Chinese Warlord: The Career of Feng Yu-hsiang PDF
Preview Chinese Warlord: The Career of Feng Yu-hsiang
Chinese Warlord The Career of Feng YU-hsiang Chinese Warlord The Career of Feng Yii-hsiang James E. Sheridan 1966 Stanford University Press, Stanford, California Stanford University Press Stanford, California <g) 1966 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University Printed in the United States of America L.C. 69-18978 For Sonia Preface The warlords of twentieth-century China have received little schol arly attention. Doubtless the chief reason is simply that the aggrega tion of unexplored Chinese historical problems is vast, whereas die assault force of scholars is very small; warlords are but one of innu merable important topics that have been neglected. Moreover, schol ars tend to work on history's successes, and the warlords were des tined for oblivion. Perhaps it is also because the warlords were so numerous, their relations so constantly in flux and so utterly con fusing, the sources so treacherous, that it seemed hardly worth the trouble to study that disordered subject when many other topics lay conveniently at hand. Whatever the reason, the warlords have been among history's forgotten men. It is good that this situation is beginning to change, for despite our ignorance about the warlords we can be sure that they were of great historical significance. Their wars and intrigues, their government and misgoverament, formed the context in which more conspicuous currents of recent history arose. The Nationalist and Communist movements, for example, must have been profoundly influenced by the warlord environment in which their early growth took place. Cer tainly the history of imperialism in China was influenced by the war lords. One can even trace the Kuomintang’s defeat on the mainland in some measure to warlord influence on the party. These and other historical problems will be clarified when the nature of modem war- lordism is better understood. A first step is the study of individual warlords, such as Feng Yü-hsiang. This book is the biography of a warlord, not of a man; available sources do not justify an attempt to present Feng in all his human dimensions. I have focused on the political and military events that were important in Feng's career, or in which his actions influenced Chinese political life. In particular, I have emphasized events that viii PREFACE bring out the warlord character of Feng’s attitudes and activities. In Chapter I some of the chief characteristics of warlordism are set forth rather tentatively. I plan to devote a future study to a more compre hensive and analytic survey of the dynamics of warlordism. A number of place names were changed during the period covered by this book. I have used the names proper to the particular time under discussion. For example, Peking and Chihli are used for the years before 1928, at which time these names were changed to Peiping and Hopei respectively, and the new names are used for events after that year. Money matters offer no such simple solution. Various metal and paper currencies, both Chinese and foreign, circulated during the warlord era. Chinese sources use the word yuan and English sources use the dollar sign, but these are not meaningful indications of value, for the actual value of yuan or dollar varied greatly, depending on the precise kind of money in question. Thus most money figures in this book provide only a general idea of the sums under discussion. It is a pleasure to thank the many people who contributed in one way or another to this book. I had the good fortune to begin my study of Chinese history under the very best of mentors. Professor Joseph R. Levenson; his stimulating teaching drew me into Chinese studies, and his kindness smoothed the way. Some chapters of this book derive from a dissertation written under Professor Levenson’s supervision and criticized constructively by Professors Woodbridge Bingham and Robert Scalapino. Professor Chen Shih-hsiang was un failingly patient and gracious in helping me with translation prob lems. Sections of the manuscript profited from the painstaking and extraordinarily perceptive criticism of Professor Robert Wiebe. Mr. Howard Boorman kindly helped me check several details. Many persons supplied me with personal recollections, documents, books, and the like. During 1958-59 I interviewed separately six of Feng’s former officers; some preferred not to be identified, and I ulti mately decided to leave them all anonymous. Mr. Chang Yüan-hsi accompanied Feng to the United States in 1946, and told me of that trip during an interview in Taipei in 1959. In Yokohama in 1959, Mrs. Kristian Hannestad, who tutored Feng in English for several months in 1925, graciously told me about her memories of that pe riod. In i960 in San Francisco, Mr. Paul C. Hodges told me of his experiences as a teacher and physician in China during nine years of the warlord period. Mr. Hugh Yu-tinn shared with me his recollec tions of the warlord era and also loaned me helpful material. Mr. Jen PREFACE IX Yu-wen (Chien Yu-wen) not only furnished me with some books by and about Feng, but also wrote me several letters about his experi ences with Feng and the Kuominchün. Mr. Richard Lindheim pro vided me with copies of some of the press releases Feng Yü-hsiang issued in New York. Dr. and Mrs. Walter Lowdermilk, who were hosts to Feng and his wife when they came to the United States in 1946, recalled those days for me in conversations in Berkeley in 1961. In 1959 in Tokyo, I had a series of talks with Mr. Matsumuro Taka- yoshi, Feng's adviser in 1924-25, who was extraordinarily courteous, cooperative, and helpful. Mrs. Robert Moynan sent me books and photographs relating to Feng that would have been impossible to ob tain elsewhere; the photograph in this book of Feng's troops at a bap tismal service is used with Mrs. Moynan's kind permission. Professors Earl Pritchard and Donald Lach provided me with material left by Professor Harley MacNair. Mr. Ernest T. Shaw, who was in Peking during the early 1920's, supplied me with copies of correspondence that he wrote at that time relating to Feng Yü-hsiang. Mrs. Elizabeth Stelle, who was a missionary in China for many years, sent me a writ ten statement of her recollections of Feng Yü-hsiang and Li Te- ch'üan, to which Miss Grace Boynton and Miss Alice Huggins also contributed. Mr. Mark Wheeler sent me a volume of Feng's poetry not otherwise available. Professor C. Martin Wilbur shared with me some extremely helpful information uncovered during his own re search. In 1964 in Evanston, Illinois, Mr. K. C. Wu told me some of his memories of Feng. Each of these persons is appropriately cited in the Notes, but I wish here to express my appreciation and gratitude to all of them. I also want to thank the following persons, who provided me with information about Feng or warlordism, but whom I have not had occasion to cite specifically in the Notes: Charles L. Boynton, Lyman V. Cady, Rowland Cross, Samuel N. Dean, Stella Miner Flagg, Elmer Galt, Ku Meng-yü, William A. Mather, Miriam Ingram Pratt, Fred erick Pyke, C. H. Robertson, Mrs. Charles A. Stanley, and Francis F. Tucker. While doing research in the Far East, I received much aid and cooperation from Chinese and Japanese scholars. Mr. Lo Chia-lun and his staff at the archives of the Committee for the Compilation of Kuomintang Historical Materials, on Taiwan, helped me find essen tial material. The staff of the library of Academia Sinica was also very helpful, and Professor Kuo T’ing-yi gave me bibliographical assistance. In Tokyo, Japanese scholars showed me every conceivable X PREFACE courtesy. I especially wish to thank Professor Ueda Toshio, Professor Ishikawa Tadao, and Mr. Fuji Shozo. Mr. Horii Etsuro gave me essen tial help in the use of Japanese sources in Tokyo. Mrs. Margaret Uridge and Mrs. Jeannot Nyles of the Interlibrary Borrowing Service of the University of California were of invaluable aid in obtaining materials for me in this country and abroad. Mr. Eugene Wu helped me exploit the riches of the Hoover War Memo rial Library at Stanford. The librarians of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions responded quickly and efficiently to various requests; Mrs. June Russell, former assistant to the librar ian of the American Board, was especially helpful in guiding me to the Louella Miner letters. All quotations from Louella Minervs let ters, and the photograph of Feng and his family, are used with the kind permission of the American Board, which is now a part of the United Church Board for World Ministries. My research in the Far East, and some of my work in this country, was done under grants from the Ford Foundation. I am tremendously grateful to the Foundation for this aid, and for the consideration and flexibility with which the grants were administered. Of course, the conclusions, opinions, and other statements in this study are my own, and are not necessarily those of the Ford Foundation. I appreciate the generosity of Northwestern University in allowing me time for research and writing as well as money for research expenses. I am indebted to Stanford University Press editors John Farrell, Aidan Kelly, and Jesse G. Bell for their careful editing and unfailing cooperation. I am grateful to Linda Grove for conscientiously verify ing the accuracy of my English-language references; and to Loma Gallagher and Ruth Oldberg for typing portions of the manuscript Unfortunately I can think of no way to associate these friends and helpers with the numerous deficiencies of the book. Those are my contribution. JAMES E. SHERIDAN
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