, and most sacrificial national liberation struggle in modern times for the Chinese people to resist foreign invasion. In this war, all sons and daughters of the Chinese nation shared a common hatred for the enemy and united as one, unswervingly carrying forward the spirit of struggle. At last, they swept away the gloom of repeated defeats and won the first complete victory in modern China’s resistance against foreign invasion.

日本帝国主义的野蛮侵略，将中华民族逼到濒临亡国灭种的危险境地，激起了中国人民比历次反抗外来侵略都更强烈、更广泛的抗争，抗日战争成为近代以来中国人民反抗外敌入侵持续时间最长、规模最大、牺牲最多的民族解放斗争。在这场战争中，全体中华儿女同仇敌忾、众志成城，坚定不移发扬斗争精神，终于一扫屡战屡败阴霾，取得了近代以来中国抗击外敌入侵的第一次完全胜利。

Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out: “The Chinese nation is by no means a flock of sheep.” “For national self-respect and human justice, for the Chinese people to live on their own land, they will never allow the Japanese fascists to achieve their lawless aims without paying a heavy price. Our method is war and sacrifice.” The Chinese people dared and were skilled in struggle, fearless of sacrifice. Facing the ferocious aggressors, countless anti-Japanese heroes held fast to the conviction “Either the bandit kills me, or I kill the bandit.” With a national bloodline ready to face death, they advanced through the enemy’s gunfire, defending their homes, defending the Yellow River, defending North China, and defending all of China. On all fronts, the people’s armed forces led by the Party bravely fought on the front lines. Whether on the vast North China Plain or in the river-and-lake-dense regions south of the Yangtze, the base area forces cut off enemy rear routes and launched surprise attacks, creating numerous tactics such as ambushes, tunnel warfare, landmine warfare, sparrow warfare, sabotage warfare, and water guerrilla warfare. When the enemy encircled them, they “broke up into small units”; when the enemy dispersed, they “assembled small units into larger ones,” brilliantly performing the “specialty” of guerrilla warfare. The Chinese people persisted in struggle and fought to the end. From the September 18th Incident in 1931 [8] to Japan’s unconditional surrender in 1945, throughout 14 years of arduous and bitter struggle, the Party always led the people in persisting in the War of Resistance and protracted war, fighting for every inch of territory and yielding not an inch, opposing surrender and compromise, and cleansing defeatist sentiments. In 1939, at the Fifth Plenary Session of the Kuomintang’s Fifth Central Executive Committee [9], Chiang Kai-shek interpreted the “end” of “persisting in the War of Resistance to the end” as “restoring the state before the July 7th Incident” [10]. Comrade Mao Zedong denounced this as “actually recognizing the cession of the Northeast” and countered with the proposal: “Our slogan is to fight to the Yalu River and recover all lost territory.” In the most difficult stage of strategic stalemate, the Communist Party of China insisted that “the War of Resistance must be victorious; this is the political direction, and this political direction is firm, and we must persist despite any hardship or difficulty.”

毛泽东同志指出，“中华民族决不是一群绵羊”，“为了民族自尊与人类正义，为了中国人一定要生活在自己的土地上，决不让日本法西斯不付重大代价而达到其无法无天的目的。我们的方法就是战争与牺牲”。中国人民敢于善于斗争，无惧牺牲。面对穷凶极恶的侵略者，无数抗日英雄抱定“非贼杀我，即我杀贼”的信念，以向死而生的民族血性，冒着敌人的炮火前进，保卫家乡、保卫黄河、保卫华北、保卫全中国。在各条战线上，党领导的人民武装勇敢战斗在最前线。无论在广袤的华北平原，还是在河湖密布的江南水乡，根据地军民包后路、出奇兵，创造了伏击战、地道战、地雷战、麻雀战、破袭战、水上游击战等众多战法，在敌人合围时“化整为零”，在敌人分兵时“化零为整”，把游击战这一出“拿手好戏”上演得精彩纷呈。中国人民坚持斗争，抗战到底。从1931年九一八事变到1945年日本宣布无条件投降，在14年艰苦卓绝的岁月里，党始终带领人民坚持抗战、持久抗战，寸土必争、寸土不让，反对投降妥协、清洗悲观情绪。1939年，蒋介石在国民党五届五中全会上对“坚持抗战到底”的“底”作出“就是恢复七七事变以前的状态”的解释。毛泽东同志斥责“这实际上是承认割让东北”，并针锋相对提出“我们的口号是打到鸭绿江，收复一切失地”。在最艰难的战略相持阶段，中国共产党坚持“抗战一定要胜利，这是政治方向，而这个政治方向是坚定的，不怕任何艰苦困难要坚持着”。

The victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was achieved by the Party and the people through extremely arduous struggle and at great cost. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out that the Party-led anti-Japanese armed forces “possess a spirit of pressing forward without letup; they must overwhelm all enemies and never be overwhelmed by them. No matter how difficult and hard the circumstances, as long as there is one person, that person will continue to fight.”

抗日战争的胜利是党和人民经过极其艰苦的斗争，付出了极大的代价取得的。毛泽东同志指出，党领导的抗日武装“具有一往无前的精神，它要压倒一切敌人，而决不被敌人所屈服。不论在任何艰难困苦的场合，只要还有一个人，这个人就要继续战斗下去”。习近平总书记也深刻指出：“建立中国共产党、成立中华人民共和国、实行改革开放、推进新时代中国特色社会主义事业，都是在斗争中诞生、在斗争中发展、在斗争中壮大的。”新征程上，面对实现中华民族伟大复兴关键时期、改革发展攻坚克难重要阶段，面对内外部风险空前上升形势，必须坚定不移发扬斗争精神，以“明知山有虎，偏向虎山行”的斗争意志，“狭路相逢勇者胜”的斗争本领，“踏平坎坷成大道，斗罢艰险又出发”的顽强品格，攻难关、防风险、迎挑战、抗打压，推动强国建设、民族复兴伟业风雨无阻向前进。

5. We must unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development

五、必须坚定不移走和平发展道路

From its very beginning, the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression bore the great significance of saving human civilization and defending world peace. Comrade Mao Zedong stressed that "the great Chinese War of Resistance is not only China's affair, not only the East's affair, but also the world's affair," and that "our enemy is the world's enemy, and China's War of Resistance is the world's War of Resistance." [6]6 Mao Zedong, "On the International Anti-Fascist United Front" (May 1941), a speech calling for a global alliance against fascism. The Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression began the earliest and lasted the longest among all theaters of the World Anti-Fascist War. With enormous national sacrifice, the Chinese people sustained the main Eastern battlefield of the World Anti-Fascist War, played a decisive role in the complete destruction of the Japanese aggressors, won a hard-won peace, and defended the cause of human peace. The victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a great victory of the Chinese people fighting shoulder to shoulder with all peace-loving countries and peoples of the world.

中国人民抗日战争从一开始就具有拯救人类文明、保卫世界和平的重大意义。毛泽东同志强调，“伟大的中国抗战，不但是中国的事，东方的事，也是世界的事”，“我们的敌人是世界性的敌人，中国的抗战是世界性的抗战”。中国人民抗日战争在世界反法西斯战争中开始时间最早、持续时间最长，中国人民以巨大民族牺牲支撑起了世界反法西斯战争的东方主战场，对日本侵略者的彻底覆灭起到了决定性作用，赢得了来之不易的和平，捍卫了人类和平事业。中国人民抗日战争的胜利，是中国人民同世界上一切爱好和平的国家和人民并肩战斗的伟大胜利。

The Chinese nation is a peace-loving nation, and peacefulness is a prominent characteristic of Chinese civilization. The Chinese people are peace-loving people, bearing an indelible memory of the suffering brought by war and tirelessly pursuing peace. In modern times, the Chinese people suffered deeply from the aggression of the great powers and the ravages of war, especially the inhuman acts of aggression, appalling massacres, and barbaric plunder and destruction by Japanese militarism, which brought catastrophic disasters to the Chinese people. Yet the Chinese people did not learn from this the law-of-the-jungle logic that the strong prey on the weak; rather, they deeply understood the cruelty of war and the preciousness of peace. As we commemorate the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, condemn the brutality of the aggressors, and emphasize the need to remember historical experiences and lessons, our purpose is not to perpetuate hatred, but to arouse good-hearted people's longing for and commitment to peace, to take history as a mirror and face the future, to jointly cherish and uphold peace, and to enable the people of all countries to enjoy lasting peace and tranquility.

中华民族是爱好和平的民族，和平性是中华文明的突出特性。中国人民是爱好和平的人民，对战争带来的苦难有着刻骨铭心的记忆，对和平有着孜孜不倦的追求。近代以后，中国人民饱受列强侵略之害、饱经战火蹂躏之苦，特别是日本军国主义惨无人道的侵略行径、令人发指的屠杀罪行、野蛮疯狂的掠夺破坏，给中国人民带来了惨绝人寰的灾难。但中国人民不是从中学到弱肉强食的强盗逻辑，而是深深懂得战争的残酷、和平的宝贵。我们纪念中国人民抗日战争和世界反法西斯战争的胜利，谴责侵略者的残暴，强调牢记历史经验和教训，不是要延续仇恨，而是要唤起善良的人们对和平的向往和坚守，是要以史为鉴、面向未来，共同珍爱和平、维护和平，让世界各国人民永享和平安宁。

At present, the international situation is interwoven with turmoil and change, hegemonic and bullying acts are rampant and deeply harmful, and humanity once again stands at a crossroads between solidarity and confrontation, peace and war. We must uphold the global governance concept of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, adhere to dialogue rather than confrontation, partnership rather than alliance, and win-win rather than zero-sum, practice true multilateralism, accommodate the legitimate concerns of all parties, and safeguard international rules and order. We must uphold a correct view of the history of World War II, resolutely defend the post-war international order, firmly safeguard international fairness and justice, never allow the denial, distortion, or even glorification of the history of aggression, never allow militarism to stage a comeback, never allow the historical tragedy to repeat itself, and steadfastly act as guardians of historical memory, companions in development and revitalization, and defenders of international fairness and justice, striving for a brighter future for the destiny of humanity.

当前，国际形势变乱交织，强权霸凌行径大行其道、危害深重，人类又一次站在团结还是对抗、和平还是战争的十字路口。我们要坚持共商共建共享的全球治理观，坚持对话而不对抗、结伴而不结盟、共赢而非零和，践行真正的多边主义，兼顾各方合理关切，维护国际规则和秩序。我们要坚持正确二战史观、坚决维护战后国际秩序、坚定捍卫国际公平正义，决不允许否认、歪曲甚至美化侵略历史，决不允许军国主义卷土重来，决不允许历史悲剧重演，坚定做历史记忆的守护者、发展振兴的同行者、国际公平正义的捍卫者，为人类前途命运争取更加光明的未来。

Eighty years ago, the great victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression enabled “the ancient China to be reborn from the ashes and embark on a new historical journey toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” [7]7 This quotation is from Xi Jinping’s speech at a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the global war against fascism, delivered on September 3, 2015. Standing at a new historical starting point, we must unite more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, draw wisdom and strength for continuous progress from the great victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, carry forward the great spirit of the War of Resistance, and strive more vigorously and effectively to comprehensively advance the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization.

80年前，中国人民抗日战争的伟大胜利，使“古老的中国凤凰涅槃、浴火重生，开启了中华民族伟大复兴新的历史征程”。站在新的历史起点上，我们要更加紧密地团结在以习近平同志为核心的党中央周围，从中国人民抗日战争伟大胜利中汲取不断前行的智慧和力量，弘扬伟大抗战精神，更加奋发有为地为以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业而不懈奋斗。

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心