The Spirit of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army Is an Immortal Monument Forged by the Communist Party of China

After the September 18th Incident in 1931, the people of Northeast China, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, were the first to raise the banner of resistance against Japan, launching a bitter struggle that lasted 14 years and constituted the earliest anti-aggression war in the World Anti-Fascist War. Armed forces such as the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, led by the Communist Party of China, established base areas and mobilized the masses under extremely harsh conditions, creating the earliest behind-enemy-lines guerrilla battlefield. Their tenacious resistance not only ignited the spark of national salvation but also, through their self-sacrificing commitment, set a spiritual benchmark for the nationwide War of Resistance. This war, which began in the Northeast, was the first to put into practice the Communist Party of China’s theory of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, verified the strategic value of guerrilla warfare, and forged the great spirit of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. The essential core and immense power of this spirit did not form in isolation; its deep roots and the soul that runs through it are precisely the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China.

1931年九一八事变后，东北人民在中国共产党领导下率先举起抗日旗帜，开展了长达14年的艰苦斗争，是世界反法西斯战争中最早进行的反侵略战争。中国共产党领导下的东北抗日联军等武装力量在极端恶劣环境中创建根据地、发动群众，形成最早的敌后游击战场，其顽强抗争不仅点燃了民族救亡的火种，更以舍身忘死的担当为全民族抗战树立了精神标杆。这场始于东北的抗战，率先践行了中国共产党的抗日民族统一战线理论，验证了游击战争的战略价值，铸就了伟大抗联精神。这一精神的本质内核与磅礴力量，绝非孤立形成，其深厚的根源和贯穿始终的灵魂，正是中国共产党的坚强领导。

The historical background of the spirit of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. After the September 18th Incident, the Japanese aggressors occupied Northeast China and harbored ambitions to swallow up the entire country. Faced with foreign invasion, Chinese Communists, patriotic officers and soldiers, and people from all walks of life rose up in resistance, organizing various anti-Japanese armed forces. The cry “We will not be slaves to a foreign nation” burst forth from the depths of their hearts. Driven by intense patriotic sentiment, the people of the Northeast spontaneously established the Northeast Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army, which fought a life-and-death struggle against the Japanese Kwantung Army and the puppet Manchukuo army amidst the mountains and rivers of the Northeast.

东北抗联精神的历史背景。九一八事变后，日本侵略者侵占东北，并妄图侵吞整个中国。面对外敌入侵，中国共产党人、爱国官兵及各界民众奋起反抗，组织起各种抗日武装力量。“不做亡国奴”的呐喊从心底迸发，在强烈爱国主义情感的作用下，东北人民自发建立起了东北抗日义勇军，他们在白山黑水之间，与日本关东军及伪满洲军队进行殊死抗争。

In 1932, the Communist Party of China led and organized the Southern Manchuria Panshi Guerrilla Unit and the Eastern Manchuria Guerrilla Unit (which later developed into the First and Second Armies of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army), the Tailiao Guerrilla Unit, and the Bayan Guerrilla Unit, making them the core forces of the Northeast anti-Japanese armed resistance. Thereafter, anti-Japanese guerrilla units led by the Communist Party of China flourished across the Northeast, gradually grew stronger, and rapidly became the main force of the Northeast anti-Japanese guerrilla movement. On February 20, 1936, leaders of the Northeast anti-Japanese armed forces, including Yang Jingyu, Wang Detai, Zhao Shangzhi, Li Yanlu, and Zhou Baozhong, jointly issued the “Declaration on the Unified Military Organization of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army,” formally establishing the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, with the Communist Party of China becoming its core leadership.

1932年，中国共产党领导和组织了南满磐石游击队和东满游击队（后来发展为抗联第一军和第二军）、台辽游击队、巴彦游击队，成为东北抗日武装的核心力量。此后，中国共产党领导的抗日游击队在东北各地蓬勃兴起，逐步壮大，迅速成长为东北抗日游击运动的主力。1936年2月20日，杨靖宇、王德泰、赵尚志、李延禄、周保中等东北抗日武装领导人联合发表《东北抗日联军统一军队建制宣言》，东北抗日联军正式成立，中国共产党成为东北抗日武装的核心领导。

After the outbreak of the nationwide War of Resistance in 1937, Japan further positioned Northeast China as a core strategic material supply base to support its full-scale war of aggression against China and its planned attack on the Soviet Union. To this end, the Japanese and puppet forces continuously intensified their colonial rule over the Northeast region, launching even more brutal suppression of the anti-Japanese forces there. Facing the enemy’s frenzied attacks, the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army steadfastly held its anti-Japanese positions, resisting the Japanese aggression with desperate struggle. As Feng Zhongyun, an important leader of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, pointed out in his “A Brief History of the Fourteen Years of Bitter Struggle by the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army”: “Units without Communists as their backbone… all disintegrated, scattered, or surrendered to the enemy. Only the various armies of the United Army with Communists as their backbone, later reorganized into three route armies, swore to fight to the death against Japan.” This not only reproduces the grim situation of the Northeast War of Resistance but also profoundly reveals that the Communist Party of China was the mainstay of the resistance in the Northeast.

1937年全民族抗战爆发后，日本进一步将中国东北定位为支撑其全面侵华战争与进攻苏联的核心战略物资供应基地，为此，日伪军不断强化对东北地区的殖民统治，对东北抗日力量展开更为残酷的镇压。面对敌人的疯狂进攻，东北抗联始终坚守抗日阵地，殊死抵抗日本侵略。正如东北抗联重要领导人冯仲云在《东北抗日联军十四年苦斗简史》中指出的：“没有共产党人在其中作骨干的部队……均纷纷瓦解、溃散、投敌，只有共产党人在其中为骨干的抗联各军，后来改编为三个路军，誓死抗战到底。”这不仅再现了东北抗战的严峻态势，更深刻揭示了中国共产党是东北抗战的中流砥柱。

The ideological foundation of the spirit of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. The spirit of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army epitomizes the firm pursuit of the cause of national liberation and absolute loyalty to the Party by the officers and soldiers of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. The laying of this ideological foundation is inseparable from the arming with the advanced theory of the Communist Party of China and the guidance of a clear political direction.

东北抗联精神的思想根基。东北抗联精神集中体现了东北抗联将士们对民族解放事业的坚定追求和对党的绝对忠诚，这一思想根基的奠定离不开中国共产党先进理论的武装和明确政治方向的指引。

From its founding, the Communist Party of China has taken Marxism as its guiding ideology. In the early days of the occupation of the Northeast, the Party dispatched a large number of outstanding cadres, such as Yang Jingyu, Zhou Baozhong, Zhao Shangzhi, Li Zhaolin, and Zhao Yiman, who went deep into the Northeast to spread revolutionary ideas. They used the Marxist stance, viewpoint, and method to analyze the nature of Japan’s aggression against China and pointed out the prospects of the anti-Japanese struggle. This elevated the understanding of the officers and soldiers of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army from an initial, simple patriotic sentiment of defending their homes and country to a recognition of the need to strive for national independence and people’s liberation, and they came to realize that this struggle was an important part of the just cause of the World Anti-Fascist War. This profound awareness, based on scientific theory, was the ideological cornerstone that kept the faith of the United Army soldiers unextinguished and their will as firm as steel even in desperate situations. For example, the magazine “Lenin’s Banner,” the organ of the Southern Manchuria Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, was an important platform for propagating the Party’s ideology and theory, its anti-Japanese propositions, and communist ideas. The First and Second Armies of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army used rest periods to set up study classes, specifically conducting education on patriotism and revolutionary heroism, publicizing the advanced deeds of revolutionary martyrs, inspiring the fighting spirit of officers and soldiers, thus building a solid ideological foundation for the anti-Japanese guerrilla war and strengthening their confidence and determination in the anti-Japanese struggle.

中国共产党自成立之日起，就将马克思主义作为指导思想。在东北沦陷初期，党派遣大批优秀干部，如杨靖宇、周保中、赵尚志、李兆麟、赵一曼等人先后深入东北，传播革命思想。他们用马克思主义的立场、观点、方法分析日本侵略中国的本质，指明抗日斗争的前途，使东北抗联将士对这场战争的认识，从最初朴素的保家卫国的爱国情怀，提升到对争取民族独立、人民解放的认知，并意识到这场斗争是世界反法西斯正义事业的重要组成部分。这种基于科学理论的深刻觉悟，是抗联将士在绝境中信念不灭、意志如钢的思想基石。例如，中共南满省委机关刊物《列宁旗》杂志，是宣传中国共产党的思想理论、抗日主张以及共产主义思想等的重要平台。东北抗联第一、二军利用部队休整时间，建立学习班，专门进行爱国主义、革命英雄主义教育，宣传革命烈士的先进事迹，激发官兵战斗热情，为抗日游击战争筑牢了坚实的思想根基，坚定了抗日斗争的信心和决心。

After the September 18th Incident, Japan occupied Northeast China, and the national crisis became unprecedentedly severe. Against the backdrop of the Nationalist government’s policy of “non-resistance,” the Communist Party of China was the first to issue the call for resistance. On September 20, 1931, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the “Declaration of the Communist Party of China on the Violent Occupation of the Three Eastern Provinces by Japanese Imperialism,” clearly stating the proposition of “opposing the Japanese imperialist occupation of the Three Eastern Provinces.” On April 15, 1932, the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic issued the “Declaration of War Against Japan,” formally declaring war on Japan. In October 1935, the Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the “Letter to All Compatriots on Resisting Japan and Saving the Nation” (i.e., the “August First Declaration”), calling for an end to the civil war and united resistance against Japan, pointing out the general policy of uniting all anti-Japanese forces for the Northeast anti-Japanese struggle. In December, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China passed a resolution at the Wayaobu Conference to establish the Anti-Japanese National United Front. Guided by this, the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, led by the Communist Party of China, actively contacted, won over, and united anti-Japanese armed forces from all strata and factions.

九一八事变后，日本侵占中国东北，民族危机空前严重。在国民政府奉行“不抵抗政策”的背景下，中国共产党率先发出抗日号召。1931年9月20日，中共中央发表《中国共产党为日本帝国主义强暴占领东三省事件宣言》，明确提出“反对日本帝国主义强占东三省”的主张。1932年4月15日，中华苏维埃共和国临时中央政府发布《对日战争宣言》，正式宣告对日作战。1935年10月，中华苏维埃共和国中央政府和中共中央发表《为抗日救国告全体同胞书》（即《八一宣言》），号召停止内战，一致抗日，为东北抗日斗争指明了团结一切抗日力量的总方针。12月，中共中央在瓦窑堡会议上通过建立抗日民族统一战线的决议。在此指引下，中国共产党领导的东北抗联积极联络、争取、团结各阶层、各派别的抗日武装。

It was precisely this correct political line of the Party that gathered the scattered sparks of resistance across the Northeast into a prairie fire. The United Army was no longer fighting alone; under the Party’s banner, it coalesced the broadest forces of national resistance.

正是党的这一正确政治路线，将东北大地分散的抗日星火汇聚成燎原之势。抗联不再是孤军奋战，而是在党的旗帜下，凝聚起最广泛的民族抗战力量。

The organizational guarantee of the spirit of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. The ability of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army to persist in fighting under harsh military struggle, economic blockade, and political inducement to surrender derived directly from the tight organizational system and core leadership role established by the Communist Party of China within the United Army forces.

东北抗联精神的组织保障。东北抗联能在严酷的军事斗争、经济封锁和政治诱降下坚持战斗，其强大的组织力、战斗力和坚韧的生命力，直接来源于中国共产党在抗联部队中建立起的严密组织体系和核心领导作用。

From its inception, the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army emphasized strengthening political-ideological work, especially the construction of Party organizations at all levels, and insisted on the Party’s absolute leadership over the military. The army and division levels of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army established political departments. These political departments, following the instructions of higher leading organs on Party and political work, directly guided the Party and political work at their own level. In terms of personnel, political commissars and directors of political departments were appointed within the political departments, serving as the political representatives of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army and also as plenipotentiary representatives of the Communist Party of China within it. This dual guarantee system of organization and personnel played a decisive role in maintaining the people’s army character of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. For example, after the establishment of the First Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, Party committees were set up at the army, division, and regiment levels, and Party branches at the company level. The army commander and director of the political department, along with division commanders and political commissars, formed the army Party committee. The political commissars at the division and regiment levels were responsible for Party and political work at their respective levels.

东北抗联从建立之初，就注重加强思想政治工作，尤其是中国共产党的各级组织建设工作，坚持党对军队的绝对领导。东北抗联部队军、师设立了政治部，这些政治部依照上级领导机关对于党和政治工作的指示，直接指导本级的党和政治工作。在人员设置上，在政治部内设政治委员和政治部主任，作为东北抗联的政治代表，同时也是中国共产党在东北抗联中的全权代表。这种组织和人员的双重保障制度对东北抗联部队保持人民军队本色起到了决定性作用。例如，东北抗联第一军成立后，军、师、团设置了中共党委，连级设有中共支部，各军军长和政治部主任、各师师长和政治委员组成军党委，师、团的政治委员负责各级党政工作。

The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, led by the Communist Party of China, steadfastly implemented the fundamental principle of army building, “the Party branch is organized on a company basis,” establishing Party branches at the company level and Party groups at the platoon and squad levels, ensuring that Party leadership reached the basic combat units. The Party’s grassroots organizations were the fighting fortresses of the forces. Party members charged ahead and sacrificed themselves, playing a vanguard and exemplary role in battle and becoming the core that united and rallied the soldiers in harsh conditions. It was this Party organization network spread throughout the forces that ensured the Party’s line, principles, and policies could be implemented down to the grassroots, maintaining a high degree of unity in thought, politics, and action, and making the forces an unbreakable steel force that could not be worn down or scattered.

中国共产党领导的东北抗联始终坚定践行“支部建在连上”这一根本建军原则，在连队设立党支部，班排设党小组，确保党的领导直达基层战斗单位。党的基层组织是部队的战斗堡垒，党员冲锋在前、牺牲在前，在战斗中发挥先锋模范作用，在艰苦环境中成为团结凝聚战士的核心。正是遍布部队的党组织网络，确保了党的路线方针政策能够贯彻到基层，使部队在思想上政治上行动上保持高度统一，成为拖不垮、打不散的钢铁力量。

The spirit of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army is a precious spiritual treasure forged and cast with blood and life by the people of Northeast China under the leadership of the Communist Party of China during 14 years of arduous and bitter anti-Japanese struggle. Party leadership runs through the entire process of the formation of this spirit. Standing at a new historical starting point, we should more deeply recognize the intrinsic connection between the spirit of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army and the leadership of the Communist Party of China, pass on the red genes, continue the spiritual lineage, and strive unremittingly to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!

东北抗联精神是中国共产党领导东北人民在14年艰苦卓绝的抗日斗争中，用鲜血和生命浇灌铸就的宝贵精神财富，党的领导贯穿于这一精神形成的全过程。站在新的历史起点，我们更应该深刻认识到东北抗联精神与中国共产党领导的内在联系，传承红色基因，赓续精神血脉，为实现中华民族伟大复兴而接续奋斗！

(The author is an associate professor at the School of Marxism, Dalian University.)

（作者系大连大学马克思主义学院副教授）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧