Eric's Beijing Diary

Went to the Bookworm last night for a talk by Adam Williams on the warlord period. Adam Williams chronicles a ten year period beginning in 1918, and ending in 1928. I am not sure why he picks 1918 as the beginning of this period, but the end date coincides, of course, with Chiang Kai-shek's march across the country, which began in 1927, when he moved north from Guandong Province, defeated the warlords, and unified the country. Adam Williams is a novelist. He studies history in order to write historical novels. I am not much of a novel reader, so I don't know if I will ever get around to reading the book. Personally, I think he should try writing straight history, because his presentation was excellent. The Twentieth Century was a turbulent period in this country, to say the least. Historians have long puzzled over this.

This morning, I was doing my Bible reading for the day. I generally read a chapter from Psalms, a chapter from Proverbs, and then a chapter or two from another book. The proverb for today, of course, was Proverbs 28. Verse 2 caught my attention:

"When a land rebels it has many rulers."

Many rulers. Yes, that's it. That's what China was. There was a titular president, but the country was run by regional warlords. Actually the whole 28th chapter of Proverbs is a pretty good description of what China was like during the warlord period. Those who are quick to criticize the current regime would do well to find out what China was like before the country was unified. I certainly have my criticisms of Mao, but it must be admitted that he did unify the country. My primary criticism of Mao is that he often built centralized power at the expense of the common people. He did not seem to have the compassion for the masses that Deng Xiaoping displayed. But knowing the history of this country, particularly in the Mingguo period between the 1911 revolution and the 1949 establishment of the current system, it is hard to imagine another leader who could have brought such a population under rule. Some would argue that Chiang Kai-shek was really the first to unify the country in his move to the north in '27. I don't debate that, but I don't think the job was quite finished. A good part of Chiang Kai-shek's support came from the man they called "Big Eared Du," who controlled the opium trade in Shanghai. He also sold protection, and Chiang Kai-shek, along with everyone else, paid up. He paid up, that is, until he became president. Then he concluded that he should no longer be subject to such requirements, and quit making his payment to the Green Gang. His wife disappeared. Song Mei-ling was nowhere to be found, and Chiang Kai-shek was worried. He was soon notified that his wife was being held "for her safety." He paid up, and she was released. Can you imagine a gang lord kidnapping Mao's wife and demanding payment? Somehow, I just can't picture it.