Cultural Resistance: China’s Other War During the Japanese Invasion

From the Mukden Incident in 1931 to Japan’s surrender in 1945, China endured 14 years of war, marked by foreign occupation and fierce domestic resistance. What began with a Japanese incursion into northeastern China escalated into a drawn-out, nationwide conflict and one of the major fronts of WWII.

The war claimed tens of millions of lives and displaced countless more, as entire cities were reduced to rubble and civilian populations faced massacres, forced labor, and famine.

In response, the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC) formed a united front against the Japanese invasion. As Nationalist forces fought a series of major engagements, Communist troops led guerrilla operations and established resistance strongholds behind enemy lines.

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