Abstract: After the full-scale war of invading China launched by the Japanese imperialists, Chinese artists devoted themselves to salvaging China from subjugation. Due to the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the argument “art for art’s sake” or “art for life’s sake” in the art circle was gradually settled, and the theory of saving the nation by art among the elite artists was also dispelled. The War of saving the nation from peril changed artists’ aesthetic consciousness, and then, they themselves who used to be traditional elite artists became soldiers in the War.

Key words: the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, artists, aesthetic consciousness, change