乐鱼 体育

Abstract

In January of 2017, the People鈥檚 Republic of China (PRC)鈥檚 Ministry of Education made an unprecedented announcement to alter the timeline of the War of Resistance against Japan (China鈥檚 experience of World War II) from eight to fourteen years. This was the culmination of a decades-long 鈥渄ate de-bate,鈥� spearheaded since the 1980s by scholars from Northeastern China who vehemently argued that the war timeline should start with the invasion of their homeland on September 18, 1931 (as opposed to the previously accepted start date of July 7, 1937). Thus, Chinese historians from a region that is often seen as 鈥渇ar-flung鈥� due to its geographic location and 鈥渂ackward鈥� due to its reputation as China鈥檚 rust belt provided the impetus to a significant policy shift in the upper echelons of the Beijing government. Changing the starting date of the war was not only advantageous in promoting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)鈥檚 resistance effort domestically, but also in further emphasizing China鈥檚 role on the global stage in World War II, despite the fact that an eight-year war timeline is more historically accurate. We must simultaneously recognize the CCP鈥檚 attempts to rewrite the history of the war while also taking seriously China鈥檚 role in World War II, albeit under the Nationalists and not the Communists. 

Implications and Key Takeaways

• U.S. policymakers must not consider the PRC to be an authoritarian monolith鈥攖here are a variety of regional interests that can have strong bearings on the formation of top-level policies, such as the Northeast鈥檚 role in the 鈥渄ate debate鈥� that led to the 2017 Ministry of Education announcement to change the war timeline. Thus, U.S. policymakers should focus on building relationships with those in positions of regional authority in China in addition to the central Beijing leadership.
• U.S. policymakers must take seriously the relevance of the legacy of Mao Zedong and Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought to Party historiography, particularly under Xi Jinping. Building on Mao鈥檚 legacy is an important part of CCP legitimacy today and how the Party portrays itself to domestic and international audiences.
• U.S. policymakers must recognize the CCP鈥檚 attempts to rewrite history for nationalistic purposes and work with historians to promote the objective study of Chinese history. This should include convening international symposiums and actively countering the Chinese government鈥檚 recent coercion against certain academic journals.
• U.S. policymakers should see China鈥檚 emphasis on its role in World War II, in which it claims it fought the fascists for far longer than any other belligerent, as part of intentionally building an international image of a moral, responsible actor. This has direct geopolitical implications, as China seeks to reframe its aggressive actions in the South China Sea and elsewhere.