Save for a handful of reactionaries, the people of contemporary China are all successors in the revolutionary cause to which Dr. Sun Yat-sen dedicated himself.
~ Mao Zedong,
In Commemoration of Dr Sun Yat-sen
View attachment 573356
Robert Oaks felt dazed even whilst trying to maintain his concentration on the large collection of documents in front of him. He felt as if he was fighting a losing battle against the great tide of Chinese history. Much of his time spent so far in the Nationalist capital of China had been in trying to make sense of the political situation on the ground, or even just its context. The rays of the glorious day outside crept through the reading rooms shutters, which were meant to keep out the sun. Robert felt like he was being enticed outside even as he tried to engross himself as to where this country was truly going.
He was in the oldest public library in China but despite its ancient texts it had been established in Robert’s lifetime. It was perhaps a fitting nod to the ways in which the common citizen had risen to the forefront of Chinese society since the beginning of the twentieth century. At least theoretically.
Robert had believed that German politics had been complicated but now he yearned for the simplicity of a mere three or four Marxist parties. He had more or less managed to get his head around the ruling party, led by Chaing Kai-shek. This was the Kuomintang, or the Nationalists as most of his western friends insisted on calling them, who proclaimed themselves to be the upholders of the Three Principles of the People. These took the form of Chinese nationalism, democracy, and an economy based around the welfare of the people and had been devised by Dr Sun Yat-sen, the Chinese George Washington, at the beginning of the century.
The Nationalists stated themselves to be the upholders of his legacy and the only legitimate government in China however their authority over much of China existed in the form of warlords aligned to their regime. Where it existed at all. This was where it was hard to piece together who exactly was meant to be in control of China. Even in Nanking itself Robert couldn’t see much evidence of the Three Principles of the People being applied despite the Nationalist’s rhetoric.
It seemed that these principles were goals that were still to be attained through aggressive attempts at industrialisation similar to what the Japanese had achieved in the previous century. However this attempted road to freedom and prosperity was marred by corruption, lack of centralised planning and foreign intrigue, often caused by the Japanese themselves. It was the sort of situation that, in trying to investigate it, seemed to become more complex rather than less.
Robert decided he had enough for one day and checked his watch. He was devoted to these studies but seeing the time he was happy to bring them to an end for one day, leaving his books by the trolley before heading through the library’s modern halls where the sunlight reflected more pleasantly. He had an appointment to keep with a new friend he had made in a local tea room but was glad for the chance to escape all the same.
Walking through the streets of Nanking was an enlightening experience although not always in a good way. On the one hand there was something magical about embracing the history of a city that had stood long before Christ, the remains of which could still be seen amongst a contemporary culture that remained very different from his own. The poverty, however, was also far more dire than anything he had ever seen in Germany, even amidst the hyperinflation, depression and civil war. The streets were filled with groups of beggars who seemed to have known nothing else their entire lives.
This, of course, was fertile ground for Communism.
The Communists also claimed to be the upholders of the Three Principles of the People although they had a different interpretation of what Dr Sun had meant. The Communists and Nationalists had worked together in the past against the warlords who plagued China but as that immediate threat had diminished their alliance had broken with it and they had become bitter enemies. Like Germany this had led to a Civil War, albeit a more protracted one. The Nationalists were easily the more powerful of the two sides but the Communists were able to exploit China’s vast countryside and the support of much of the rural peasantry to fight an unconventional but effective guerilla war. All the while, they attempted to spread their ideas in the cities amongst students and workers.
Robert had found something of a relief in seeing a hammer and sickle again. It was something he could relate to from past experience even if he was averse to the ideology it stood for. Impromptu demonstrations would spring up spontaneously with a speaker maybe getting half of a speech out before being beaten down by police. The Nationalists were also averse to the Communists after all and they were doing a much better job of dealing with them than von Schleicher ever had, or so it seemed.
The Nationalists themselves were an odd phenomenon to Robert, it seemed strange to see such a movement manifest itself in a country so ancient, yet with ideals which seemed more relevant to the previous century of American and European history. He realised his Americo-centric worldview made it inevitable he would find this odd, but he had managed to glean some understanding of them straight from the horse’s mouth. This was the man he was now looking for in entering the tea room.
Eventually Major Friedrich Krummacher popped his head out from a curtain at one side. Robert spotted his contact and Krummacher waved before beckoning him into the small, secluded area where the Major was sat with another man. Both were dressed in the light blue uniforms of the Nationalist army.
Krummacher had previously been involved with a Reichswehr mission to the Nationalist forces, providing training in exchange for a chance to develop their own theories and improve Sino-German economic relations at the same time. In this regard the military effort had become almost as important as the official German diplomatic mission in determining relations between the two regimes. Now the Reichswehr no longer existed and rather than attempt to join the People’s Guard or simply return home, Krummacher had opted to remain with the Nationalists.
The man was now a nationless adventurer helping to build a new nation on the other side of the world, it was a compelling story and made Krummacher an interesting person but beyond that he was German. After spending the best part of a decade in Berlin, Robert was glad there were still people in Nanking he could relate to beyond American businessmen. He felt Krummacher might have a fondness for him as well, even if it was clear the German was interested in the fact he was attached to the American embassy. Robert had no doubt the Major’s Chinese counterpart was here for the same reason.
“Professor Oaks, it is good to see you again. Allow me to introduce you to General Shao Baichang, he is the man we depend on for the defence of the capital, should the time come.”
“Let’s hope we don’t have to add that to the list of our worries just yet.” General Baichang quipped with a chuckle, before shaking Robert’s hand.
To Robert’s quiet surprise, the Chinese officer spoke excellent German.
“I have taken the liberty of arranging a meal whilst we talk.” The General continued with a gesture to what seemed to be a more junior officer who had appeared to have followed Robert in. It wasn’t long before the man had returned with a pot of tea and a plate of sponge cakes. Robert would have guessed it was a dessert by its appearance but urged on by the general he managed to fumble a piece into his mouth with two chopsticks. The doughy cakes had a sort of meaty gravy inside of them, they were savoury but delicious.
“Have you had much opportunity to sample our local cuisine Professor?”
“I am afraid my embarrassing chopstick technique gives me away, General.” Krummacher laughed at that, even as he displayed his own prowess with the implements.
“I became very well acquainted with German cuisine during my time there, I must say it took a while to work off. This is why I like tangbao so much, German pork and dumplings reminded me of it just as it now helps remind my German friends of their homeland.”
“It is a more welcome reminder than the shared Communist problem.” Krummacher replied somewhat awkwardly.
“Ah yes,” The General responded more naturally, he was clearly the better actor of the two.
“It has been a hard fight but we have their army trapped and they will soon be defeated on the battlefield. Which is precisely why Stalin is sending his bandits into the north, to put pressure on us to make another deal with his treacherous puppets.”
“And do you fear you may be forced to yield to these pressures General?” Robert made his enquiry in between mouthfuls of tangbao.
“Chiang Kai-shek would never allow it. We do have our left-wing of course but our Generalissimo is the greatest anti-communist in China. If not the world. Will is not our issue, economics are. If we were to have American support our Communist problems would disappear very quickly. “
Robert had assumed this was the point of the meeting but to hear it plainly spoken left him confused nevertheless. He might have been the State Department’s unofficial man in Nanking but here he was being treated as if he was the Secretary of State.
“I can pass on these thoughts of yours if you wish me to General however I would say that I doubt any advice from myself will carry much weight. My country is having elections in November after all, we may soon have a new administration and I have only been here for a few months.”
The upcoming elections were more straightforward than anything in Chinese politics. The Republicans were doomed, with President Hoover’s handling of the depression making it almost certain that Franklin D. Roosevelt, the governor of New York, would defeat Hoover and become President next year. Robert just hoped Roosevelt would be in power quickly enough to stave off a revolution stateside.
“Yes of course, your democracy is strong and that is something to be appreciated, we will do the same in China but that will happen sooner with your help Professor. I do not expect you to act as one man, history rarely changes upon the actions of an individual but if we can rely on a large number of esteemed Americans to relay the truth of what is happening in China, we may be getting somewhere.”
“I am a diplomat general, I can be relied upon to relay things to my government as truthfully as I see them.”
“That is all that I ask!” The General boomed, “And now I think it is time for something stronger than tea!”
---
The painting is
Landscape by Song Meiling (Madame Chiange Kai-shek)