Published : 2025-01-20

On January 20, 1937, the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University was established in northwest China's Yan'an (延安).

The university was originally called the Northwest Anti-Japanese Red Army University of the Chinese Soviet Republic. The school was led by Mao Zedong (毛澤東) as chairman of the Education Committee, Lin Biao (林彪) as the principal, and Luo Ruiqing (羅瑞卿) as the vice principal.

The school motto, "Be United, Alert, Earnest and Lively," was personally established by Mao Zedong.

The first batch of its students numbered around 300, and at its peak, there were more than 10,000, including over 1,000 female students.

The faculty and staff, including cadres from the administrative, training, and political departments, numbered over 1,000.

During the years of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the university trained more than 200,000 cadres, among them many brave and skilful leaders and commanders of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army.

As a model revolutionary cadre school during the period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, it made significant contributions to the development and strengthening of the Chinese people's army and the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

In October 1945, following the orders of the Central Military Commission, a part of the faculty and students of the original main campus, led by vice principal He Changgong (何長工), marched to Northeast China.

At the end of February 1946, they arrived in Tonghua, Jilin, where they organised the "Northeast Military and Political University."

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the university moved to Beijing and has since developed into the National Defense University of PLA China (中國人民解放軍國防大學).