This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. During the Qingming Festival, various places have successively carried out activities to commemorate heroes and martyrs. People visited the Anti-Japanese War sites, revolutionary memorial halls, and martyrs' cemeteries to relive the heroic deeds and lofty spirits of the Anti-Japanese War martyrs. Qingming Festival is a traditional cultural festival for the Chinese nation to worship ancestors and pursue the distance. At this moment, we commemorate the martyrs of the War of Resistance together, which is not only a commemoration and reverence for thousands of national heroes, but also a promotion and inheritance of the great spirit of the War of Resistance.

The War of Resistance Against Japan has important historical significance in the process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Faced with the barbaric invasion of Japanese militarism, the Chinese military and civilians rose up to resist and fought bloody battles. After arduous struggles, they finally won a comprehensive victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan at the cost of more than 35 million casualties. The victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was the first complete victory for China to resist foreign invasions in modern times, and it was a historical turning point for the Chinese nation to move from a deep crisis to a great rejuvenation since modern times. China has reclaimed the Taiwan Island and Penghu Islands, which were occupied by Japan since the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, washed away the humiliating history of being oppressed and bullied by imperialism in modern times, and re-established its status as a major power in the world, played an important role in the process of building an international order with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter as its core, and won the wide respect of peace-loving people in the world.

The victory of the Anti-Japanese War was a great victory of the national spirit with patriotism as the core. Countless national heroes who sacrificed their lives and forge ahead to fight for the freedom and happiness of hundreds of millions of compatriots. They built the Great Wall of Steel with their flesh and blood, established immortal monuments with tenacious beliefs, and wrote heart-wrenching patriotic hymns.

Amid the flames of the War of Resistance Against Japan, millions of Chinese people at home and abroad sacrificed their own self and achieved great self, gathering an indestructible unity. In the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines, the military and civilians worked together to carry out guerrilla wars, and the people were frugal and frugal, and they gave their all to support the war of resistance. The teachers and students of Southwest Associate University took the school motto of perseverance and excellence, overcame many difficulties and insisted on running schools, continued the national cultural context at the critical moment of survival, and emerged from many academic masters, talents in business development and pillars of the country. Overseas Chinese actively worked hard to support the motherland, responding to the call to form a service team for overseas Chinese mechanics returning to China. More than 3,200 people returned to the motherland to participate in the transportation of industrial raw materials and other urgently needed materials, of which more than 1,800 died on the Yunnan-Burma Highway.

What is worth remembering are those international friends who fight side by side with the Chinese military and civilians and provide assistance to the Chinese people. Faced with the crazy massacres after the Japanese army occupied Nanjing, the Danish Shinderberg took the initiative to invest in humanitarian relief work and established refugee camps at the Jiangnan Cement Plant with his colleagues. The German Rabe worked hard to establish an international security zone, providing safe shelter to 200,000 Chinese people. In order to break the Japanese air superiority advantage, the Soviet Air Volunteer Team and the American "Flying Tigers" both fought fiercely with the Japanese army over China, and more than 1,000 Chinese and American crew members died on the Hump route that the "Flying Tigers" ventured to open. Canadian doctor Bethune traveled thousands of miles to China to save lives and help the wounded on the battlefield behind enemy lines in North China. His selfless internationalist spirit touched generations of Chinese people.

Under the fierce temper of the War of Resistance Against Japan, patriotism has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, the extensive social mobilization, the profound national awakening, the tenacious fighting will, and the firm belief in victory have all reached unprecedented heights. This great victory has opened a new historical journey of the ancient Chinese phoenix nirvana. Today, we recall history and martyrs not to continue hatred, but to remember historical experiences and lessons, draw strength to fight, and strengthen our will to move forward. In the grand process of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Chinese people nurtured a great spirit of resistance, showing the world the patriotic sentiment of the rise and fall of the world, the national integrity of treating death as if it were home, the heroic spirit of not fearing violence and fighting to the end, and the indomitable and persevering belief in victory. This is the precious spiritual wealth of our nation and the spiritual driving force that inspires us to overcome all difficulties and obstacles and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Looking at China, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, China has long been freed from the fate of poverty and weakness, and the unfulfilled ideals of the revolutionary martyrs are becoming reality step by step. As the common historical memory of the whole nation, the Anti-Japanese War has long been deeply engraved in the blood of the Chinese people. On the new historical journey, let us unite more closely, carry forward the great spirit of the War of Resistance, and forge ahead bravely towards the glorious other shore of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Author: He Jiangfeng (Professor of the School of History, Nankai University)