Narratives of Affinity in the Songs of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army

Heward, Lehyla. "Narratives of Affinity in the Songs of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army", Journal of Chinese Military History 14, 1 (2025): 1-36, doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/22127453-bja10027 [Chicago citation]

Abstract

Hundreds of songs are accredited to the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army (NAJUA), a coalition of Chinese and Korean communist guerrilla units that fought against the Japanese in Northeast China from 1935 until 1942. This article examines the ideological, social, transcultural, and intellectual histories of the songs attributed to the NAJUA. These distinct facets of the songs bring added depth to the abundant research on the NAJUA commanders and their tactical operations. This article first examines the historiography of the army as presented in extant song collections. Then follows a discussion of the establishment of the NAJUA in ideological and social terms, which shows how the ideas contained in the lyrics stem from the problems communist leaders faced during the early years of resistance. Lastly, this study analyzes the songs by theme and rhetorical devices to capture the ideological and cultural discourses that filtered through the NAJUA.