Visitors at an exhibition in the Museum of China’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing Photo: CNS

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The School of Health Humanities at Peking University recently held a workshop on the history of China’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Scholars from China and Japan exchanged ideas on new historical materials, new problems and new approaches in their research through the prism of military, economy, society and culture.

The selection and interpretation of historical materials is essential to historical research, and the significance of discovering and applying new historical materials is self-evident. At present, the historical materials regarding China’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression are abundant and insufficient at the same time. There is an immense number of materials in this field, but scholars still may lack supporting evidence when it comes to specific problems. Sometimes, they fall remarkably short when it comes to vital materials. Sachiko Egami, an honorary professor from the Department of Global and Intercultural Studies at Ferris University, analyzed the works and views of Chen Xiuliang, a leader of the women’s movement at wartime in Jiangsu Province, based on notes, publications and documents, calling upon Chinese scholars to pay greater attention to the women’s movement during the Isolated Island Period in Shanghai. Yamamoto Shin, an associate professor from the University of Tsukuba, examined public documents to observe how Hunan Province mobilized and trained its people, arguing that the national government’s mobilization system directly led to local people’s struggle against Japanese aggression. A tremendous burden and severe social injustice, however, made it difficult for people to support the Nationalist Party’s mobilization system for  long.

This was also an important reason for the change of the public mood after the war. Wang Qisheng, a professor from the Department of History at Peking University, said that such research was crucial to reviewing long-held opinions on the Nationalist Party’s partial resistance against Japanese aggression.

Li Bingkui, an associate professor at Peking University, used the documents collected in the Japan Center for Asian History and Academia Historica in Chinese Taiwan to re-examine the 1937 Battle of Songhu and the Hongqiao Airport Incident in Shanghai. Top leaders of the Nationalist Party, represented by Chiang Kai-shek, wanted to settle the problems remaining after the January 28 Incident because they had underestimated Japan’s ability to mobilize its resources and people. Chiang mobilized elite troops and initiated frequent engagements with an apparent intention of drawing attention, aiming to secure international relief.

Zou Can, an assistant professor from the School of International Public Policy Studies at Osaka University, used unpublished materials in Japan and Chinese Taiwan to analyze the mentality change of the Taiwanese people under Japanese colonial rule after the Lugou Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937. Japanese authorities used the outbreak and expansion of war as an excuse to launch Japanization and mobilization. In light of the anti-aggression situation on the Chinese mainland, some people in Chinese Taiwan eagerly hoped for their homeland to gain independence.

Wang Chaoguang, a research fellow and director of the Institute of World History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), said that scholars deepen historical research by discovering new materials, but they also need to review past studies and reinterpret previously adopted materials. These two forms of work complement each other. Huang Kewu, a researcher from the Institute of Modern History Academia Sinica, said that using historical materials to tell historical “stories” is still a  key ability for qualified historians. Narratives should consider multiple sources of materials, rather than homogeneous documents. Gao Shihua, a research fellow from the Institute of Modern History at CASS and editor-in-chief of the journal Studies of China’s Resistance War Against Japan, stressed that the Chinese and Japanese soldiers’ experience during wartime was of great significance. The information left by Japanese soldiers and junior officers was relatively abundant, and researchers should give it greater attention. The materials in this field tend to be diverse and written in various languages. He suggested young scholars master as many languages as possible.

New research perspectives and new problems are indispensable for the development of the historical study of China’s struggle against Japanese aggression. Qi Xiaolin, an associate professor from the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC, evaluated the Battle of Pingxingguan from the perspectives of policy, tactics and strategy. He expanded his research scope to the battle’s background, planning, organization and preparation, while many past studies have focused on such areas as the number of defeated enemies and the number of committed military forces. Qi said that the study of military history is not just about fights; rather it should examine contextual political history, social history and cultural history to evade dead ends.

Lu Xijun, a professor at Daito Bunka University, stressed that an assortment of factors resulted in the outbreak of the full-scale war between China and Japan. Scholars often explored it from a material perspective while neglecting the psychological. He pointed out that a dedicated effort should be made to study the psychological state of the decision-making groups of China and Japan after the Lugou Bridge Incident. Japan’s aggressive policy emphasized that only by re-implementing the “principle of the Manchurian Incident” would China be able to surrender, thus the argument for demolishing China in one attack became dominant in the country. Later, Japan upgraded its military presence in North China and the full-scale war of resistance took place. Chiang Kai-shek believed the mentality of “fight without fear” could dispel Japan’s intention to throw China into a panic without a battle. The two sides had shown strong mental commitment, but they were still not materially prepared for full-scale conflict.

The attendees at the workshop agreed on a number of new research perspectives. For example, scholars can now discuss how new technologies were applied to war regarding the history of science and technology. They can adopt the perspective of medical history to study the popularization of foreign advanced trauma treatment. In terms of industrial history, the adjustment and relocation of China’s industrial system when full-scale war broke out can also be a research field. These research perspectives may be fruitful.

Scholars discussed the relationship between fragmented case study and inclusive historical research. Some of them considered key case studies as the fulcrum of historical research. Others held that case studies can only solve a limited number of problems. Zhao Zheng, a lecturer at the School of History and Culture at South China Normal University, zoomed in on the Dongjiang service group of returned overseas Chinese led by the Communist Party of China. He studied its establishment, operation and influential factors to analyze the CPC’s effort to integrate the strength of overseas Chinese and local people. He Jiangfeng, an associate professor from the School of History at Nankai University, investigated the 1937 financial unrest caused by the Chinese Cotton Goods Exchange Ltd. He combed the background, impacts, resolutions and response of the financial unrest, attempting to display the rivalry between politics and economy and the wrestling between power and markets prior to the outbreak of the full-scale war of resistance.

Zhu Lixin, a lecturer at Beijing Language and Culture University, examined articles published by Manchuria Review, a journal established by Japan after the September 18th Incident in 1931. He dissected Japan’s Continental Policy, its second Manchukuo construction phase and the Lugou Bridge Incident, investigating Japan’s strategy of aggression into and control over Northeast China in 1937.

Wang Chaoguang held that case studies are of distinct significance, however, scholars are not encouraged to forcefully link case studies with grand historical narratives. Case studies should be conducted based on solid historical materials and logical argumentation. Diverse case studies can inspire scholars to make breakthroughs in research perspectives. Wang suggested introducing multi-disciplinary theories to historical research, which could promote a dynamic balance between facts and theories. Wang Qisheng said that scholars in this research field need to show empathy for the people during the righteous struggle against Japanese Aggression. Only by putting themselves in the shoes of historical figures can scholars understand what these figures experienced, thought and decided.

 

​edited by MA YUHONG