Month: September 2023

Hello readers. Nestled in the remote and rugged mountains of Shanxi Province, Yenan has emerged as an epicenter of hope, ideology and revolution in China. My editor has made me travel here to investigate why people of all backgrounds from all over China are flocking to this relatively obscure town. After being here for a few days, it is evident that Yenan has become more than just a geographical location; it symbolizes a vision of a different China and offers a unique appeal that attracts individuals from all corners of the country.

 

The greatest threat to Chinese people, both Communists and Nationalists alike, is the Japanese invasion. Although Japanese troops have occupied  Manchuria since 1931, they have progressively advanced south and west into mainland China. In 1937, the Japanese launched a full scale invasion of China, aiming to conquer the whole country. They have already captured vital cities such as Beijing, Wuhan, Shanghai and Canton. Along the way, the Japanese have been committing atrocities that are hard to imagine. I have spoken with two peasants who escaped to Yenan from a village that was ravaged by the Japanese. One described how her father was stripped naked and then tied in line with 10 other men. The Japanese burned and killed for three days and three nights and then they left. When the peasant went back, she found her father in a pit with several bullet wounds in his chest. The other peasant described how he was able to escape the village at night but when he came back to his house, there was nothing but silence. He remembers how he found his wife and three year old child dead in a well and found his parents and grandparents in a mass grave the Japanese made. He told me with tears in his eyes how he gave them all a proper burial.

 

With these atrocities in mind, Chiang’s response to the Japanese invasion has also left many Chinese people feeling irritated. In the beginning of the invasion, Chiang actually refused to fight the Japanese and even bowed to Japanese demands. It took him being kidnapped and returned to elicit a response to oppose the Japanese. When they did engage the Japanese, they were defeated handedly and pushed back from Nanjing to Chongqing. Contrary to this, Mao and the CCP have confronted the Japanese straight on. They marched to Yenan, which is not too far from Manchuria, to oppose the Japanese invasion. Their guerilla warfare tactics have also helped them to win battles against the Japanese, even though the Japanese have superior military weapons. There is a sense here in Yenan that the CCP -and not Chiang’s government- are the true soldiers fighting for China.

 

The other reason for the mass migration to Yenan is the improved life that many people are enjoying here. To start, Yenan offers a safe and stable environment for these peasants to begin their new life. Many have come here to escape the atrocities of the Japanese but they are also escaping corruption and lawlessness from government officials and landlords. The CCP’s effective governance and control over the region has created an environment where law and order prevail. An example of this order can be seen in The Little Red Book where Mao lays out the Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points For Attention. The people at Yenan not only accept but study Mao’s teachings. I think this is because they believe Mao is one of them. He lives modestly amongst the people and if someone had not pointed it out to me, I would have never recognized him among the people (he looks different in person than in pictures in my opinion). Through Mao’s teachings, peasants have also been able to receive an education. Mao is helping peasants to become literate and teaching the peasants how to write. For those that are unable to learn to read, Mao has called upon the artists to create pictures that can convey the same messages being taught. Everything that happens here is for the people. Mao and the CCP are first and foremost concerned about the people of China and this concern attracts many people to want to be here. 

 

Readers, I have only been here a few days but I understand why thousands of people are flocking to Yenan. The energy here is addicting. I do not want to leave. I want to stay and be a part of a new China.

Dear Readers,

 

Friends, much has happened since I have last written. In the past few years our homeland has come under attack by a truly devilish enemy bent on the destruction of our nation and our way of life. I myself have been driven from my family’s home in Beijing and there is no sign of when I might be able to return there. Since then, I have fallen in with a Group of refugees bound for the Communist held territories in Yenan. As we travelled it became apparent to me that a great many people were making the same journey, indeed it seemed at times as though the whole countryside was moving ahead of the Japanese advance. Since my arrival I have seen the great progress, the communists have made in their struggle to bring about new China. Spirits are buoyant here; everyone believes that this is the foundation from which we shall drive the Japanese from our shores.

I have had the opportunity to interact with a large cross section of the communist party. While I spend much of my time travelling in the local countryside, interviewing the regular members of the party and those living under communist rule, I have on several occasions had the opportunity to speak with the leadership as well. It is here that I believe is the core of why the people are so enthusiastic about the communist party. The leadership of the Communist party, particularly Chairman Mao, has been making use o their time here to put into practice many of the policies they have promised in the past. I have seen a great effort on the behalf of the party to take the great masses of people that have come here hoping for reprieve from the Japanese and to forge them into good members of the communist party. It is here dear Reader that I am skeptical of the methods of the Communist party, effective though they may be.

In an effort to increase the unity of the front that the Party is showing its enemies, both the Japanese and the Nationalists, a new strategy has been put in place to bring everyone around to the same pattern of “revolutionary thought”. The Chairman has on several occasion highlighted the importance of the masses, and that good leadership revolves around the ability to take the general population and make them active for the revolution. With that I must agree for it is the people which must bear the brunt of the burden of revolution and who will sustain it, but there is a very strange and potentially dangerous method of reformation of the thought that I believe has the potential to spell doom for the whole affair. This “thought reform” is based reconditioning a person’s thoughts to be more in line with the party’s goals. Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of this new process was a conference that the chairman held last year where he laid out the groundwork for a new set of literary and artistic pattern where the works of the artists, the authors and the poets must be easily understood by the masses and must portray some aspect of the revolution. Increasing the availability and reach of art is clearly a boon both to the people and to the artist, but the control that the party wishes to hold over the production of art I consider to be worrying. A part of what inspired me to enter into higher education was the depth and breadth of the literature I was exposed to overseas, and I was enthused by the prospect that the revolution might break the hold that traditionalism held over the literature and art of our own nation. If the communist party is able to fully take control of it, have we not just replaced one stagnation for another? In any case it has still yet to be seen just how effective this new program is to be, and I shall be eager to watch and see if the artists and authors shall go along with it.

My friends, I shall write again soon,

Fare well

Dear readers,

 

 It is now 1943, and our society is still mired in chaos. I am now going to Yan’an to document the current situation, although it is a different environment than before where I studied at a university with enough facilities. There are complicated reasons why I am in Yan’an, so I will explain today.

 Beginning this year, we have been traveling within China for extended distances and periods. Specifically, we are moving to Yan’an, which has long been a critical military location. However, Yan’an is very far away, and I am honestly worried about going there. I will keep moving on foot over long roads, primarily through the mountains and other rugged terrain, even through the winter. I am still young and healthy, but see pregnant women and young children walking together on this severe path. I heard that rumor has it that some pregnant women have left their children behind, and some have died. So why are we going through this severe pathway? Of course, there is a reason! Simply put, this is for our Chinese Communist Party to escape the encirclement of the Chinese Nationalist Party forces and move northward to develop an anti-Japanese front. Today, I will explain more about this anti-Japanese movement recently.

 Relations between our country and Japan are at their worst in recent times. Japan had victory over Russia in 1905 and has been gaining strength. For me, Japan has been getting carried away recently! Anyway, Japan is expanding its power more and more to dominate our country. Two years ago, Japan started the Manchurian Incident. The Japanese army blew up the railroad tracks in Manchuria and occupied them. Manchuria, because of its location in the northeastern part of China and its rich resources, was probably targeted by Japan. This is an act that cannot be humane! And the following year, they proclaimed they launched the country in Manchuria. They made Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the head of state. But it was clear that he had no power at all. For me, as a reporter, Japanese rule in Manchuria is the worst. This included severe human rights violations such as sexual assault and rape. These acts must have caused extreme fear and anxiety among the inhabitants and significantly destroyed people’s lives. Japan is gradually expanding its territory to control China. Anti-Japanese sentiment among us is hard to ignore, and many people sincerely want to fight Japan. 

 Recently, Mao Zedong, who is not yet a leader of the country,  said that we need to look not only at military power but also at the current conflicts in the world as cultural fronts. We need to unite to challenge this situation in our country! Mao was also concerned about the masses, whom no previous leader had paid attention to. His populist beliefs must have won the hearts and minds of the masses, and his charisma is beginning to attract overwhelming support. He must also be a strategically successful leader because most of his target, the farmers, comprise about 80% of our total population. Objectively, he has the ability to analyze the world well and guide people. Having overcome such a long road that we are moving to Yan’an, we want to change our society at its core! I feel that some completely new world will come by Mao’s innovative strategy after this severe movement. We must follow his charismatic lead and adapt new thinking and ideas to old systems and structures! China was originally the center of the world, and the Chinese people were culturally superior, but recently, our country has fallen entirely behind internationally. It humiliates us, and we must change the status quo!

 

Thank you for reading.

I woke up this morning at around 05:30. I was up early enough to hear the birds chirp as the sun rose. I looked around for my old leather briefcase that I had been given as a gift from my father back home in the country. He gave it to me when I left for university here in Beijing. I gathered my papers into the briefcase and made my way to the Zhengyangmen Railway Station. The station bustled with travelers arriving from nearby Tianjin, Baoding, and other nearby cities. Many of these trips could be made in a day if one left early enough. 

 

My trip would take me nearly 3 days. I’d traverse the Hebei, Shanxi, and Shaanxi provinces before arriving in Ya’nan where I would be picked up by a local guide. The guide brought us to the center of this fascinating city that all of a sudden has become the center of the communist parties’ efforts against the Japanese. (Johnson 63) I quickly understood just what was at stake here. Mao Zedong and his communist party had carved out a headquarters here in Ya’nan. Chiang Kai-Shek and his nationalist party in prior years had been looking to wage a war against Mao and his Communists but with the Japanese gaining ground every day, Chiang Kai-Shek is seemingly nowhere to be found. 

 

On the ground here in Ya’nan, I noticed that Mao was commonly referred to as the “Chairman” by his people. He was very much in charge, but there was a sense that Mao was just like everyone else. This in large part is what may make him so popular. Mao was also involved in many aspects of the communist party here in Ya’nan. (Snow 181) What made Ya’nan unique was the fact that communist leaders were different from the ordinary citizens. Many of the leaders lived in caves just like everyone else, and normally hierarchical institutions like the military blended in with the people and were said to be on the same social level as the commoner. (Dietrich 28) I had a chance to sit down for some tea with Guo Qi-min, a woman who was studying at the anti-Japanese University here in Ya’nan. I asked her more about the new exuberance found here in Ya’nan and what it looked like on a day-to-day basis for a woman. She told me, “I went to the anti-Japanese University of Ya’nan in the fall of 1938. We had classes on current affairs, philosophy, and so on. None of us minded the hard conditions, at night we shared huge beds, each person had just this little space.” Guo Qi-min paused to illustrate to me with her hands just how little space each person had. She continued “About a foot, one next to the other. We got up early in the morning, we did morning drill and learned how to use weapons to fight the Japanese.” (China: A Century of Revolution – China in Revolution 1:10:46) Guo Qi-min shared this information with a tone of enthusiasm that I had not seen before in many of my interactions with individuals outside of those in Ya’nan. 

 

What seemed at the core of Mao’s success here in Ya’nan besides all of my aforementioned reasons was the strategy that Mao had when it came to completely reshaping ideology. The idea was to promote things that the people liked while also maintaining complete control over thought within the population. (Dietrich 27) What Mao has channeled in the people here in Ya’nan is something that had very rarely been seen before. Mao artfully crafted a party that could have the potential to grow drastically in large part due to his incredible ability to make his subordinates feel as though they were all together. In just 3 years, from 1937 to 1940, Mao’s CCP and Red Army both had skyrocketed in numbers and the enthusiasm here in Ya’nan was evidence of that. (Dietrich 29) 

 

As I boarded my train back from Ya’nan, I too began to feel a sense of this Ya’nan exuberance. I now understood why it was that many were flocking to this rural city to take part in Mao’s cultural revolution. The fear of the Japanese in the north, combined with Chiang Kai-shek’s rocky and potentially corrupt nationalist party left a sense of urgency in the people who looked for answers and may have found them in Ya’nan. Though I do not know what the future holds, I can say with certainty that this headquarters in Ya’nan will only continue to grow and remain the foundation of Mao’s communist party. 

 

Until next time,

 

Gao An Zhi

War on all fronts! Our country is under invasion from another imperialist enemy: Japan. We also face the reality of being torn apart from within as the Guomindang have relentlessly pursued the Communists to the remote northern location: Yenan. After a year on the road, and eight years in Yenan, in the northern province of Shaanxi, I am reporting to the people on the activity of the Communists in this faraway place, and to provide some insight as to why so many have flocked here.

I first interviewed Chairman Mao Zedong, the leader of the Communist Party, who has provided an attractive ideology and alternative leadership approach towards governance. Leading by example, Mao has been able to connect with the poorer classes on an unprecedented level. Incredibly, he walked the 6,000 miles on the Long March, he eats the common food of the people, and he lives in caves with his fellow comrades. Mao additionally has encouraged his military to treat the people with respect and to become “one with the people,” where the military, the party and the people work together to achieve revolutionary change. This approach has been well received among the poorer peasant classes and stands in contrast to the unpopular practices of the Guomindang who are often cruel towards commoners. Mao’s ability to live like a peasant and his willingness to listen to the most populus class in China, the peasants, has proved to be an effective strategy for garnering popular support for the Communist movement and attracting many people to move to Yenan.

I interviewed He Manquiu, a young woman living in the countryside. When the Red Army passed through her village, she expected the army to brutally pillage her family’s home. Instead, she discovered that the Red Army treated peasants with respect, encouraged, she joined their ranks and was provided with the opportunity to become a military doctor. He was provided with an out from traditional female cultural norms such as being regulated to homelife and commonly placed in an unwanted and arranged marriage. Mao wanted to ensure “freedom of marriage equality between men and women, equal pay for equal work,” and he argued that “genuine equality between the sexes can only be realized in the complete transformation of society as a whole.”  Equal treatment and class mobility offered by Mao provided an alternative lifestyle for women who did not fit into traditional gender roles like He. Thus, He was able to transcend her intellectual class background and advance within society because of army’s implementation of Mao’s rhetoric. Freedom from traditional Confucian feminine roles was immensely attractive for women who do not fit into traditional gender roles, who want to live their own independent life or who simply want respect and equal treatment among other men. The promise of equality and the opportunity to create an independent and equal life among men has attracted many women to the Communist movement in Yenan.

Party rhetoric and practices have not always aligned over women’s rights. Women like He have been promised gender equality and have received overall better treatment because of party policy but widespread social change has yet to be implemented as the party fears alienating poor peasant men in the more conservative northern provinces and practical issues such as economic production have taken the driver’s seat to sustain the Red Army. Consequently, while many women have been promised opportunity for advancements, they were often silenced by part officials. When I interviewed Ting Ling, she felt the party was not going far enough to implement reform and she felt old traditional values were resurfacing within the movement. She points out a double standard where “women who do not marry are ridiculed, and if they do marry and have children, they are criticized for attending political events instead of caring for their family.” The Party soon moved to silence Ting’s criticisms of reform. Mao’s pragmatic attitude towards women’s rights has kept his movement intact and popular. He continues to focus on repelling the Japanese invaders and he continues to promote Chinese unity when most within the country understand Chiang Kai-shek only suspended hostilities with the Communists because he was kidnapped. Mao’s Communist Party adapts to popular support and listens to the people, which best explains why so many people have flocked to Yenan in recent years.

Dear Readers:

It has been some time since I last reported on the current conditions in our country, and I consider myself lucky in the fact that I have remained safe and in good health. However, it has come time for me to risk this safety as I have been given an assignment that is too important to pass up. In the past weeks, I have made the journey to the remote Chinese Communist Party base in Yenan in northern Shaanxi province. I have made this journey in order to discover and report on why so many people are flocking to the CCP during these hard times.

The Chinese Communist Party has grown larger than I could’ve ever imagined when I wrote my last post regarding the possibility of another revolution. It is now 1943, and party membership has grown to over a million people, and continues to grow rapidly [Dietrich, 29]. But what has caused this rapid rise in party membership, and why are people so willing to travel to such a remote area as Yenan to be a part of this movement? The simple answer is the pull of the movement. The CCP has endured so much over the last fifteen years, starting with the Nationalists’ “White Terror” of 1927. Since this massacre, the CCP has slowly bounced back, first with the Jiangxi Soviet, and now in Yenan. The so-called “Long March” of 1934 and 1935 became the backbone of the Communist movement. The party had endured hardship like never before and came out stronger and with a clear leader in Mao Zedong [Dietrich, 25]. The hardship of the Long March gave the movement a “romantic glamour” [Dietrich, 28]. Also playing a role is the location. It is desolate here in Yenan, yet the atmosphere is upbeat and hopeful. The leaders of the Party do not appear to hold themselves above us normal people. Even Chairman Mao is living in a cave like the rest of the ordinary citizens, and the Communists and Red Army soldiers are all honest and hardworking, always making sure to give back to the people [Dietrich, 28]. The welcoming policies of the CCP in Yenan also played a role in attracting support. One Communist officer I interviewed said that the Party was happy to ally themselves with the rich, and even landlords, as long as they were not Nationalist or Japanese collaborators and wanted to join the resistance [China: A Century of Revolution, China in Revolution, 1:12:10]. While in Yenan, the CCP toned down the traditional Communist calls for a violent class revolution in favor of carefully building rural, middle-class support [China: A Century of Revolution, China in Revolution, 1:11:52]. This shift allowed more people to join the movement, and also prevented the alienation of those who might not have bought into the idea of a violent class revolution.

The most remarkable part of the CCP’s success in Yenan has come from the rise of Mao Zedong. While I have not been able to meet the Chairman in person in order to conduct an interview, I have had access to a vast array of literature written by Chairman Mao, as well as transcribed speeches and interviews with others. Through these, I can confidently say that I believe he is the biggest reason the Party is having such success at the moment. In 1936, American journalist Edgar Snow traveled to Yenan to write about the Communist movement, and his publications have given me much insight into who Chairman Mao is. Snow described Mao as having greater influence throughout the Communist world of China compared to anybody else [Snow in Cheek, 185]. Snow also stressed the importance of personality in his leadership, something that I have witnessed during my travels here, as I have not heard anyone speak poorly of him. Snow’s account of the Chairman documents him attending events and sitting in the theater with the rest of the people, not holding himself higher than anyone and allowing himself to interact with those under him in ordinary situations [Snow in Cheek, 185]. Mao’s connection to the people was also evident in a recent speech on leadership methods where he stated that “All correct leadership must come from the masses and go to the masses” [Cheek, 120]. Mao’s populist viewpoints are immensely popular as he truly believes that the people should have a large influence on how they are governed.

From my travels to the Communist stronghold in Yenan, it has become clear that through moderately worded policies and reforms, the willingness to fight against the Japanese, and the connection of the leaders to the people have resulted in a strong and fast-growing movement that soon will be too powerful to be stopped. While in my last article, I was skeptical if revolution was necessary, I now fully believe in the Chinese Communist Party and its future as the leading group for our great nation.

 

Stay safe my friends,

孙诚

Dear Readers, 

 

I have been assigned the task of investigating why so many people from across China have been choosing to make the treacherous journey to Yenan, the remote and impoverished location that the Chinese Communist Party has established as their wartime base. I made the arduous voyage to Yenan myself in order to talk to some of the people who have settled there, and to learn more about what it is about life there that has compelled people to venture out there. Through my conversations with various people who have recently arrived at Yenan, I learned that since the occurrence of the Long March, the CCP has been idolized and venerated for their immense bravery and dedication, and Mao Zedong has become the Party’s undisputed leader. It may seem paradoxical that the Long March could have strengthened the Party when it contributed to the deaths of so many people, but those who remained emerged more dedicated to the cause than ever: “although the Long March was a tactical defeat, it had very beneficial psychological and organizational effects and gave the Communists an important strategic advantage. Psychologically, the Long March was not unlike Valley Forge in the American Revolution. The suffering and heroism actually strengthened the movement and proved that it was indomitable. Organizationally, the Long March clarified the leadership of the Party” [Dietrich, 25].

On top of this element of hero worship which is inspiring people to make the journey to Yenan, I learned that there are several aspects of the CCP’s current policies that are appealing to people from all different backgrounds, from peasants to intellectuals to elites. The CCP recruits and trains people who are willing and able to fight Japan. The CCP also advocates novel ideas about the importance of convergence between the leaders and the masses, the necessity of dismantling normative hierarchies and eliminating elitism in favor of cultivating a culture of cooperation, and about the role that the military should play in society, through the formation of the Red Army. A lot of these new CCP ideas become even more appealing when presented in contrast to the current state of the KMT, which people argue is plagued by military weakness, corruption, and hierarchy.

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons that people are drawn to Yenan is because of the CCP’s focus on mobilizing the populace in the fight against Japan, primarily through guerilla warfare tactics. The war against Japan is indicative of a larger CCP goal which appeals heavily to many: the goal of eliminating imperialist influence within China. I had the opportunity to speak with a woman named Guo Qi-min about why she came to Yenan, and she said, “I went to the anti-Japanese university in Yenan in the fall of 1938. We had classes on current affairs, philosophy, and so on…we got up early in the morning. We did morning drills and we learned how to use weapons to fight the Japanese” [Williams, 1:10:50]. Training to fight the Japanese with the CCP in Yenan is more appealing to many than the idea of training with the Nationalist Army, as catastrophes have occurred due to Chiang Kai-Shek’s decision making. For instance, in 1938, Chiang Kai-Shek opened the dikes of the Yellow River with the goal of preventing the Japanese from traveling onward. However, the Chinese people who lived in the area were not warned, leading to thousands of villages flooding, millions of families becoming homeless, and hundreds of thousands of people dying, and the tactic did not even work to hinder the Japanese [Williams, 1:07:15]. 

The CCP also stresses the necessity of convergence between the leaders and the masses – a novel ideology that appeals to many whose voices have never been heard within traditional systems of government. In Yenan, Mao Zedong introduced the principle of mass line, or “solidarity in the effort to achieve the goals of the people,” which he argued can be achieved only through an intimate, sustained relationship between the Party and the people [Dietrich, 27]. It can even be said that “instead of mere majority rule, Mao aimed at total solidarity between the CCP and the masses” [Dietrich, 27]. The Party and the people must ultimately become one in their ideas. To use Mao’s own words from “Resolution of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on Methods of Leadership”: “correct leadership must come from the masses and go to the masses” [Mao, 118]. 

Social hierarchies, something that are ever present in traditional Confucian society, also dissipate in Yenan in favor of unity and cooperation. In 1936, Edgar Snow interviewed Mao, and reported that he embodied the “simplicity and naturalness of the Chinese peasant”, living in caves alongside the rank and file of the Red Army [Snow, 185]. This idea that the leaders experience the same material conditions as the masses appeals to many who are dismayed with the rumored corruption of Chiang Kai-Shek’s wife’s family, who have been accused of using government money to their own advantage.

 All members of society who agree with the cause of the CCP can be included in life at Yenan, no matter their background. The CCP seeks to eliminate intellectual elitism in society, instead making cultural productions such as literature and art accessible and relatable to the masses. Mao argues in “Talks at the Yan’an Conference on Literature and Art” that workers in literature and art cannot be out-of-touch with the people, but instead must be deeply in tune with them. He writes, “yours is the language of intellectuals, theirs is the language of the popular masses” [Mao, 114]. The CCP seeks to eliminate hierarchies and elitism, but that does not mean it refuses to work with those who have previously enjoyed a superior social or economic position, so long as they are open to change. I spoke with a Communist officer by the name of Wang Ping who emphasized the fact that the CCP is willing to bring together people of all socioeconomic backgrounds, telling me, “We didn’t attack the rich. We even allied with landlords as long as they were not collaborators and wanted to resist” [Williams, 1:12:10].

As I have touched upon already, The Red Army was established here in Yenan, and it operates in ways that are very different from the role that the military has played in Chinese society in the past. The Red Army operates under very close Party control, and its ultimate purpose is to implement and reinforce the previously mentioned social, economic, and political changes to Chinese society [Dietrich, 24]. In “Talks at the Yan’an Conference on Literature and Art,” Mao argued that the military plays a vital role in shaping the new fabric of Chinese society, writing, “victory over the enemy depends primarily on armies with guns in their hands, but this kind of army alone is not enough… we still need a cultural army” [Mao, 113]. He goes on to argue that this cultural army can diminish the impact or reach of both “China’s feudal culture and the slavish culture that serves imperialist aggression” [Mao, 114]. Mao also views the Army as a tool for practicing the mass line. He states that “All members of the people’s army have a conscious discipline, fighting not for the private interests of a few, but for the interests of the broad masses and the whole nation” [Mao, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, 52]. Within the Army itself, Mao seeks to dismantle normative hierarchies that are perpetuated by Confucian ideology; he stresses that “officers teach soldiers, soldiers teach officers, and soldiers teach each other” [Mao, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, 80].

The journey may be perilous and the conditions upon arrival may be barren, but there is a lot about life at Yenan that appeals deeply to many people. A chance to defeat an imperialist aggressor, the formation of the mass line, the dismantling of hierarchies and elitism, and the allures of the Red Army are all enticing Chinese citizens. One could even say that they are coming to Yenan “because they [want] to fight Japan, and because there [is] a sense here of building a new society” [Williams, 1:09:40]. Stay safe, my readers, until next time. 

 

Sincerely, Lei Ju

Dear Readers:

I hope this post finds all of you safely despite the chaos that is our country currently. With Japan forcing themselves down our coast and further inland, there are only so many “safe” spaces for our people to go. The Nationalists’ government has proven themselves ill-equipped to deal with this threat and I can’t help but think of my poor parents back home who still so vividly remember the 1911 Revolution and their idol, Sun Yat-Sen, who freed China from the imperialism and foreign influence that is now, once again, ravaging entire villages and leaving countless people dead. 

As most of you know, I was formerly a student in Beijing before Japan took over the city in mere days back in 1937. Forced to flee, a few fellow students and I had to quickly decide where we would have even a chance of survival. We didn’t necessarily trust the Nationalists to protect us anymore with how little they seemed capable of against the Japanese, leaving us with one other option: Mao Zedong’s communists. As a reporter, I fervently followed news of the notorious Long March purely in the interest of knowledge and pursuit of fact, so I was aware of the community the Communists had set up in Yan’an. It is commonly said that the Communists are more committed to the anti-Japanese efforts than Chiang Kai-Shek and, please be understanding when I say this, but I would rather be part of a Communist country than a Japanese satellite.

Upon arriving in Yan’an after our own tumultuous journey, my friends and I were stunned by what has been coined as the “Yan’an Spirit,” one of utmost optimism and “exuberance.” I felt that if these people, despite the extreme hardships they had already faced, were this positive and passionate about their mission then, surely, this mission must be one of quality. While the rest of China was fighting hopelessly, the Communists had something they were fighting for proudly. I offered my reporting services, guessing correctly that the community would love the chance to have their story told, and this is how I was able to earn a spot among the Communists despite not being one myself, exactly. My friends and I knew we could not be completely honest about our backgrounds to the Communists, scared they would reject us if they learned of the privileges we had, so I emphasized to the first ones we approached how I had come from a peasant family. This is when I learned I was from the same part of China that Mao’s own family hailed from and this earned my friends and I considerable respect from the Communists in Yan’an.

Mao in general has continuously surprised me throughout my years living among the Communists in Yan’an because, though he is evidently the leader of the community, you would not be able to tell just by observing him. While certainly admired, he is treated with the same amount of respect as any other person in the community is and is afforded the same resources as the rest of us. I myself have shared (meager) meals with Mao, have been in his humble cave, and have watched him sit “inconspicuously in the midst of the crowd” as just another Communist devoted to the Cause. Mao lives just as everyone else does in Yan’an and while this way of life seems far from perfect to me (and probably to Mao, considering we came from the same, slightly more privileged background), I’m sure some of my peers have never felt so taken care of in their life before coming to Yan’an. This must be close to the egalitarian society that the Communists envision for all of China, with people working together to provide for everyone in the community and making sure no one starves or freezes.

I must also report on the position of women in Yan’an. I left the countryside years ago for a reason and was weary about returning, weary about the kind of life I would be told to live in Yan’an. I was mentally preparing myself for the feudalistic, sexist society I left behind and told myself I could survive an arranged marriage if it meant escaping the Japanese. However, the Communists in Yan’an have found a way to bring some of their progressive thinking to the countryside. I feel more respected as a woman here in Yan’an than I did back home… as long as I stay close to the Communists and farther away from the less-devoted peasants in the community; while Mao and his people are working to reform their thought, the ways here are still bordering on traditional. Women work amongst men and stand up to contribute during meetings or discussions but we’ve had many accused of being “too feminist” or “divisive”; marriages are a happy thing here, not something to fear or a symbol of oppression, but many peasant couples that were married before the Communists’ arrival do not have an egalitarian dynamic. I often see a woman named Wang Xin-lan walking hand-in-hand with her husband, chatting and laughing as they work, but also hear many stories of women being hit by their husbands. These husbands are usually punished now, though, which never happened in my experience back home. They are encouraging women to help the war effort with textile jobs (my reporting exempts me from this) and while this may not seem a lot to some, I’m sure my sisters-in-law would have loved this choice when they were my age. One of my classmates that came with me is even considering enrolling in the Army’s medical school, an opportunity few of us could ever dream of before coming to the cities. I’m not naïve enough to think that  “among (Communists), men and women are equal” completely, but they are taking steps toward that standard that few have taken before in Chinese history. I just hope that this progressive thinking prevails and does not lose priority within the Cause.

That’s all for now, everyone. Stay safe out there.

In the midst of China’s turbulent period in the early 1930s, I find myself exploring the various perspectives that are shaping the nation’s destiny. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is gaining momentum as a significant contender in the political landscape, and it is essential to understand why many Chinese are looking towards the CCP as a potential solution to the nation’s myriad problems.

To grasp the appeal of the CCP, we must first consider the time leading up to the present time. The country has been ravaged by internal strife, foreign imperialism, warlordism, and poverty. The Republic of China, established in 1912, was struggling to unify the nation under a central government. Furthermore, the Republic has also struggled with combating against foreign nations gaining more Chinese territory. In this environment of chaos and despair, the appeal of a revolutionary party like the CCP has begun to grow.

One of the primary reasons for the increasing support for the CCP is their commitment to land reform and their resistance against corruption. In rural China, peasants face extreme exploitation and poverty under the traditional landlord system. The peasants are forced to pay interests by the landlords for many years in advance and the peasants are subject to violence if they do not pay. Moreover, regional warlords exercise control over vast territories. These warlords constantly fought among themselves but when they did, the peasants suffered the most. As a person I interviewed said “Lots of people were so scared. They just went and hid all the time. When the warlords got into a fight, people’s lives were completely devastated.” The CCP’s promise to redistribute land, bring an end to the lawlessness, and empower peasants resonated with millions who yearned for a better society. Land reform initiatives by the CCP in regions such as Jiangxi garnered widespread support as peasants saw their lives improve. To think my father could own the land he works on everyday is quite the thought. I look forward to that day. 

Amidst widespread poverty and inequality, the CCP’s ideology of social justice and equality struck a chord with urban workers and some intellectuals. I believe the greatest equality they are fighting for is regarding women. As Mao stated in The Little Red Book in the chapter titled Women, “These four authorities-political, clan, religious and masculine-are the embodiment of the whole feudal-patriarchal ideology and system, and are the four thick ropes binding the Chinese people…” Women are still subject to outdated practices such as foot binding and they had no right to decide who or when they would get married. I interviewed a woman who told me how a landlord came to her house, saw her 15 year old sister and took her to be his wife. The landlord also wanted her to be his maid. She was only 7 years old and in the end her father sold her as a child bride. The interview made me think about both of my older sisters. What would their life be like if they could decide for themselves? The CCP is also educating peasants, helping them to strengthen their minds. I am a living testament for what could happen if peasants had access to education. The peasants believe that the CCP can bring about a society where wealth was more evenly distributed and the masses had access to education.

These are exciting times but these are also dangerous times. Please everyone be careful and take care of themselves. The future has so much in store for the people of China, we must grab ahold of our future. 

Dear readers, we are living in unprecedented times, filled to the brim with those who are seeking change in an unfair world. However, that change is where many seemed to get bogged down, which is why reform has all but stopped in a number of areas. To some, China has changed enough in the years following the glorious revolution of 1911. We’ve been through regime change after regime change, Chiang Kai-Shek, for all his faults, has been a consistent force in the political scene. While stability as a goal can be well understood amongst our people, many of us were born into strife, hunger, and war, a great deal of the population does not see “stability” as the end goal. Some have turned to mainstream routes of reform, rising up the political ladder and seeking policy change in Nanjing. Time and time again it appears that our leader is not listening to the reason of the masses, all too often pleasing a minority that keeps him in power, the middle and upper classes. However, as you, reasonable readers, may be more than aware, our people largely live in the rural countryside with vastly different wants and needs, and dare I say more needs, than those who have already been so gifted in life. It is in this vein, this recognition of inequities perpetuated by the government in Nanjing that many have sympathized and joined up with the natural enemy of Chiang Kai-Shek’s Kuomintang party, the Communists. 

 

However, even different still are a great many peasants who have no understanding of the greater political game being played. They are simply not afforded that luxury. Many families in the countryside are still subjected to the whims of tax collectors and tyrannical local officials who seek out their own gain first and foremost. This has led to reported instances of taxes being collected decades in advance, bankrupting households under unjust circumstances. Many families have felt the need to, or have been outright forced, to hand over daughters as a form of “payment”, whether that be directly or sold into bondage in order to raise the demanded funds. Wan Xiang, a woman now living in CCP (Chinese Communist Party)-governed territory, spoke with me about her upbringing. Her sister was forced into marriage by a local official while she, at 7 years old, was sold as a child bride to pay a 1,000 silver dollar fine imposed by the same official on her family. These terrible events are occurring under the umbrella of both the Republic and the various warlord states scattered across China. Leadership has no interest in cracking down, and thus many have felt forced to act for radical change. For these people it is not an ideological contest, implementing global revolution as a means of achieving communism. No, this is an issue of practicality, what is in their best interest right now. In and around the Jiangxi and Fujian provinces many peasants are being stirred up by communist organizers, those who although have their own motives for their work present an opportunity of reprieve in dark times. 

 

Circumstances that people are faced with are not always imposed upon them by officials exploiting lack of oversight, no, many younger Chinese men and women are chafing under traditional values that were merely accepted by previous generations. With hope lost many were forced to give in to forced and arranged marriages, sold into slavery, and other cruelties. While these still exist the communist organizers have provided a means to an end for many wanting to resist what was previously deemed as “just the way things are”. Xie Pai-lan, a woman also now living in CCP-governed territory, was not familiar with the policy of the communists, and what their aims or governing philosophies were. No, she was just told that joining would mean avoiding an arranged marriage. The revolutionaries preach an egalitarian view of marriage, you may marry who you choose, and separate of your own volition. Ms. Xie joined up in order to avoid a marriage to a man well over 10 years her senior, enjoying the benefits therein. In addition, she partook in a raid on a local landlord redistributing grain and clothes to the needy masses nearby. Readers, I would be remiss not to note the violence she mentioned was taken during this raid. People were killed in what was deemed a public service. While to some this may seem morally abhorrent, taking the law into your own hands is a frightening prospect to many. However, I must remind you that these people are dealing with unjust officials, and in some cases no law at all. Speaking to a higher authority is simply not an option, and in the real world survival of the strongest is the law. A revolution that removes oppression cannot be effective or successful without bloodshed and conflict, at least that is what’s preached by the revolutionaries.

 

The communists around China, especially those located within the Jiangxi Soviet, have faced opposition from Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang from all angles. Thus far, despite organized and determined efforts the Soviet has held out, although standing in opposition to such an overwhelming force is a battle one can imagine as downhill. Although uncertainty is the only certainty, an air of revolution, of dissatisfaction with those in power, has been thoroughly sown into China’s rural populace. It remains to be seen how that will develop going forward, whether that be through the reform of the Republic or more drastic measures.