日軍在中日戰爭中施用化學戰的歷史，研究已多，這得以使本文在既有的研究成果中，提出新的探討視角。目前的研究，多是放在戰場上的應對或武器的歷史中來講述， 也有不少是關注戰爭罪行的討論，但總體而言，比較少關注戰時民眾在日常生活中的理解。例如後方民眾對於防毒、防化知識的梳理與實踐，以及日軍使用化學武器和國軍的防毒技術在戰場上運用之相關報導，對非戰鬥人員（民眾）心理影響或宣傳層面的語言，這些知識顯然是具有歷史流動性的。戰前對於生物戰與化學戰的防毒知識傳播，都被當成一種全球化科技知識的在地理解來鋪陳，民眾可以用探討學理的方式來吸收或進行理解。但在戰爭爆發後，所謂學習防毒知識有了迫切性與實際需要，探討學理的文章減少了，取而代之的，多是在有限的資源和不完全的裝備中，如何滿足大後方民眾實際防護上的需求，報刊上相關的毒氣救護、民眾對於防空與防毒知識的具體實踐，以及戰場訊息間的互相關注等情況，皆為過去戰爭史研究較為忽略之處。本文即透過報刊來梳理當時一般後方民眾具體操作防毒的情況，並梳理相關知識的傳播和解讀，以豐富整體中日戰爭史的研究。

The use of chemical weapons during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) is a subject that has been studied extensively by scholars. One area of inquiry, however, has been relatively neglected: the extent to which the Chinese civilian population had knowledge of chemical warfare. The present article seeks to remedy this shortcoming by examining contemporary newspaper accounts of chemical weapons. Its main finding is that civilian knowledge concerning chemical weapons evolved over time. Prior to the war, newspaper accounts of biological and chemical warfare tended to be of an academic and theoretical nature. After the war began, however, knowledge of chemical weapons became a matter of life and death, and newspaper reports began to focus on practical and imminent matters such as how to provide first aid in the case of a chemical attack, how to find shelter from chemical attacks, and how, in a time of severe shortage, to obtain equipment that would allow one to survive an attack. By sorting through contemporary media accounts on chemical warfare, with a focus on the civilian response, this article seeks to contribute to our overall understanding of the Second Sino-Japanese War.