ABSTRACT
Barely one week after the Lukouch’iao Incident, Chiang Kai-shek declared that “one minute before the last hope is lost, we still hope for peace.” When peace did not come, however, most Chinese had no regrets. United to face a common enemy, the whole country rallied behind the national government and Chiang Kai-shek. For the first time in the history of the Republic of China, regional militarists responded to the call of the central government. All of the political parties unanimously declared their full support and cooperation with the national government of Chiang Kai-shek in the War of Resistance against Japan. Men such as Pai Ch’ung-hsi, leader of the Kwangsi Clique, and Kuo Mo-jo, the ex-Communist, buried the hatchet and began to work together with a common spirit. The slogan “Let those who have money contribute money and those who have labor contribute labor” reverberated throughout the war.
