Source J

Chang-tai Hung, a professor of humanities, writing in the specialist history book War and Popular Culture: Resistance in Modern China, 1937–1945 (1994).

The outbreak of full-scale war with Japan in 1937 dealt a devastating blow to the Nationalist [Guomindang] government’s efforts to recentralize its authority and revive the economy. It also ended Jiang Jieshi’s chance of crushing the Communist forces, who were isolated in the barren and sparsely populated Shaanxi province. The war displaced the Nationalists from their traditional power base in the urban and industrial centers, and forced them to move to the interior. At the same time, it provided an ideal opportunity for the Communists to expand their influence in north China and become a true contender for national power.

For many Chinese resisters, the clash with Japan turned out to be a unifying force. The Marco Polo Bridge became a compelling symbol of China’s unity. Resisters looked at war as an antidote to chaos. Despite some progress made toward economic growth and political integration by the Nationalist government on the eve of the war, the country was still largely fragmented. Regional militarists remained a serious threat to the government, and the armed conflict between the Nationalists and the Communists persisted. Political instability bred fear and fueled great discontent in society.

[Source: Republished with permission of University of California Press - Books, from War and popular culture: resistance in modern China, 1937-1945, Chang-tai Hung, 1994; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.]