Research On The Evolution Of The Mentality Of Academic Intellectuals In The Rear Area During The War Of Resistance Against Japan

The research orientation of the history of mentality emphasizes the interaction between the subjective world and the objective social structure,promoting historical research from the complex relationship between factors such as mentality and historical imagery.This article relies on personal records such as contemporary diaries and letters as historical materials to further expand the research on the transformation of wartime intellectuals from the perspective of mentality history.After the outbreak of the Comprehensive Anti Japanese War,intellectuals first faced the choice of whether to move with the school.Under subjective and objective factors such as national righteousness,willingness to relocate,and constraints of reality,intellectuals have experienced a wandering and hesitant decision-making process.The displacement during the war was also a rare embarrassing experience for scholars,who had already been tested by the war at the beginning of the War of Resistance.After arriving at the rear area,with the continuous deterioration of the economic,social,and political environment in the rear area,intellectuals experienced three different periods of hope,struggling to change,and changing their minds.This change reflects the gradual alienation of intellectuals from the Kuomintang regime during the war,as well as the shift in mindset from "looking for governance" to "thinking about change.".Economic inflation and regime corruption are the realistic and superficial reasons for the evolution of intellectuals’ mentality.The political and national consciousness of intellectuals during the war was the root and essence of their psychological evolution.The most important aspect of the impact of the evolution of intellectual psychology is the gradual alienation from the Kuomintang regime,and this impact also continued into the postwar era,which has always been widely recognized by the academic community.However,it should be noted that the evolution of intellectuals’ mentality and the alienation of political power are not necessarily evolving,but rather a dynamic transformation from "looking for governance" to "thinking about change".In addition,the decline of the intellectual community caused by the physical and mental damage of intellectuals during the War of Resistance Against Japan is also indirectly intertwined with the evolution and influence of their mentality as a non structural historical factor.The root and essence of the evolution of intellectuals’ mentality stems from the deepening national crisis.Intellectuals hold the expectation of achieving national independence and national rejuvenation through the comprehensive war of resistance,which is the "revolutionary nature" of the war of resistance.However,with the continuous deterioration of economic inflation and regime corruption during the war,the Kuomintang gradually lost the trust and support of intellectuals,and changed from "looking for governance" to "thinking about change".The call for regime reform became increasingly high,making it run counter to the corruption,incompetence,and centralization of power of the Kuomintang regime under the "Stilwell and Theodore White Model".Therefore,the connection between the War of Resistance and the rapid decline of the Kuomintang after the war is not only related to the objective impact of the War of Resistance on the ruling structure of the Kuomintang,as emphasized by scholars Lioyd E.Eastman and Hans van de Ven The revolutionary aspect that intellectuals bestowed on the War of Resistance against Japan was also the transformation nurtured in the storm,eroding intellectuals’ political identification with the Kuomintang regime and continuing to promote drastic changes in the postwar political situation.