ABSTRACT
Karen Cerulo suggests that national anthems, as one national symbol, 'provide the strongest, clearest statement of national identity'. This chapter first explores these two questions in greater detail against the wider historical background before 1982, and through an analysis of a wide range of state-sponsored realms of Fifteen-Year-War remembrance. The official commemoration of the five Fifteen-Year-War memorial dates was relatively consistent from 1949 to 1982. Throughout this period, at least one of these dates was commemorated every year, with some exceptions. Throughout the period between 1949 and 1982, exhibitions related to the Fifteen-Year War in museums were basically 'supplementary reading matter' related to the relevant parts of the textbooks. The 'War of Resistance period' is sub-divided in these textbooks into the initial phase of the war, which was fought under the national united front, and the deadlock period, which was characterised by the split between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and The Kuomintang (KMT).
