Abstract

One of the bloodiest wars in the history of the world started between Japan and China on July 7, 1937. In the war, Japan occupied China's territory and managed to conquer a significant part of the territory in the eastern part of the country. The Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, KMT), which was active in China at that time, called for national mobilization and wanted to fight against Japan with the Chinese people's all power. At this stage, one of the most effective national mobilization propaganda in history was realized by KMT and hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens actively involved in the struggle against Japan. KMT effectively used posters in national mobilization propaganda. The aim of the study was to determine which messages were given in the context of national mobilization propaganda in the posters used by KMT. For this purpose, six propaganda posters, which were determined using the sampling method from the Shanghai Propaganda Posters Art Museum (SPPAC), were examined using semiotic analysis method in qualitative research methods. Propaganda posters of the KMT, which were determined in the study, were analyzed in the light of USA linguist Charles Sanders Peirce's semiotics. According to the findings, it was revealed that the KMT emphasized that the Chinese people should act together against Japan and on the other hand, the perception that Chinese people fought against Japan determinedly was built through the posters.