By Hollington K. Tong
The China Cultural Service Taipei, Taiwan, 1952
3 vols. 642 pp. NT$36
Perhaps there is no better review on Dr. Hollington K. Tong's book "Biography of President Chiang" than the opening passage of well-known English philosopher Thomas Carlyle's work "Heroes, Hero-Worship and The Heroic in History". Carlyle says thus:
"Universal History, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here. They were the leaders of men, these great ones, the modelers, patterns, and in a wide sense creators, of whatsoever the general mass of m en contrived to do or to attain; all things that we see standing accomplished in the world are properly the outer material result, the practical realization and embodiment of Thoughts that dwelt in the Great Men sent into the world: the soul of the whole world's history, it may justly be considered, were the history of these."
How appropriate. That was precisely the feeling I had when I turned the last page of Dr. Tong's 500,000-word "Biography of President Chiang". The 42-year history of the Republic of China is nothing but this "Chronicle of Accomplishments" of President Chiang Kai-shek. That history is no more than a record of how President Chiang took "whatsoever the general mass of men contrived to do or to attain" and put into a "pattern".
In other words, the present-day pattern of the Republic of China was created and molded by the hands of President Chiang and this pattern is no other than "the outer material result, the practical realization and embodiment of thoughts that dwelt in President Chiang.
I firmly believe that this statement is no exaggeration. The accurate chronicle in Dr. Tong's book bears this out.
The basic requirement for a leader to mold history is the fact that his "embodiment of Thoughts" coincides with "whatsoever the general mass of men contrived to do or to attain". This is exactly the case with President Chiang.
What the Chinese people "contrived to do or to attain" is the consummation of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three People's Principles which fully embraces President Chiang's "embodiment of Thoughts". It was through this merger of President's ideal and the people's aspiration that he was able to create the presented by pattern of the Republic of China.
It is also accurate to regard the whole "Biography of President Chiang" as the history of the Chinese revolution with President Chiang leading the mass toward the consummation of I the Three People's Principles and the creation of a New China. In the process of this mission, we have seen time and again President Chiang holding up the torch of righteousness and the sword of justice at the head of 450,000,000 Chinese. He was leading the people toward glory, singing the hymn of victory.
At other times we have also seen President Chiang meeting setbacks and struggling on the edge of peril. Each time, however, he emerged from these perils with his missions accomplished. These setbacks could only serve to foster his tenacity and self-confidence. President Chiang can be likened to an experienced pilot guiding a lonely ship in an angry sea, without exception this experienced pilot each time brought this ship of state safely to the other shore.
The success of President, Chiang is no miracle. It is, in the evolution of history, the inevitable triumph of justice and realization of people's wishes. Suffering millions in this world, inwardly and outwardly, are stretching their arms to demand what is rightfully their share which they are often denied. They are denied by sinister opportunists who disguised themselves in the robe of hypocrisy infiltrated into the position of leadership. In time, however, their evil and falsehood could never pass the acid test of the time. In time their true nature will be uncovered and they will face the wrath and spite of the people. Then the law of history will bring on the inevitable and the downfall of these sinister opportunists.
Only those leaders whose unselfish "embodiment of Thoughts" coincide with the aspirations of the people could emerge from this acid test of the time. This is the reason why that the Republic of China in its, process of growing into maturity could not for one moment survive without President Chiang. This is also the reason why President Chiang had to emerge from his retirement to shoulder the heavy burden of the state.
Anyone after reading the "Biography of President Chiang" cannot fail to realize that the huge ship of China actually has gone through numerous dangers in an angry sea before she emerges in her present-day form.
These dangerous waves that tested the ship of state originated from three main currents, the first current being the threat in the warlord era, the second being the menace of the foreign imperialistic force, and the third being the combined force of domestic and foreign aggressive communist power.
Piloting this huge ship of state, President Chiang sliced through the first dangerous wave at the conclusion of the Northern Expedition. When Japan was defeated in World War II, President Chiang cut through the second dangerous wave of foreign imperialistic aggression. Even as he was battling with these two dangerous waves, he already foresaw the third current-the combination of domestic and foreign aggressive red force-as the future peril for China as well as for the world. This far-sightedness was everywhere in evidence in the "Biography of President, Chiang".
In 1923 President Chiang was sent to Russia. Although his sojourn there was a brief four months, he gained a thorough insight into the true character of the red aggressor. Because of this insight, the Kuomintang's early collaboration with the Chinese communist party did not develop into a fatal mistake. His understanding at this time was the only stabilizing power.
Just prior to the Northern Expedition, the communists instigated the revolt of Lee Chilung, hoping to halt the northward march right from the very beginning. When the revolutionary army swept the Yangtze River area and marched toward Nanking, the communists created riots and massacred foreign residents, hoping to confuse world public opinion at the successful conclusion of the revolution. At these critical stages, it was President Chiang's insight that nib bed the communists' plots in the bud and set up a firm foundation for the revolution.
Again later when Borodin split the party, the Kuomintang was on the verge of disintegration. It was again President Chiang who fought a life and death struggle with the communists and saved the critical situation.
From the end of the Northern Expedition in 1929 until the beginning of the Sino-Japanese war in 1937, domestic and foreign troubles came in a series of succeeding waves. But even in these troubled years, the President managed to concentrate his energy in eliminating this dangerous third main current which threatened the very life of China and endangered world peace.
After four campaigns against the Red rebel forces in Kiangsi, President Chiang smashed this main current to bits. The Communist remnants could no longer be regarded as a force or a menace. Unfortunately, the ignorant Japanese militarists chose time to strike, forcing President Chiang to disrupt his task when success was already within his grip.
President Chiang has long ago realized that the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war was the, signal for the red aggressors to unroll their blueprint for world conquest. He also realized that it was the Kremlin's greatest triumph when China and Japan who should be allies in a fight against communism met in a head on collision.
Perhaps if we re-read the President's writing "Friends or Foes?" at that time, we can now well understand the heartbreak of President Chiang at the time when he was forced to take reluctantly a friend for an enemy.
When the Japanese militarists continued to pursue their folly, the red aggressors, driving a wedge between Germany and Japan, signed a treaty of friendship and alliance with Japan thus swindling the Chinese national interests in the Northeastern three provinces. On the eve of Japan's final collapse, the Japanese enterprises, prisoners and equipment fell easily onto the lap of the Soviet Union.
I believe that the Japanese militarists remaining alive today would bow to the superior intelligence and far-sightedness of President Chiang and regret their China aggression as a foolish move.
More unfortunate still was the red aggressor's unexpected gains on the eve of victory through the unwitting aid of our allies. Communist fifth columnists, donning the mask of a friend, infiltrated into our wartime capital. Their presence turned special emissaries into apologists for the communists and the press into propagandists for Yenan. The unfortunate result was that totalitarian dictators were allowed to pass as freedom-loving leaders and people's oppressors were honored by the world as saviors and "agrarian reformers". In this time of adversity President Chiang, despite insults and humiliations, continued to exercise his superior intelligence to fight for final victory.
When the Japanese surrendered, the red aggressors opened their treacherous campaign to conquer China, capitalizing on the worldwide war weariness and still hiding behind a mask of peace. Blind to the red's true self, the western powers refused to believe that the Chinese communists were the vanguards of an international aggressor bloc. They refused to believe that President Chiang's fight against the communists had the stabilizing power in the Far East as well as world peace. The tragic result was the fact that western special emissaries with their ill-advised enthusiasm for a coalition government in China were turned into a group of puppets dancing in front of the red strings. This heart-breaking comedy-tragedy continued until it reached its climax with the publication of the State Department White Paper on China.
However, even at this seemingly hopeless stage President Chiang already saw clearly that the time was soon at hand to reap the fruits of his 30-year struggle against communism.
It is indeed true that the four years after our withdrawal from the mainland and the hole-up in Taiwan could be regarded as no less than a dark age in the Chinese history. But this is also the time when President Chiang's struggle against communism is emerging from darkness into a bright future.
No more than a handful of people in the past 30 years of struggle could claim a clear understanding of the ugly face behind the communist mask. Internally, this lack of understanding created an abnormal phenomenon of disunity.
Internationally, this ignorance permitted the rampaging of this vast flood of red menace. In this confused era President Chiang remained one of the few sober ones. Despite difficulties, insults and humiliations, President Chiang did not waver from his firm belief that the red aggressor was his real enemy. Only through this unbending tenacity could President Chiang guide the ship of state through a series of dangerous waves in an angry sea.
President Chiang's 30-year struggle is finally forcing the red aggressors to a showdown. His struggle has ripped off the red mask to show their true face of aggression. It is truly appropriate at this time for President Chiang to smile and say triumphantly: "I am not alone now."
The only capital of the red aggressors is trickery. Therefore, I can say without hesitation: When they are unmasked, their days are numbered.
This is my reaction after reading Dr. Tong's 500,000-word "Biography of President Chiang." President Chiang's life has been a consistent struggle for the realization of his practical philosophy. That practical philosophy is the consummation of the Three People's Principles and the creation of a New China. He is now nearing final victory. This Victor is evidenced in the solidification of a worldwide anti-communist front. The practice of the Three People's Principles in Free China is added evidence that this final victory is in sight.
We firmly believe that whatever the Chinese people "contrived to do or to attain" has already been under President Chiang's leadership modeled and patterned. The "embodiment of Thoughts" of the leader and the aspirations of the general mass have merged into one. -P. H. Tseng
The Bare-Bellied
When Hsi Chien was living at Ching Ko, he sent a messenger to the prime minister Wang with a message, asking him if any of his sons was worthy of being his son-in-law. The prime minister casually remarked" "Go to the East Chamber and choose anyone you like." The man returned with a report like this: "The young gentlemen of the Wang family are all very decent people. Knowing that I was there to find a son-in-law, they all put on unnatural manners. There is only one who proved an exception; he just reclined on his couch with his big belly bare, as if nothing happened." Hsi said, "That's the very man." Upon investigation, they learned later that the young rascal was no other than Wang Hsi-chih and the bride was subsequently bestowed upon him.--From Shih Sho Hsin Yu