By Chiang Siang-tseh
University of Washington Press,
Seattle, 1954
pp. 138+Bibliography
and Index, US$3.50
This is Chiang Siang-tseh's doctoral dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of Washington in 1951. It is a well-documented study in modern Chinese history, clear in analysis and comprehensive in scope. Some new material was presented, some new conclusions were drawn about the Nien Rebellion and a strictly scientific method was used in writing about a selected topic of modern Chinese history. The method is much to be commended. It shows the high standard maintained in the execution of the Modern Chinese History Project by the Far Eastern and Russian Institute of the University of Washington.
The study consists of two main parts. Part I dealt with the organization of the Nien and Part II with the military measures taken to put down the rebellion. In defining the relationship of the Nien leaders to the commissioners of the militia and the leaders of the earthwall communities, in describing the components of the Nien organization and in analyzing the cavalry and tactics of the Nien, the author made his greatest contribution to scholarship. In his study of the measures taken by Tseng Kuo-fan and Li Hung-chang to suppress the Nien rebels, the author made some telling points.
Some statements made by the author deserve further study. First, the author seems a little emphatic in ascribing religious significance to the Nien, alleging that they are properly remnants of the White Lotus Sect, a secret religious organization (pp. 10-11). The sole documentary evidence relied on for the statement is Huang Chun-tsai's Chin-hu Chi-mo which at best is only secondary material left by someone living towards the end of the 19th century. The official and private papers of the Hsien-feng and Tung-chih periods made a clear distinction between religious rebels and Nien rebels with the former active in Chili and Shantung provinces and the latter in Anhwei and Honan provinces. Again, the religious rebels were, characterized by their chanting of sutras, worship of idols, burning of incense and the drawing of amuletic scrolls. They were politically highly conscious. The Nien rebels, however, never acquired any religious paraphernalia and their political inclination was never clearly shown. The relationship between the Niens and the Taipings was a close one with many of the Nien leaders accepting military appointments and titles of honor from Taiping Heavenly King Hung Hsiu-chuan. As the Taipings were monotheistic, the kind of animism observed by the religious rebels could not have been tolerated by the Taipings. Affiliation by the Nien rebels with the White Lotus Sect was therefore not compatible with their close relationship with the Taiping regime. True enough, the Red Turbans towards the end of the Yuan Dynasty were religious in nature and had their origins in Yingchow and Pochow in the Huai River Basin. Some White Lotus Sectarians might have joined the Niens. When the head of the White Lotus Sect in Chili Province, Sung Chin-shih, revolted again, he joined forces with the Niens. There could not have been any large number of religious sectarians in the Nien ranks. The Sectarian Revolts during the reign of Chia-ching which lasted for nine years. 1796-1804, were centered in Hupei and Szechuan." The Huai River basin was then not affected. The secret religious sects were characterized by tight organization and absolute faith. The Niens cannot be said to have had either.
Secondly, some of the author's conclusions about the White Lotus Sect need reconsideration. To say that "the White Lotus Sect did not come into being until the beginning of the Southern Sung Dynasty" (Note 11. p. 9) is to ignore entirely the many manifestations of the politico-religious revolt of the White Lotus Sect during the centuries before the Southern Sung. In saying that "at the end of the Yuan, both the western and eastern White Lotus rebels used red turbans as a sign ....," the author probably had in mind the rebels in Hupei and Anhwei. He probably considered Hupei as west and Anhwei as east. But the forces of revolt against the Yuan Dynasty were usually divided into the northern and southern "chains." The northern "chain" had its center in the Yellow River and Huai River regions with Han Lin-erh and Liu Fu-tung as leaders, while the southern "chain" had its center in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and its leaders were Peng Ying-yu and Hsu Shou-hui.
Thirdly, the importance of the Niens consisted in its relation to the forces of the Taipings, an importance which the author did not sufficiently stress. In 1853, Anking, Nanking, Chu-chow, Fengyang. Huaiyuan, Menchang and Pochow having fallen into Taiping hands, social stability was upset in the northern part of Anhwei Province In this unrest, Chang Lo-hsing, Su Tien-fu and Kung Te gathered to, themselves quite a following. When the Taipings marched north next year via Mengchen, the Niens (as Chang Lo-hsing and company came to be known) joined forces with them. The repeated internal upheavals which shook the very foundations of the court of the Heavenly King in Nanking began in 1856, resulting in the execution of Yang Shiu-chin, the East King, and Wei Chang-hui, the North King, and the secession of Shih Ta-kai, the Wing King. In spite of such fission, the authority of the Heavenly King was to continue for eight years more. This vitality must be explained by the support lent the Heavenly King by Chen Yu-chen who was soon to be ennobled as the Heroic King and Li Shiu-chen who was later to be designated as the Loyal King, In 1856, Chen Yu-chen, while enjoying some renown as a commander, did so only in an auxiliary position. Li Shiu-chen did not even have much of a reputation as a commander. The real strength of either was not impressive. Having been responsible for the defense of Tung Chen in 1854, Li Shiu-chen had a thorough knowledge of northern Anwhei. With that knowledge, he was instrumental in the winter of 1856 in getting Chang Lo-hsing, Su Tien-fu and Kung Te to join forces with the Taipings. In 1857, the combined forces under Li Shiu-chen and the forces under Chen Yu-chen routed the forces of the Manchu Government and made a clean sweep of the region south of the Huai River. The position of Li Shiu-chen and Chen Yu-chen was so much improved that the Heavenly King named Li the Commanding General of the Rear Forces and Chen the Commanding General of the Forward Forces. By 1858, when Chen Yu-chen and Li Shiu-chen led the Taiping forces to victory against Hunan generals Li Shu-ping and Tseng Kuo-hua at the Battle of Sanhocheng, they were furnished with substantial support by the Niens, In the fighting between government forces and the Taipings during the next three years, the Niens constituted the main strength of Chen Yu-chen. The Niens not only contributed to the success of the Taipings; they were also partially responsible for the final downfall of the Taiping regime. The observations ascribed to Li Shiu-chen that "the Nien leaders accepted honors but not orders" and that "the Taiping Tien-kuo fell because of the failings of Chang Lo-hsing" were not entirely without basis. Then, too the maximum spread of Nien influence did not come at its first juncture with Taiping forces, but after the fall of Nanking. It was then that one branch of the remnants of the Taipings marched north. Among the leaders were found such men as Lai Wen-kuang and Fan Ju-cheng. Fan Ju-cheng had occupied Ningpo for more than five-months (1861-1862) when he had ample opportunity to learn of the outside world from the British, French and Americans. Lai Wen-kuang served for three years with Chen Yu-chen in whose company he got a national point of view in dealing with men and affairs. When these men joined forces with the Nien leaders Chang Tsung-yu, Jen Chu, Niu Hung-sheng and Li Yun-tai, the Niens must be said to have acquired a political significance. As Lai Wen-kuang wrote in his Confession, "Having witnessed the breakup of families, the fall of the state and the insult to the King, I resolved to exhaust to the last ounce my loyalty to my Sovereign and to leave my fate to the will of Heaven. In spite of the rigors of the elements and with a record of victory in every battle, I lived in the hope of the restoration of the state in due course of time. Realizing the task to be too big for myself alone, I ordered Chang Tsung-yu to proceed to Kansu and Shensi to establish contact with the Moslem population so that another anchor may be laid." Thence onward, the Niens must be regarded as a continuation of the Taipings. Not until the Niens were wiped out could it be said that the Taiping Rebellion was put down.
Fourthly, the emphasis of the author was on the Niens of the Huai River region. He paid scant attention to the Niens in Honan whose leaders were Li Shih-lin, Li Chao-shou and Chen Ta-shih. Li Chao-shou was instrumental in getting Chang Lo-hsing, Kung Te; and Su Tien-fu to submit themselves to Li Shiu-chen. When he surrendered to the government forces in 1858, the northern flank of the Taipings was exposed. Chen Ta-shih became active in Honan after the death of Chang Lo-hsing. In official government reports, Chen Ta-shih was often listed ahead of Chang Tsung-yu, Lai Wen-kuang and Jen Chu. Our author, by merely mentioning these Honan Nien leaders by name with Li Chao-shou appearing on p.92 and Chen Ta-hsi on p. 86, did not seem to have given them full value.
Other minor points are as follows: In mentioning the places where. a general explosion of revolts occurred in the early eighteen fifties, in addition to "the Taipings in Kwangsi, the Northwest Moslems in Shensi and Kansu, the Southwest Moslems in west Kweichow and Yunnan, the Miao and I in Kweichow, the Eight Diagrams sect in south Shantung and the “Nien in the Huai Valley,” (p. 2) the Society of Heaven and Earth of Kwangsi and Kwangtung, which created an equally serious situation, should have been included. The alliance of Niens and Taipings did not begin in 1858 (p. 35). Chiao Chen was Finance Commissioner in 1858 and was acting Governor only for a short period after October, 1861. It was not accurate to refer to him as Governor Chia Chen (p. 41). Li Yun-tai mentioned in Note 250 on p. 58 and Li Yun mentioned in Note 85 on p. 24, p. 26 and p. 36 are one and the same person. Liang Cheng-fu died in battle in Kansu in June, 1865. Note 250 on p. 58 stating that "Taiping remnants under. Liang Cheng-fu perished in the battle (of 1864) at the Hupeh-Anhwei border" is misleading. West Honan in line 26 on p. 104 and east Honan in line 29 on the same page should be transposed. "In the second month of 1861. the Huai Army was established in Anking" (p.108) should read, "in the second month at 1862." etc. Some statements relating to the date of establishment of the Huai Army should be brought into line with this fact. On page113, Li Te-sheng is perhaps a misnomer for Chang Te-sheng. Lai Wen-kuang was not captured alive near Hsu-i in northeast Anhwei (p. 126), but at Wa-yao Pu near Yangchow.—KUO TING-YEE.
THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE CHINESE ABROAD
By Huang Tseng-ming
China Cultural, Service, Taipei, Taiwan, 1954
XXVII + 347 pp.
Many treatises of the status of aliens have been published in the past decades. Among them, Edwin Borchard's "Protection of Nationals Abroad" (1915), Clyde Eagleton's "The Responsibility of States in International Law" (1928) and Frederick S. Dunn's "The Protection of Nationals" (1932) are the most stimulating works. It is happy to note that Dr. Huang Tseng-ming, Professsor at National Taiwan University, has recently published "The Legal Status of the Chinese Abroad" which was first printed in limited copies in 1936. To borrow Professor Lauterpacht's words in the preface, "There is no other book in existence which gives a more detailed or exhaustive picture of the legal position abroad of persons of Chinese race."
"In the past century, China has undergone profound social changes in the midst of turmoil. Its power has declined to such a low point that it is hard put to it to furnish protection to its nationals abroad. Dr. Huang presents a vivid picture of the situation by analyzing the laws of the various countries which impose harsh, restrictions upon Chinese nationals abroad, who once shed and continue to shed sweat, blood and tears in the development of the resident states.
The author approaches the subject under six main headings, viz., Part 1, Constitutional and General Historical Survey; Part 2, Immigration, Laws and Restrictions; Part 3, Problems of Nationality and Naturalization; Part 4, Occupation Restraints in Trade and Occupation; Part 5, Restrictions of the Civil and Political Rights and Part 6, The Jurisdictional Regime in the Asiatic Countries. Under each of the headings. he begins by describing the historical backgrounds and the present conditions that prevail in three geographical areas: the United States and Canada, the British Commonwealth, and Indochina. The author does not attempt a comprehensive treatment covering all countries in which Chinese reside. He does, however, cover all important areas in which there are large concentrations of overseas Chinese.
The overseas Chinese have, for a long period, received discriminatory treatment from their resident states, not excepting the Western democracies. The treatment of resident aliens with distinction as to race, religion, color and the like is inimical to the idea of democracy. The barriers of immigration policy, segregation measures and racial discrimination are all responsible for endless confusion and dissension among the members of the family of nations. It is noted that ethnic restriction in some resident states. as the author points out in Part 3 under the heading "Problems of Nationality and Naturalization," extends as far as to persons of mixed blood, when one of the parents is of the ineligible race. The Law of 1790 in the United States, for instance, provided that any alien being a free white person might be admit ed to become a citizen, "The right to become an American citizen by naturalization depended upon filiations and blood, not upon nationality or statute." Many states along the Pacific coast of the United States imposed restrictions upon the Chinese to own real property (p. 255-258). The restrictions were not lifted until 1943 when the unequal treaties between China and the United States were abrogated. In the post-war period, the Japanese in California sued in the Supreme Court of the United States to test the constitutionality of the Californian laws forbidding the Japanese to own real property in that State (Oyama case). It is indeed unfortunate that many States should still adhere to the anachronistic doctrine that an alien should not be allowed to own real property. Further, segregation measures were also adopted by some cities in the United States. Separate schools were established for the Chinese and the Japanese. It is gratifying to note that in recent years, the Federal Supreme Court has taken active-steps to declare unconstitutional State constitutions which bar the Negroes from enrolling in universities attended by whites. In these cases, the Federal Supreme Court gave decisions on the basis of the provisions of the U.N. Charter and the Federal Constitution. The former expressly says that "The Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of promoting international cooperation…and assisting in the realization of human rights without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion."
To remove discriminations against the Chinese is indeed a complicated problem. As pointed out by Lauterpacht in the preface, "Many states have deemed themselves compelled by exigencies of domestic and international policies to apply to persons of Chinese nationality a regime of discrimination... Economic, sociological and cultural factors must be fully considered…" The Chinese abroad have gradually built up an enviable economic position after generations of effort, but their presence does not necessarily give rise to social antagonism. As Dr. Huang points out, "Indeed, the Chinese have developed native production and contributed much to their material advancement. To the Europeans, they are also indispensable in a tropical world and tend to supplement rather than to supplant them" (p. 79). It appears that peaceful emigration of the Chinese is not in any way detrimental to the interests of other peoples.
The reviewer has no hesitation in recommending this book to those who are interested in the welfare of overseas Chinese. It is hoped that the book will be translated into Chinese so that it may be read by those who are not proficient in the English language.—FRANKLIN CHI-CH'ING YAO
GRAMMAR OF WRITTEN MONGOLIAN
By Nicholas Poppe
Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden
1954, xii + 195 pp.
Language is the vehicle of thought. It provides a bridge between the different cultures and makes possible their interflow. But unfortunately it is a distinct handicap to most people, for there is not a common language employed by all. It is admittedly not easy to learn a foreign language, especially a language used by those who live in a desolate land and are virtually shut off from the outside world. The language of the Mongols is a typical example.
The Mongolian language has been taught in some Chinese schools, but few of the text-books used have proved satisfactory: It would appear that an exception was provided by a book written by a Mongol named Yi Teh-chin and published some twenty years ago. The book was entitled A Mongolian Reader, but actually it was in the main a grammar written after the pattern of English and Japanese grammars. As the author was a Japanese returned student with a fairly good background of Japanese and English, the book was written in a well-nigh satisfactory manner. It is a pity that the book is no longer available to us since the Communist occupation of the Chinese mainland.
Apparently, the lack of a scientific grammar of the Mongolian language is not peculiar to China. It seems to be a common phenomenon in practically all the countries of the world with the possible exception of Russia. According to Professor Nicholas Poppe, the first scientific grammar of the Mongolian language was Grammatik der mongolischen Sprache published at St. Petersburg in 1831 by the German scholar Isaac Jacob Schmidt, a Member of the Imperial Russian Academy of Sciences. Despite the fact that several other Mongolian grammars have since appeared mainly in Russia, the lack of a. satisfactory work on the subject is still very real in the West. No doubt the volume under review supplies the need in a considerable measure.
Professor Nicholas Poppe is no new writer on Mongolian grammar. In 1937 he published his first work of the kind in Russian. In the book under review he is more than ever successful in applying Western methods to the study of the grammar of written Mongolian. He tells us that he has tried to make this grammar as complete as the present stage of research permits, and to give more attention to syntax than have the writers of previous grammars. As the written language of the Mongols differs with the different periods of history and with the different types of literature, he takes great pains to discuss those differences.
There is no question but that this is a useful contribution to Asiatic studies. The value of the work cannot be reduced by the fact that the so-called Mongolian People's Republic has adopted the Cyrillic alphabet in recent years. For the old Mongolian script is still in use there.
It seems clear that this grammar is worth rendering into other languages, particularly Chinese. An adequate understanding of things Mongolian would be impossible if the language barrier remains.— DAHIN MANDUHU SHIH
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A man who is truly manly should tolerate others instead of being tolerated by others.— Chu Hsi
When you forgive one fault of your own, ten thousand other faults will follow in its wake. — Tao Chueh