The Chinese Communist Party’s Promotion of the Formation of a Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation during the War of Resistance against Japan

The Chinese nation took shape very early; in ancient times it was a “spontaneous” national community, not a “self-conscious” one. [1]1 The distinction between a “spontaneous” (zizai) and a “self-conscious” (zijue) national community is a standard analytical framework in Chinese Marxist historiography, drawn from Lenin and Stalin’s writings on the nation. A “spontaneous” nation exists objectively but lacks a modern political awareness of itself as a unified national subject. The Chinese nation became a “self-conscious” national community only in modern times, undergoing a transformation from “spontaneous” to “self-conscious.” From Liang Qichao’s first proposal and use of the concept of the “Chinese nation” in 1902, through its development in the early Republic of China and after the May Fourth Movement, to the formation of the concept of the “Chinese nation” during the War of Resistance against Japan after the September 18th Incident, [2]2 The September 18th Incident (1931) was a Japanese military attack on Mukden (now Shenyang) that began the Japanese invasion and occupation of Northeast China. The July 7th Incident (1937) was a clash near Beijing that escalated into the full-scale Sino-Japanese War. and especially during the period of the All-Nation War of Resistance, this marked the completion of that transformation. Consistent with this, the sense of community for the Chinese nation also took shape during the War of Resistance period. What is the sense of community for the Chinese nation? It is the concept of a community sharing weal and woe, sharing honor and disgrace, sharing life and death, and sharing a common destiny, as proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping. The concept of a community of “sharing weal and woe, sharing honor and disgrace, sharing life and death, and sharing a common destiny” proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping, especially the concept of “sharing life and death and sharing a common destiny,” took shape precisely during the War of Resistance period, and especially during the All-Nation War of Resistance. A search of CNKI shows that current academic research on the Chinese Communist Party’s ethnic theories and policies during the War of Resistance is quite abundant, and there are also many articles studying the Chinese Communist Party’s relationship with the concept of the Chinese nation and the Chinese national community during the War of Resistance. However, there are few articles studying the Chinese Communist Party and the sense of community for the Chinese nation during the War of Resistance. In view of this, this article focuses on a study of the Chinese Communist Party’s promotion of the formation of a sense of community for the Chinese nation during the War of Resistance. Any errors are open to criticism and correction.

中华民族形成很早，古代的中华民族是一个“自在”的民族共同体，而不是一个“自觉”的民族共同体。中华民族成为一个“自觉”的民族共同体是在近代，经历过从“自在”到“自觉”的转型。从1902年梁启超第一次提出和使用“中华民族”概念，经过民国初年和五四运动后的发展，到九一八事变后的抗战时期尤其是全民族抗战时期“中华民族”观念的形成，则标志着这一转型的完成。与此相一致，中华民族共同体意识也形成于抗战时期。什么是中华民族共同体意识？这就是习近平总书记提出的休戚与共、荣辱与共、生死与共、命运与共的共同体理念。习近平总书记提出的这“四个与共”的共同体理念，尤其是其中的“生死与共、命运与共”的共同体理念，就是在抗战时期尤其是全民族抗战时期形成的。查阅知网，目前学术界研究抗战时期中国共产党民族理论和民族政策的成果颇为丰富，研究抗战时期中国共产党与中华民族观念、中华民族共同体的文章也有不少，但少有研究抗战时期中国共产党与中华民族共同体意识的文章。有鉴于此，本文重点对抗战时期中国共产党推动中华民族共同体意识的形成作一研究，不当之处，欢迎批评指正。

1. The Chinese Communist Party first used the concept of the “Chinese nation” in 1922. In July of that year, the Second National Congress of the Party, held in Shanghai, adopted the “Resolution on International Imperialism and China and the Chinese Communist Party” and the “Manifesto of the Second National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party,” both of which contained the expression “overthrow the oppression of international imperialism and achieve the complete independence of the Chinese nation.” Although the Party used the concept of the “Chinese nation” as early as July 1922, and subsequent Party resolutions, telegrams, manifestos, and leaders’ articles, speeches, or reports also used this concept many times, because the Party was still in its infancy at that time and was influenced by various “Left” and Right errors, especially Wang Ming’s “Left” dogmatism, [3]3 Wang Ming (1904–1974) was a senior CPC leader in the 1930s whose “Left” dogmatic line, heavily influenced by the Comintern, was criticized by Mao Zedong for mechanically applying Marxist formulas without regard to Chinese conditions. it was unable to combine the basic principles of Marxist ethnic theory with China’s actual problems and with fine traditional Chinese culture to study China’s ethnic issues. Therefore, until the outbreak of the July 7th Incident, [4]4 The July 7th Incident (1937) is also known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident; it is conventionally taken as the start of the All-Nation War of Resistance against Japan. the Party and its leaders had not conducted any scholarly study of the “Chinese nation” and had not discussed the relationship between the Chinese nation and its various ethnic groups.

一、中国共产党最早使用“中华民族”这一概念是在1922年。这年7月在上海召开的党的第二次全国代表大会通过的《关于国际帝国主义与中国和中国共产党的决议案》和《中国共产党第二次全国代表大会宣言》都有“推翻国际帝国主义的压迫，达到中华民族完全独立”的表述。尽管党在1922年7月就使用了“中华民族”这一概念，且此后党的有关决议、通电、宣言和领导人的文章、讲话或报告也多次使用这一概念，但由于当时的党还处于幼年时期，受各种“左”右倾错误尤其是王明“左”倾教条主义的影响，还不能把马克思主义民族理论的基本原理同中国实际问题、同中华优秀传统文化相结合来研究中国民族问题，所以，直到七七事变发生，党及领导人都没有对“中华民族”进行过学理性研究，没有论述过中华民族与各民族之间的关系问题。

The earliest person among Chinese Communists to conduct a scholarly study of the “Chinese nation” and to discuss the relationship between the Chinese nation and its various ethnic groups was Yang Song, then Deputy Director and Secretary-General of the Central Propaganda Department. [5]5 Yang Song (1907–1942) was a CPC theorist and propaganda official. He died in the Japanese counter-sweep operations in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area. From August to October 1938, that is, around the time of the enlarged Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the CPC, [6]6 The enlarged Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee (September–November 1938) was a key meeting at which Mao Zedong’s leadership was consolidated and the line of “Sinification of Marxism” was formally adopted. Yang Song delivered a series of lectures at the Central Party School’s Marxism-Leninism Institute, titled “On the Nation,” “On National Movements and National Problems in the Capitalist Era,” and “On National Movements and National Problems in the Imperialist Era,” in which he studied and discussed a series of major theoretical issues concerning the nation, such as the “Chinese nation,” “nation-building,” and “national self-determination.” This was also the first time since the founding of the Chinese Communist Party that a Party leading cadre had provided theoretical elaboration on a series of major theoretical issues concerning the nation, and it had an important influence on the formation and development of the Chinese Communist Party’s ethnic theory during the democratic revolution period.

中国共产党人中最早对“中华民族”进行学理性研究、论述中华民族与各民族关系的，是时任中央宣传部副部长兼秘书长杨松。1938年8—10月，亦即中共扩大的六届六中全会召开前后，杨松在中共中央马列学院开设《论民族》《论资本主义时代民族运动与民族问题》《论帝国主义时代民族运动与民族问题》系列讲座，对“中华民族”“民族建国”“民族自决”等一系列重大的民族理论问题进行了研究和讨论。这也是中国共产党成立以来党的领导干部第一次就一系列重大的民族理论问题进行理论阐述，它对民主革命时期中共民族理论的形成和发展产生过重要影响。

The reasons why Yang Song at this time engaged in scholarly research on the “Chinese nation” and discussed the relationship between the Chinese nation and the various ethnic groups can be summarized in four aspects. First, the Zunyi Conference held in January 1935 [7]7 The Zunyi Conference (January 1935) was a pivotal meeting of the CCP Politburo during the Long March that ended the dominance of the military line associated with the共产国际 advisor Otto Braun and established Mao Zedong’s de facto leadership within the Party. in effect established Mao Zedong’s leading position in the Party Central Committee and the Central Red Army. From this point, the Chinese Communist Party bid farewell to its infancy, began to mature, and started to integrate the fundamental principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the fine traditional Chinese culture, independently studying and resolving China’s revolutionary problems, including China’s ethnic issues. Second, the first official document in which the Chinese Communist Party used the term “minority nationalities” was the article “Work Guidelines in the Nationalist Army,” published on November 3, 1926, in issue No. 10 of *Central Political Correspondence*. During the early period of the Party’s founding and the Great Revolution [8]8 The Great Revolution (1924–1927) refers to the first period of KMT-CPC cooperation aimed at ending warlordism and foreign domination, culminating in the Northern Expedition., the minorities mentioned in Party resolutions, declarations, and related documents were only the Manchu, Mongol, Hui, and Tibetan peoples of the “Five Races Under One Union” [9]9 “Five Races Under One Union” (五族共和) was a slogan of the early Republic of China (1912) referring to the Han, Manchu, Mongol, Hui, and Tibetan peoples as constituent groups of the new republic., along with the Miao. In the early stage of the Agrarian Revolution [10]10 The Agrarian Revolution (1927–1937) is the CCP’s term for the period of the Chinese Civil War and the establishment of Soviet base areas, also known as the “Ten-Year Civil War.”, that is, before the Central Committee and the Central Red Army began the Long March, the minorities mentioned in Party resolutions, declarations, and related documents had increased somewhat, and the First National Congress of the Chinese Soviet Republic in November 1931 even passed a “Resolution on the Issue of Minorities within China.” Nevertheless, overall, before the Long March the Party’s understanding of China’s minorities was neither comprehensive nor deep; only eight or nine minorities were mentioned in relevant resolutions, declarations, and documents. The Chinese Communist Party truly gained a comprehensive and deep understanding of China’s minorities only during the Long March, because the provinces the Long March passed through—Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Xikang, Gansu, Shaanxi, and others—included many areas where minorities lived in concentrated or mixed communities, inhabited by more than a dozen minorities such as Miao, Yao, Zhuang, Dong, Bouyei, Tujia, Bai, Naxi, Yi, Tibetan, Qiang, Hui, Yugur, and Mongol. It was precisely through deep interaction with the various minorities along the Long March that the Party gained a comprehensive and deep understanding of China’s minorities and a further profound recognition of the basic national condition that China is a unified multi-ethnic country. Third, it was only after the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party and the formation of a broad anti-Japanese national united front based on the second KMT-CPC cooperation [11]11 The second KMT-CPC cooperation (1937–1945) was the united front against Japanese aggression, formed after the Xi’an Incident (1936) and lasting through the War of Resistance. that the Party Central Committee’s organs had a relatively safe and stable environment to study major theoretical and practical issues. At that time, the Central Committee in Yan’an established multiple study and research institutions such as the Marx-Lenin Institute, the Marx-Lenin Research Academy, and the Central Research Institute; the aforementioned lecture series by Yang Song was offered at the Marx-Lenin Institute. Fourth, the Chinese Communist Party is a Marxist political party and the representative of the interests of China’s proletariat. As early as June 15, 1922, the Chinese Communist Party, in its “Views on the Current Situation,” stipulated in documentary form the Party’s nature as the vanguard of the proletariat. Shortly thereafter, the “Resolution on the Organizational章程 of the Communist Party” adopted at the Party’s Second National Congress in July of that year again emphasized that the Chinese Communist Party is a Marxist proletarian party and “the vanguard of the revolutionary movement for the proletariat.” Subsequently, the Party repeatedly reaffirmed that the Chinese Communist Party is the vanguard of the proletariat and represents the interests of the proletariat. After the September 18 Incident [12]12 The September 18 Incident (1931) was the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, which led to the occupation of Northeast China and the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo., and especially around the time of the North China Incident [13]13 The North China Incident (1935) refers to a series of Japanese provocations and demands that extended Japanese control over Hebei and Chahar provinces, intensifying the national crisis., as Japanese imperialist aggression against China intensified step by step, the national contradiction between China and Japan gradually replaced the internal class contradiction as the principal contradiction in society. To mobilize people of all ethnicities to join the struggle against Japanese imperialist aggression and to establish a broad anti-Japanese national united front, the Chinese Communist Party began to emphasize that it not only represents the interests of the proletariat and is the vanguard of the proletariat, but also represents the interests of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, and is the vanguard of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. On December 25, 1935, the “Resolution of the Central Committee on the Current Political Situation and the Party’s Tasks,” adopted at the Wayaobu Conference of the Politburo [14]14 The Wayaobu Conference (December 1935) was a CCP Politburo meeting that adopted the policy of forming a broad anti-Japanese national united front, including with the KMT and other classes., clearly stated: “The Chinese Communist Party is the vanguard of China’s proletariat” and “also the vanguard of the entire nation. Therefore, all who are willing to strive for the Party’s propositions, regardless of their class origin, may join the Communist Party.” From then on, the expression “two vanguards” of the Chinese Communist Party frequently appeared in Party resolutions, declarations, and in the speeches, articles, and directives of Party leaders. For example, in his speech at the memorial meeting for the anniversary of Lu Xun’s death, Mao Zedong mentioned the “two vanguards”: “Our Communist Party is the vanguard of the proletariat and at the same time the most thorough vanguard of national liberation,” representing the interests of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. Since the Chinese Communist Party is the vanguard of the Chinese nation and represents the interests of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, major questions such as what the Chinese nation is and the relationship between the Chinese nation and the various ethnic groups needed to be studied and answered by Chinese Communists and explained to the people of all ethnicities. It was precisely against this historical backdrop that Yang Song began scholarly research on the “Chinese nation” and discussed the relationship between the Chinese nation and the various ethnic groups.

杨松此时之所以对“中华民族”进行学理性研究、论述中华民族与各民族的关系，概而言之，有四个方面的原因。第一，1935年1月召开的遵义会议，事实上确立了毛泽东在党中央和中央红军中的领导地位，中国共产党由此告别了幼年，开始走向成熟，开始把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际结合起来、同中华优秀传统文化结合起来，独立自主地研究和解决中国的革命问题，这其中也包括中国民族问题。第二，中国共产党第一次使用“少数民族”一词的正式文件，是1926年11月3日刊发在《中央政治通讯》第10期上的《国民军中工作方针》一文。在建党初期和大革命时期，党在决议、宣言和有关文件中提到的少数民族只有“五族共和”中的满、蒙、回、藏以及苗族。土地革命前期，亦即中共中央和中央红军长征之前，党在决议、宣言和有关文件中提到的少数民族虽然有所增多，并且还在1931年11月召开的中华苏维埃第一次全国代表大会上通过了一份《关于中国境内少数民族问题的决议案》，但总的来看，长征以前党对中国少数民族的了解并不全面和深入，在有关决议、宣言和文件中提到的少数民族只有八、九个之多。中国共产党对中国少数民族真正有全面和深入的了解是在长征途中，因为长征经过的福建、江西、湖南、广东、广西、贵州、云南、四川、西康、甘肃、陕西等省份，不少地方是少数民族的聚居区或杂居区，居住着苗、瑶、壮、侗、布依、土家、白、纳西、彝、藏、羌、回、裕固、蒙古等十几个少数民族。正是通过与长征途中各少数民族的深度交集，党对中国的少数民族有了全面和深入的了解，对中国是一个统一的多民族国家这一基本国情有了更进一步的深刻认识。第三，中国共产党成立后，直至以第二次国共合作为基础的广泛的抗日民族统一战线建立后，党中央机关才有了相对比较安全和稳定的环境来研究一些重大的理论和现实问题。当时中共中央在延安成立了马列学院、马列研究院、中央研究院等多个学习和研究机构，前述杨松的系列讲座就是在马列学院开设的。第四，中国共产党是马克思主义政党，是中国无产阶级利益的代表者。早在1922年6月15日，中国共产党即在《中国共产党对于时局的主张》中以文献形式规定了党的无产阶级先锋队的性质。不久，这年7月召开的党的二大通过的《关于共产党的组织章程决议案》，再次强调中国共产党是马克思主义的无产阶级政党，是“为无产阶级做革命运动的急先锋”。此后，党又多次重申中国共产党是无产阶级的先锋队，代表的是无产阶级的利益。九一八事变后，尤其是华北事变前后，随着日本帝国主义对中国侵略的一步步加剧，中日之间的民族矛盾逐渐取代中国内部的阶级矛盾成为社会的主要矛盾。为动员各族人民参加到反对日本帝国主义侵略的斗争中来，以建立广泛的抗日民族统一战线，中国共产党开始强调，自己不仅代表无产阶级利益，是无产阶级的先锋队，同时也代表中国人民和中华民族的利益，是中国人民和中华民族的先锋队。1935年12月25日，中央政治局瓦窑堡会议通过的《中共中央关于目前政治形势与党的任务决议》就明确指出，“中国共产党是中国无产阶级的先锋队”，“又是全民族的先锋队。因此一切愿意为着共产党的主张而奋斗的人，不问他们的阶级出身如何，都可以加入共产党”。从此，中国共产党是“两个先锋队”的表述就经常出现在党的决议、宣言和中共领导人的讲话、文章、指示等文献中。比如，毛泽东在纪念鲁迅逝世周年大会上的讲话中就提到了“两个先锋队”，“我们共产党是无产阶级的先锋队，同时又是最彻底的民族解放的先锋队”，代表的是中国人民和中华民族的利益。既然中国共产党是中华民族的先锋队，代表的是中国人民和中华民族的利益，那么什么是中华民族、中华民族与各民族的关系等等这些重大问题，则需要中国共产党人研究和回答，并向各族人民作出说明。正是在这样的历史背景下，杨松开始对“中华民族”进行学理性研究、论述中华民族与各民族的关系。

Influenced by Stalin’s definition of a nation, Yang Song, in his article “On the Nation,” argued that the Chinese nation is also a modern nation, possessing all the characteristics of a modern nation: first, a common national language—“the Chinese language and Chinese script”; second, a common territory of activity—“China is the territory of the Chinese people”; third, a common economic life—although China was still a semi-feudal and semi-colonial country with uneven economic development, capitalism had developed considerably, and “new types of transportation such as railways, inland and coastal shipping, highways, and aviation” had “roughly linked all parts of China economically”; fourth, a common cultural psychology—“the Chinese people possess their own unique national character, national culture, national customs, habits, etc.,” and their “national culture has a history of four to five thousand years.”

受斯大林民族定义的影响，杨松在《论民族》一文中认为，中华民族也是一个近代民族，具有近代民族的一切特征：第一，有共同的民族语言——“中国语及中国文”；第二，有共同的活动地域——“中国是中国人的领土”；第三，有共同的经济生活——中国虽然还是一个半封建半殖民地的国家，经济发展不平衡，但资本主义已有相当的发展，“国内铁路、内河及沿海航路、公路、航空、邮政”等等新式交通工具“已把中国各地大致上在经济上连起来”；第四，有共同的文化心理——“中国人具有自己特有的民族性、民族文化、民族风俗、习惯等等”，其“民族文化已有四五千年的历史”。

Although, influenced by Stalin’s definition of a nation, Yang Song believed that the Chinese nation is a modern nation and did not recognize that the Chinese nation had already formed in ancient times—only that, as Fei Xiaotong put it, the Chinese nation at that time was still a “nation-in-itself” [15]15 “Nation-in-itself” (自在的民族) is a concept used by Fei Xiaotong to describe the Chinese nation before the modern period as an objective but not self-aware ethnic community. community, and it was only in modern times, in the struggle against imperialism and feudalism, that the Chinese nation achieved the transformation from “in-itself” to “for-itself” [16]16 “For-itself” (自觉的民族) refers to the Chinese nation’s modern transformation into a self-aware political community through anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggles.—he nevertheless also believed that China is a unified multi-ethnic country. Besides the main ethnic group, the Han, “there are also minority nationalities within China’s territory, such as the Manchu (anciently called the Donghu), Mongol, Hui (anciently called the Turkic), Tibetan (anciently called the Di-Qiang), Miao, and other minority nationalities.” Like the Han, “these Mongolians, Tibetans, Hui, etc., are different nationalities in terms of nationality, but in terms of citizenship, they are all citizens of the Republic of China and compatriots of the common motherland.” The Chinese nation is thus a community composed of the Han and those among the minority nationalities who have been “sinicized.” Therefore, externally, the Chinese nation is the “representative” of all ethnic groups within China; internally, the Chinese nation “unites all ethnic groups within China into a modern state.”

尽管受斯大林对民族定义的影响，杨松认为中华民族是一个近代民族，而没有认识到早在古代中华民族既已形成，只是如费孝通先生所言，那时的中华民族还是一个“自在”的民族共同体，直至近代在反帝反封建斗争中，中华民族才实现了从“自在”到“自觉”的转型，但他同时又认为，中国是一个统一的多民族国家，除主体民族汉族外，“中国境内还存在着少数民族，如像满族（古称东胡族）、蒙古族、回族（古称突厥族）、藏族（古称氐羌族）、苗族及其他少数民族”，和汉人一样，“这些蒙古人、西藏人、回人等等，就民族来说是各个不同的民族，但就国籍来说，都是中华民国的国民，都是共同祖国的同胞”，中华民族便是由汉族和少数民族中的“汉化”人群组成的共同体。因此，对外，中华民族是中国境内各民族的“代表”；对内，中华民族“团结中国境内各民族为一个近代的国家”。

Yang Song’s “On the Nation” was published in issue No. 47, Volume 3, of the Central Committee organ *Liberation Weekly*, dated August 1, 1938. Shortly thereafter, the enlarged Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was convened in Yan’an, and Mao Zedong delivered the political report “On the New Stage” on behalf of the Politburo. In his report, Mao Zedong repeatedly used the terms “Chinese nation” and “all ethnic groups of China,” and the “Chinese nation” or “all ethnic groups of China” he mentioned included, besides the Han, “the Mongol, Hui, Tibetan, Miao, Yao, Yi, and Fan ethnic groups.” We must “unite all ethnic groups of China to oppose Japan together,” and he designated this as the thirteenth of the fifteen “urgent tasks for the entire nation.” In the political report “On the New Stage,” Mao Zedong also put forward the major proposition of “sinicizing Marxism” [17]17 “Sinicizing Marxism” (马克思主义中国化) was a key theoretical proposition first raised by Mao Zedong in 1938, calling for the adaptation of Marxism to China’s specific conditions and cultural heritage..

杨松的《论民族》发表在1938年8月1日出版的中共中央机关刊物《解放周刊》第3卷第47期上。不久，中国共产党扩大的六届六中全会在延安召开，毛泽东代表政治局在会上作《论新阶段》的政治报告。毛泽东在报告中多次使用“中华民族”和“中华各族”，而他提到的“中华民族”或“中华各族”，除汉族外，还有“蒙、回、藏、苗、瑶、夷、番各民族”。我们要“团结中华各族，一致对日”，并把它确定为十五项“全民族的当前紧急任务”中的第十三项任务。在《论新阶段》的政治报告中，毛泽东还提出了“马克思主义中国化”这一重大命题。

After the enlarged Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee, guided by the major proposition of “adapting Marxism to the Chinese context,” Chinese Communists combined the Marxist-Leninist theory of nationality with China’s concrete realities and with the finest traditional Chinese culture to study and resolve China’s nationality issues. One outcome was Mao Zedong’s article “The Chinese Revolution and the Chinese Communist Party,” published in December 1939, which “has direct guiding significance” for our understanding of China’s nationality issues and for recognizing the Chinese nation. In the first section of the first chapter, “The Chinese Nation,” Mao Zedong discussed the origins, development, composition, and fundamental mission of the Chinese nation, answering the two most important questions in the study of the “Chinese nation”: first, the question of the definition of the “Chinese nation” as a nation; second, the question of the conceptual meaning of the “Chinese nation.” This was Mao Zedong’s most comprehensive and authoritative exposition of the “Chinese nation,” and also the most comprehensive and authoritative exposition by the Party’s supreme leader since the Party’s founding. It marked the final formation and establishment of the Chinese Communist Party’s concept of the “Chinese nation.”

扩大的六届六中全会后，中国共产党人在“马克思主义中国化”这一重大命题的指引下，将马克思列宁主义的民族理论同中国具体实际、同中华优秀传统文化结合起来，研究和解决中国的民族问题，其成果之一便是毛泽东于1939年12月发表的《中国革命和中国共产党》一文，它对于我们理解中国的民族问题、认识中华民族“有着直接的指导意义”。在该文第一章第一节“中华民族”中，毛泽东论述了中华民族的起源、发展、构成以及基本使命，回答了“中华民族”研究中最为重要的两个问题：一是“中华民族”的民族定义问题；二是“中华民族”的观念涵义问题。这是毛泽东对“中华民族”最全面和最权威的论述，也是党自成立以来党的最高领导人对“中华民族”最全面和最权威的论述。它标志着中国共产党“中华民族”观念的最终形成和确立。

Mao Zedong pointed out that “China is a country with a vast population formed by the union of many nationalities,” with a population of “450 million people,” accounting for one-quarter of the world’s population. Among these 450 million people, besides the Han people, who constitute “over nine-tenths” of the total population, “there are also the Mongols, the Hui, the Tibetans, the Uyghurs, the Miao, the Yi, the Zhuang, the Zhongjia, the Koreans, and others, totaling dozens of minority nationalities. Although their levels of cultural development differ, they all have long histories,” and together with the Han people they form the Chinese nation. Here, Mao Zedong did not adopt Yang Song’s view that the Chinese nation is a modern nation formed by the Han people and minority nationality groups that had been “sinicized.” Instead, he held that the Chinese nation has a long history, having been formed as early as ancient times, and that the national community of the Chinese nation is composed jointly of the Han people and “dozens of minority nationalities,” with all of China’s nationalities being part of the Chinese nation. This was a major achievement resulting from the combination of the basic principles of Marxist nationality theory with China’s concrete nationality issues and with the finest traditional Chinese culture, and it was a great contribution by Mao Zedong to the theory of the Chinese nation. From then on, Mao Zedong’s important exposition—that China is a unified multi-nationality country, that besides the main nationality, the Han, there are “dozens of minority nationalities,” and that the Chinese nation is a national community formed by the Han and these “dozens of minority nationalities”—became the basic consensus of Chinese Communists.

毛泽东指出，“中国是一个由多数民族结合而成的拥有广大人口的国家”，有“四亿五千万人口”，其人口数占世界人口数的四分之一，在这四亿五千万人口中，除占人口总数“十分之九以上”的汉人外，“还有蒙人、回人、藏人、维吾尔人、苗人、彝人、壮人、仲家人、朝鲜人等，共有数十种少数民族，虽然文化发展的程度不同，但是都已有长久的历史”，他们和汉族一起组成了中华民族。在这里，毛泽东没有采纳杨松的中华民族是近代民族、是由汉族和“汉化”的少数民族人群组成的民族共同体的观点，而是认为中华民族有着悠久的历史，早在古代即已形成，中华民族这一民族共同体是由汉族和“数十种少数民族”共同组成的，中国的各民族都是中华民族的一部分。这是马克思主义民族理论的基本原理同中国民族实际问题、同中华优秀传统文化相结合而产生的重大成果，是毛泽东对中华民族理论的一大贡献。从此，毛泽东所提出的中国是一个统一的多民族国家，除主体民族汉族外，还有“数十种少数民族”，中华民族便是由汉族和这“数十种少数民族”组成的民族共同体这一重要论述，就成了中国共产党人的基本共识。

At the end of 1939, the *Political Reader for Anti-Japanese Soldiers*, compiled and published by the General Political Department of the Eighth Route Army, adopted Mao Zedong’s exposition on the “Chinese nation”: the 450 million Chinese people form the Chinese nation, and “the Chinese nation includes the Han, Manchu, Mongol, Hui, Tibetan, Miao, Yao, Fan, Li, Yi, and dozens of other nationalities.” In February 1940, Jia Tuofu wrote in his article “Unite the Various Nationalities of China to Win Victory in the War of Resistance and National Reconstruction”: “The Chinese nation is a totality formed by the Han, Manchu, Mongol, Hui, Tibetan, Uyghur, Miao, Yao, Yi, Fan, and other nationalities within China’s borders.” In July of that year, the *Outline of the Northwest Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Issue of the Mongolian Nationality in the War of Resistance*, drafted by the Northwest Bureau of the Central Committee and “basically approved by the Secretariat of the Central Committee,” also contained the content that “the Mongolian nationality is a part of the Chinese nation.” On June 22, 1941, the editorial “Implement a Correct Nationality Policy” published in the Central Committee’s organ, *Liberation Daily*, stated at the outset that the Chinese nation is mainly composed of the Han nationality, but “at the same time there are many minority nationalities such as the Mongol, Hui, Tibetan, Manchu, Miao, Yao, Yi, Fan, and Uyghur,” and that these minority nationalities are also part of the Chinese nation; the Chinese nation is a community formed by the Han nationality and these minority nationalities.

1939年底，由八路军总政治部编撰出版的《抗日战士政治读本》即采纳了毛泽东关于“中华民族”的论述：四万万五千万中国人组成了中华民族，“中华民族包括汉、满、蒙、回、藏、苗、瑶、番、黎、夷等几十个民族”。1940年2月，贾拓夫在《团结中华各族争取抗战建国的胜利》一文中写道：“中华民族是由中国境内汉、满、蒙、回、藏、维吾尔、苗、瑶、夷、番各个民族组成的一个总体。”这年7月，在前期工作的基础上，中共中央西北局拟定、“基本上经中央书记处批准”的《中共中央西北工作委员会关于抗战中蒙古民族问题提纲》中也有“蒙古民族是中华民族一部分”的内容。1941年6月22日中共中央机关报《解放日报》发表的社论《实行正确的民族政策》，开篇明义便指出，中华民族以汉族为主，但“同时还有蒙、回、藏、满、苗、瑶、夷、番、维吾尔等许多少数民族”，这些少数民族也都是中华民族的一部分，中华民族便是由汉族和这些少数民族组成的共同体。

Emphasizing that China is a unified multi-nationality country, that besides the main nationality, the Han, there are “dozens of minority nationalities,” and that they together with the Han form the community of the Chinese nation, not only distinguished the Chinese Communist Party’s view of the Chinese nation from that of Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang, but also laid a solid theoretical foundation for promoting the formation of a sense of community for the Chinese nation among all nationalities. For only by recognizing that China is a unified multi-nationality country and that the Chinese nation is a national community formed by the main nationality, the Han, and these dozens of minority nationalities, can a sense of community for the Chinese nation be formed. Otherwise, “with the skin gone, what can the hair adhere to?” [18]18 A classical Chinese idiom from the *Zuo Zhuan* (Zuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals), meaning that when the foundation is lost, what depends on it cannot survive.

强调中国是一个统一的多民族国家，除主体民族汉族外，还有“数十种少数民族”，他们和汉族一起组成了中华民族共同体，这不仅使中国共产党的中华民族观与蒋介石、国民党的中华民族观区别了开来，而且也为推进各族人民形成中华民族共同体意识奠定了坚实的理论基础。因为只有承认中国是一个统一的多民族国家，中华民族是由主体民族汉族和这几十个少数民族组成的民族共同体，才会有中华民族共同体意识的形成。否则“皮之不存，毛将焉附”？

2. After the September 18th Incident, [19]19 The September 18th Incident (1931) was a staged event used by Japan as a pretext to invade and occupy Northeast China (Manchuria). when Japanese imperialism slaughtered, burned, looted, and plundered the Chinese people, it made no distinction between Han, Manchu, Mongol, Tibetan, Hui, Miao, and other nationalities. As the popular song *Exile Trilogy* sung after the fall of the Northeast put it, “What’s yours or mine, what’s the difference between rich and poor? When the enemy comes, with cannon and gunfire, in the end it’s all the same.” In response, the Chinese Communist Party strengthened propaganda and education, emphasizing that all nationalities faced the slaughter, burning, looting, and plundering of the Japanese aggressors, and all faced the real danger of national subjugation and genocide, in order to promote the formation of a sense of community for the Chinese nation, composed of all nationalities, as one that shares weal and woe, shares honor and disgrace, shares life and death, and shares destiny—especially one that shares life and death and shares destiny.

二、九一八事变后，日本帝国主义在屠杀、烧抢和掠夺中国人民的时候，并没有汉族、满族、蒙古族、藏族、回族、苗族等民族的区分，这正如东北沦亡之后流行的歌曲《流亡三部曲》中所唱到的那样，“说什么你的我的，分什么穷的富的，敌人打来，炮毁枪伤，到头来都是一样”。对此，中国共产党加强宣传和教育，强调各民族都面临日本侵略者的屠杀、烧抢和掠夺，都面临亡国灭种的现实危险，以推动由各民族组成的中华民族是休戚与共、荣辱与共、生死与共、命运与共，尤其是生死与共、命运与共的共同体意识的形成。

On April 20, 1934, the *Basic Program for the Chinese People’s Armed Resistance Against Japan*, issued by the Preparatory Committee of the Chinese National Armed Self-Defense Committee led by the Chinese Communist Party, pointed out that “now the entire Chinese people, whether Han or other nationalities (Mongol, Hui, Manchu, Tibetan, Miao, Yao, etc.),” are all at a “very dangerous juncture of life and death,” facing and suffering the same pain, slaughter, and danger. On August 1, 1935, the *Appeal to All Compatriots for Resistance Against Japan and National Salvation*, drafted by the Chinese Communist Party delegation to the Communist International, emphasized that since the September 18th Incident, “our country and our nation have been at a critical juncture of life and death,” and “the great calamity of national subjugation and genocide is imminent,” while “China is our motherland, and the Chinese nation is all our compatriots,” including both the Han nationality and “the Mongol, Hui, Korean, Tibetan, Miao, Yao, Li, Fan, and other” minority nationalities. Therefore, national subjugation and genocide was a real danger commonly faced by all nationalities as “all compatriots.” On December 25 of that year, the *Resolution of the Central Committee on the Current Political Situation and the Party’s Tasks*, adopted at the Wayaobu Meeting of the Politburo, [20]20 The Wayaobu Meeting (December 1935) was a key Politburo session that shifted the Party’s strategy toward forming a united front against Japan. similarly emphasized that Japanese imperialism, having annexed the three northeastern provinces and all of North China, was now “preparing to annex all of China,” turning China from a “semi-colony” under the joint control of various imperialist powers into its “exclusive colony.” Therefore, the “great calamity of national subjugation and genocide” was faced not by one or several nationalities, but by all nationalities that constitute the “Chinese nation.”

1934年4月20日，中国共产党领导的中国民族武装自卫委员会筹备会发表的《中国人民对日作战的基本纲领》指出，“现在全中国的民众，不管是汉人或是其他民族（蒙古、回族、满洲、西藏、苗瑶等等）”，都处在一个“非常危险的生死的关头”，面临和遭受着同样的痛苦、屠杀和危险。1935年8月1日，由中国共产党驻共产国际代表团起草的《中国苏维埃政府、中国共产党中央为抗日救国告全体同胞书》强调，自九一八事变以来，“我国家、我民族已处在千钧一发的生死关头”，“亡国灭种大祸迫在眉睫”，而“中国是我们的祖国，中国民族就是我们全体同胞”，它既包括汉族，也包括“蒙、回、韩、藏、苗、瑶、黎、番等”各少数民族。因此，亡国灭种是作为“全体同胞”的各民族共同面临的现实危险。这年12月25日，中央政治局瓦窑堡会议通过的《中共中央关于目前政治形势与党的任务决议》同样强调，日本帝国主义继并吞了东三省和整个华北之后，现在又“准备并吞全中国”，要把中国从各帝国主义共管的“半殖民地”变成它“独占的殖民地”，因此面临“亡国灭种的大祸”的不是某一个或几个民族，而是组成“中华民族”的各个民族。

After the July 7th Incident, and especially after December 1939, when Mao Zedong made important remarks on the “Chinese nation” in his article “The Chinese Revolution and the Chinese Communist Party,” in order to further promote the formation of the consciousness that the Chinese nation, composed of various ethnic groups, is a community sharing life and death and a common destiny, the CPC, in addition to continuing to publicize that the people of all ethnic groups faced the slaughter, burning, looting, and plunder of the Japanese aggressors and the real danger of national subjugation and genocide, placed greater emphasis on the unity of the destiny of all ethnic groups composing the Chinese nation. The “Outline of the Work Committee of the Northwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on the Question of the Hui Nationality,” which was “basically approved by the Secretariat of the Central Committee” in April 1940, stressed that “today, the destiny of the Hui nationality is the same as the destiny of the entire Chinese nation,” facing the real danger of national subjugation and genocide due to the aggression of Japanese imperialism. Only by participating in the “nationwide War of Resistance” and thoroughly defeating and driving out the Japanese imperialist aggressors could the destiny of the Hui nationality be changed and national liberation and freedom be achieved. In this regard, “today, the primary task of the Hui nationality, like that of the entire Chinese nation, is to resist Japan, and it cannot but be to resist Japan.” [21]21 The July 7th Incident (1937) marked the full-scale outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War. The “Outline of the Work Committee of the Northwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on the Question of the Hui Nationality” was a policy document on ethnic work. The editorial “Implement the Correct Ethnic Policy” published in the CPC Central Committee’s organ newspaper *Liberation Daily* similarly pointed out that “under the aggression of the Japanese invaders, the destiny of all ethnic groups within the country is completely identical,” living together or dying together, surviving together or perishing together. Therefore, all ethnic groups within the country should unite to jointly resist Japan; “if they do not unite to resist Japan, then ‘under the broken nest,’ [22]22 “Under the broken nest” is a classical Chinese allusion from the idiom “when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken,” meaning that if the whole is destroyed, its parts cannot survive. they will inevitably become slaves of the Japanese invaders.” Jia Tuofu, in his article “Unite All Ethnic Groups of China to Strive for the Victory of the War of Resistance and National Reconstruction,” also told the people of all ethnic groups: if the oppression and aggression of imperialism, first and foremost Japanese imperialism, against China are not overthrown, and if imperialism, first and foremost Japanese imperialism, is not driven out of China, then it is impossible to achieve the complete liberation and freedom of the Chinese nation. “On this point, the destiny of all ethnic groups within the country is completely identical.”

七七事变后，尤其是1939年12月毛泽东在《中国革命和中国共产党》一文中作出关于“中华民族”的重要论述后，为了进一步推动由各民族组成的中华民族是生死与共、命运与共的共同体这一意识的形成，中国共产党除继续宣传各族人民都面临着日本侵略者的屠杀、烧抢和掠夺，都面临着亡国灭种的现实危险外，更加强调了组成中华民族的各民族命运的一致性。1940年4月“基本上经中央书记处批准”的《中共中央西北工作委员会关于回回民族问题的提纲》就强调，“今天回族的命运，也和整个中华民族的命运一样”，因日本帝国主义的侵略而面临着亡国灭种的现实危险，只有参加“全民族抗战”，彻底打败日本帝国主义侵略者，并将它们赶出中国，才能改变回族的命运，得到民族的解放和自由。就此面言，“今天回族的首要任务，也和整个中华民族一样，是抗日，而且不能不是抗日”。中共中央机关报《解放日报》发表的社论《实行正确的民族政策》同样指出，“在日寇侵略之下，国内各民族的命运是完全一致的”，生则同生，死则同死，存则同存，亡则同亡，因此，国内各民族应该团结起来，共同抗日，“如不团结抗日，则‘破巢之下’，都难免要变为日寇的奴隶”。贾拓夫在《团结中华各族争取抗战建国的胜利》一文中也告诉各族人民：如果不推翻帝国主义首先是日本帝国主义对中国的压迫和侵略，不把帝国主义首先是日本帝国主义赶出中国，则要实现中华民族的彻底解放和自由是不可能的。“在这一点上，国内所有各民族的命运是完全一致的。”

During this period, in order to further promote the formation of the consciousness that the Chinese nation, composed of various ethnic groups, is a community sharing life and death and a common destiny, the CPC, when using the concept of “Chinese nation,” often juxtaposed it with “descendants of the Yellow Emperor” to emphasize that the “Chinese nation” is a national community composed of various ethnic groups sharing the same ancestor. Based on currently available materials, the earliest use of the concept “descendants of the Yellow Emperor” by the CPC during the War of Resistance was in the “Telegram of the CPC Central Committee to the Third Plenary Session of the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee” on February 10, 1937: whether the CPC or the Kuomintang, we are “all descendants of the Yellow Emperor, all children of the Chinese nation.” Facing the real danger of national subjugation and genocide caused by Japanese imperialist aggression, “only by abandoning all prejudices, cooperating closely, and jointly marching toward the great future of the final liberation of the Chinese nation.” Here, “Chinese nation,” “children of the Chinese nation,” and “descendants of the Yellow Emperor” are juxtaposed, emphasizing that regardless of which ethnic group a Chinese person is born into, whether Han or minority, they all come from the same ancestor and are blood-related compatriot brothers. In April of that year, the Kuomintang and the CPC, which had begun discussing cooperation in the War of Resistance due to the peaceful resolution of the Xi’an Incident, jointly held an activity to worship the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor to further express their desire for cooperation in the War of Resistance. The “Eulogy for the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor” drafted by Mao Zedong for the activity formally honored the Yellow Emperor as the common ancestor of all Chinese ethnic groups: “Solemn and illustrious ancestor, the creator of our China. … Intelligent and wise, your light shines over distant lands. Establishing this great achievement, standing majestically in the East. … All parties and all circles, unite firmly. Regardless of soldiers or civilians, regardless of rich or poor. The national united front is the good prescription for national salvation. Four hundred million people, resolutely resist.” [23]23 The Xi’an Incident (December 1936) was a crisis in which Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng detained Chiang Kai-shek to force him to unite with the CPC against Japan; its peaceful resolution led to the Second United Front. The “Eulogy for the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor” was Mao Zedong’s text for a joint CPC-Kuomintang ceremony at the legendary ancestor’s tomb in April 1937. From then on, the expression that the Yellow Emperor is the common ancestor of all Chinese ethnic groups and that all ethnic groups are descendants of the Yellow Emperor continuously appeared in the CPC’s declarations, resolutions, documents, and the speeches, articles, and directives of CPC leaders, becoming an important lever for the CPC to promote the formation of the Chinese national community consciousness. On July 15, 1937, that is, the eighth day after the July 7th Incident, the CPC Central Committee used “descendants of the Yellow Emperor” in its “Declaration for the Publication of Kuomintang-CPC Cooperation”: after efforts, although the Kuomintang and the CPC had ended the civil war and achieved a second cooperation, and a broad anti-Japanese national united front based on Kuomintang-CPC cooperation was finally established, giving the Chinese nation a “bright and brilliant future,” to turn this “brilliant future” of the Chinese nation into reality and establish an “independent, free, and happy new China,” it still required the unyielding and unremitting efforts of four hundred and fifty million “compatriots nationwide, every passionate descendant of the Yellow Emperor.” Here, besides “descendants of the Yellow Emperor,” “compatriots nationwide” is also juxtaposed with the “Chinese nation,” similarly emphasizing the blood ties of all ethnic groups composing the Chinese nation. On January 20, 1938, Ren Bishi also used “descendants of the Yellow Emperor” in his article “How to Get Through the Difficult Period of the War of Resistance?” He pointed out that there were two opposite paths before the Chinese nation at that time: “one is to accept Japan’s conditions and surrender in humiliation, the other is to continue the War of Resistance to the end to strive for final victory.” The result of surrender and capitulation would be the subjugation and genocide of the Chinese nation, its non-existence. Therefore, “only by continuing the War of Resistance to the end is the bright path for the Chinese nation, the path that all descendants of the Yellow Emperor should take.” The “Letter from the Enlarged Sixth Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee to Compatriots Nationwide, All Officers and Soldiers, and Comrades of the Kuomintang and the CPC” also contained the expression “descendants of the Yellow Emperor”: in this great nationwide War of Resistance, “our Chinese nation has achieved unprecedented progress … Compatriots from all walks of life nationwide! At this critical juncture of the War of Resistance, at this pivotal moment for turning defeat into victory, every descendant of the Yellow Emperor should bear a heavy responsibility.” Here, “Chinese nation” is juxtaposed with “descendants of the Yellow Emperor” and “compatriots from all walks of life nationwide,” emphasizing precisely the community consciousness possessed by the “Chinese nation,” this national community composed of various ethnic groups.

这一时期，中国共产党为了进一步推动形成由各民族组成的中华民族是生死与共、命运与共的共同体这一意识，在使用“中华民族”这一概念时，还往往把它与“黄帝子孙”相提并论，以强调“中华民族”是由同一祖先的各民族组成的民族共同体。就目前发现的资料来看，抗战时期中国共产党最早使用“黄帝子孙”这一概念，是在1937年2月10日的《中共中央致国民党三中全会电》中：无论是中国共产党，还是中国国民党，我们“同为黄帝子孙，同为中华民族儿女”，面临日本帝国主义侵略引起的亡国灭种的现实危险，“唯有抛弃一切成见，亲密合作，共同奔赴中华民族最后解放之伟大前程”。这里把“中华民族”“中华民族儿女”和“黄帝子孙”相提并论，所强调的是不论中国人出生于哪一个民族，是汉族还是少数民族，都来自同一祖先，都是血脉相融的同胞兄弟。这年4月，因西安事变和平解决而开始商讨合作抗日的国共两党为了进一步表达合作抗日的愿望，举办了共祭黄帝陵的活动。毛泽东为活动起草的《祭黄帝陵文》则正式将黄帝尊称为中华各民族的始祖：“赫赫始祖，吾华肇造。……聪明睿知，光被遐荒。建此伟业，雄立东方。……各党各界，团结坚固。不论军民，不分贫富。民族阵线，救国良方。四万万众，坚决抵抗。”从此，黄帝是中华各民族始祖、各民族都是黄帝子孙的表述便不断出现在中国共产党的宣言、决议、文件和中国共产党领导人的讲话、文章、指示中，成为中国共产党推动中华民族共同体意识形成的重要抓手。1937年7月15日，亦即七七事变后的第八天，中共中央在《为公布国共合作宣言》中就使用了“黄帝子孙”：经过努力，国共虽然结束了内战，实现了第二次合作，以国共合作为基础的广泛的抗日民族统一战线最终建立了起来，这使中华民族有了“光明灿烂的前途”，但是，要把中华民族的这个“光辉前途”变为现实，建立起一个“独立自由幸福的新中国”，仍需要四万万五千万“全国同胞，每一个热血的黄帝子孙，坚忍不拔地努力奋斗”。这里与“中华民族”相提并论的除“黄帝子孙”外，还有“全国同胞”，同样强调的是组成中华民族的各民族的血脉联系。1938年1月20日，任弼时在《怎样渡过抗战的困难时期？》一文中也使用了“黄帝子孙”，他指出，当前摆在中华民族面前有两条相反的道路，“一是接受日本的条件而投降屈辱，一是继续抗战到底以争取最后的胜利”。投降屈服的结果，是中华民族的亡国灭种，不复存在。所以，“只有继续抗战到底，才是中华民族光明的大道，是一切黄帝子孙所应走的道路”。在《中共扩大的六届六中全会告全国同胞、全体将士和国共两党同志书》中同样有“黄帝子孙”的表达：在这伟大的全民族抗战中，“我中华民族获得了空前的进步……全国各界同胞们！在这抗战的紧急关头，在这转败为胜的枢纽时期，每一个黄帝子孙都应负担起重大的责任”。这里把 “中华民族”与“黄帝子孙”“全国各界同胞”相提并论，强调的正是“中华民族”这一由各民族组成的民族共同体所具有的共同体意识。

In order to further promote the formation of a consciousness that the Chinese nation, composed of various ethnic groups, is a community sharing life and death, weal and woe, the Chinese Communist Party during this period also particularly emphasized that the interests of the Chinese nation, composed of various ethnic groups, are above all else; the interests of any individual, class, or one’s own ethnic group must be subordinate to and serve the supreme or fundamental interests of the Chinese nation. And during the period of the All-Nation War of Resistance, the supreme or fundamental interests of the Chinese nation were precisely the War of Resistance, precisely to defeat the Japanese imperialist aggressors and establish a country of national independence, civil rights and freedoms, and people’s livelihood. On 21 May 1938, Xu Xiangqian pointed out in “Carrying Out Guerrilla Warfare in Hebei”: The strength of the people is the greatest strength. If we are to carry out guerrilla warfare in the plains and achieve victory, we must mobilize the broad masses of the people, give full play to their role, and turn them into a “human mountain” to resist the Japanese imperialist aggressors. To turn the broad masses of the people into a “human mountain” to resist the Japanese imperialist aggressors, we must raise their political consciousness and political awareness, so that each of them recognizes that if they do not want to be trampled, plundered, and slaughtered by the Japanese imperialist aggressors, “then there is only one way: to sacrifice everything for the Chinese nation’s war of self-defense, to fight to the end for the nation’s survival. This is the duty of every person, the responsibility every person should bear.” If “the entire nation perishes, what is left for the individual?” “Any notion of seeking ease and comfort, of clinging to life, of placing personal interests above the interests of the nation and the state, is extremely harmful.” On 26 April 1939, the Central Committee of the CPC, in its “Circular to All Party Comrades on Launching the National Spiritual Mobilization Campaign,” explained “the nation above all” as follows: The Chinese nation is the nation of all 450 million Chinese people, especially the nation of the vast majority of the working people, who constitute 90 percent of China’s total population. If our Chinese nation is to survive, to prosper, to stand among the nations of the world, and to achieve independence, freedom, and happiness, we must first defeat Japanese imperialism and liberate the Chinese nation from under the iron heel of Japanese imperialism. To defeat Japanese imperialism and liberate the Chinese nation from under the iron heel of Japanese imperialism, we need to fight the War of Resistance to the end and achieve final and complete victory, thoroughly driving Japanese imperialism out of China. Otherwise, there will be no liberation of the Chinese nation, no happiness for the vast majority of the nation’s compatriots. “Therefore, fighting the War of Resistance to the end and striving for the happiness of the vast majority of the nation’s compatriots” is the supreme or fundamental interest of the Chinese nation. The interests of other individuals, classes, and one’s own ethnic group must all be subordinate to and serve the supreme or fundamental interests of the Chinese nation. “This is what ‘the nation above all’ means.”

为了进一步推动由各民族组成的中华民族是生死与共、命运与共的共同体这一意识的形成，这一时期中国共产党还特别强调，由各民族组成的中华民族的利益高于一切，任何个人、阶级和本民族的利益都要服从和服务于中华民族的最高利益或者说根本利益，而在全民族抗战时期，中华民族的最高利益或者说根本利益就是抗战，就是战胜日本帝国主义侵略者，建立一个民族独立、民权自由、民生幸福的国家。1938年5月21日，徐向前在《开展河北的游击战争》中指出：人民的力量是最伟大的力量，我们要在平原地区开展游击战争并取得胜利，就必须把广大人民动员起来，充分发挥他们的作用，把他们造成抵抗日本帝国主义侵略者的“人山”，而要把广大人民造成抵抗日本帝国主义侵略者的“人山”，就必须提高他们的政治意识和政治觉悟，使他们中的每个人都认识到，要想自己不受日本帝国主义侵略者的蹂躏、掠夺和屠杀，“那就只有为中华民族的自卫战争而牺牲一切，为民族的生存而奋斗到底，这是每个人的天职，是每个人应当担负起的责任”，如果“整个民族亡了，个人还有什么？”“凡是苟安贪生，把个人利益看得比国家民族利益高的观念，是极端有害的”。1939年4月26日，中共中央在《为开展国民精神总动员运动告全党同志》中是这样解释“民族至上”的：中华民族是我们四万万五千万全体中国人的民族，尤其是占中国总人口百分之九十的绝大多数劳动人民的民族。我们中华民族要生存下去，要繁荣昌盛，要立于世界民族之林，实现独立、自由和幸福，首先就要打倒日本帝国主义，把中华民族从日本帝国主义的铁蹄之下解放出来，而要打倒日本帝国主义，把中华民族从日本帝国主义的铁蹄之下解放出来，就需要我们抗战到底，并取得最后的全面胜利，把日本帝国主义彻底赶出中国。否则，就不会有中华民族的解放，就不会有民族绝大多数同胞的幸福。“所以，抗战到底和争取民族绝大多数同胞的幸福”就是中华民族的最高利益或根本利益，其他个人、阶级和本民族的利益，都要服从和服务于中华民族的最高利益或根本利益，“这就是‘民族至上’”。

What best embodies the Chinese Communist Party’s proposition that the supreme or fundamental interests of the Chinese nation are above all else, and that the interests of any individual, class, or one’s own ethnic group must be subordinate to and serve the supreme or fundamental interests of the Chinese nation, is the issue of the “three basic contradictions,” the “three historical tasks,” and their interrelationship as raised in the “Outline of the Northwest Work Committee of the Central Committee of the CPC on the Question of the Hui Nationality.” [24]24 The Northwest Work Committee of the Central Committee of the CPC was a Party body established in the late 1930s to guide work among ethnic groups in the northwest, including the Hui (Chinese-speaking Muslims). The “Outline on the Question of the Hui Nationality” was a key policy document drafted by the committee. The outline states: Currently, “before the Hui nationality lie three basic contradictions”: the contradiction between the Hui and Japanese imperialism (Sino-Japanese contradiction), the ethnic contradiction between the Hui and the Han ruling class, and the class contradiction within the Hui nationality between the democratic forces represented by the peasants and the remnants of feudal forces. These three basic contradictions determine the historical tasks for the liberation of the Hui nationality: first, “to defeat Japanese imperialism”; second, “to eliminate domestic ethnic inequality”; third, “to eliminate the remnants of feudalism.” And “the resolution of these three historical tasks is inseparable from the development and victory of the entire Chinese revolution,” inseparable from the supreme or fundamental interests of the Chinese nation, and inseparable from the destiny of the Chinese nation. Today, the task of the Chinese revolution, the supreme or fundamental interests of the Chinese nation, is to thoroughly resist Japan, defeat the Japanese imperialist aggressors, and drive them out of China. Therefore, “today, the destiny of the Hui nationality, like the destiny of the entire Chinese nation, can only strive for liberation in all other aspects through the thorough struggle of resisting Japan.” Hence, among these three basic contradictions and the three historical tasks determined by them, the first basic contradiction is the Sino-Japanese contradiction between the Hui nationality and Japanese imperialism, and the first historical task determined by it is to defeat Japanese imperialism. The other two basic contradictions—the ethnic contradiction between the Hui and the Han ruling class, and the class contradiction within the Hui nationality between the democratic forces represented by the peasants and the remnants of feudal forces—and the other two historical tasks—eliminating domestic ethnic inequality and eliminating the remnants of feudalism—occupy a secondary or subordinate position. Only in the process of resolving the first basic contradiction and completing the first historical task can these two basic contradictions and historical tasks, which occupy a secondary or subordinate position, be resolved and completed. The above discussion on the “three basic contradictions,” the “three historical tasks,” and their interrelationship was of positive significance for promoting the formation of a consciousness that the Chinese nation, composed of various ethnic groups, is a community sharing life and death, weal and woe. This is because these “three basic contradictions” and “three historical tasks” also existed among other ethnic minorities at the time, and were not unique to the Hui nationality.

最能体现中国共产党关于中华民族的最高利益或根本利益高于一切，任何个人、阶级和本民族的利益都要服从和服务于中华民族最高利益或根本利益这一主张的，是《中共中央西北工作委员会关于回回民族问题的提纲》中提出的“三个基本矛盾”“三大历史任务”及其关系问题。该提纲写道：当前“摆在回族的面前，有三个基本矛盾”，即回族和日本帝国主义之间的中日矛盾，回族和汉族统治者之间的民族矛盾，回族内部以农民为代表的民主力量与封建残余势力之间的阶级矛盾。这三个基本矛盾决定了回族解放的历史任务：一是“打倒日本帝国主义”；二是“消灭国内民族不平等”；三是“消灭封建残余”。而“这三个历史任务的解决与整个中国革命的发展和胜利不可分离”，与中华民族的最高利益或根本利益不可分离，与中华民族的命运不可分离。今天中国革命的任务，中华民族的最高利益或根本利益，就是彻底抗日，打败日本帝国主义侵略者，并将其赶出中国。所以，“今天回族的命运，也和整个中华民族的命运一样，只有从彻底抗日的斗争中，才能争取一切其他方面的解放”。因此，在这三个基本矛盾以及由此决定的三个历史任务中，第一个基本矛盾是回族与日本帝国主义之间的中日矛盾，由此决定第一个历史任务是打倒日本帝国主义。其他两个基本矛盾，即回族和汉族统治者之间的民族矛盾、回族内部以农民为代表的民主力量与封建残余势力之间的阶级矛盾，其他两大历史任务，即消灭国内民族不平等、消灭封建残余，则处于次要或从属的地位。只有在解决第一个基本矛盾和完成第一个历史任务的过程中，这两个处于次要或从属地位的基本矛盾和历史任务才能得到解决和完成。上述关于“三个基本矛盾”“三大历史任务”及其关系问题的论述，对于推动由各民族组成的中华民族是生死与共、命运与共的共同体这一意识的形成是有积极意义的。因为这“三个基本矛盾”和“三个历史任务”当时也存在于其他少数民族之中，而非回族特例。

3. Precisely because the people of all ethnic groups faced and suffered the same suffering, slaughter, and danger of national subjugation and extinction, and because the Chinese nation, composed of various ethnic groups, is a community sharing life and death, weal and woe, the people of all ethnic groups should unite and wage a life-and-death struggle against the Japanese imperialist aggressors. On 25 November 1935, Mao Zedong, in a conversation with a reporter from Red China, [25]25 Red China (Hongse Zhonghua) was a newspaper published by the Chinese Soviet Republic, the CCP’s base area government, before the full-scale outbreak of the War of Resistance. pointed out: “The brutal aggression of Japanese imperialism against China aims directly to annex the entire territory of China and extinguish the Chinese nation. Every Chinese with a sense of honor should fight forward to the end against Japan.” On the day after the July 7 Incident of 1937, [26]26 The July 7 Incident (also known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident) of 1937 is conventionally regarded as the start of the full-scale Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). the Central Committee of the CPC issued the “Telegram of the Chinese Communist Party on the Japanese Army’s Attack on Lugou Bridge,” [27]27 The Lugou Bridge (Marco Polo Bridge) is a historic bridge near Beijing where the July 7 Incident occurred. which for the first time issued a great call to “all compatriots throughout the country” for “the entire nation to carry out the War of Resistance”: “All compatriots throughout the country! Peiping and Tianjin are in danger! North China is in danger! The Chinese nation is in danger! Only by the entire nation carrying out the War of Resistance can we find a way out!” The telegram demanded that “the whole country, from top to bottom, should immediately abandon any hope or estimate of making peace with the Japanese aggressors and living in ease,” and “use all strength to aid the sacred war of resistance for self-defense.” Thereafter, “All-Nation War of Resistance” became a common phrase used by the Central Committee of the CPC and its leaders.

三、正因为各族人民面临和遭遇的痛苦、屠杀和亡国灭种的危险是同样的，由各民族组成的中华民族是生死与共、命运与共的共同体，所以各族人民应该团结起来，与日本帝国主义侵略者作殊死的斗争。1935年11月25日，毛泽东在同《红色中华》记者的谈话中指出：“日本帝国主义对于中国的狠毒的侵略，是要直接并吞全中国领土，灭亡中国民族。凡是称着有血气的中国人，都应该奋往直前的抗日到底。”1937年七七事变后的第二天，中共中央发表《中国共产党为日军进攻卢沟桥通电》，第一次向“全中国的同胞们”明确发出了“全民族实行抗战”的伟大号召：“全中国的同胞们！平津危急！华北危急！中华民族危急！只有全民族实行抗战，才是我们的出路！”该通电要求“全国上下应该立刻放弃任何与日寇和平苟安的希望与估计”，“用全力援助神圣的抗日自卫战争”。此后，“全民族抗战”开始成为中共中央及领导人的常用语。

From 22 to 25 August 1937, the Central Committee of the CPC held an enlarged meeting of the Politburo in Fengjia Village, Luochuan, northern Shaanxi (the Luochuan Meeting). [28]28 The Luochuan Meeting was an enlarged Politburo meeting held in August 1937 that set the CCP’s wartime strategy, including the shift to a comprehensive, mass-based war of resistance. The meeting formally established the line of a “comprehensive All-Nation War of Resistance.” The “Decision of the Central Committee on the Current Situation and the Party’s Tasks” adopted at the meeting pointed out that, taking “the Lugou Bridge War of Resistance on July 7” as a starting point, “China’s political situation” had undergone a fundamental change, “beginning a new stage.” “The most central task in this new stage is: to mobilize all forces to strive for the final victory of the War of Resistance,” to thoroughly defeat the Japanese imperialist aggressors. And “the central key to striving for victory in the War of Resistance” was to transform the one-sided government war of resistance initiated by the Kuomintang into a “comprehensive All-Nation War of Resistance.” Because, “only this kind of comprehensive All-Nation War of Resistance can enable the War of Resistance to achieve final victory.”

1937年8月22日至25日，中共中央在陕北洛川冯家村召开政治局扩大会议（即洛川会议），会议正式确定了“全面的全民族抗战”路线。会议通过的《中央关于目前形势与党的任务的决定》指出，以“7月7日卢沟桥的抗战”为起点，“中国的政治形势”已发生根本变化，“开始了一个新阶段”，“这一新阶段内的最中心的任务是：动员一切力量争取抗战的最后胜利”，彻底打败日本帝国主义侵略者，而“争取抗战胜利的中心关键”，是要使国民党发动的片面的政府抗战，发展为“全面的全民族的抗战”。因为，“只有这种全面的全民族的抗战，才能使抗战得到最后胜利”。

The so-called “comprehensive and total national war of resistance” means that the entire people, that is, all Chinese sons and daughters, regardless of party affiliation, regardless of class, regardless of ethnicity, must actively join the anti-Japanese struggle, just as the Chinese Communist Party called for: “Those with strength contribute strength, those with money contribute money, those with guns contribute guns, those with knowledge contribute knowledge,” each contributing their own strength to the complete victory of the War of Resistance. The war of resistance was not only a military war but also a war in political, economic, diplomatic, educational, and other aspects. On September 13, 1937, Kai Feng, then a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, published an article titled “On Comprehensive and Total National War of Resistance” in issue 16 of the weekly *Liberation*, explaining what “comprehensive and total national war of resistance” means: it is the mobilization of all the nation’s forces, including all the ethnic groups that constitute the Chinese nation, “to wage a national liberation war against the aggressors from all aspects,” encompassing “military and political,” “government and people,” “finance and economy,” “diplomacy and education,” and other aspects.

所谓“全面的全民族抗战”，也就是全国人民，即所有中华儿女，不分党派，不分阶级，不分民族，都要积极地加入到抗日斗争中去，正如中国共产党号召的那样，“有力出力，有钱出钱，有枪出枪，有知识出知识”，为抗日战争的彻底胜利贡献自己的一份力量。抗战也不仅仅是军事的抗战，而且还是政治、经济、外交、教育等各方面的抗战。1937年9月13日，时任中共中央政治局委员的凯丰在《解放》周刊第16期上发表《论全面的全民族抗战》一文，对什么是“全面的全民族抗战”作出解释，即“全面的全民族抗战”是将全国一切力量、组成中华民族的各个民族都动员起来，“从各方面对侵略者进行民族解放战争”，它包括“军事与政治”“政府与人民”“财政与经济”“外交与教育”等各个方面。

Why was it necessary to implement a “comprehensive and total national war of resistance”? Because only by implementing a “comprehensive and total national war of resistance” could the Chinese people achieve final victory in the War of Resistance. At the Luochuan Conference, in the propaganda and agitation outline titled “Mobilize All Forces to Strive for Victory in the War of Resistance” drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Propaganda Department, he pointed out, in response to the mistaken view of some Kuomintang members who “thought that a purely government-led war of resistance could defeat the Japanese aggressors,” that a “purely government-led war of resistance” might achieve some individual victories, or temporary and local victories, but these individual victories, or temporary and local victories, could not change the overall war situation, let alone completely defeat Japanese imperialism and drive the Japanese imperialist aggressors out of China. To completely defeat Japanese imperialism and drive the Japanese imperialist aggressors out of China, “only a comprehensive national war of resistance” would suffice. Shortly thereafter (September 13), in a speech, Mao Zedong again emphasized that to defeat Japanese imperialism and achieve the independence and freedom of the Chinese nation, there was no other path to take but to mobilize all ethnic groups “to wage a life-and-death struggle against Japanese imperialism” and realize a total national war of resistance; this was “the only correct policy for national independence and freedom.” Later, in speeches and articles such as “The Situation and Tasks After the Fall of Shanghai and Taiyuan” and “On Protracted War,” Mao Zedong repeatedly stressed that only by implementing a total national war of resistance could the Japanese imperialist aggressors be completely defeated and a comprehensive victory in the War of Resistance be achieved.

为什么要实行“全面的全民族抗战”呢？因为只有实行“全面的全民族抗战”，中国人民才能取得抗日战争的最后胜利。洛川会议上毛泽东在为中央宣传部起草的《为动员一切力量争取抗战胜利而斗争》的宣传鼓动提纲中，针对一些国民党人“以为单纯的政府抗战便可以战胜日寇”的错误认识指出，“单纯的政府抗战”也可能会取得某些个别的胜利，或一时一地的胜利，但这些个别的胜利，或一时一地的胜利，并不能改变整个战局，更不可能彻底战胜日本帝国主义，将日本帝国主义侵略者赶出中国，要彻底战胜日本帝国主义，将日本帝国主义侵略者赶出中国，“只有全面的民族抗战”。此后不久（9月13日），毛泽东在一次演说中又强调，要战胜日本帝国主义，实现中华民族的独立和自由，没有其他道路可走，只有动员各族人民“与日本帝国主义做殊死的斗争”，实现全民族抗战，这才是“民族独立与自由的不二方针”。后来，在《上海太原失陷以后抗日战争的形势和任务》《论持久战》等讲话和文章中，毛泽东又多次强调只有实行全民族抗战，才能彻底打败日本帝国主义侵略者，取得抗日战争的全面胜利。

To realize a “comprehensive and total national war of resistance” and achieve comprehensive victory in the War of Resistance, it was necessary to establish a broad anti-Japanese national united front and realize a great national alliance and great unity. This included not only all domestic political parties and classes but also all the ethnic groups that constitute the Chinese nation within the country. In his political report at the enlarged Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee, Mao Zedong emphasized: “Our anti-Japanese national united front is not only one of all domestic political parties and classes but also one of all domestic ethnic groups.” [29]29 The enlarged Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the CPC was held from September 29 to November 6, 1938, in Yan’an. It affirmed Mao Zedong’s leadership role and discussed the strategy for the War of Resistance. This is because China is a unified multi-ethnic country; besides the Han, the main ethnic group, there are dozens of minority ethnic groups. For a long time, because the ruling classes, proceeding from the interests of their own class, implemented policies of ethnic discrimination, ethnic oppression, and ethnic exploitation against minority ethnic groups, and because minority ethnic groups mostly live in mountainous and border areas, affected by factors such as inconvenient transportation and harsh production environments, their economic, educational, and cultural development lagged behind that of the Han areas in the interior, leading to the existence of estrangement and centrifugal tendencies between the Han and various minority ethnic groups. The existence of such estrangement and centrifugal tendencies was not only detrimental to the unity, cooperation, common development, and common progress of the Chinese nation but was also often exploited by imperialists to sow discord in the relations between various ethnic groups, especially between the Han and minority ethnic groups, causing them to fight among themselves, thereby achieving their goals of aggression, plunder, division, and colonization of China. For example, Japanese imperialism exploited this tendency by instigating so-called “Manchu-Mongol autonomy” and “Hui autonomy,” attempting to separate the Northeast, Inner Mongolia, and the Hui-populated areas of Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang from China and turn them into Japanese colonies. Therefore, to realize a “comprehensive and total national war of resistance” and achieve comprehensive victory in the War of Resistance, it was necessary to do a good job with minority ethnic groups, unite the vast majority of minority ethnic groups into the anti-Japanese united front, and fully leverage the important role of minority ethnic groups in the “total national war of resistance.”

而要实现“全面的全民族抗战”，取得抗日战争的全面胜利，就必须建立起广泛的抗日民族统一战线，实现全国大联合和大团结，这其中不仅包括国内各个党派、各个阶级，也包括国内组成中华民族的各个民族。毛泽东在扩大的六届六中全会的政治报告中就强调：“我们的抗日民族统一战线，不但是国内各个党派、各个阶级的，而且是国内各个民族的。”因为中国是一个统一的多民族国家，除主体民族汉族外，还有几十个少数民族。长期以来，由于统治阶级从本阶级的利益出发，对少数民族实行民族歧视、民族压迫和民族剥削的政策，加上少数民族大多居住在山区和边疆地区，受交通不便、生产环境恶劣等因素的影响，经济、教育和文化的发展相对于内地的汉族地区而言要落后一些，从而导致了汉族和各少数民族之间隔阂和离心倾向的存在。这种隔阂和离心倾向的存在不仅不利于中华民族的团结合作、共同发展和共同进步，而且还往往被帝国主义所利用，来挑拨各民族尤其是汉族和少数民族之间的关系，使各民族之间相互争斗，以实现其侵略、掠夺、分裂和殖民中国的目的。比如，日本帝国主义就利用了这一倾向，策动所谓“满蒙自治”“回族自治”，企图将东北、内蒙，以及陕西、甘肃、青海、新疆等回族聚居区从中国分裂出去，成为日本的殖民地。因此，要实现“全面的全民族抗战”，取得抗日战争的全面胜利，就必须做好少数民族的工作，把广大少数民族都团结到抗日统一战线中来，充分发挥少数民族在“全民族抗战”中的重要作用。

On the third day after the July 7 Incident, that is, July 10, 1937, the “CPC Central Committee Directive Letter on Work in Mongolia” pointed out: Party organizations and Party members in the Mongolian region should regard mobilizing the Mongolian ethnic group to participate in the total national war of resistance and play an important role in it “as the first and most important task and the center of all work today.” The directive letter also particularly emphasized: “The joint resistance of Mongols and Han against Japan is the highest principle of current Suiyuan-Mongolia work.” [30]30 Suiyuan was a historical province in what is now the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The directive refers to the area encompassing Suiyuan and the Mongolian regions. One of the contents of the third outline, “Total Mobilization of the People of the Whole Country,” in the “Ten-Point Program for Resisting Japan and Saving the Nation” formulated at the Luochuan Conference was to mobilize the Mongolian people, the Hui people, and all other minority ethnic groups to “jointly resist Japan.” [31]31 The Luochuan Conference was a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held in Luochuan, Shaanxi, in August 1937, which set the strategic line for the War of Resistance. The “Political Resolution of the Enlarged Sixth Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee,” based on Mao Zedong’s political report “On the New Stage,” identified “uniting all ethnic groups of China (Han, Manchu, Mongol, Hui, Tibetan, Miao, Yao, Yi, Fan, etc.) into a unified force to jointly resist Japan and seek survival” as one of the main tasks of the Chinese Communist Party during the period of the “total national war of resistance.” [32]32 “On the New Stage” was Mao Zedong’s political report to the enlarged Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee, outlining the tasks for the new phase of the war. To this end, the Chinese Communist Party successively formulated and implemented a series of policies and guidelines to mobilize minority ethnic groups to actively participate in the “total national war of resistance,” including criticizing two types of nationalism, especially Han chauvinism; exposing the Japanese imperialist conspiracy and crimes of attempting to split the Chinese nation; winning over minority ethnic upper-class elements to join the anti-Japanese national united front; equality of all ethnic groups; and implementing regional ethnic autonomy.

七七事变后的第三天，亦即1937年7月10日，《中共中央关于蒙古工作的指示信》指出：蒙古地区党的组织和中共党员，应当把动员蒙古民族参加全民族抗战并发挥其重要作用“当做今天第一等重要任务和一切工作的中心”。该指示信还特别强调：“蒙、汉联合抗日，是目前绥蒙工作的最高原则。”洛川会议制定的《中国共产党抗日救国十大纲领》中的第三大纲领“全国人民的总动员”的内容之一，是动员蒙民、回民及其他一切少数民族“共同抗日”。《中共扩大的六中全会政治决议案》依据毛泽东《论新阶段》的政治报告，将“团结中华各民族（汉、满、蒙、回、藏、苗、瑶、夷、番等）为统一的力量，共同抗日图存”确定为“全民族抗战”时期中国共产党的主要任务之一。为此，中国共产党先后制定和实施了批判两种民族主义尤其是大汉族主义、揭露日本帝国主义企图分裂中华民族阴谋和罪行、争取少数民族上层参加抗日民族统一战线、各民族一律平等、实行民族区域自治等一系列动员少数民族积极参加“全民族抗战”的方针和政策。

It was precisely under the leadership and active promotion of the Communist Party of China that the extensive Anti-Japanese National United Front was established, and all domestic political parties, all classes, and especially all the ethnic groups that constitute the Chinese nation, threw themselves into the War of Resistance Against Japan and made tremendous contributions to the overall victory of the war, achieving for the first time in modern Chinese history a true “all-people’s war of resistance.” The formation of the situation of an “all-people’s war of resistance” was of great significance for the formation of the consciousness of the Chinese nation, composed of various ethnic groups, as a community sharing life and death, and sharing destiny. After entering the “all-people’s war of resistance,” Yan Yangchu, in his article “The Mobilization of Peasants to Resist the Enemy,” likened the formation of the situation of an “all-people’s war of resistance” to “a new baby being separated from the mother’s body, very painful, but also very glorious, writing the first chapter of the history of the Chinese nation,” opening up “an unprecedented new era” in the “history of self-consciousness” of the Chinese nation. [33]33 Yan Yangchu (1893–1990), also known as Y.C. James Yen, was a Chinese educator and rural reconstruction activist. The article “The Mobilization of Peasants to Resist the Enemy” was published during the War of Resistance Against Japan. For although many wars have occurred in Chinese history, in terms of their nature, these wars were either wars among rulers for the power of dynastic rule, or wars of the ruled against the oppression and exploitation of the rulers; in terms of scale, they were all local wars. But this War of Resistance Against Japan was different from all wars in history; it was “a nationwide war of the entire Chinese nation united externally for national survival, containing the profound meaning of national self-consciousness and embodying the solemn spirit of the indivisibility of the state as a whole.” The people of all ethnic groups participating in the war of resistance, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, “shouting the marching song of ‘if we die, we all die; if we live, we all live,’ advancing in unison,” marched to the battlefield and engaged in a life-and-death struggle with the Japanese imperialist aggressors. Although the aggression of Japanese imperialism brought a crisis of national subjugation and genocide to the Chinese nation, “from the crisis of national subjugation and genocide, we began to awaken to the wholeness and indivisibility of the Chinese nation. Live together, die together; survive together, perish together—this is the beginning of the history of national self-consciousness, the prelude to a truly new Chinese state.” It was on the basis of the concept of “if we die, we all die; if we live, we all live” and “live together, die together; survive together, perish together” that emerged in the struggle against Japanese imperialist aggression that the people of all ethnic groups formed the consciousness of the Chinese nation, composed of various ethnic groups, as a community sharing life and death, and sharing destiny.

正是在中国共产党的领导和积极推动下，广泛的抗日民族统一战线建立起来，国内的各个政党、各个阶级，尤其是组成中华民族的各个民族都投入到了抗日战争中，并为抗战的全面胜利作出了巨大贡献，在中国近代史上第一次真正实现了“全民族抗战”。“全民族抗战”局面的形成，对于由各民族组成的中华民族是生死与共、命运与共的共同体意识的形成具有十分重要的意义。进入“全民族抗战”后，晏阳初在《农民抗敌的发动》一文中，把“全民族抗战”局面的形成，比喻为“像新婴儿从母体分割下来的时候一样，很痛苦，但也很光荣地写出中国民族史的第一章”，开辟了中华民族“自觉史”上的“一个空前的新纪元”。因为中国历史上虽发生过许许多多的战争，但这些战争，从性质上而言，或者是统治者之间争夺王朝统治权的战争，或者是被统治者反抗统治者压迫和剥削的战争，从规模上来看，都是局部的战争。但这一次的抗日战争则与历史上的所有战争都不同，它是“整个的中国民族为争取民族生存而一致对外的全民战争，它包含着民族自觉的深刻意义，蕴蓄着国家整全不可分性的庄严气魄”，参加抗战的各族人民，手挽着手，肩并着肩，“呐喊着‘要死大家死，要活大家活’的齐一挺进的军歌”，走向战场，与日本帝国主义侵略者展开了你死我活的殊死战斗；日本帝国主义的侵略虽然给中华民族带来了亡国灭种的危机，但“我们从亡国灭种的危机中，开始觉悟了中国民族的整个性和不可分性。生则同生，死则同死；存则同存，亡则同亡，这是民族自觉史的开端，是真正的新中国国家的序幕”。各族人民正是在反对日本帝国主义侵略的斗争中所产生的“要死大家死，要活大家活”“生则同生，死则同死；存则同存，亡则同亡”之理念的基础上，形成了由各民族组成的中华民族是生死与共、命运与共的共同体意识。

People often say that the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan was the turning point for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and the foundation that laid this turning point was the formation, under the vigorous promotion of the Communist Party of China, of the consciousness of the Chinese nation, composed of various ethnic groups, as a community sharing life and death, and sharing destiny.

人们常说，抗日战争的胜利是中华民族复兴的转折点，而奠定这一转折点之基础的，便是在中国共产党的大力推动下，形成了由各民族组成的中华民族是生死与共、命运与共的共同体意识。

Online editor: Jing Mu

网络编辑：静穆