Beyond the Battlefield: The Role of Women's Labor and Propaganda in the Chinese Home Front During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)

Abstract

The historiography of the Second Sino-Japanese War has traditionally centered on military campaigns and male leadership. This article shifts the focus to the Chinese home front, arguing that women's labor and participation in propaganda were indispensable to the Nationalist war effort. Drawing from archival materials, women's journals, and official wartime publications, this study analyzes the mobilization of women into factories, agricultural production, and nursing corps. It also examines the imagery and messaging of wartime propaganda, which redefined traditional gender roles by portraying women as patriotic producers and steadfast guardians of the nation's morale. The research reveals a complex reality where increased public participation for women was both a necessity for the state and a catalyst for shifting social norms. While the war created new opportunities for women to engage in public life, it also placed a double burden upon them. This paper contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the war by highlighting the critical, yet often overlooked, contributions of women to China's resistance and survival.