Article Type : Research Article
Authors : Peng S and Fanyun Z
Keywords : Literature focuses on 13 topics; Including the War of Resistance against Japan; The battlefield behind the enemy; The relationship between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party
Purpose/Significance:
This paper systematically analyses the core authors, institutions, and journals
of the "New Fourth Army" research in China from 2012 to 2022, combs,
and summarizes the development trend of the "New Fourth Army"
research in China. Using CiteSpace software, data visualization analysis was
conducted on 1186 related articles in the core journals of the "New Fourth
Army" and CSSCI journals, to better understand the content and
significance of these articles.
Results/Conclusion:
Through analysis, the research of the "New Fourth Army" in China
showed a downward trend of overall fluctuation. The relevant research was
"surge" in 1995, 2005, and 2015, respectively. After a long period of
development, China's "New Fourth Army" research has formed core
authors, core institutions, and core publications. The keyword analysis of the
"New Fourth Army" research shows that the "New Fourth Army"
literature focuses on 13 topics, including the War of Resistance against Japan,
the battlefield behind the enemy, and oral history. The five research topics,
including the War of Resistance against Japan, oral history, and the
relationship between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, are the hot spots
and frontiers of the domestic "New Fourth Army" research at this
stage and in the future.
For a communist, the revolutionary history of the CPC
is an indelible experience, which provides us with valuable enlightenment. The
New Fourth Army played an important role in China's Anti-Japanese War, and its
historical contribution provided us with valuable clues to understanding
China's Anti-Japanese War. Their contributions have won victory for the Chinese
people and left valuable historical memories for future generations. The in-depth
study of the history of the New Fourth Army is an inevitable need to further
carry out the scientific research work of China's War of Resistance, an
important source of strength to further carry forward the red gene-culture, and
a new era requirement to summarize the experience and lessons of the War of
Resistance and promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation [1,2]. In
recent years, with the in-depth development of the study of the history of
China's Anti-Japanese War, it is more necessary to strengthen and enrich the
study of the history of the New Fourth Army, and further increase the
exploration of its important position, key figures, and the spirit of the Iron
Army, combat experience and practical problems. For a long time, many parties,
military history units, colleges and universities, scientific research
institutions, and some social organizations have carried out in-depth research
on the "New Fourth Army" and produced a lot of results. At present,
relevant scholars have formed some comments and summaries by reviewing and
summarizing the research of the "New Fourth Army", such as the Review
of the Research on the Military Strategic Transformation of the Communist Party
of China in the Early Anti-Japanese War [3], the Sorting out of the Historical
Data of the Anti-Japanese War in the Past 50 Years [4], etc. However, in terms
of bibliometric analysis, there are relatively few studies on the current
situation of the "New Fourth Army" [3,4]. Through research and
analysis of a certain field, we can better understand the current situation and
development trend of this field, thus providing a reference for scientific
research. This will not only help us make decisions but also help scientific
researchers better predict the future of this field. CNKI is an important
national knowledge platform and has broad influence and authoritative status in
the academic community. Through the research of the "New Fourth
Army", combined with the core journals in CNKI and the full-text data of
CSSCI journals, this paper makes a statistical analysis of the relevant
research of the "New Fourth Army", to better understand the research
situation of the New Fourth Army in China and provide a reference for experts
and scholars engaged in the research of the New Fourth Army or the history of
the War of Resistance Against Japan.
Data source
This study uses data from the CNKI network publishing
database. On December 15, 2022, a total of 14313 data were retrieved through
the precise search input subject="New Fourth Army", including 8263
academic journals, 169 academic theses, 4112 conference papers, and 629
newspaper articles. This study only selected the data sources in the core
journals and CSSCI database. These results reflected the relatively influential
academic journals in China. 1192 relevant results were obtained through
screening, 6 duplicate documents were removed, and 1186 documents were finally
determined as the main data sources of this study.
Research methods
Cite Space is a visual development tool designed by
Professor Chen Chaomei [5], which can realize data visualization in a JAVA
environment. After the launch of Cite Space software in 2006, due to its
excellent visualization function, it has been widely concerned by researchers
around the world [5]. Hou Jianhua and Chen Yue [6] are early experts who
applied Cite Space software in China [6]. They made a visual analysis of the
literature data of Strategic Management Monthly from 1980 to 2005, and deeply
studied the latest development and evolution in the field of strategic
management. After 16 years of development, as of December 15, 2022, the author
found through CNKI retrieval that the number of documents using Cite Space for
research has reached 10795. The New Fourth Army, led by the CPC, played an
important role in the Anti-Japanese War. China's armed forces have been
resisting Japanese aggression and have made great contributions to the
liberation of the Chinese nation and the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War.
For a long time, many institutions, including the party history department,
military history department, scientific research institutes, and other relevant
organizations, have carried out extensive research on the "New Fourth
Army" and made many important achievements. However, the research on
bibliometric analysis is relatively insufficient. Based on the statistical
analysis of the relevant research of the "New Fourth Army", this
paper combs the number of documents, published journals, institutions, and authors'
research results, keywords, and research trends, which can provide a reference
basis for the study of the New Fourth Army and the history of the Anti-Japanese
War. Through the use of Cite Space 6.1. R4 software, the research status of the
"New Fourth Army" in China was quantitatively analysed, and the
conclusions were drawn using the bibliometric method. The period is from 1992
to 2022. The time slice is set to 1, and Top50 is used as the threshold. The
network clipping is set to pathfinding network and pruning and merging network.
The author collaboration diagram, keyword co-occurrence diagram, and research
trend diagram are created. The study of the "New Fourth Army" has
received extensive attention in China. This paper will discuss the current research
situation and the latest trends of the "New Fourth Army" in depth.
Document volume analysis
The number of published papers is a key index to
measure the development of a certain field in a certain period. At the same
time, it can also more directly see the changes in the enthusiasm for internal
medicine research in this field. It is of great significance to analyse the
changing trend of a certain field and predict its future development direction
[7]. By using the Excel tool, we made a statistical analysis of 1186 documents.
It can be seen from Figure 1 that the earliest document in the study of the
"New Fourth Army" was published in the Journal of the Party School of
the Anhui Provincial Party Committee, which was Zhou Jianchao's contribution to
the struggle of the Southern Anhui Incident in 1992 (Figure 1). This article
summarizes Liu Shaoqi's struggle activities and contributions in Yancheng,
Central China, during the Southern Anhui Incident. From 1992 to 2022, the average
annual number of papers published under the theme of "New Fourth
Army" was 38, and the number of papers published showed a slight downward
trend. The three periods with more papers were 1995 (148), 2005 (64), and 2015
(83). In 1995, to commemorate the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War, 148
core and CSSCI papers were published by scholars from all walks of life in
"learning the red history and remembering the revolutionary martyrs",
especially the "New Fourth Army" research. These papers reflected the
attention of all walks of life to the war at that time. 2005 is an important
day for the 60th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance
against Japan. "Taking history as a mirror, carrying forward patriotism,
and carrying forward the spirit of the War of Resistance against Japan"
scholars in history and other related fields published 64 core and CSSCI
papers. In 2015, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the
Anti-Japanese War, the "New Fourth Army" research papers with the theme
of "remembering the history of China's development, remembering the
martyrs, cherishing harmony, and opening up the future" and celebrating
the victory of the People's War of Resistance against Japan and the World
Anti-Fascist War reached 83.
Figure 1: Annual distribution of literature volume in the field of "New Fourth Army".
Figure 2: Author cooperation network in the field of "New Fourth Army".
Figure 3: Keyword clustering of "New Fourth Army"
literature.
Figure 4: Ranking of keyword bursts (top 11).
On the whole, there will be a "surge" in the
relevant documents in the event of major commemorative events, but the total
amount is still relatively small, which indicates that the support of relevant
academic institutions for the research results of the New Fourth Army is still
relatively weak and needs to be improved. During the Anti-Japanese War, the New
Fourth Army, faced with extremely complex situations, made great efforts to
resist the Japanese invaders in central China until it won. The New Fourth Army
is an anti-Japanese force established when the Chinese nation is facing a
crisis of life and death. Their persistence in fighting in central China has
brought great inspiration to the Chinese nation and strengthened the people's
confidence in the victory of the war of resistance. The fine quality and
glorious tradition of the New Fourth Army need to be inherited so that the
spirit of the Iron Army will shine in the new era.
Analysis of important
authors
"Author analysis" mainly analyses the
ranking of each author’s published documents. In general, the number of
research documents of the author reflects that the author has great relevance
to this direction and is good at or pays attention to the innovation of this
technical direction. For other researchers, the papers of high-yield authors
have a good reference for research in the whole field. According to the
analysis of the authors, it can be seen from Table 1 that published the largest
number of documents, with the numbers 8, 7, 7 and 7 respectively (Table 1). The
eight papers published by Tong Zhiqiang mainly focus on the background of the
"Southern Anhui Incident" and "Central China Enemy Base
Area". Among them, six papers published under the background of the
"Southern Anhui Incident", through a comprehensive analysis of the
cross-strait archives and historical data of the Southern Anhui Incident, have
deeply explored the root cause of the incident [8]. Taking four authoritative
monographs and reference books on the history of the Communist Party of China,
Handouts on the History of the Chinese Revolution, Chronicles of the History of
the CPC, Dictionary of the History of the CPC and History of the CPC as
examples, this paper analyzes the losses of the New Fourth Army in the Southern
Anhui Incident from the aspects of breakthrough, capture, sacrifice, and
separation [9]. The Strange and Unfair Stories in the South of the Yangtze
River -- The New Fourth Army and the Southern Anhui Incident is an outstanding
masterpiece of Professor Li Liangzhi. The article provides readers with
profound insights through a carefully designed structure, respect for
historical facts, and comprehensive display of historical details, and
reorganizes the deeds of Gao Jingting, Rao Shushi, Mao Zedong, and others [10].
The two papers published in the background of "Central China Enemy Rear
Base Area" studied the military struggle in the Central China Enemy Rear
Base Area [11] and the historical contribution of the base area [11,12]. Wang
Jianguo published seven papers, which discussed three dimensions: the local
regime of the Kuomintang in southern Anhui [13], the land tax [14] and tax [15]
in the anti-Japanese base area in central China, and the absolute leadership of
the Party over the army [13-15]. The seven papers published by Wang Zuqi, based
on the guiding ideology of Mao Zedong [16], Chen Yi [17], and Xiang Ying [18],
the key figures in the background of the New Fourth Army research, discussed
the key figures such as Fang Lieshu from a new perspective [19]; Jiang Jingyu
played an important role in the political, economic and social construction of
the New Fourth Army base area. His actual actions and successful cases reflect
the development of the New Fourth Army in the enemy base area during the
Anti-Japanese War [20]; and the experience and lessons from the Southern Anhui
Incident [16-21].
Author cooperation
analysis
By observing the author cooperation network diagram,
we can better understand the relationship between different authors in this
field [22]. In this paper, CiteSpace software is used to process the sample
literature data, and the node type is set to the author, while other nodes
remain the default. The CiteSpace software allows sample data to be imported
and collated using Excel tools. According to the analysis of the authors, it
can be seen from Table 1 that "Tong Zhiqiang" (8 articles) has
published the largest number of papers, and the other three authors have
published 7 papers respectively. The authors and research teams of the
"New Fourth Army" have played an important role in the "New
Fourth Army", and they have had a profound impact on the research of the
"New Fourth Army". According to Price's Law, M=0.74 ?NMAX, M
represents the author with the least number of articles, and NMAX represents
the author with the most number of articles. If NMAX=8, M=0.74 ? 8 ? 3, then
the author who has published three or more articles can be regarded as the core
author. In this sample, 52 authors have published articles. The total number of
articles published by all authors is 335, accounting for 15.52%. According to
Price's Law, Price's Law calculates core authors. If the number of posts of
core authors reaches 50% of the total number of posts, it indicates that the
core author group has formed. According to the calculation, the number of
articles published by core authors is only 15.52%, indicating that the
scientific research cooperation between authors is weak and the number of
articles published is relatively small. Although a few core authors and
research teams have been formed, some core authors and research teams with high
productivity and high influence have not yet been formed. According to Figure
2, the author cooperation network diagram of the "New Fourth Army"
field drawn by Citespace software, in which only five scattered clusters of
authors have been formed, further indicates that the influential core authors
and research teams in this field have not yet formed (Figure 2).
Analysis of core
journals
"Journal analysis" mainly analyses the journals in which each researcher publishes research literature. Generally, the more relevant documents published by a journal, the greater the relevance of the journal to the technology or direction, and the innovation in the technology direction. The number of periodicals published to a large extent shows the importance that the journal attaches to this technology or direction. At the same time, the journal analysis also points out the direction for researchers to conduct in-depth research and material collection. Through analysis, it can be found that the top ten journals in this field are published, as shown in (Table 2). According to Table 2, in terms of the "New Fourth Army", "Archives and Construction" (160 articles) is the most published. Archives and Construction, founded in 1984, is a periodical sponsored by the Archives Society of Jiangsu Province and a permanent column in the literature and history section. The Cultural Construction of the Central China Anti-Japanese Base Area, published in 2013 (cited 7 times and downloaded 270 times), summarized the literature, drama, music, and art creation of the Central China Anti-Japanese Base Area, and explained that the cultural cause of the Central China Anti-Japanese Base Area played an important role in winning the war of resistance [23]. In 2011, the Red Newspapers and Periodicals in the Anti-Japanese Base Area of Southern Jiangsu Province (cited 6 times and downloaded 274 times) was published to systematically sort out 60 newspapers and periodicals established by the Party, government, and military organizations in Jiangsu Province during the Anti-Japanese War. These newspapers and periodicals played an important role in publicizing the Party's policies, introducing domestic and foreign situations, reporting the performance of the Anti-Japanese War, and encouraging the morale of the military and the people, and became the important mouthpiece and battle horn of the Party and the military and the people [24]. In 2012, the number of papers published in the "New Fourth Army" field of Archives and Construction reached 160 at most. These 160 papers focused on the deeds of anti-Japanese generals and discussed the importance and role of archives and other historical materials in the history of the anti-Japanese war. Secondly, the number of papers published in "Research on the Party History of the Communist Party of China" (54), "Research on the War of Resistance against Japan" (52), and "Anhui History" (51) is more than 50, second only to "Archives and Construction". The Research on the Party History of the Communist Party of China was founded in 1981 and is in the charge of the Central Institute of History and Information Research. It focuses on the research on historical topics, the research on Marxist Mao Zedong Thought, the literature and materials of the Party history, and the review of the Party history treatises. The Battle between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in the Development of the New Fourth Army to Northern Jiangsu (cited 14 times and downloaded 1066 times) was released in 2020, from 1939 to 1940, the CPC gradually formulated and implemented the strategy of developing northern Jiangsu, and the battle between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in the development of the New Fourth Army to northern Jiangsu reflected the keynote and bottom line of the struggle between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in 1940 [25]. The Anti-Japanese War Research, a magazine sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was launched in 1991. The magazine has special articles and character research columns. "The Kuomintang's Journey to the Southern Anhui Incident" was published in 2002 for 39 times and downloaded 3656 times. This article describes the Southern Anhui Incident in January 1941 and describes how the relationship between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party went from a "honeymoon" to a complete breakdown [26]. Anhui History is an academic journal managed by the Anhui Academy of Social Sciences and published in 1957. It covers various fields such as historical theory and criticism. The Anti-Japanese War in Central China was published 24 times in 2011 and downloaded 544 times. The paper discusses that the government of the Central China Anti-Japanese War Base Area attaches special importance to the social preferential treatment management of veterans, injured soldiers, and anti-Japanese families. Social preferential treatment management has great historical significance in mobilizing the masses to actively participate in the war, closely developing the interpersonal relationship between the party, government, military, and people, and actively cooperating with the development of the united front [27].
Analysis of important
institutions
The analysis of the author's organization is helpful
to understand the important core organizations of scientific research in the
relevant fields of the "New Fourth Army" at home and abroad. Through
systematic analysis, the core institutions of the research of the "New
Fourth Army" in China are shown in (Table 3). The data in Table 3 shows
that the Second Historical Archives of China, the Institute of Modern History
of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Literature Research Office
of the CPC Central Committee have published a large number of papers on the
research of the New Fourth Army. The Second Historical Archives of China has
rich historical data and a professional research team, providing strong support
for the research in the field of the "New Fourth Army". At the same
time, among the top ten institutions with the number of documents issued, the
Jiangsu Provincial Archives (6), the College of Social Sciences of Yancheng
Normal University (6), the Research Office of the Party History of the Shanghai
Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (5), and the Department of
History of Nanjing University (5) are also comprehensive universities or
research institutions.
In addition, the Social College of Yancheng Normal
University, which ranks third in the number of documents issued, has now
changed its name to the School of History and Public Management of Yancheng
Normal University. The number of documents issued in the original name is still
retrieved in the CNKI system. If the two institutions, the Social College of
Yancheng Normal University and the School of History and Public Management of
Yancheng Normal University, are combined for statistics, more documents will be
issued. Yancheng Normal University is located in Yancheng City, Jiangsu
Province. It has a special New Fourth Army Research Institute, which is a
professional institution engaged in the research of the history and culture of
the New Fourth Army and the propaganda of the Red Culture. It has several core
scholars, such as Professor Wang Huashu and Professor Wang Zuqi, and has
carried out long-term in-depth research in the field of the "New Fourth
Army". It is an important institution for the research of the "New
Fourth Army" in China.
Keyword analysis
Through the keyword co-occurrence analysis of the "New Fourth Army" research paper, we can see the distribution of high-frequency keywords in this field. According to the statistics, the frequency of keywords appearing more than 5 times is shown in (Table 4). The high-frequency keywords in this field are the New Fourth Army (208 times), the Anti-Japanese War (40 times), the Southern Anhui Incident (35 times), etc. The keywords in the paper can summarize and reflect the content of the article, and are reliable evaluation indicators. When tagging keywords, the author will be affected by the achievements of other scholars and the keywords or similar keywords used in the paper. Based on this, it is feasible to analyze the research hotspot content, topic distribution, and topic structure of a discipline or topic based on the co-lexical approach. The keywords in the "New Fourth Army" literature are clustered by Citespace software to obtain the keyword clustering of the "New Fourth Army" literature, as shown in (Figure 3). The software classifies the keywords into 13 categories: # 0 Anti-Japanese War# 1 The battlefield behind the enemy# 2 Oral history# 3 Liu Shaoqi# 4 The Southern Anhui Incident# 5 Kuomintang# 6 War of Resistance# 7 People's army# 8 Patriotism and love education# 9 Gene inheritance# 10 Honorary director# 11 Humanistic characteristics# 12 Triple nature of the text.
Anti-Japanese
War: The anti-Japanese guerrilla war behind
the enemy played an important role in defeating the Japanese aggressors. The
previous research on the history of the anti-Japanese guerrilla war was biased.
For a long time, scholars in the Chinese Mainland have only paid attention to
the study of guerrilla warfare behind the enemy lines within the Communist
Party of China (CPC), while the in-depth study of guerrilla warfare behind the
enemy lines within the Kuomintang is rare. In fact, during the War of
Resistance against Japan, both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party led
guerrilla warfare behind the enemy lines [28].
The
battlefield behind the enemy: the fifth plenary
session of the Fifth Central Committee was held in 1939. The author of the
paper did not turn to the passive anti-Japanese policy on the issue of the war
of resistance [29].
Oral
history: The victory of the Anti-Japanese War has
brought great changes to the Chinese nation. From the struggle for independence
to August 2018, Professor Zhang Lianhong's three-volume book contains the
wonderful memories of 102 veterans of the Anti-Japanese War. These oral
historical materials not only bring in-depth and detailed exploration to the
study of the history of the Anti-Japanese War, but also provide valuable resources
for the dissemination and promotion of the spirit of the Anti-Japanese War
[30].
Liu
Shaoqi: born on November 24, 1898, was appointed
as a political member of the New Fourth Army at the beginning of 941.
The
South Anhui Incident: The occurrence of the
South Anhui Incident is inevitable, but there are also accidental factors. The
Kuomintang insisted on restricting the development of the Communist Party of
China's army and asked it to leave the two sides of the Yangtze River and move
north to Jicha within the specified time. This is a tough attitude. In
addition, the CPC Central Committee also hopes to be independent and vigorously
develop and operate the central China region [31,32].
The
Kuomintang: The Southern Anhui Incident broke
out in January 1941, which made the relationship between the Kuomintang and the
Communist Party go from "honeymoon".
Anti-Japanese
War: After the "new intellectuals"
entered Yan'an and the anti-Japanese base areas, due to the limitations of
knowledge level, work experience, and other factors, most of them had to
participate in the political work at the grass-roots level, and caused the
contradictions and frictions between the new intellectual party members and
cadres and the old workers and peasants, which triggered the rectification
movement and the development of the army at the grass-roots level [33].
The
People's Army: As one of the founders of the
People's Army, Zhou Enlai has made great contributions to the establishment and
development of the People's Army. The study of Comrade Zhou Enlai's outstanding
contributions to the establishment, development, and expansion of the People's
Army during his stay in Shanghai has eternal enlightenment for the goals,
policies, and strategies of building a strong military proposed at the 18th
National Congress, especially the 19th National Congress [34].
Patriotic
and religious: Zhao Puchu has forged an
indissoluble bond with the CPC since the 1930s. In the past 70 years, the
Chinese people have made great achievements in the cause of liberation and
socialist construction [35].
Gene
inheritance: Efforts will be made to promote the
construction of the training base for the memory of rural red tourism culture,
and to contribute archive resources to the path of "inheritance and
development of red tourism culture" in Kaihua [36].
Honorary
director: introduce the life story of Chen Liao,
who was born in September 1931, joined the Chinese Writers Association in 1979,
and died in Nanjing at 2 a.m. on December 2, 2015 [37].
Humanistic
characteristics: At present, under the
impact of new media, Chinese TV faces both opportunities and challenges on the
road of transformation. If you want to break through the encirclement and
develop, you must base on yourself, rely on distinctive regional
characteristics and human resources, seek external linkage, and focus on
innovation internally, to establish a unique [38].
The
threefold nature of the text: "March to the
Enemy's Back" was published in 1939, and articles such as "Armed
Political Task Force" included in the book have been published in the
magazine. Compared with the book version, it reflects the complex problem of
the "triple text", is a true portrayal of the repeated struggle
between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in the book version during the
Anti-Japanese War, and is also an important content of the study of the Chinese
literary version [39].
Research trend analysis
Through the analysis of the knowledge map of sudden
keywords, we can understand the research focus of the "New Fourth
Army" in different historical stages. According to the sudden knowledge
map analysis of keywords in the "New Fourth Army" literature, the top
11 keywords can be obtained as shown in (Figure 4). According to Figure 4,
between 2012 and 2022, in chronological order, China's "New Fourth
Army" research focused on the following core themes in different periods:
Typical characters in
2012-2013
According to the actual situation of college students'
ideal and belief education at present, Zhejiang University has created a new
teaching mode of "Meet on Friday". Relying on the school head teacher
instructor team composed of the old Red Army, the new Fourth Army of the old
National Revolutionary Army, and the old Communist Party members, it has
selected different teaching objects for the three classes through the new
Fourth Army education base and the old Communist Party member's home:
revolutionary league members Activists for joining the Party and ordinary
college students have also used four effective channels to jointly organize
various characteristic education programs, and have achieved five remarkable
results [40]. During the Anti-Japanese War, a group of outstanding traditional
cultural workers inside and outside the Party who stayed in Shanghai, under the
leadership of the South Bureau of the Communist Party of China and the Shanghai
Municipal Party Organization, adhered to the construction of the Anti-Japanese
War propaganda and literature position, the creation of literary and artistic
publications, the publication of newspapers and the distribution of books in
the Sino-French Housing Leasing Area and the Anglo-American Common Concession
in the isolated island of Shanghai, which was besieged by Japan, and took
advantage of their unique geographical environment, It has written a glorious
page in the history of modern book publishing [41].
During the Anti-Japanese War, cartoons, as an
important way of mobilizing public opinion, were widely welcomed and had a
strong appeal in the anti-Japanese democratic base areas under the leadership
of the CPC. During the Anti-Japanese War, the CPC exposed the cruelty and
cunning of the Japanese aggressors through cartoon propaganda, satirized the
weakness and incompetence of the enemy, praised the bravery and sacrifice of
heroes in the mountains of the liberated areas, demonstrated the intricate
relationship between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and demonstrated
the way of life of the people in the mountains of the liberated areas and the
new military-civilian relations. Their comic works focus on the theme in
content and form, have strong news and artistry, and are also more popular
[42]. After the successive fall of Wuhan and Guangzhou, China's Anti-Japanese
War entered a new period of strategic stalemate. The relationship between the
Kuomintang and the Communist Party has deteriorated seriously, leading to the
escalation of friction [43].
The relationship between
the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in 2015-2020
During the period from 1939 to 1940, the Central
Committee of the CPC gradually formulated and implemented the strategy of
developing northern Jiangsu. Chiang Kai-shek ordered the Jiangbei New Fourth
Army to retreat to the south of the Yangtze River, and then the Communist Party
troops south of the Yellow River also withdrew to the north of the Yellow
River. Li Pinxian and Han Deqin were sent to encircle the New Fourth Army. In
the process of the development of northern Jiangsu, the Fourth Front Army and
the Kuomintang and the Communist Party launched a fierce battle, both military
frictions and conflicts, and political strategic arrangements. In the process
of the development of the New Fourth Army to the north of Jiangsu Province, the
contest between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party showed that although the
cooperation between the two sides had fallen into a serious crisis, they still
managed to maintain this situation in the context of the War of Resistance
Against Japan, which reflected the tone and bottom of the Kuomintang and the
Communist Party in 1940 [44]. After the first anti-Communist climax in the
winter of 1939 and the spring of 1940, both the Kuomintang and the Communist
Party took a cold approach. In the spring and summer of 1940, the Kuomintang
and the Communist Party made major political concessions and resolved their
differences through multiple rounds of negotiations. However, the military conflict
between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in northern Jiangsu escalated
again in the autumn and led to a stalemate in the peace talks, making the two
sides face a new situation of comprehensive confrontation. The easing of the
"anti-Communist climax" shows that during the war of resistance, the
relationship between the two parties has been developing around the state of
"weak stability", which can neither achieve true unity and
cooperation nor lead to comprehensive confrontation [45].
Oral history in
2019-2020
Jiangsu Province held a symposium to discuss the
current major historical events and conducted in-depth discussions on the
publication of The Eternal Heart. To better inherit and carry forward the
excellent tradition of the CPC, the Jiangsu Provincial Archives, in cooperation
with the Party History Office of the Provincial Party Committee, compiled the
"Four Revolutionary Spirits of Jiangsu" by using the precious
historical documents collected by the Archives, which shows the spirit of the people
of Jiangsu in historical events with the spirit of Zhou Enlai as the theme.
This book aims to show readers the spirit of the people of Jiangsu in the
revolutionary struggle [46]. The Anti-Japanese War played a vital role in the
rise and revival of the Chinese nation. Professor Zhang Lianhong wrote a
three-volume book in August 2018, containing the precious historical memories
of 102 veterans of the Anti-Japanese War. These oral historical materials are
not only conducive to the in-depth study of the history of the War of
Resistance, but also the dissemination and promotion of the spirit of the War
of Resistance.
Anti-Japanese War in
2019-2022
In the early days of the War of Resistance against
Japan, the CPC carried out a large-scale guerrilla war and won victories in
Shanxi and other places. Later, it consolidated North China and developed in
Central China. Among these strategies, the initial goal was to enter the
Central Plains, and the Eighth Route Army was responsible for achieving this
goal. Shandong has become an important stronghold of the Eighth Route Army in
North and Central China and has made considerable progress in the south. The
main force of the 115th Division went to Shandong and cooperated with the local
Eighth Route Army to form a strong force. Over time, the strategy of Central
China has undergone major changes, and the New Fourth Army has become the
military force mainly responsible for this area. Shandong's strategic position
has become more important in this process and has gradually become a solid base
[47]. After the outbreak of the all-around war of resistance against Japan, the
CPC began to go deep into the social grassroots and grow through guerrilla
warfare. At that time, various forces rose one after another, but the Communist
Party of China, with its good discipline and firm faith, successfully
established a foundation among the people. This also promoted the enthusiasm of
the people for the revolution. When the guerrillas of the CPC entered the
society, they experienced a transformation from emotion to the organization,
and finally gained the support of the people [48].
Through the analysis of the knowledge map of China's
"New Fourth Army" literature between 2012 and 2022, it can be found
that the domestic "New Fourth Army" research showed a trend of
overall fluctuation and decline. The relevant research was in 1995, 2005, and
2015, respectively, and there were significant commemorative events in three
periods of time, which would have a "surge" phenomenon. After a long
period of development, the study of the "New Fourth Army" in China
has formed a core author of the Department of Social Sciences of the PLA
University of Technology, including Professor Tong Zhiqiang, Professor Wang
Jianguo, Professor Wang Huashu, and Professor Wang Zuqi of the Party History
Research Office of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of
China. They hold important positions in the School of History and Public
Administration of Yancheng Normal University. Some core institutions have been
formed in the research field of the "New Fourth Army", such as the
Second Historical Archives of China, the Institute of Modern History of the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Literature Research Office of the
CPC Central Committee. These institutions have rich resources and professional
research teams in the field of history, laying a solid foundation for the study
of the "New Fourth Army". In the core issue of the "New Fourth
Army" research, such journals as "Archives and Construction",
"Research on the Party History of the Communist Party of China" and
"Research on the War of Resistance Against Japan" published a large
number of high-quality papers on the "New Fourth Army" research,
providing an important carrier for the continuous deepening of the "New
Fourth Army" research in China. Through the analysis of the keywords of
the "New Fourth Army" research, it can be found that the "New
Fourth Army" literature focuses on 13 topics such as the Anti-Japanese
War, the battlefield behind the enemy, and oral history. The five research
topics, such as the Anti-Japanese War, oral history, and the relationship
between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, are the hot spots and frontiers
of the study of the "New Fourth Army" in China at this stage and in
the future. However, through bibliometric analysis, it is also found that there
is a lack of scientific research cooperation among authors in the "New
Fourth Army" field, resulting in a small number of published articles.
Although a small number of core authors and research groups have been formed,
there is still a lack of core authors and research groups with high
productivity and high influence. The research content and form of the "New
Fourth Army" are relatively simple, and in the integration and cooperation
with other disciplines, the use of multiple methods for analysis and research
is still insufficient, which has obvious constraints on the further promotion
of the "New Fourth Army" research in China. However, with the further
promotion of the theory and practice of the "New Fourth Army" in
China, and with the joint efforts of the relevant researchers of the "New
Fourth Army" in the country, the research of the "New Fourth
Army" in China will be further deepened based on the existing accumulation,
to provide important theoretical support for the "Iron Army spirit"
to radiate a new light of the times.
This research is the research result of the General
project of the open project of the New Fourth Army Research Institute in 2022,
Research on the New Fourth Army Red Culture Communication Path Based on New
Social Media (XSJ202206)