The War of Resistance Against Japan: A Historic Turning Point in the Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation

Realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is the great dream pursued by the Chinese people in modern times. The aggression of imperialist powers brought profound suffering to the Chinese people, and the aggression of Japanese imperialism in particular was the darkest page in modern Chinese history. A nation rises from its trials! All sons and daughters of the Chinese nation threw themselves into the torrent of the War of Resistance, promoting the national spirit of patriotism to an unprecedented degree. The Communist Party of China drove the historical torrent of the nationwide war of resistance, played the role of the mainstay, and pointed the way for the development of New China. Through the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Chinese people ended the history of imperialist powers’ wanton aggression against China and laid the foundation for China’s status as a major power. All this constitutes the fundamental prerequisite and condition for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan is a historic turning point in the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and opened up a bright prospect for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

实现中华民族伟大复兴，是近代以来中国人民追求的伟大梦想。帝国主义列强的侵略给中国人民带来深重灾难，尤其日本帝国主义的侵略，是中国近代史上最黑暗的一页。多难兴邦！全体中华儿女投入抗日洪流，前所未有地弘扬了爱国主义的民族精神。中国共产党推动全民族抗战的历史洪流，发挥了中流砥柱作用，指引了新中国的发展方向。经过抗日战争，中国人民结束了帝国主义肆意侵略中国的历史，奠定了大国地位。这一切，是实现中华民族伟大复兴的根本前提和条件。抗日战争的胜利，是中华民族走向伟大复兴的历史转折点，开辟了中华民族伟大复兴的光明前景。

I.

一、

The Chinese nation is a great nation with a history of more than 5,000 years of civilization and has made indelible contributions to the progress of human civilization. However, after entering modern times, due to the invasion of imperialist powers and the corruption of feudal rule, the Chinese nation suffered profound hardships and was on the verge of national subjugation and extinction. At this time, Japan gradually developed into an imperialist country with powerful military armaments, whose “military strength, economic power, and political organizational power were first-rate in the East and one of the five or six well-known imperialist countries in the world.” [1]1 Mao Zedong, “On Protracted War,” May 1938. Japanese war fanatics declared that they wanted to build a “Greater Japan,” a “New Japan,” whose scope included “Japan, Korea, ‘Manchuria,’ mainland China, the South Seas, Australia, India, and the northern cold regions, six regions in total.” [2]2 Quoted from Japanese wartime propaganda materials. Among these regions, Japan claimed that the Chinese mainland was extremely important for the survival of the Japanese nation and that it had a “close dependent relationship” with Japan in terms of “its very existence, national defense, ideology, politics, and economy.” [3]3 Ibid. Therefore, “seeking a way out for national development on the continent” became Japan’s national policy. [4]4 Japanese national policy statement.

中华民族，是一个有着5000多年文明史的伟大民族，为人类文明的进步作出了不可磨灭的贡献。但是进入近代后，由于帝国主义列强的入侵和封建统治的腐败，中华民族遭受深重苦难而濒临亡国灭种的境地。而此时的日本，逐渐发展成为一个具有强大军备的帝国主义国家，其“军力、经济力和政治组织力在东方是一等的，在世界也是五六个著名帝国主义国家中的一个”。日本战争狂热分子宣称，要建设一个“大日本”，一个“新日本”，其范围包括“日朝‘满’、中国本土、南洋、澳洲、印度及北部寒冷地区等6个地区”。在这些地区中，日本声称中国大陆对日本民族的生存极为重要，在关系日本“存在的国防、思想、政治和经济方面，都有着密切的依赖关系”。因此，“向大陆寻求民族发展的出路”成为日本的国策。

Japan had been “preparing for decades” to swallow up China. [5]5 Mao Zedong, “On Protracted War.” When preparations were more or less complete, it occupied Chinese territory in two successive stages, ultimately launching a full-scale war of aggression against China.

日本为了吞并中国已经有了“好几十年的准备”。在准备得差不多时，它分前后两个阶段侵占中国领土，最终发动全面侵华战争。

In the first stage, Japan occupied and annexed the island territories and regions surrounding the Chinese mainland, laying the foundation for invading mainland China. Japan occupied the entire Ryukyu Islands in 1879, provoked the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and occupied the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan Island, and the Penghu Islands. Entering the 20th century, Japan joined other imperialist powers in invading Beijing in 1900, launched the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, and “through the Eight-Power Allied Forces’ invasion of China and the Russo-Japanese War, seized the aggressive rights and interests of stationing troops in southern Northeast China and the Beijing-Tianjin area, building a forward position for expanding the war of aggression against China.” [6]6 Historical research on Japanese aggression.

第一阶段，日本侵占、吞并环绕中国大陆的岛屿领土和地区，奠定侵略中国本土的基础。日本于1879年侵占琉球全岛，1894年挑起甲午战争并侵占朝鲜半岛、台湾岛和澎湖列岛。进入20世纪，日本于1900年伙同其他帝国主义列强侵入北京，1904年发动日俄战争，“通过八国联军侵华战争和日俄战争攫取了在中国东北南部和京津一带等地区驻军的侵略权益，为扩大侵华战争构筑了前沿阵地”。

In the second stage, Japan planned and launched a full-scale war of aggression against China in a step-by-step manner, vainly attempting to occupy all of China. In the first step, Japan engineered the September 18th Incident, [7]7 The September 18th Incident (1931) was a staged event used by Japan as a pretext to invade and occupy Northeast China. occupied all of Northeast China, and “began the stage of turning China into a Japanese colony.” [8]8 Mao Zedong, “On the New Stage,” October 1938. After attacking the Great Wall line in 1933 and forcing the Nationalist Government to sign the Tanggu Truce, [9]9 The Tanggu Truce (1933) was a ceasefire agreement that ceded control of parts of North China to Japan. the Japanese army declared that it had taken “the first step into North China” and “set foot on the road to the China Incident,” [10]10 Japanese military communiqué. thus completing the first step. In the second step, Japan created the North China Incident, [11]11 The North China Incident refers to a series of Japanese provocations in 1935-1937 aimed at separating North China from the rest of China. showing that it intended to advance into North China and “occupy all of China.” [12]12 Japanese strategic planning documents. If the means of creating the North China Incident could not achieve the “clarification” of North China, Japan would “transform the ‘North China work’ into the Marco Polo Bridge Incident,” [13]13 Ibid. moving to the third step, namely launching a full-scale war of aggression against China. In 1937, Japan deliberately created the July 7th Incident (Marco Polo Bridge Incident) and launched a full-scale war of aggression against China. Mao Zedong pointed out that the July 7th Incident marked “the first step of the enemy of the Chinese nation, Japanese imperialism, after invading the four northeastern provinces, advancing to the second step of preparing for and carrying out the invasion of all of China,” and that the “first step of this step was to occupy North China and Shanghai, and the second step was to occupy other regions of China.” [14]14 Mao Zedong, “On Protracted War.” Therefore, the July 7th Incident was “the final blow of Japanese imperialism to reduce China to a Japanese colony.” [15]15 Ibid.

第二阶段，日本有计划有步骤地发动全面侵华战争，妄图侵占全中国。第一步，日本策动九一八事变，占领中国东北全境，“开始了变中国为日本殖民地的阶段”。至1933年向长城一线进攻、迫使国民政府签订《塘沽协定》后，日军宣称迈出“进入华北的第一步”，“迈上了通向中国事变的路程”，从而完成了第一步。第二步，日本制造华北事变，显示了它要向华北前进，“要占领全中国”。如果制造华北事变的手段不能达到华北“明朗化”的目的，日本就将“华北工作”“转变为卢沟桥事变”，走向第三步，即发动全面侵华战争。1937年，日本蓄意制造七七事变，发动全面侵华战争。毛泽东指出，七七事变标志“中华民族的敌人日本帝国主义，经过侵略东四省的第一步骤，进到准备并实行向全中国侵略的第二步骤”，这个步骤的“第一步是占领华北和上海，第二步是占领中国的其他区域”。因此，七七事变是“日本帝国主义要沦中国为日本殖民地的最后一击”。

Japan launched a full-scale war of aggression against China in order to turn China into its colony, then annex Asia, and dominate the world. This was Japan’s so-called “ideal of national foundation.” On August 7, 1936, Japan passed the “Principles of National Policy,” which declared: “The fundamental policy of the state is, under the banner of great righteousness, to consolidate the foundation of the state internally and seek the development of national fortunes externally, to make the Empire, in name and in fact, a stabilizing force in East Asia, to ensure peace in the East, and to contribute to the peace and welfare of the people of the world, thereby realizing the ideal of national foundation.” [16]16 Japanese government document, August 7, 1936. The war criminal Kenji Doihara declared that launching a full-scale war of aggression against China was to realize the “ideal of national foundation”: “At the time of the Manchurian Incident, Japan possessed this ideal and had the lofty spirit and determination to realize it, rising up with vigor. Since then, Japan has staked the nation’s destiny on this supra-national ideal and has exerted every effort. The current China Incident is the advancement of Japan’s efforts in this regard.” [17]17 Kenji Doihara, testimony or statement. Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe declared: If the “ideal of national foundation” could not be resolved today, “then our descendants will have to resolve it with even greater difficulty,” [18]18 Fumimaro Konoe, speech. so that no matter “how difficult” or “how long” the war against China might be, it must be carried out with “an unyielding determination” and “will not stop until a perfect end is achieved.” [19]19 Ibid. He called on all Japanese citizens to “fulfill the mission of the times imposed upon us and create a new era for Japan’s development.” [20]20 Ibid.

日本发动全面侵华战争，在于变中国为其殖民地并进而吞并亚洲，称霸世界，这是日本所谓“建国的理想”。1936年8月7日，日本通过《国策的原则》宣称：“国家的根本政策，是在大义名分之下，内求国基的巩固，外谋国运的发展，使帝国在名义上和实质上都成为东亚的安定势力，确保东方的和平，为世界人类的安宁和福利作出贡献，以实现建国的理想。”侵华战犯土肥原贤二宣称，发动全面侵华战争，就是要实现“建国的理想”：“当满洲事变的时候，日本具有此种理想，且具有实现此种理想高迈的精神与决心，奋然而起。自此以后，日本对此超国家的理想，赌国家之运命，从事于凡百之努力。今次中日事变，即日本此种努力的推进。”日本首相近卫文麿宣称：如果今天不能解决“建国的理想”，“则我人子孙于更大困难终必解决之”，因此对华战争无论“如何困难”，“如何长期”，都要以“断不退转之决意”而“非达全终之美不止”。他号召全体日本国民“遂行课加我等之时代使命，为日本发展上作一新纪元”。

It can be seen that the “Greater Japan” and “New Japan” that Japan wanted to establish had a territory covering China. Konoe clamored, “The Chinese should wake up as soon as possible, recognize their own nature as an Eastern race, cooperate with the Japanese, who are also of Eastern blood, and rebuild Eastern culture and civilization.” [21]21 Fumimaro Konoe, propaganda statement. If China did not accept Japan’s “New Japan,” then Japan could only take drastic measures to “thoroughly strike the Chinese army and make it lose its will to fight.” [22]22 Japanese military directive. Japanese Army Minister Hajime Sugiyama clamored: “The military has decided to advance and overcome all difficulties in order to achieve the goal of chastising the Chinese army. Even if China plans a long-term resistance, the Japanese military will not stop until it achieves the goal of chastising the Chinese army and causing it to lose its fighting spirit.” [23]23 Hajime Sugiyama, statement to the Diet or military council.

可见，日本想要建立的“大日本”“新日本”，其版图覆盖中国。近卫文麿叫嚣，“中国人尽快醒悟，认识到自己东方人种的本质，与同样属于东方血统的日本人合作”，“重建东方文化与文明”。倘若中国不接受日本的“新日本”，则日本只能采取断然手段“彻底打击中国军，使之丧失战斗意志”。日本陆军大臣杉山元叫嚣：“军部已决意向前进行，克服一切之困难，俾能达到膺惩华军之目的。纵令中国计划作长期之抵抗，日本军部于达到膺惩华军，令其失去战斗精神之目的以前，亦决不罢手。”

The war of aggression launched by Japan against China was more brutal, destructive, and murderous “than any since the imperialist invasion of China.” [24]24 Mao Zedong, “On Protracted War.” Within one year after Japan launched the full-scale war of aggression against China, China’s “splendid mountains and rivers were trampled by enemy hooves, and its beautiful fields were burned and plundered by bandits.” [25]25 Chinese wartime propaganda. The Japanese bandits “with the cruelty of robbers bombed countless Chinese cities and towns, destroyed tens of thousands of Chinese factories, schools, hospitals, and cultural institutions, and massacred tens of thousands of Chinese peaceful residents.” [26]26 Ibid. The Chinese nation entered the darkest page in modern Chinese history!

日本对华发动的侵略战争，其残酷、破坏、屠杀“是自有帝国主义侵略中国以来所没有的”。在日本发动全面侵华战争后一年里，中国“大好山河被敌骑所践踏，锦绣田园为寇贼所焚掠”。日本强盗“以匪贼般的残暴炸毁了无数的中国的城市和区镇，毁灭了成千累万的中国的工厂、学校、医院、文化机关，屠杀了成千累万的中国和平居民”，中华民族进入了近代以来中国历史上最黑暗的一页！

II.

二、

Could China have avoided Japan’s launching of a war of aggression? Obviously not. In a conversation with American journalist and writer Agnes Smedley in March 1937, Mao Zedong pointed out that Japan would inevitably launch a full-scale war of aggression against China. Smedley asked what China’s “peace conditions for Japan were” and “whether negotiations between China and Japan should still be conducted.” [27]27 Mao Zedong, interview with Agnes Smedley, March 1937. Mao Zedong listed China’s peace conditions: “First, Japan must abandon its policy of aggression against China, that is, abandon its so-called continental policy and the Hirota Three Principles, [28]28 The Hirota Three Principles (1935) were Japan’s demands for Chinese recognition of Manchukuo, cooperation against communism, and economic collaboration. respect China’s independence, and place the two countries on a completely equal footing; second, return the four northeastern provinces and northern Chahar, abolish ‘Manchukuo,’ and abolish the Yin Rugeng East Hebei Government; [29]29 Yin Rugeng was a Chinese collaborator who headed a Japanese-controlled puppet regime in eastern Hebei from 1935. third, withdraw the North China Garrison Army; fourth, stop the free flight of Japanese aircraft over Chinese territory; fifth, abolish Japan’s detective organizations in various parts of China, that is, the so-called secret service agencies; sixth, prohibit the rude and unreasonable attitudes of Japanese in China towards Chinese people; seventh, prohibit smuggling.” [30]30 Mao Zedong, interview with Agnes Smedley, March 1937. These conditions were obviously unacceptable to Japan’s “ideal of national foundation,” so negotiations between China and Japan could hardly reach an agreement.

中国能否避免日本发动侵略战争呢？显然不能。在1937年3月与美国记者、作家史沫特莱的谈话中，毛泽东指出日本必然发动全面侵华战争。史沫特莱询问，中国“对日本的和平条件是什么？中日两国之间是否还应该进行谈判？”毛泽东列举中国的和平条件：“第一，日本取消对中国的侵略政策，即取消其所谓大陆政策与广田三原则，尊重中国的独立，将两国放在完全平等地位；第二，交还东北四省及察哈尔北部，取消‘满洲国’，取消殷汝耕冀东政府；第三，撤退华北驻屯军；第四，停止日本飞机在中国境内的自由飞航；第五，取消日本在中国各地的侦探组织，即所谓特务机关；第六，禁止在中国境内的日本人对于中国人所施的横暴无理态度；第七，禁止走私。”这些条件显然是日本“建国的理想”不能接受的，因此中日两国之间谈判难以达成一致。

Japan’s so-called peace “means that Japan occupies China, while China does not resist and allows itself to be occupied”; its “peace” conditions were to annihilate China. In November 1935, Japan proposed to China: “(1) Complete political and economic independence of the five provinces of North China. (2) Complete withdrawal of all Kuomintang troops from Shaanxi and the northwestern provinces. (3) Complete demilitarization of the five coastal provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Shandong. (4) China’s withdrawal from the League of Nations and abandonment of all aid from Britain and the United States. (5) Recognition of ‘Manchukuo’ and close cooperation among China, Japan, and ‘Manchukuo’ to create a Far Eastern political-economic bloc. (6) Cessation of all anti-Japanese movements throughout China. (7) Concentration of the full forces of China and Japan to attack the Chinese Soviet revolution, especially the Soviets and the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army in the Northwest. (8) The right of Japanese representatives to participate in the Kuomintang Congress to observe whether China is sincere about Sino-Japanese amity.” These eight articles were “intended to turn all of China into a colony of Japanese imperialism.” [31]31 The “Marco Polo Bridge Incident” (July 7, 1937) was a clash between Japanese and Chinese troops near Beijing that Japan used as a pretext to launch full-scale war. In April 1937, Japan proposed: “(1) Recognition of ‘Manchukuo’ and recognition that Manchuria belongs to Japan forever. (2) Signing an agreement guaranteeing that China will not obstruct Japan’s interests in China. (3) Recognition of Japan’s special privileges in North China.” After these “peace” conditions were rejected, Japan “used the trivial Marco Polo Bridge Incident as a pretext, and on July 7, 1937, launched an eight-year full-scale war of aggression against China.”

日本的所谓和平“是说日本占领中国，而中国则不要抵抗，让其占领”，其“和平”条件是灭亡中国。1935年11月，日本向中国提出：“（一）华北五省政治经济的完全独立。（二）国民党军队全部退出陕西与西北各省。（三）将临海广东、福建、浙江、江苏、山东五省完全变为非武装区域。（四）中国退出国联与放弃英美的一切援助。（五）承认‘满洲国’与中日‘满’三国的亲密合作，以创立远东政治经济集团。（六）停止全中国的一切反日运动。（七）集中中日两国的全力来进攻中国苏维埃革命，特别在西北的苏维埃与工农红军。（八）日本代表有参加国民党大会之权利，来观察中国对中日亲善是否诚意。”这八条是“要把全中国变为日本帝国主义的殖民地”。1937年4月，日本提出：“（一）承认‘满洲国’，并承认满洲里永远属日本所有。（二）签订协定，保证中国不妨碍日本在中国的利益。（三）承认日本在华北的特权。”这些“和平”条件遭到拒绝后，日本“遂以无谓的芦沟桥事变为藉口，于一九三七年七月七日发动为期八年的全面侵华战争”。

Since Japan was bound to launch a war of aggression against China, the Chinese nation was inevitably to undergo a severe trial of life and death, which determined the nature of the War of Resistance Against Japan. The War of Resistance was unlike any other war; it was a marvel in the history of Chinese warfare. It “was not just any war, but a life-and-death war waged in the 1930s between a semi-colonial and semi-feudal China and an imperialist Japan.” It was a national revolutionary war for the survival of the Chinese nation, “a form of war for China’s self-liberation, a special form of liberation war waged by a semi-colonial great power in the 1930s and 1940s,” and “a magnificent undertaking of the Chinese nation, a world-shaking great cause.” The profound essence of the War of Resistance Against Japan lies precisely in this.

既然日本必然要发动侵华战争，那么中华民族必然要经历一场严酷的生死考验，这决定了抗日战争的性质。抗日战争与任何一场战争都不相同，它是中国战争史上的奇观，它“不是任何别的战争，乃是半殖民地半封建的中国和帝国主义的日本之间在二十世纪三十年代进行的一个决死的战争”。它是中华民族争生存的民族革命战争，“是中华民族自求解放的战争形态，是半殖民地大国在二十世纪三十和四十年代举行的解放战争的特殊的形态”，是“中华民族的壮举，惊天动地的伟业”。抗日战争的深刻本质就在于此。

Since the essence of the War of Resistance Against Japan lies in this, then “the liberation of the Chinese nation will be won from this war.” Mao Zedong pointed out, “This War of Resistance is a necessary stage in the process of the national revolution, a war for the invaded nation to strive for independent survival against the invading nation.” “Now all of China and the whole world understand: The Chinese nation has stood up! The century-long humiliation, insult, aggression, and oppression, especially the unbearable slavish status since the September 18th Incident, have been changed. All Chinese people, weapons in hand, have stepped onto the battlefield of national self-defense. The dawn of China’s ultimate victory, that is, the freedom and liberation of the Chinese nation, has already appeared.” [32]32 The “September 18th Incident” (1931) was a Japanese-manufactured explosion on a railway near Mukden (Shenyang), used as a pretext to invade and occupy Northeast China. The War of Resistance Against Japan “opened a new epoch in the history of the Chinese revolution” and opened a new epoch on the path of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!

既然抗日战争的本质在于此，那么，“中华民族的解放将从这个战争中得来”。毛泽东指出，“此次抗战为国民革命过程中所必经，为被侵略民族对侵略者争取独立生存之战争”，“现在全中国全世界的人都明白：中华民族是站起来了！一百年来受人欺凌，侮辱，侵略，压迫，特别是九一八事变以来那种难堪的奴辱地位，是改变过来了。全中国人手执武器走上了民族自卫战争的战场，全中国的最后胜利，即中华民族自由解放的曙光，已经发现了”。抗日战争“在中国革命史上开辟了一个新纪元”，在中华民族伟大复兴道路上开辟了一个新纪元！

Even the Kuomintang recognized that the War of Resistance Against Japan was a war for the survival of the Chinese nation and a necessary stage for the Chinese nation’s march toward rejuvenation. The Kuomintang pointed out that because the National Government did not accept Japan’s demands to annihilate China, Japan created the July 7th Incident and launched a full-scale war of aggression against China, and “we can, through protracted resistance, through the victory of resistance, annihilate the Japanese bandits, win national independence, and achieve national liberation.” It also recognized, “If we do not unite the whole country with one heart and one mind to resist aggression,” then our nation would surely perish. Therefore, the War of Resistance Against Japan was “a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity to rejuvenate the nation,” “a necessary stage in the revolutionary process of building our country and rejuvenating our nation.” Regardless of what kind of country the Kuomintang spoke of building, regardless of what “revolution” it referred to, it ultimately recognized that the War of Resistance Against Japan was a necessary stage for the Chinese nation’s march toward rejuvenation.

即使国民党，也认识到抗日战争是中华民族求生存的战争，是中华民族走向复兴的必经阶段。国民党指出，由于国民政府不接受日本灭亡中国的要求，日本就制造七七事变，对华发动全面侵华战争，而“我们就可以从长期抗战当中，从抗战的胜利当中来消灭倭寇，来争取国家的独立，和民族的解放”，又认识到，“我们如不举国一致，万众一心来反抗侵略”，那么我们的民族必定就此灭亡。因此，抗日战争是“复兴民族千载一时的机会”，“是我们建设国家复兴民族的革命过程中所必经的一个阶段”。无论国民党所说建设的是什么样的国家，无论所说“革命”是什么，终归认识到抗日战争是中华民族走向复兴的必经阶段。

Since the imperialist invasion of China until the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Chinese nation had been bullied and oppressed by the imperialist powers, and many people had lost their national self-respect and self-confidence. But at the critical moment of life and death for the Chinese nation, all Chinese sons and daughters resolutely resisted the aggression of Japanese militarism. “Tens of millions of people awakened, stirred, bravely and unyieldingly, one after another, entered the battlefield of national self-defense. The artillery fire of the national war awakened the broadest masses of the people, drawing them into the great tide of national liberation. The tradition of weakness since the Opium War was broken, the fear of Japan was shattered, national awakening and national self-confidence surged and swelled.” The Chinese people “played a heroic and magnificent symphony of resistance against Japanese aggression, composing with their lives and blood a touching and earth-shattering epic of resistance against foreign invasion.” [33]33 The Opium War (1839-1842) was Britain’s war against Qing China, which forced China to open its markets and cede Hong Kong, marking the beginning of China’s “century of humiliation.” Yang Jingyu, Zhao Shangzhi, Zuo Quan, Peng Xuefeng, Tong Linge, Zhao Dengyu, Zhang Zizhong, Dai Anlan, and many other anti-Japanese generals; the Eight Heroes of Langya Mountain of the Eighth Route Army, the Liu Laozhuang Company of the New Fourth Army, the Eight Female Soldiers of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, the Eight Hundred Heroes of the Kuomintang Army, and many other heroic groups—these were outstanding representatives of Chinese sons and daughters who resolutely opposed the powerful enemy, defied brutality, and sacrificed themselves for their country. They were outstanding representatives of the millions of anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians. In them, the patriotic sentiment of “everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the nation” and the distinct quality of “dedicating oneself to the country and serving the nation with utmost loyalty” were fully displayed. [34]34 “Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the nation” (天下兴亡，匹夫有责) is a classical Chinese idiom from the Ming-Qing transition, attributed to Gu Yanwu, emphasizing individual duty to the nation. In the severe test of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Chinese people carried forward the great patriotic national spirit.

自从帝国主义入侵中国至抗日战争爆发，中华民族备受帝国主义列强的欺凌压迫，许多人丧失了民族自尊心自信心。但是在中华民族生死存亡关头，全体中华儿女对日本军国主义的侵略进行了坚强抗击，“成千成万的人民觉醒着激动着英勇地不屈地前仆后继地走入了民族自卫的战场。民族战争的炮火惊醒了最广大的人民大众，使他们卷入于民族解放的巨潮中去。鸦片战争以来的积弱的传统被冲破了，恐日病被粉碎了，民族的觉醒，民族的自信心，增强着汹涌着”，中国人民“奏响了一曲气壮山河的抗击日本侵略的英雄凯歌，用生命和鲜血谱写了一首感天动地的反抗外来侵略的壮丽史诗”。杨靖宇、赵尚志、左权、彭雪枫、佟麟阁、赵登禹、张自忠、戴安澜等众多抗日将领，八路军狼牙山五壮士、新四军刘老庄连、东北抗联八位女战士、国民党军八百壮士等众多英雄群体，就是中华儿女坚决反对强敌、不畏强暴、以身殉国的杰出代表，就是千千万万抗日将士的杰出代表。在他们身上，充分展现了天下兴亡、匹夫有责的爱国情怀，以身许国、精忠报国的鲜明品质。在抗日战争的严酷考验中，中国人民弘扬了伟大的爱国民族精神。

In short, the War of Resistance Against Japan “is a deeply moving and unforgettable page in the modern history of the Chinese people’s struggle for independence and freedom, and a chapter full of vicissitudes in the historical development of the Chinese nation.” In the War of Resistance, Chinese sons and daughters, with unyielding backbone fighting the powerful enemy, with flesh and blood building the Great Wall, and with the heroic spirit of advancing wave upon wave to face national calamity, composed a majestic epic that moves heaven and earth and wrings tears from ghosts and gods. The War of Resistance Against Japan was “a special and glorious page in the history of human warfare,” “a new stage of the Chinese revolution, and the greatest, most active, and most vivid stage.” It is not difficult to imagine what a huge impact this stage would have on the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

总之，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”。在抗日战争中，中华儿女以铮铮铁骨战强敌、以血肉之躯筑长城、以前仆后继赴国难的英雄气概，谱写了惊天地、泣鬼神的雄壮史诗。抗日战争是“人类战争史中表现为光荣的特殊的一页”，是“中国革命的一个新阶段，而且是最伟大、最活跃、最生动的一个新阶段”。这个阶段，对于中华民族的伟大复兴“将有何等巨大的影响是不难想象的”。

III.

三、

The Chinese nation is a great nation. The Chinese nation “has the spirit to fight to the death against its enemies, the determination to restore old things on the basis of self-reliance, and the ability to stand on its own among the nations of the world.” Through the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Chinese people “defeated the ferocious Japanese militarist aggressors and won the first complete victory in the modern history of China’s resistance against foreign invasion.” The victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan “established a historical turning point for the Chinese nation to move from the deep crisis of modern times toward great rejuvenation.” The establishment of this historical turning point is profoundly reflected in the following aspects.

中华民族是世界上伟大的民族，中华民族“有同自己的敌人血战到底的气概，有在自力更生的基础上光复旧物的决心，有自立于世界民族之林的能力”。通过抗日战争，中国人民“打败了穷凶极恶的日本军国主义侵略者，赢得了近代以来中国反抗外敌入侵的第一次完全胜利”，抗日战争的胜利“为中华民族由近代以来陷入深重危机走向伟大复兴确立了历史转折点”。这个历史转折点的确立，深刻体现在以下几个方面。

First, the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan ended the history of imperialist powers arbitrarily seizing Chinese territory, “strengthened the Chinese people’s will to pursue national independence, freedom, and liberation, and opened a new historical journey for the ancient China’s phoenix-like nirvana and rebirth from the ashes!”

第一，抗日战争的胜利，结束了帝国主义列强肆意侵夺中国领土的历史，“坚定了中国人民追求民族独立、自由、解放的意志，开启了古老中国凤凰涅槃、浴火重生的历史新征程！”

Since China gradually became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, the Chinese people had struggled for national independence and national rejuvenation. “From the Opium War, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Hundred Days’ Reform, the Revolution of 1911, up to the Northern Expedition, all revolutionary or reformist movements to lift the semi-colonial and semi-feudal status suffered serious setbacks.” [35]35 The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1850-1864) was a massive rebellion against the Qing dynasty; the Hundred Days’ Reform (1898) was a failed attempt at modernization; the Revolution of 1911 overthrew the Qing; the Northern Expedition (1926-1928) was the Kuomintang-Communist united front military campaign to unify China. The War of Resistance Against Japan was “the turning point from defeat to victory” for the Chinese people, “the key turning point in the historical development” of the Chinese nation, the development of China’s liberation movement in the past century, the longest-lasting, largest-scale, and most costly national liberation struggle of the Chinese people against foreign invasion in modern times, and also the first national liberation struggle in which the Chinese people achieved complete victory. The victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan smashed the Japanese militarist plot to annex and enslave China, “forced Japan to return the sacred territories of the Northeast, Taiwan, and the Penghu Islands, which it had stolen from China after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, safeguarded national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and thoroughly washed away the national shame of repeated defeats in resisting foreign aggression since modern times. From then on, no aggressor could run rampant on Chinese soil.”

自中国逐步沦为半殖民地半封建社会后，中国人民就为国家独立、民族复兴而奋斗。“从鸦片战争，太平天国，戊戌维新，辛亥革命，直至北伐战争，一切为解除半殖民地半封建地位的革命的或改良的运动，都遭到了严重的挫折”。抗日战争，是中国人民“由失败到胜利的转变点”，是中华民族“历史发展上的重要的转变关键”，是中国近百年来解放运动的发展，是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，也是中国人民第一次取得完全胜利的民族解放斗争。抗日战争的胜利，粉碎了日本军国主义吞并中国奴役中国的图谋，“迫使日本归还甲午战争以后从中国窃取的东北、台湾、澎湖列岛等神圣领土，捍卫了国家主权和领土完整，彻底洗刷了近代以来抗击外来侵略屡战屡败的民族耻辱。从此，再也没有侵略者可以在中国的土地上横行肆虐”。

Second, the Chinese people’s War of Resistance Against Japan “had the great significance of saving human civilization and defending world peace.”

第二，中国人民的抗日战争，“具有拯救人类文明、保卫世界和平的重大意义”。

The September 18th Incident[36]36 The September 18th Incident (1931): A staged event used by the Japanese Kwantung Army as a pretext to invade and occupy Northeast China, marking the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japan. was not only the starting point of the War of Resistance Against Japan but also lifted the curtain on the world anti-fascist war. The July 7th Incident[37]37 The July 7th Incident (1937): Also known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, a clash near Beijing that triggered the full-scale outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War and China’s all-out war of resistance. was not only the beginning of China’s entire nation’s war of resistance but also opened up the Eastern main battlefield of the world anti-fascist war. The world anti-fascist war was a war of unprecedented scale in human history, involving more than 80 countries and regions and approximately 2 billion people. In this war, “the Chinese people’s War of Resistance Against Japan began the earliest and lasted the longest; the Chinese battlefield long pinned down and fought against the main forces of Japanese militarism, playing a decisive role in the complete destruction of the Japanese aggressors. The Chinese people’s War of Resistance Against Japan strategically coordinated with and supported the operations of the Allied powers, cooperating with the strategic actions of the European and Pacific theaters, and constraining and disrupting the attempts at strategic coordination between Japanese fascism and German-Italian fascism. China, as an important rear base for the Allied forces’ operations against Japan in the Asia-Pacific region, provided the Allied powers with large quantities of strategic materials and military intelligence.” The Chinese people made major contributions to the world anti-fascist war.

九一八事变，不仅是抗日战争的起点，而且揭开了世界反法西斯战争的序幕。七七事变，不仅是中国全民族抗战的开端，而且开辟了世界反法西斯战争的东方主战场。世界反法西斯战争是人类历史上规模空前的战争，80多个国家和地区约20亿人口卷入其中。在战争中，“中国人民抗日战争开展时间最早、持续时间最长，中国战场长期牵制和抗击了日本军国主义的主要兵力，对日本侵略者的彻底覆灭起到了决定性作用。中国人民抗日战争在战略上策应和支持了盟国作战，配合了欧洲战场和太平洋战场的战略行动，制约和打乱了日本法西斯和德意法西斯战略配合的企图。中国作为亚太地区盟军对日作战的重要后方基地，为盟国提供了大量战略物资和军事情报”。中国人民为世界反法西斯战争作出重大贡献。

The victory of the Chinese people’s War of Resistance Against Japan also proved a truth, namely: “Under the correct leadership of the proletariat, relying on the united struggle of the masses of the people, relying on the people’s united front and people’s war, the aggression of imperialism can be defeated.” This truth is “an extremely important truth” not only for the Chinese people but also for the colonial peoples of the entire world.

中国人民抗日战争的胜利还证明了一个真理，那就是：“在无产阶级的正确领导下，依靠人民群众的团结奋斗，依靠人民统一战线和人民战争，帝国主义的侵略是可以打败的。”这个真理，不仅仅是对于中国人民，而且对于全世界殖民地人民来说“都是一个极端重要的真理”。

Thus, it can be seen that in the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Chinese people integrated into the world, established a brilliant model for backward countries to oppose the aggression of imperialist powers, and made major contributions to the cause of human peace and justice. This is the world significance of this historic turning point in the Chinese nation’s march toward the great rejuvenation.

可见，中国人民在抗日战争中融入世界，树立了落后国家反对帝国主义强国侵略的光辉典范，为人类和平与正义事业作出重大贡献。这是中华民族走向伟大复兴历史转折点的世界意义。

Third, the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan was a great victory for the entire nation’s war of resistance promoted by the Communist Party of China, a great victory in which the Communist Party of China played the role of the mainstay, and it was the choice of history that the Communist Party of China became the leader of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

第三，抗日战争的胜利，是中国共产党推动全民族抗战的伟大胜利，是中国共产党发挥中流砥柱作用的伟大胜利，中国共产党成为中华民族伟大复兴的领导者是历史的选择。

Through the proposal, development, and mobilization of the national revolutionary war, the Communist Party of China expanded its influence among the people of the whole country, raised its political status, and laid the political and ideological foundations for becoming the ruling party. As soon as the September 18th Incident broke out, the Communist Party of China called for “arming the masses to carry out a national revolutionary war, opposing Japanese imperialism, opposing all imperialism, striving for the liberation and independence of the Chinese nation, and unifying China.” When the North China crisis[38]38 The North China crisis (1935-1937): A period of escalating Japanese encroachment into northern China, including demands for autonomy and military pressure, which intensified Chinese resistance calls. was severe, the Communist Party of China called for “stopping all civil wars and uniting to resist Japan” and waging a national revolutionary war. After the full-scale war of resistance was launched, the Communist Party of China clearly stated, “We advocate a complete national revolutionary war with the total mobilization of the entire people, or what is called an all-out war of resistance. Because only this kind of war of resistance is a mass war, and only this can achieve the goal of defending the motherland.”

中国共产党通过民族革命战争的提出、发展和发动，扩大了在全国人民中的影响，提高了政治地位，奠定了成为执政党的政治基础、思想基础。九一八事变一爆发，中国共产党就号召“武装民众进行民族的革命战争，反对日本帝国主义，反对一切帝国主义，争取中国民族的解放与独立，统一中国”。华北危机严重时，中国共产党号召“停止一切内战，一致抗日”，举行民族革命战争。全面抗战发动起来后，中国共产党明确提出，“我们主张全国人民总动员的完全的民族革命战争，或者叫作全面抗战。因为只有这种抗战，才是群众战争，才能达到保卫祖国的目的”。

In “mobilizing, organizing, and leading the entire Chinese people in the anti-Japanese and anti-imperialist national liberation struggle,” the Communist Party of China not only “awakened the national consciousness of the entire Chinese people” but also “tempered the Communist Party of China, making it a strong and fighting party closely linked with the Chinese people.” The Communist Party of China insisted that soldiers and the people are the foundation of victory, proposed and implemented the general strategic policy of protracted war and a complete set of strategic and tactical principles for people’s war, and the military and civilians in the base areas behind enemy lines extensively carried out guerrilla tactics and methods such as ambushes, sabotage operations, mine warfare, tunnel warfare, and sparrow warfare[39]39 Sparrow warfare: A guerrilla tactic involving small, highly mobile groups harassing enemy forces with hit-and-run attacks, named for its resemblance to sparrows pecking at food., plunging the Japanese aggressors into the vast ocean of people’s war.

中国共产党“在发动组织与领导全中国人民反日反帝的民族解放斗争中”，不但“唤起了全中国人民的民族觉醒”，而且“锻炼了中国共产党，使它成为同中国人民有密切联系的坚强的战斗的党”。中国共产党坚持兵民是胜利之本，提出和实施持久战的战略总方针和一整套人民战争的战略战术，敌后根据地军民广泛开展伏击战、破袭战、地雷战、地道战、麻雀战等游击战的战术战法，使日本侵略者陷入了人民战争的汪洋大海。

The victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan was a great victory in which the Communist Party of China played the role of the mainstay. The Communist Party of China “took the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as its historical mission, was most resolute in defending national independence, most determined in safeguarding national interests, and most courageous in resisting foreign aggression.” During the war of resistance, the Communist Party of China held high the banner of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, “with outstanding political leadership and correct strategic policies, guided the forward direction of China’s war of resistance,” “supported the hope of the Chinese nation for national salvation from extinction, and became the mainstay of the entire nation’s war of resistance.” In the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Communist Party of China, “with its own political propositions, firm will, and exemplary actions, supported the hope of the entire nation for national salvation from extinction, led the correct direction for winning the war, and became the national vanguard in winning the war.” The Communist Party of China is the well-deserved leader of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

抗日战争的胜利，是中国共产党发挥中流砥柱作用的伟大胜利。中国共产党“把实现中华民族伟大复兴作为自己的历史使命，捍卫民族独立最坚定，维护民族利益最坚决，反抗外来侵略最勇敢”。在抗战中，中国共产党高举抗日民族统一战线的旗帜，“以卓越的政治领导力和正确的战略策略，指引了中国抗战的前进方向”，“支撑起中华民族救亡图存的希望，成为全民族抗战的中流砥柱”。在抗日战争中，中国共产党“以自己的政治主张、坚定意志、模范行动，支撑起全民族救亡图存的希望，引领着夺取战争胜利的正确方向，成为夺取战争胜利的民族先锋”。中国共产党是中华民族伟大复兴当之无愧的领导者。

Fourth, during the War of Resistance Against Japan, the embryonic form of New China had already emerged, and the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan opened up the bright prospects for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

第四，在抗日战争中，新中国的雏形已经出现，抗日战争的胜利开辟了中华民族伟大复兴的光明前景。

The “newness” of New China lay in completing the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal democratic revolution and moving toward socialism, a historical trend that gradually became apparent after the outbreak of the full-scale war of resistance. The Communist Party of China adhered to the line of an all-out war of resistance; the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army vigorously armed the broad masses of the people, “from Liaoning, Rehe, Chahar, and Suiyuan[40]40 Liaoning, Rehe, Chahar, Suiyuan: Historical provinces in northern and northeastern China, now part of modern provinces and autonomous regions such as Liaoning, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, and Shanxi. all the way down to Guangdong and Hainan Island, there were people’s anti-Japanese armed forces led by Communist Party members,” thus making “the War of Resistance Against Japan a truly nationwide great revolution,” “laying a solid foundation for the later victory of the people’s democratic revolution throughout the country.” Mao Zedong pointed out, “China, long ruled by the feudal system, has undergone great changes in the past hundred years, and is now changing in the direction of a free and liberated New China.” On the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of the full-scale war of resistance, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a declaration: “In the past four years, the military and civilians of the whole country have risen up in resistance, regardless of sacrifice, fearing no difficulty, advancing wave upon wave, persevering, paying a great price, and overcoming many difficulties, finally causing the enemy to be terrified and the world to be impressed, laying the foundation for national rejuvenation and producing the embryonic form of a newborn China.” On the sixth anniversary of the full-scale war of resistance, Mao Zedong confidently stated that the Chinese people “will inevitably create a more progressive world, a more progressive China,” and “China will soon become a bright China.”

新中国之“新”，在于完成反帝反封建民主革命，走向社会主义，这一历史趋势在全面抗战爆发后逐渐显现出来。中国共产党坚持全面抗战路线，八路军新四军大力武装广大人民，“从辽宁、热河、察哈尔、绥远一线直到广东和海南岛，都有了共产党员所领导的人民抗日武装”，从而使“抗日战争成为真正全国范围的大革命了”，“为后来人民民主革命在全国的胜利奠定了巩固的基础”。毛泽东指出，“长期地被封建制度统治的中国，近百年来发生了很大的变化，现在正在变化到一个自由解放的新中国的方向去”。在全面抗战爆发四周年之际，中共中央发表宣言：“四年以来，全国军民奋起抗战，不顾牺牲，不怕困难，前仆后继，再接再厉，付出了很大的代价，渡过了许多的难关，卒能使敌寇胆寒，环球心折，奠定了民族复兴的基础，产生了新生中国的雏形。”在全面抗战六周年之际，毛泽东充满信心地表示，中国人民“必然要创造出一个更加进步的世界、一个更加进步的中国来”，“中国将很快成为光明的中国”。

In this magnificent national liberation war of resistance against Japan, the Chinese people clearly recognized that “only by achieving national independence and people’s liberation and establishing a new China where the people are the masters of the country can national rejuvenation and people’s happiness be truly realized.” The Communist Party of China’s “proposals for transforming old China and building a new China represented the fundamental interests of the Chinese people.” It was precisely on the basis of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan that the Communist Party of China “united and led the people of the whole country to continue the struggle, established the People’s Republic of China, and further established the socialist system,” “opening a new historical journey for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” The magnificent national liberation war of resistance against Japan and its great victory are a historic turning point in the Chinese nation’s march toward the great rejuvenation and will forever be recorded in the annals of history!

在抗日战争这场波澜壮阔的民族解放战争中，中国人民清楚认识到，“只有实现民族独立和人民解放，建立人民当家作主的新中国，才能真正实现民族振兴、人民幸福”。中国共产党“提出的改造旧中国、建设新中国的主张，代表了中国人民根本利益”。正是在抗日战争胜利的基础上，中国共产党“团结带领全国人民继续奋斗，建立了中华人民共和国，并进而确立了社会主义制度”，“开启了中华民族伟大复兴新的历史征程”。波澜壮阔的抗日民族解放战争及其伟大胜利，是中华民族走向伟大复兴的历史转折点，将永载史册！

Online editor: Jing Mu

网络编辑：静穆