Mission to Yenan: American Liaison with the Chinese Communists, 1944-1947 PDF
Preview Mission to Yenan: American Liaison with the Chinese Communists, 1944-1947
Mission to Yenan Mission to Yenan American Liaison with the Chinese Communists 1944-1947 Carolle J. Carter THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY Publication of this volume was made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Copyright © 1997 by Carolle J. Carter Published by The University Press of Kentucky Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine College, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Club Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. All right reserved Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008 97 98 99 00 01 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Carter, Carolle J., 1934- Mission to Yenan : American liaison with the Chinese communists, 1944_1947 / Carolle J. Carter p. cm. Includes bibliographical referendes (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-8131-2015-2 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. United States—Foreign relations—China. 2. China—Foreign relations—United States. 3. United States—Foreign relations—1933- 1945. 4. United States—Foreign relations—1945-1953. 5. Government missions, American—China—Yenan shih—History—20th Century. I. Title E183.8.C6C37 1997 327.73051'09'044—dc21 96-53110 To Jess for his patient encouragement and good-natured support Contents Foreword ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1. The Origins of the Dixie Mission 16 2. Life in Yenan 36 3. The Observer Group in Operation 63 4. Communications 89 5. Diplomacy, Differences, and Patrick J. Hurley 106 6. The Communist Attempt to Bypass Hurley 134 7. Intelligence Gathering in Yenan 153 8. The Marshall Mission and the End of Dixie 177 9. The Dixie Mission in Retrospect 199 Appendix. Pinyin to Wade-Giles 227 Notes 233 Bibliography 257 Index 267 Foreword Since the 1940s, the Dixie Mission has been ignored at some times and engulfed in controversy at others. During the 1950s, American politi- cians eager to exploit the loss of China as a campaign issue persistently argued that the Mission and its participants had been the dupes—or worse—of the Chinese Communists. However absurd, these charges proved professionally fatal for many of the career diplomats affiliated with Dixie. During the 1970s and 1980s—the time of President Richard Nixon's "opening to China"—a new generation of scholars rediscovered the Dixie Mission. Many of them came to regard it as a tragic lost chance in China. Reading the optimistic reports sent by the Mission's military and diplomatic observers in 1944-1945, we can readily see why. This is the first book-length study to evaluate the origins, organi- zation, personalities, and impact of the Dixie Mission from its incep- tion in 1944 through its conclusion in 1947. Dixie was hardly a static enterprise. Its purpose and impact changed along with its membership and fluctuations in Sino-American military and diplomatic relations. Carolle Carter has used a wide array of documentary primary sources to supplement her interviews with Dixie veterans—many of whom tell their stories here for the first time. Her work affords us new insights into the Dixie Mission. Carter strips away many cliches and shows that the American observers in Yenan were neither the naive dupes of right-wing folklore nor the ignored harbingers of a new Golden Age in Chinese-American cooperation. They were, in fact, a diverse and dedicated group of soldiers, diplomats, and technicians trying hard to serve their country, win a war, and learn about momentous develop- ments in the interior of the world's most populous country. This book gives them the history they deserve. All those interested in the history of Chinese-American relations during the Second World War will ap- preciate Carolle Carter's contribution. Michael Schaller University of Arizona, Tucson
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