Patriots and Warlords: Brothers' Journey towards Republican China

ISBN-13: 9780692026724 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 380 str.

Edward D. Wang

Opis

In spite of its glorious long history, China, at the start of the twentieth century faced a major crisis. Its economy was stagnant, foreign powers had usurped its territory, and internal rebellions threatened its stability. Among the Chinese elites there were many competing ideas and as many courses of action on how to survive as a sovereign nation and change its path in history. This is the story of Wang Boqun, and his younger brother, Wang Dilun, in their quest for a republican China; it is about their journey from a relatively lesser warlord family in one of the poorest provinces at the beginning of a remarkable period of transition of China. It relates how they channeled their upbringing, education, and experiences into contributions and sacrifices for their belief that China could overcome the foreign colonization, internal power struggles, long lasting prejudices, and find a path toward its rightful place in the new world order. This is also the story of two families, the Liu and the Wang, who were joined together by marriage and alliance for several generations. The Wang brothers' mother is the elder sister of Liu Xianshi, the head of the Liu family and the warlord of Guizhou. Liu recognized the potential of the Wang brothers early on and groomed them for key positions in his government. In the chaotic aftermath after the successful republican revolution of 1912, a fissure developed between uncle and nephews. The subsequent events lead to Liu's downfall from power and the assassination of Wang Dilun in 1921. This family struggle was one of many such political and military conflicts in the attempt to unify China as a republic, which continued through the mid 1930's. Wang Boqun followed Sun Yatsen, and served in his government in Guangzhou as the first Minister of Communication. After Sun's death in 1925, Wang Boqun continued to serve his post under others and Jiang Jieshi until 1932. His tenure was set against the backdrop of the tumultuous political and military events of major warlord wars, the united front and the breakup of the nationalist and communist parties, the unification expeditions, the Soviet Union assistance, and the Japanese encroachment. Throughout this period, Boqun formed personal relationship with the various historical characters cited in this book, including Jiang Jieshi, Mao Zedong, and Zhou Enlai. The rest of the book continues with Boqun second career as an educator and his second marriage to Bao Zhining and the family's life in Guiyang during World War 2. His life was framed with his continuing personal involvement with the political leaders, devotion to his education career, managing family tragedies and sacrifices until his death in 1945. The Wang brothers were at the leading edge of change that eventually brought about the China of today. It did not begin with the communist takeover in 1949, its roots dated back to the revolution of 1912, and its legacies. It is no less than miraculous that that China survived and now in 2014 is becoming one of the world's most-powerful nations. It speaks to the resilience of the Chinese culture and the spirit of its people.