On July 7, 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident broke out, a sign that the War of Resistance Against Japan was launched on a full scale. In the course of the war, Chinese drama personnel shared a bitter hatred against the enemy and took an active part in the war against Japanese aggression by wielding the weapon of drama. It played a role of heightening the morale, promoting unity among the ordinary people in order to fight against the dark forces and look for a bright future.

Inflamed by the outbreak of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, within only a month, dramatists in Shanghai collectively wrote and staged a play entitled Defend Marco Polo Bridge in August 7th. Shortly after Shanghai fell into the hands of the Japanese aggressors, thirteen anti-Japanese and nation-saving performance teams were organized. A few of them stayed in Shanghai to persist in the fight against the enemy. Most of them went to different parts of the country to propagandize the importance of resisting the Japanese invaders.

On December 13, 1937, the All-China Anti-Japanese Federation of Dramatists was founded in Hankou of Hubei Province. Under the leadership of Zhou Enlai, No.3 Section of Political Department of the association presided over by Guo Moruo made great efforts to promote the dramatic movement by organizing ten performance teams, four propaganda teams and one children's drama troupe on the basis of Shanghai Nation-Saving Performance Group. These organizations constituted the backbone of the performers of anti-Japanese dramas. Later, members of these dramatic organizations grew up as the pillar of Chinese drama after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

In October 1938, the First Drama Festival was held there. During the festival, many plays with the theme of resistance against Japan were staged. On the last day the Total Mobilization written by Cao Yu and Song Zhidi was performed. The play's successful performance testified to the unity of the dramatic circles at that time.

Dramatists wrote with immense ardor and put out many inspiring realistic plays, including A Year (Xia Yan), The Nation Comes First (Song Zhidi and Lao She), Phoenix City (Wu Zuguang), and so on.

Plays produced during this period were also put on in some countries in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. Their performances inspired the patriotism of the oversea Chinese.

In addition, following the outbreak of the resistance war, a large number of intellectuals, cultural bodies and colleges and universities moved to Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. "The First Dramatic Exhibition in the Southwest" (abbreviated as Southwest Dramatic Exhibition) held from February to May in 1944 marked the top achievement made in the area.