Remembrance of Mings Past

For the past decade China's most celebrated political prisoner has been Chang Hsueh-liang, better known as the "Young Marshal." Son of fabulous "Old Marshal" Chang Tso-lin, who drank tiger blood and warlorded it over Manchuria until his assassination in 1928, the Young Marshal kidnaped Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in the fantastic Sian incident of 1936. Eventually he freed the Gissimo and surrendered himself, crying: "I, Hsueh-liang, am by nature rude and uncouth. . . . Blushing with shame, I receive from you . . . the punishment I deserve. . . ."

The Young Marshal's punishment was cushioned captivity. It was known vaguely that he was somewhere in a closely guarded countryside villa. Recently Chinese political circles buzzed with rumors that the Generalissimo would send the Young Marshal to Manchuria to counteract the influence of his brother, Chang Hsueh-shih. The Communists have installed Chang Hsueh-shih as governor of strategic Liaoning province, and some Chinese think he is a potential Red candidate for boss of all Manchuria. Last week the rumors boiled down to the fact that the Generalissimo had sent a go-between to call on the Young Marshal, presumably to win him for the Nationalist cause.

The go-between was the veteran Manchurian barrister, Mo Teh-hui, 64, one of the negotiators of the Sino-Soviet pact of last August. Mo spent six days with the Young Marshal at Tung-tse, in Kweichow, "by the side of a beautiful lake." On his return he reported:

Solace of Loneliness. "The Young Marshal and I had not seen each other for eight long years. This time he found my beard had turned white, and I thought he had got much fatter."

The Young Marshal rises daily at 6 a.m.,' fishes, hunts, putters in his vegetable garden, reads and naps until bedtime at 9 p.m. His loneliness is shared by "a beautiful and sweet girl who has good handwriting." Her name is Miss Chow. She writes poems and so does Chang. A sample of his verse, smuggled out to a Communist publication, was reprinted at week's end in Banker H. H. Kung's conservative Shih Shih Hsin Pao:

All the time I ponder

As to how I might snatch night-soil,

Steal urine

Just like a robber,

So that I might brag before people that the cabbage I grew is the best,

Number one!

Continued Mo: "Whenever the Young Marshal stands by the lake, facing the serene watery expanse, he is lost in meditations. The endlessly concentric circles bring his thoughts back to many lovely things dead and perished long, long ago."

Solace of History. During ten years of internment the once uncouth Young Marshal has read nearly 200 books. This led him to "dialectical thinking on the evolution of things" and search for a solution to the nation's problems in the study of the nation's history.

When Mo brought back the news of Chang's interest in history, Chiang was delighted. He asked Mo to find a famous scholar who would instruct the Young Marshal and recommend more books. Mo complied. Now Chang is reading The Modern History of China, History of Indo-China, History of Manchuria, and (as a reminder that even the most vigorous dynasties must have an end) The Sad Tales of the End of the Ming Dynasty.

Those versed in the subtleties of Chinese politics believe that the public announcement of Chang's re-education program is not without significance.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.