The Cartoon Propaganda Corps - 漫画宣传队 (Manhua xuanchuan dui) was formed in Shanghai, July/August 1937, to support the struggle against the Japanese occupation. A group of seven artists formed the "First Team": Ye Qianyu as leader, Zhang Leping, as deputy leader, Te Wei, Lu Zhixiang (陆志庠), Hu Kao (胡考), Liang Baibo (梁白波), Xi Yuqun (席与群). This group moved from Shanghai to Nanjing by the end of August due to the war situation, and late November to Hankou and Wuchang (now parts of Wuhan), and after the fall of Wuhan in the autumn of 1938 to other cities. They created murals, temporary exhibitions, posters, cartoons and magazines, the best known being War of Resistance Cartoons - 抗战漫画 (Kangzhan manhua).
Plans to form a second and third team never materialized, so the "First Team" specification was dropped. The composition of the group changed over time. The Corps stopped around 1941, but most of the individual artists remained active.