China's top education authorities said all elementary and middle school history textbooks will be revised to state that the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression lasted for 14 years beginning September 18, 1931.

A notice issued by the Ministry of Education(MOE)'s basic education department said the ministry is urging education administrative departments at all levels to make the revision.

The revised textbooks will start to be used for the 2017 spring semester for elementary and middle schools, an unnamed official with the MOE was quoted by the Beijing News on Tuesday as saying.

Japanese forces attacked the barracks of Chinese troops in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning Province on September 18, 1931, marking the beginning of the Japanese invasion and occupation that lasted 14 years.

Previously, phrases like "8 Years of China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression" were used in Chinese textbooks, counting the beginning of the War from the July 7 Incident in 1937, which ushered in Japan's full-scale invasion of China.

On December 13, 1937, Nanjing, the Chinese capital for six dynasties, fell to Japanese forces, who went on to slaughter civilians for more than a month. About 300,000 Chinese were killed, and 20,000 women raped.

More than 35 million Chinese were killed or injured in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, accounting for one-third of the total casualties of all countries during World War II, according to incomplete official data.