
On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender, marking the 14-year struggle of the Chinese nation to finally see the light of day. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, the documentary film "Mountains and Rivers as Witness" was officially released nationwide on the day of Japan's surrender this year. Like a monument of light and shadow, it presents a panoramic view of the arduous 14-year War of Resistance. Through ironclad historical facts and profound patriotism, it demonstrates to the world the historical logic that justice and the people will prevail.

Don't say the mountains and rivers remain silent: 80 years ago, they witnessed the flames of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression; 80 years later, they safeguard the nation's true memory. "Mountains and Rivers as Witness" weaves together a national epic with two main plotlines: a linear timeline, stretching from the alarm bells that tore through the mountains and rivers of the September 18th Incident to the victorious banner of Japan's surrender; and a spiritual thread, highlighting the pivotal role of the Communist Party of China at every critical juncture. The Pingxingguan Victory shattered the myth of the "invincibility of the Japanese army," the people's war behind enemy lines defeated the powerful enemy, and the democratic revolution reshaped the base areas.

Produced by China Film Distribution Co., Ltd. and China News and Documentary Film Studio (Group), the film is a masterpiece of profound thought and exquisite production, helmed by director Yu Peng, who, with meticulous historical writing and artistic ingenuity, leads the creation of this profound and exquisitely crafted epic. It not only continues the patriotic tradition of Chinese cinema but also reconstructs the narrative of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression from a broad international strategic perspective, profoundly revealing the profound connection between the Chinese battlefield and the global anti-fascist war. Yu Peng recently gave an exclusive interview to The Paper in Beijing.

Photo of director Yu Peng working on the set (provided by the interviewee)
dialogue
"The armed forces led by the Chinese Communist Party are a major threat to the Japanese army"
The Paper: First of all, please introduce the origin of the creation of "Mountains and Rivers as Witness"?
Yu Peng: This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. A series of key films on the war have been released, and among them, "Mountains and Rivers as Witness" is very special. As a documentary, unlike other feature films, it must ensure 100% authenticity.
The Central News and Documentary Film Studio (Group) (hereinafter referred to as "Central News and Documentary Film Studio") is a specialized producer of news and documentary films in China. Its predecessor, the Yan'an Film Group, was established in 1938, the year after the start of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. This company boasts a long and glorious history. We possess a wealth of authoritative historical materials and have produced films commemorating many important historical milestones. We possess extensive experience in producing films on major national revolutionary histories, and our production team possesses a rich heritage.
The Paper: I noticed that you are not only the chief director of "Mountains as Witness", but also the scriptwriter. Can you talk specifically about the process of taking on this task and the difficulties you encountered?
Yu Peng: The preparations for this project took at least three years. I officially took over the project in late autumn of last year, and it was largely completed by June of this year. Historical documentaries generally follow a linear narrative, starting with the localized War of Resistance in 1931, the nationwide War of Resistance in 1937, and then to the Pearl Harbor attack, the US and Britain declaring war on Japan, and the Chinese battlefield officially becoming the main Eastern battlefield of the World Anti-Fascist War. Each step has a clear timeline, and the structure itself is very clear.
The challenge lies in scope. "Mountains and Rivers as Witness" is a documentary film, not a television series, allowing for extensive storytelling. For a theatrical release, the running time couldn't be too long, yet it still needed to present a comprehensive overview of the 14-year War of Resistance. I remember during the planning meeting, many experts expressed their dismay, saying it was too difficult to capture all 14 years of content. Therefore, throughout the early preparation phase, including the entire writing process, I repeatedly considered how to construct this framework, ensuring that neither neglected nor overemphasized the other, while also striking the right balance of detail and omission. The entire film is 104 minutes long, excluding the main feature, which is 100 minutes. The opening section features the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, which takes up about ten minutes.

Stills of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Forces Guerrilla Warfare
The Paper: In 2017, the Ministry of Education officially mandated that all primary and secondary school textbooks replace the "Eight-Year War of Resistance" with the "Fourteen-Year War of Resistance," emphasizing the complete historical process from the September 18th Incident to victory. "Mountains and Rivers as Witness" is arguably the first documentary film to comprehensively portray the history of the War of Resistance since then. What were the challenges in portraying the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army? The film's opening scene is set in the Lesser Khingan Mountains of Heilongjiang Province in the depths of winter. Was there any significance to this?
Yu Peng: The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army's war against Japan was a localized war of resistance, not yet a national or even a war of resistance. The length we devoted to this section was based on expert feedback. One point everyone agreed on early on was that the fighting and survival conditions of the Anti-Japanese United Army were extremely difficult. From an initial force of over 30,000 to fewer than 2,000 at the end, the sacrifices were tragic.
During our field research, we discovered that many of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces were still armed with swords, spears, and javelins, facing Japanese aircraft and artillery. Throughout the history of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Forces not only contained and eliminated large numbers of Japanese and puppet troops, but also became a spiritual symbol for the fight against the Japanese. Even after the Japanese invaders occupied Northeast China, the people of Northeast China refused to surrender, and the flames of resistance ignited for a long time, providing great spiritual inspiration and inspiration to people across the country.
You mentioned a specific issue with the film's opening scene setting. The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army operated across Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces, as well as parts of Inner Mongolia. The Lesser Khingan Mountains were a key area of activity, forming the core of the North Manchuria guerrilla zone led by Li Zhaolin and Zhao Shangzhi. When we talk about the Northeast, the adjective "white mountains and black waters" is often mentioned. "White mountains" refers to Changbai Mountain, and "black waters" refers to the Heilongjiang River. This was also the typical environment in which the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army survived and thrived. Faced with the Japanese invaders' frequent "combing the mountains" (dragging nets to search the mountains) and "iron wall encirclements," the "secret camps" established by the Anti-Japanese United Army fighters were a unique survival and combat system they developed in this extremely harsh environment, and they hold significant significance.
The Paper: Through studying the history of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, which stage do you think was most dangerous to the survival of the Chinese nation?
Yu Peng: That was definitely a strategic stalemate. Looking back on that period now, it was indeed a very dangerous and difficult period for the Chinese nation. During this period, the changing international situation, coupled with domestic pressures on Japan's politics, economy, and livelihoods, made the Japanese army eager to end the invasion of China as soon as possible. However, the more they sought a quick victory, the more they were dragged into a protracted war by the Chinese military and civilians.
During this period, Japan's attitude toward the KMT and the CCP, as well as the resistance forces they led, diverged. We've found numerous Japanese officers and politicians from that period, who, in their memoirs, remarked that they weren't afraid of direct engagements with KMT forces because the Japanese army's weaponry, individual combat effectiveness, and overall military prowess were vastly superior to ours. This was particularly evident in the early stages of the war. The logic is easy to understand: at the time, Japan was a powerful industrial nation, while we were still a backward agricultural nation. However, their strength had its bottlenecks, while our weakness had its resilience. How can we dialectically approach this? Mao Zedong's "On Protracted War" clearly states this, revealing that the essence of victory or defeat in war lies in "the support of the people" and the "transformation of contradictions."
During the stalemate phase, Japan simultaneously engaged in both fighting and wooing the Kuomintang, but harbored no illusions about the Communist Party's forces. Kasahara Yukio, Chief of Staff of the North China Front Army, was the first general to clearly articulate the view that "the armed forces led by the Chinese Communist Party posed a grave threat to the Japanese army." In 1939, while overseeing the formulation of the 1940 "Plan for Rectification," he submitted a systematic analysis to the military, emphasizing that the CCP had become "a fatal threat to the security war in North China." His core argument focused on the CCP's widespread mobilization of the peasant masses, creating an "invincible presence." Consequently, Japan's focus of attack gradually shifted to the Communist Party's forces, with over 70% of its forces at one point dedicated to "cleansing the countryside" campaigns against CCP bases.

Stills from the Hundred Regiments Campaign
The Paper: It is precisely because of this that "the armed forces and people led by the Communist Party have become the backbone of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression."
Yu Peng: That's right. The fact is that during the stalemate, the Kuomintang's stance wavered. Not to mention the puppet regimes like the Wang Puppet Nationalist Government established in 1940, Chiang Kai-shek's Chongqing Nationalist Government also held numerous secret negotiations with the Japanese in an attempt to negotiate peace. My personal motivation for making this film was to dispel some of the erroneous and one-sided narratives circulating online and present an objective and fair historical truth to the public, especially young audiences.
"China has countless 'them', so why should we fear the long night?"
The Paper: Are there any historical images in "Mountains and Rivers as Witness" that are being disclosed for the first time?
Yu Peng: Roman Kármán, a Soviet war correspondent and renowned documentary film pioneer, came to China as a special correspondent in 1938 to cover the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. He captured key events such as the Battle of Wuhan and the Chongqing bombing. Notably, he also traveled to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region to interview Mao Zedong. Kármán filmed footage of Chinese soldiers and civilians during the war, but only a portion remained before returning to the Soviet Union. This year, the Russians donated all their remaining footage to China Central Radio and Television, and I used the footage provided by China Central Radio and Television in my film. It's difficult to say that any particular event is being revealed for the first time, but we can say that much of the battlefield footage is.

Roman Kalman filming at the battle scene
The Paper: Is there any of these shots that impressed you the most?
Yu Peng: There are so many. For example, the smile of a female soldier was very impactful. I thought it was so beautiful, a typical shy smile of a young girl. It might have been a casual expression of hers during a review before a battle, but to me, it represents the Chinese soldiers' determination to win the war of resistance. You have to understand that many historical materials don't capture individuals, or even a close-up of a single soldier. They're mostly group shots of the battlefield, or the march of troops, rarely focusing on individual emotions.
The Paper: I'm particularly impressed by the film "Searching for Wang Jiachuan," set during the stalemate phase of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. The story of "brother succeeding brother" is heartbreaking, with the narrator saying, "China has countless 'them', so why fear the long night?"
Yu Peng: This story first came to me while we were researching a copy of the "Anti-Enemy Newspaper" published in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region. It contained a report titled "Wang Jiachuan is Not Dead," which particularly captivated me. The background story is that in October 1937, the 359th Brigade of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army arrived in Pingshan County, Hebei Province, to recruit soldiers. Over 1,700 young men from the county signed up to fight the Japanese invaders. Ultimately, over 1,500 were assigned to the newly formed 718th Regiment. Because they were all from Pingshan County, the regiment became known as the "Pingshan Regiment." The "Pingshan Regiment" achieved numerous military feats, and Nie Rongzhen praised them as the "iron children's soldiers of the Taihang Mountains." The term "children's soldiers" quickly spread and gradually became synonymous with the People's Army.
In May 1939, after the battles of Shangxia Xiyaojian, a dusty young man entered the political office of the Pingshan Regiment, requesting to fill in for Wang Jiachuan. Asked his name and where he was from, the young man simply replied, "I'm from Pingshan, and my name is Wang Jiachuan!" But Wang Jiachuan was a battle hero who had just died in the battle, so how could he also be called that? After further investigation, it was discovered that the young man's name was Wang Sanzi, Wang Jiachuan's younger brother. He insisted on signing up under his brother's name. He said, "Not only am I called Wang Jiachuan, I died fighting the enemy, and I have a 16-year-old brother at home who's also called Wang Jiachuan. There are hundreds of young people in my village who are all called Wang Jiachuan. For every Wang Jiachuan who dies in battle, another will rise. There will always be a long list of Wang Jiachuans who have sacrificed!" The touching story of the Wang brothers demonstrates how "Wang Jiachuan" has become a local symbol, inspiring ordinary Chinese people to continue signing up to support the front lines.

Stills: Pingshan County youth join the army
The Paper: There must be thousands of stories about ordinary people and ordinary soldiers during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Is there any story that left a deep impression on you but was ultimately not included due to length considerations for the film?
Yu Peng: Too many. Let's just talk about Pingshan County, a former revolutionary base. During the eight-year War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Pingshan County had a population of approximately 200,000. Over 12,000 joined the Eighth Route Army, and another 60,000 participated in guerrilla warfare and militia. A few years ago, Pingshan-based photographer Li Junfang interviewed over 200 veterans, documenting their lives and creating a photo archive.
We also depict this in the film. Li Junfang mentioned to me that he usually poses his veterans outside their homes for portraits, but one veteran, over 90 years old, insisted on being photographed at the cemetery at the village entrance. That cemetery is the Yanzhuang Martyrs Cemetery, where 223 martyrs of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression are buried. This 90-year-old veteran had joined the Eighth Route Army alongside them, all in their teens, but only a handful survived to be demobilized and transferred to civilian jobs. As you can imagine, those fallen comrades were also his fellow villagers, and the emotional impact and trauma of this was something he would never fully recover from. Even in his twilight years, when he wanted to leave a photo, the veteran's first thought was to take a photo with these fellow veterans.
The Paper: Which scenes in "Mountains and Rivers as Witness" were presented using new technical means?
Yu Peng: In terms of visuals, we actively experimented with new CG animation techniques and old film restoration techniques to make the images more vivid and tangible. For example, we took a black-and-white photograph and, by developing a realistic imagination of the characters depicted, transformed them into a living historical figure. For a momentous historical event like the Eighth Route Army's crossing of the Yellow River and advancing to the anti-Japanese front in North China, there are very few surviving photographs, let alone film. Our approach was to collect as many memoirs and diaries as possible from those who witnessed it to reconstruct the scene: was it raining? Were there strong waves? How many people were crammed into a boat? Were there any young soldiers? We relied entirely on the accounts in these memoirs, corroborating them with each other, and then used animation to convey the image. The base sketch was actually an oil painting, but we wanted it to be rougher, more textured, and grainier, applying the animation treatment to the oil painting.

Stills of the Eighth Route Army Crossing the Yellow River
The Paper: You mentioned earlier that the Eighth Route Army left behind very few photos and video materials. What was the specific situation? Could you please elaborate on this?
Yu Peng: Regarding the historical footage of our Party and army, there was some footage from Yan'an during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, but it became significantly more abundant during the Liberation War. Specifically, in the autumn of 1938, with the arrival of filmmakers such as Yuan Muzhi and Wu Yinxian in Yan'an, carrying film equipment, the first film organization directly led by the Party—the Film Troupe of the Eighth Route Army General Political Department (also known as the Yan'an Film Troupe)—was officially established. This was also the predecessor of our Central New Film Studio, and thus began the visual record of the revolutionary history of the Yan'an Anti-Japanese Base Area. However, the conditions at the time were extremely difficult and crude, and footage from areas outside Yan'an, such as the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Base Area, is even scarcer.
Another filmmaker who brought a camera to China, like Roman Kalman, was Dutch director Joris Ivens, who captured key historical scenes such as the Battle of Taierzhuang and the Defense of Wuhan. He also originally wanted to film in Yan'an, but was blocked by the Kuomintang. Ivens later broke through the Kuomintang blockade and secretly donated a 35mm camera and 2,000 feet of film to the Yan'an Film Group.

"They then headed to two different battlefields."
The Paper: One scene in the film particularly struck me: During the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, foreign troops came to China to assist. Else Carlson, former captain of President Roosevelt's bodyguard, was the first American officer to penetrate deep into the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines in North China. While passing through Xi'an, he happened upon a group of Soviet pilots. The film's narration states: "A historical coincidence brought the American captain and the Soviet pilot together in China, each bound for two entirely different battlefields." This likely refers to the later Soviet-German War in Europe and the US-Japan Pacific Theater. It also integrates the Chinese War of Resistance into the grand narrative of the global anti-fascist war.
Yu Peng: In the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Soviet Union was China's primary supporter. Starting in October 1937, thousands of Soviet pilots arrived in China to participate in the war, and Carlson met some of them. At the time, Carlson was traveling to North China on behalf of the US government to observe the Eighth Route Army. He first needed to contact the Eighth Route Army office in Xi'an before traveling to Shanxi to observe the Eighth Route Army's resistance. Xi'an was a key transit point for foreign Allied aid to China, and coincidentally, there was a large courtyard there, similar to a guesthouse for international friends, where both US and Soviet military personnel were staying.
We know that the Soviet-German War broke out in June 1941, and the Pacific War began in December 1941 with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Both events occurred later than the Chinese people's full-scale war of resistance. However, at the end of 1937, military personnel from both countries met in Xi'an, China. They were arguably the first soldiers from each country to experience the battlefield situation and the atmosphere of war. After returning to the United States in late 1938, Carlson vigorously promoted the truth about the Chinese people's war of resistance, praising the army and base areas led by the Chinese Communist Party as a model of resistance to the Japanese army and democracy, and warning the American public about the dangers of Japanese expansion in the Far East. General Zhu De once called him "an honest and upright American soldier."
On the Soviet side, Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov, the military attaché of the Soviet embassy in China and chief military adviser to the Nationalist government (awarded the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1955), also said in his memoirs, which is also quoted in the film: "During our most difficult years of the war, Japan did not attack the Soviet Union, but drowned China in blood. Anyone with the slightest respect for objective facts cannot but consider this obvious and indisputable fact."

In January 1938, Nie Rongzhen accompanied Carlson to the Eighth Route Army Headquarters in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region. (Photo by Sha Fei)
The Paper: The film mentions that Carlson was warmly received by Zhu De, Peng Xuefeng, Ren Bishi, and Nie Rongzhen at the Eighth Route Army headquarters in Shanxi, where they explained the strategies and tactics of our army's guerrilla warfare. Later, during the Jin-Cha-Ji Anti-Japanese War, he observed and engaged in in-depth discussions with senior Eighth Route Army commanders like Liu Bocheng, Xu Xiangqian, and Nie Rongzhen, who conducted their operations. This profoundly influenced him. During the Pacific War, Carlson's commando unit, employing the guerrilla warfare philosophy of the Chinese Communist Party and the Eighth Route Army, achieved numerous victories, establishing the foundation for the special operations of the US Special Forces.
Yu Peng: What Carlson saw was our army's "offensive defense"—mobile warfare. This meant leveraging the complex terrain and mass base of our base areas to lure the enemy deep into our territory, then using ambushes, surprise attacks, and disruption of transportation lines to wear down the enemy's defenses, and then launching a counterattack when the opportunity arose. As a professional Western soldier, Carlson had never heard of these tactics before.
Through studying historical materials, including reading Carlson's "Double Star of China," I can clearly see his deep appreciation and even deep love for our Party and our army. I personally believe that in the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Carlson disagreed with the US and Western policy of appeasement toward Japan. Some in the US also accused him of being "communist" and whitewashing the Chinese Communist Party. Consequently, he briefly resigned from the Marine Corps, only reenlisting just before the outbreak of the Pacific War. The Ranger Battalion he led employed guerrilla tactics from the Eighth Route Army in its successive raids on the Japanese-occupied Makin Atoll and Guadalcanal in the Pacific in 1942.
This man is quite fascinating. During his time in the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines in China, in addition to studying the Eighth Route Army's guerrilla warfare, he also keenly observed the three main principles of our army's political work: unity between officers and men, unity between the army and the people, and the disintegration of the enemy forces. He coined the phrase, "Soldiers and the people are the foundation of victory." Returning to the Marine Raider Battalion he personally built, he also absorbed much of the Eighth Route Army's political work philosophy. President Roosevelt's eldest son, James Roosevelt, served as Chief of Staff of the Carlson Raider Battalion. Roosevelt Jr.'s role in the military was even similar to that of a "political commissar," reporting weekly to the soldiers on the current situation.

Stills: On August 9, 1945, Mao Zedong issued the statement "The Last Battle Against the Japanese Invaders"
The Paper: Through Carlson’s perspective, it is also proved that the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was both a "war for national independence" and a "social change in pursuit of democracy and progress."
Yu Peng: That's right. The Chinese Communist Party's victory in the War of Resistance not only defeated the Japanese invaders but also brought the Chinese people the prospect of independence, freedom, and democracy. It achieved "people's liberation" through "national liberation." The base areas during the War of Resistance were not only sharp swords thrust behind enemy lines but also "experimental fields" for our Party to practice its vision of a future China. In terms of institutional innovation, this included the introduction of the "Three-Three System" model of democratic government; the Great Production Movement in economic and livelihood areas, including the reclamation of wasteland and self-sufficiency in Nanniwan; and the promotion of literature and art during the War of Resistance through the Luyi School. It can be said that all aspects of the culture were transformed.
On the eve of victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1945, renowned democrat Huang Yanpei visited Yan'an and engaged in a "cave dialogue" with Chairman Mao. When asked how Communists could break free from the cycles of history, Chairman Mao responded, "This new path is democracy. Only by allowing the people to oversee the government will it dare not slack off. Only when everyone takes responsibility will the government survive."

Director Yu Peng at work and Chen Jianbin in the dubbing room
The Paper: Last question, please tell us about the film's soundtrack. The film's narration, in particular, sounded incredibly familiar. While watching the film, I was guessing it was Chen Jianbin's voice.
Yu Peng: Actually, we initially wanted to find film and television actors to do the dubbing. They've all been trained in dialogue and have a natural sense of character, so their approach to dubbing is different from that of regular documentary voice actors. Teacher Jianbin is exceptional. From his narration, the audience can sense his own emotions and understanding, and his voice has a certain element of performance. For a historical documentary to fully immerse the audience, the charm of the voiceover and the artistic appeal of the voice are crucial. Teacher Jianbin was incredibly supportive and cooperative this time. He's actually quite busy, filming almost constantly, but whenever we asked him to come, he always agreed without delay. Even when we needed to make revisions to the film, we asked him back, and he didn't hesitate to complete the task with utmost dedication.
For the music, we invited renowned Chinese Musicians Association member and first-class composer Wang Bei to create the score. The music incorporates both Chinese and international musical elements, creating a more grand and epic feel through the use of a symphonic suite.