Giving voice to the “Chinese nation”: Resistance songs on the cultural front in the World Anti-Fascist War (1931–1945)

Abstract

As the main eastern theater of the World Anti-Fascist War, the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931–1945) was not only of great military and political significance but also represented a profound cultural and spiritual resistance. The period of the War of Resistance also marked a critical phase in the formation of the self-awareness, or conscious collective identity, of the Chinese nation. Taking the Resistance songs (1931–1945) as its research focus, this article examines their distinctive role against the backdrop of global anti-fascist cultural resistance, exploring how aspects such as lyrical content, musical dissemination, and the practice of collective singing conveyed and popularized the concept of the Chinese nation and fostered a widespread identification with it. It begins by reviewing forms of cultural resistance in the European theater, including songs, language, and the spread of knowledge, then shifts to the Chinese context. The analysis highlights how the songs of Resistance against Japanese Aggression promoted the transformation of the concept of the Chinese nation from an intellectual discourse into a popular emotional identity through historical narrative, spiritual exaltation, and the fostering of a sense of community. The conclusion traces the trajectory from the inscription and dissemination of the concept of the Chinese nation through Resistance Songs to how such cultural practices during the War of Resistance contributed to the Communist Party of China’s eventual formulation of the fundamental theory of the Chinese nation. It further explicates the establishment and core connotations of this theory.