China’s Lonely Revolution: The Local Communist Movement of Hainan Island, 1926–1956

278 Pages·2017·2.653 MB·English

by  Jeremy A. Murray

CHINA’S
LONELY
REVOLUTION
SUNY series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture
—————
Roger T. Ames, editor
CHINA’S
LONELY

REVOLUTION
The Local Communist Movement of
Hainan Island, 1926–1956
Jeremy A. Murray
Front cover image: An example of Li weavings, published in The Li Tribes of
Hainan Island (Die Li-stämme der insel Hainan) by Hans Stübel.
Berlin: Klinkhardt and Beirmann, 1937. Reprinted with permission from
publisher Klinkhardt and Biermann.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2017 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic,
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without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Production, Jenn Bennett
Marketing, Michael Campochiaro
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Name: Murray, Jeremy A., author– 1978
Title: China’s lonely revolution: the local Communist movement of Hainan Island,
1926–1956 / Jeremy A. Murray
Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, [2017] | Series:
   SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture| Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: ISBN 9781438465319 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438465326
(ebook)
Further information is available at the Library of Congress.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Voor onze ouders
For our parents
Els and Stuart Murray
Patricia and George Jakovich

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Chapter 1
Cultivating and Exploiting a “Primitive” Island: From Hainan’s
Early History into the Twentieth Century 11
Chapter 2
Political Prospects in the Early Republic: Revolution, Warlords,
and Diaspora, 1912–1926 33
Chapter 3
From Globetrotters to Guerrillas: Hainan’s Early Communists 57
Chapter 4
An Outrage of Little Consequence: The Japanese Invasion and
Occupation of Hainan 75
gallery of photographs follows page 94
Chapter 5
New Allies: The Baisha Uprising and the Li-Communist
Alliance, 1943 95
Chapter 6
Holding Aloft Hainan’s Red Flag: Disobedience and Survival
in the Civil War, 1946 119
viii CONTENTS
Chapter 7
Sharing Victory: The Communist Conquest of Hainan Island 143
Chapter 8
Bringing Hainan to the Nation’s Heel: Anti-localism in the
Early PRC 163
Epilogue 185
Notes 189
Bibliography 219
Index 235
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My advisors, Joseph Esherick and Paul Pickowicz, instructed me at the
University of California, San Diego (UCSD) with wisdom, care, and
inexhaustible patience. They provided structure, direction, and meaning to
seven formative years, and it will take me many more years to bring to full
fruition all of the seeds they planted with their guidance and examples. For
now, I present this earnest effort with profound gratitude to Paul and Joe.
I have benefited from the inspired and inspiring teaching of many
dedicated scholars. At UCSD, Roberto Alvarez, Suzanne Cahill, Takashi
Fujitani, Lu Weijing, Richard Madsen, Jeremy Prestholdt, David Ringrose,
Sarah Schneewind, Stefan Tanaka, and others enriched my learning. Ye Wa
assisted me in making sense of the Peng Chengwan survey. Eugenia Lean
and Madeleine Zelin at Columbia University encouraged me to continue my
studies in Chinese history. At the State University of New York, Albany,
Jim Hargett, Anthony DeBlasi, Susannah Fessler, and Charles Hartman
launched me into the study of history and of China, which now brings me
full circle to State University of New York Press! Thanks to series editor,
Roger Ames, and also Jessica Kirschner for helping to guide this work to
publication. I am also very grateful to Christopher Ahn and Jennifer Ben-
nett for taking the manuscript through the production phase. I am grateful
that Nancy Ellegate saw value in the work, and welcomed me on board.
Thanks also to three anonymous readers who provided incisive comments.
Xiaorong Han took great care in providing instruction and direction, and
Gregor Benton encouraged me to continue the project as it wavered between
dissertation and book. I have benefited from the expansive expertise of the
above scholars, and I thank them for their instruction and guidance.
Funding for the project has come from the University of California
Pacific Rim Research Program, the U.S. Department of Education’s Jacob K.
Javits Fellowship Program, the California State University San Bernardino
(CSUSB) Office of Academic Research, the CSUSB Center for International
ix