The red star shines on ChinaChapter One: Exploring Red China
During Snow's seven years in China, he had never been able to get a satisfactory answer to questions related to the Chinese Red Army, the Soviet Union, and the Soviet movement. So in June 1936, when Snow got a chance to enter the red zone and break the news blockade that lasted for nine years, he decided to take the risk without hesitation.
One midnight, Snow boarded the train to Xi'an. At that time, smalllessness, malaria, typhoid fever, typus, and plague were prevalent in the northwest, so Snow had injected his buttocks and legs with the vaccine for these infectious diseases before leaving. His first destination was Xi'an Prefecture, where he visited General Yang Hucheng and the provincial chairman Shao Lizi.
In Beijing, a Red Army commander wrote a letter of recommendation for Snow in black ink to Mao. However, in addition to this letter of recommendation, Snow had to go to a hotel in Xi'an Prefecture to get in touch with others in the northwest. He had to wait for a Mr. Wang (real name Dong Jianwu) to visit. Mr. Wang would try to arrange for Snow to take Zhang Xueliang's private plane to the Red Zone. Because the situation had changed, Snow could only take the truck from the Northeast Army to the front line. While waiting for the bus at the ruins of the ancient Han Dynasty, Snow saw the enemy's bounty of 50,000 heads of state Deng Fa.
Snow turned into a mountain road that was said to be a merchant smuggling goods into and out of the Soviet area and entered the no man's land. Finally, he successfully arrived at a village near Yan 'an and officially entered the red gate. There, Snow met Liu Longhuo, the chairman of the local poor people's association. Liu Longhuo warmly welcomed him and found him a young guide and a mule driver to go to Ansai. He also gave him the banknotes of the Soviet area for him to use.
The Road to Red City
In order to avoid the white bandits, Snow set off at dawn and met the first Red Army soldier on the way-a young man surnamed Yao who worked in the Political Security Bureau. Yao took him to Ansai. After meeting the captain of the Ansai Red Guards, Snow found out that a group of white bandits had followed Snow here, but they were surrounded and attacked by the Red Guards, and a few of them were captured. At this time, a thin young officer greeted Snow in English. He was the commander of the Red Army, Zhou Enlai.
Zhou Enlai welcomed Snow's arrival and gave him the sincerity to move freely. He also personally drafted a journey for him, which listed the various projects in the journey that would take a total of 92 days.
Snow also recalled Zhou Enlai's revolutionary journey: his early years of studying, participating in the student movement, studying abroad, launching the national revolution, organizing the workers 'strike, organizing the Guangzhou Commune, turning into underground activities, and reaching the new red base in northern Shaanxi. In his contact with Zhou Enlai, Snow gradually realized that the man who participated in and organized many revolutionary uprisings was a calm, good at analysis and reasoning, practical experience, and a gentle person.
On the way to the security guards, Snow listened to a Red Army commander, Li Changlin, introduce He Long's revolutionary experience. He Long was a bandit leader at that time, and his reputation in the Elder Brother Association spread throughout the country. He Long joined the party after the August 1 Uprising in Nanchang in 1927, and not long before that, he had been loyal to Wang Jingwei's government in Hubei. However, when Tang Shengzhi and others suppressed the movement to overthrow the landlords and began the famous "peasant massacre", it aroused his anger. He Long used a kitchen knife to establish the soviets in Hunan. He Long also led the Red Army on a long march across the snowy mountains and joined forces with Zhu De.
On the way, Snow learned about the experience and reasons of a group of young Red Army soldiers who joined him in the revolution. He admired their unity, friendship, discipline, optimism and positive spirit.
Chapter 3: Security
Snow finally met Mao. The book introduced a lot of things he knew about Mao, including his legend, his wife, his influence, his daily life, including his daily meals, and so on. It especially explained his character: complex, interesting, born smart, energetic, and self-esteem.
Then, he introduced Mao's views on some international figures, including MacDonald and Franklin D. Roosevelts, as well as his studies on India, philosophy, religious views, and so on.
Next, he introduced the basic argument of the Chinese Party,"If we don't implement the anti-imperialist policy externally and the agrarian revolution internally, China's national independence and democratic politics can't be realized." Then he introduced the basic policy of the Chinese Party at that time,"Resist Japanese Imperialism."
In the end, he described some of Lin Biao's life, his answers to questions at the Red Army University, and some of his experiences in watching the Red Army Drama Club's performance and interviewing the president of the Red Army Drama Club, Wei Gongzhi.
The Origin of a Party Member
Snow mainly described his interview with Mao. Through a few nights of conversation with Mao, he learned some of Mao's situation.
1. It described Mao's early experiences, including how he was born, his childhood, his parents 'education, how he rebelled against his father, how he read forbidden books, how he worked, and so on.
2. It was a story about the people of Changsha who rebelled and were suppressed because of famine.
3. It introduced the source of Mao's early thoughts, how he joined the army, how he entered Hunan Normal School, and how he worked in Peiping.
4. It introduced his political activities, including writing the Xiangjiang River Review, founding the Cultural Bookstore, opposing warlords, organizing workers, etc., especially how he established the belief in Confucianism.
5. Following that was the glorious deeds of Mao Ze Dong as a member of the Party, participating in the First People's Republic of China, Guangzhou's cooperation with the KMT-Party, organizing an uprising, and participating in the establishment of the Soviet government.
6. Finally, it briefly described the development and growth of the Red Army, the victories and failures of several counter-encirclement and suppression, and the course of the long march to Ganshu and Shansi.
The Fifth Enand Suppression of the Long March
This chapter is about the Long March.
1. He explained the cause of the Long March, including how Jiang Jieshi organized the fifth encirclement and suppression, how the Red Army's fifth counter-encirclement and suppression failed, how the Red Army withdrew from the Jiangxi base area in order to preserve its effective strength, and so on.
2. Then, he introduced the hardships of the Long March: how to break through the enemy's four lines of defense, how to suffer serious losses, how to change tactics and go into battle lightly, and how the Red Army overcame the difficulties and broke through the obstacles and created miracles at the Dadu River.
3. Next, it introduced the difficulties the Red Army encountered when crossing the grasslands and passing through the minority areas.
4. Finally, Snow proved the greatness of the Long March and its achievements through a set of statistics (18 mountains, 24 rivers, 12 provinces, 62 cities, and 10 local warlords).
The Red Planet is in the Northwest
1. This chapter records Liu Zhidan's early experiences, how he established the Red Army in Northern Shaanxi, and how he was wronged. From this, we can see Liu Zhidan's abhorrent character and more radical revolutionary route.
2. Snow then described the suffering of the people in Northwest China, including the lack of effective relief methods for famine, which led to a large number of people starving to death, as well as the people's resistance experience over the generations, explaining the reasons for the rise of the Northwest Soviet Movement.
3. Next, it described a number of measures taken by the Northwest Soviet Movement, including the abolition of taxes, the confiscated landlord's land and distribution to the poor, the loan to the poor, the cooperative movement, women's marriage autonomy, universal education, currency reform, and so on.
4. Finally, the article described Xu Teli's participation in revolutionary work at a very old age and how he devoted himself to the party's educational cause (including military education, social education station, promotion of Latinized Pinyin, etc.).
On the Road to the Front Line
It recorded what Snow saw and heard when he went to the border and front lines of Gansu.
1. He first described his experience of talking to the peasants with the young party member Hu Jinkui. At first, everyone complained about the Red Army, such as collecting too much grain, but once compared with the White Army, the peasants remembered the good things of the Red Army, including the fact that the Red Army was tax-free and paid for things. These were things that the White Army could not do.
2. Following that, he wrote a lot about the industry in the Soviet Area, including how the Soviet Area developed industries under very difficult circumstances, including crafts, oil wells, and so on. 3. Finally, it described the colorful lives of ordinary workers, including basketball games, free medical care, social insurance, reading, writing, singing, and so on. It also compared them with the lives of workers in other parts of China. In conclusion, even if they lacked the goods of the industrial society, they had the spirit of the industrial society!
Together with the Red Army
After Snow arrived at the headquarters of the Red Army, he learned about the various situations of the Red Army. He directly quoted the answers of the soldiers and showed the authenticity of his report.
1. At the beginning, he described the basic situation of the Red Army: 60 to 70% of the soldiers were educated, about one-third of them were former soldiers of the Nationalist Party, and many of them graduated from various military schools, including Huangpu Military Academy. The Red Army respected women, the masses had a good evaluation of the morality of the Red Army, and the officers had a high casualty rate. They all fought side by side with the soldiers, and the officers and soldiers basically ate and dressed the same.
2. Next, Snow described his impression of General Peng Dehuai, including his life, his straightforward style, his late sleep and early rise, his love for children, his concern for comrades, how he read the books of Communism, how he participated in the work of the party, and how he attached great importance to guerrilla warfare.
3. Finally, he talked about his understanding of the life of the Red Army: their perseverance, simple diet, regular work and rest, the role of the Leninist room, how to attend political classes, and so on.
Together with the Red Army
1. First, he talked about Xu Haidong's early experiences, his strong class consciousness and its causes (the Xu family had 66 people killed by the Guomindang) , how he joined the party, how he saw the Guomindang army's cruel crimes against the former Soviets, and so on.
2. Jiang Xibei Ma Family (Ma Hongkui, Ma Hongbin, Ma Bufang, Ma Buqing)'s influence on the politics of the northwest, including various exorbitant taxes, conscription policies, etc., as well as the history and current situation of the Hui people in the northwest, including the deep contradictions between the Han and Hui, etc., as well as the Red Army's struggle and rebellion against the Hui people, including how to issue a political program for the Hui people, how to establish the core of the Chinese Hui Red Army, how to launch the Hui revolution while respecting religion. How to execute a tax officer of the Kuomingtang who pretended to be a commoner.
War and Peace
Snow narrated the story of the Red Imp Xiang Ji Bang. Humor and wit, reflecting the true and vivid narrative characteristics.
1. It recorded some things about the Red Army cavalry, followed by some deeds related to the Red Army soldiers, including how a Red Army soldier joined the Red Army, how the Red Army helped their families, the heroic deeds of the Young Pioneers, and their spiritual state.
2. Next, he described how the Red Army practiced the united front.
3. Finally, the article focuses on the deeds of Comrade Zhu De, including his outstanding leadership of the Red Army, the situation of his wife, his love for his subordinates, his extreme gentleness and responsibility, and his love for reading. Then it is about some of Zhu De's early experiences and how he participated in revolutionary work, as well as his cooperation with Mao. The alliance between Zhu De and Mao was not a competition, but a complementary one.
Back to Security
1. An old horse breeder. He was very old but still insisted on joining the Red Army. He thought it was worth it to work for the Red Army.
2. Snow wrote some interesting things about his life back in security, including playing cards, eating, and so on. Then, Snow began to describe the influence of Russia (the Soviet Union) on the Red Army and the influence of the Comintern on the Red Army. The basic point was that the leadership of the Comintern benefited the Chinese government greatly, but some serious setbacks were also related to the Comintern, including the setback in 1927, the disposal of the 19th Route Army, the tactical defense plan of the fifth counter-encirclement and suppression, and so on.
3. Finally, Snow recounted his last visit to Mao (about the joint resistance against Japan, about the establishment of a democratic government, etc.) and how he reluctantly bid farewell to Red China.
White World Again (Xi'an Incident, December 12, 1936)
The Northeast Army led by Zhang Xueliang and the Northwest Army led by Yang Hucheng were unwilling to fight with the Red Army, so they privately reached a truce agreement with the Red Army. Jiang Jieshi ignored the strong domestic calls for joint anti-Japanese, ignored the reality of the Japanese imperialists invading China, and insisted on carrying out the sixth encirclement and suppression plan against the Northwest Red Army. Zhang Xueliang decided to launch a mutiny and arrest Jiang Jieshi and his subordinates.
Jiang Jieshi was arrested in Lintong and became Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng's prisoner. The Northeast Army and the Northwest Army's "request to save the country" and the anti-Japanese propaganda with the Red Army were blocked by the news. At the same time, the false rumors created by the National Party spread wildly at home and abroad. But soon, the rumors fell apart, and the public gradually understood the truth.
After the news of Jiang Jieshi being captured, Nanjing began to plot to seize power. At the same time, the commander-in-chief began to realize soon after his capture that his greatest "traitor" might not be in Xi'an, but in Nanking.
After hearing the news of the incident, the Soviet government and the Soviet Party immediately held a joint meeting to support Zhang Xueliang's eight-point program and join the Joint Anti-Japanese Military Committee. Between December 17 and 25, Jiang Kai-shek, Zhang Xueliang, Yang Hucheng, and the party held frequent meetings. The party advocated for a peaceful solution to release Jiang Jieshi and even advocated for him to return to Nanjing as a leader. Only then would there be hope for the realization of the Anti-Japanese National Front. After the meeting, Jiang Jieshi personally promised that there would be no more civil war and reached an agreement to unite against Japan.
After returning to Nanjing from Xi'an, Jiang Kai-shek used a series of complicated tactics to implement reconciliation measures with the Chinese government, including the withdrawal of the bandit suppression headquarters and the abolition of the new encirclement and suppression plan. Snow believed that by doing so, Jiang Kai-shek would not lower his prestige or that of Nanjing, but would be able to reconcile with the opposition. Most importantly, this was also a way for him to eliminate the deep cracks in his power structure from the Xi'an Incident.
After the cooperation between the two parties, the attitude of the National Party towards Japan became tougher, and the Soviet area also broke away from the long-term isolation. The two sides restored a small amount of traffic links, and a large number of young people went to the Soviet area to study and work. The Guomindang also relaxed their surveillance of the Chinese government. In order to establish a united national front, the party made some concessions in terms of form and name, but it never gave up the basic principles of Confucianism and social revolution. The relationship between the two parties was easing up.
Finally, Snow believed that although the Chinese social revolutionary movement might suffer setbacks, it would eventually win because the basic conditions of the Chinese social revolutionary movement itself contained favorable factors for the movement to win.