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On January 13, 1988, Chiang Ching-kuo died in Taipei, and on the same day, Li Denghui became the paramount leader of the Taiwan Region. The whole world fixed their eyes on Taiwan, observing closely the possible change of the world situation. Due to the Taiwan issue, the quarrel between China and the United States has never been suspended, even though they re-established the diplomatic relations in 1979. At the moment of historical interlock, the slightest sign of disturbance would be probably amplified.
In the spring of that year, China Times of Taiwan unexpectedly published a piece of news that ‘Wang Ji requested Li Denghui to grant Zhang Xueliang’s freedom’. It was known to all that Zhang Xueliang had been confined indoors for 52 years since the Xi'an Incident. It was said that Wang Ji was the son of Zhang Xueliang’s old friend, and acted as the head of Chinese Section of the Library of Congress in the United States at that time. However, few people knew that Wang Ji was the first cultivated person living in the United States who was approved by both Henry Kissinger, the current US Secretary of State, and Zhou Enlai, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, to pay a secret visit to Chinese mainland in 1972 when China and the United States got into contact secretly. The report on that secret visit to China in 1972 prepared by Wang Ji provided a good booster force for President Nixon’s visit to China.
As the son of Wang Shuchang, core military commander of the Northeast Army, Wang Ji recalled the history in his book, which was right derived from his position in dealing with the ‘triangular relations’ with skill and ease. This book can be regarded as a ‘60-year diplomatic spectrum between China and the United States as well as the Taiwan Region’, so to speak. The book mainly concentrated on two dimensions of the retrospective history.
Firstly, the memory of military and political celebrities of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CPC) who had kept close contact with his father, including Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Mei-ling, Zhang Xueliang, Zhang Qun, and Chen Lifu on the KMT side, and Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Yang Sahngkun and Lin Biao on the CPC side. However, his memoire did not consider a person as it stands, but discussed the person in history and narrated their performance at the crucial historical junctures. In particular, new interpretations were given to the following questions: Why did Zhang Xueliang change his banner in the Xi’an Incident? How did Soong Mei-ling protect him when he was confined indoors? What course could the 200 000 Pseudo-Manchu State army men on the northeast battlefield follow after the Anti-Japanese War? And why wasn’t it Zhang Xueliang or Wang Shuchang but Xiong Shihui, the general from South China, who arrived at the Northeast Battlefield when the war was ended? After 1949, it is due to his countless ties with the military and political seniors of Chinese Nationalist Party who had retreated to Taiwan that Wang Ji once again was relied heavily on by the new generation of Taiwan political leaders and played a positive role in facilitating the peaceful dialogue across the Taiwan Straits. In addition, this book also gave a new presentation on some major events, including how the Lien Chan and James Soong campaign was formed to challenge Chen Shui-bian in 2004, and how Lien Chan and James Soong crossed the Straits to make a second handshake between the leaders of the Nationalist Party and Communist Party possible. Secondly, the memory of Sino-American political communication. In the 1950s, Sino-American political communication was suspended and both countries became estranged. By that time, Wang Ji shifted his position from a professor of history to the head of Chinese Section of the Library of Congress in the United States. The Library of Congress was not designed to serve the public, whose real identity was similar to the brain trust of members of the US Congress and curator was directly appointed by the President. In 1967, an article published in the Nucleus Monthly of the United States, which provided a full description of the research and development of the first atom bomb of China, was actually the report prepared by Wang Ji three years ago in the Library of Congress according to Chinese materials. This article served not only as the basis for the appointment of Wang Ji to pay a secret visit to Chinese mainland by Kissinger in person, but also as one of the booster forces for President Nixon’s ultimate visit to China. During his work in the Library of Congress, Wang Ji made great efforts to change the ‘concept of China’ among American political chiefs, which were commonly recognized in both China and the United States. As a result, in the last 40 years since 1972, Wang Ji acted as one of the reliable participants in the visits of the CPC and state leaders to the United States as well as in the significant negotiations between the two countries. The enriched details provided in the book made the confusing ‘abnormal’ communication between China and the United States more reasonable.
What made people sighed with emotions in this book is, in addition to the celebrities and chief politicians, the historical details coming in a continuous stream, especially the native land emotion of Wang Ji as a hard worker in a foreign country. Charles W. Freeman, Jr., former US ambassador to China, praised him for ‘holding a very high position in the American governmental departments and playing a critical role in reopening the gate to communication in the knowledge community between China and the United States.’ However, the most moving narrations in the book were about Iris Zhang and Soong Mei-ling. It was with his help that Iris Zhang finished writing two influential books: Qian Xuesen: A Biography and The Rape of Nanjing. This represents an act of Chinese people who promote Chinese conception of history and values in the United States. However, Iris Zhang failed to have her claims recognized by all the people in the world, which ultimately led to her suicide. The speech made by Soong Mei-ling at the Capitol Hill in 1945 helped change the attitude of the United States and win great assistance for China that was trapped in the Anti-Japanese War; after a time interval of 62 years, through the concerted efforts of Wang Ji and congressmen of the United States, Soong Mei-ling returned to the Capitol Hill and her presence triggered the world’s commemoration of Chinese contributions to the defeat of fascism. However, to his great grief, the Chinese people living in the United States in the new era, as well as a great many Chinese associations, are infatuated with economic gains, and internal frictions continue to occur; despite of 4 million Chinese people in the United States, they ‘are weak in political capability’, and the ‘older Chinese’ and ‘younger Chinese’ begin to split. The recall of the leaders and political chiefs in the modern and contemporary history of China in the past 70 years and narration of major historical events by Wang Ji in his book actually serve one purpose: to promote the conceptions of Chinese culture and establish ‘a Chinese leading person in political circle who is able to influence the US-wide politics’. Only in doing so can a genuine legend be created between China and the United States by blending the essence and blood of the history.
Attached:
In his colorful life, Mr. Wang Ji mainly takes two identities: One is the head of Chinese Section of the US Library of Congress, assisting in setting up the library of the Chinese University of Hong Kong; the other is the peace-loving man who travelled between China and the United States as well as to Taiwan and Hong Kong during the Cold War to facilitate the interactions, assist in ending the period of the Cold War and direct to the peace. The book From Beijing to Washington D.C. is right a vivid and readable biography of himself.
——Yu Guangzhong, Taiwan poet
Dr. Wang Ji held a high position in the American governmental departments and played a critical role in reopening the gate to communication in the knowledge community between China and the United States. As the offspring of a famous family, he might have made a different success if he stayed in China; however, in the United States, he also turns out to be a very important person. He and those people he met with, have created a legendary story of life. I believe that you will love this book too much to part with it.
——Charles W. Freeman, Jr., former US ambassador to China and chief interpreter during President Nixon’s visit to China
Book Recommendation
Book Info.: From Beijing to Washington D.C.---my memory of Sino-American diplomatic history
In August 2012, Sino-Culture Press is committed to promoting the biographical memoir of Mr. Wang Ji, head of Chinese Section of the US Library of Congress, From Beijing to Washington D.C.---my memory of Sino-US diplomatic history. Born from the family of a political chief in the Republic of China, Wang Ji frequently travelled between China and the United States as well as to Taiwan and Hong Kong. He not only kept close contact with the leaders of the Chinese Nationalist Party in Taiwan, but also established a strong friendship with the political chiefs of the United States and the top leaders of Chinese Communist Party. This book has a substantially high historical value, in which, as the participant of several major historical events, the author reveals for the first time many major events behind the scenes, such as the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, failure of Zhang Xueliang’s secret visit to Chinese mainland in 1994, Soong Mei-ling’s speech at the Congress of the Unites States in 1995, the Lien Chan and James Soong campaign in Taiwan general election in 2004, and Lien Chan’s visit to Chinese mainland in 2005. Charles W. Freeman, Jr., former US ambassador to China, and Yu Guangzhong and Yang Tianshi, well-known scholars, highly appreciate the value of this book and have made great efforts to promote the first publishing of this book in China.
In the spring of that year, China Times of Taiwan unexpectedly published a piece of news that ‘Wang Ji requested Li Denghui to grant Zhang Xueliang’s freedom’. It was known to all that Zhang Xueliang had been confined indoors for 52 years since the Xi'an Incident. It was said that Wang Ji was the son of Zhang Xueliang’s old friend, and acted as the head of Chinese Section of the Library of Congress in the United States at that time. However, few people knew that Wang Ji was the first cultivated person living in the United States who was approved by both Henry Kissinger, the current US Secretary of State, and Zhou Enlai, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, to pay a secret visit to Chinese mainland in 1972 when China and the United States got into contact secretly. The report on that secret visit to China in 1972 prepared by Wang Ji provided a good booster force for President Nixon’s visit to China.
As the son of Wang Shuchang, core military commander of the Northeast Army, Wang Ji recalled the history in his book, which was right derived from his position in dealing with the ‘triangular relations’ with skill and ease. This book can be regarded as a ‘60-year diplomatic spectrum between China and the United States as well as the Taiwan Region’, so to speak. The book mainly concentrated on two dimensions of the retrospective history.
Firstly, the memory of military and political celebrities of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CPC) who had kept close contact with his father, including Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Mei-ling, Zhang Xueliang, Zhang Qun, and Chen Lifu on the KMT side, and Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Yang Sahngkun and Lin Biao on the CPC side. However, his memoire did not consider a person as it stands, but discussed the person in history and narrated their performance at the crucial historical junctures. In particular, new interpretations were given to the following questions: Why did Zhang Xueliang change his banner in the Xi’an Incident? How did Soong Mei-ling protect him when he was confined indoors? What course could the 200 000 Pseudo-Manchu State army men on the northeast battlefield follow after the Anti-Japanese War? And why wasn’t it Zhang Xueliang or Wang Shuchang but Xiong Shihui, the general from South China, who arrived at the Northeast Battlefield when the war was ended? After 1949, it is due to his countless ties with the military and political seniors of Chinese Nationalist Party who had retreated to Taiwan that Wang Ji once again was relied heavily on by the new generation of Taiwan political leaders and played a positive role in facilitating the peaceful dialogue across the Taiwan Straits. In addition, this book also gave a new presentation on some major events, including how the Lien Chan and James Soong campaign was formed to challenge Chen Shui-bian in 2004, and how Lien Chan and James Soong crossed the Straits to make a second handshake between the leaders of the Nationalist Party and Communist Party possible. Secondly, the memory of Sino-American political communication. In the 1950s, Sino-American political communication was suspended and both countries became estranged. By that time, Wang Ji shifted his position from a professor of history to the head of Chinese Section of the Library of Congress in the United States. The Library of Congress was not designed to serve the public, whose real identity was similar to the brain trust of members of the US Congress and curator was directly appointed by the President. In 1967, an article published in the Nucleus Monthly of the United States, which provided a full description of the research and development of the first atom bomb of China, was actually the report prepared by Wang Ji three years ago in the Library of Congress according to Chinese materials. This article served not only as the basis for the appointment of Wang Ji to pay a secret visit to Chinese mainland by Kissinger in person, but also as one of the booster forces for President Nixon’s ultimate visit to China. During his work in the Library of Congress, Wang Ji made great efforts to change the ‘concept of China’ among American political chiefs, which were commonly recognized in both China and the United States. As a result, in the last 40 years since 1972, Wang Ji acted as one of the reliable participants in the visits of the CPC and state leaders to the United States as well as in the significant negotiations between the two countries. The enriched details provided in the book made the confusing ‘abnormal’ communication between China and the United States more reasonable.
What made people sighed with emotions in this book is, in addition to the celebrities and chief politicians, the historical details coming in a continuous stream, especially the native land emotion of Wang Ji as a hard worker in a foreign country. Charles W. Freeman, Jr., former US ambassador to China, praised him for ‘holding a very high position in the American governmental departments and playing a critical role in reopening the gate to communication in the knowledge community between China and the United States.’ However, the most moving narrations in the book were about Iris Zhang and Soong Mei-ling. It was with his help that Iris Zhang finished writing two influential books: Qian Xuesen: A Biography and The Rape of Nanjing. This represents an act of Chinese people who promote Chinese conception of history and values in the United States. However, Iris Zhang failed to have her claims recognized by all the people in the world, which ultimately led to her suicide. The speech made by Soong Mei-ling at the Capitol Hill in 1945 helped change the attitude of the United States and win great assistance for China that was trapped in the Anti-Japanese War; after a time interval of 62 years, through the concerted efforts of Wang Ji and congressmen of the United States, Soong Mei-ling returned to the Capitol Hill and her presence triggered the world’s commemoration of Chinese contributions to the defeat of fascism. However, to his great grief, the Chinese people living in the United States in the new era, as well as a great many Chinese associations, are infatuated with economic gains, and internal frictions continue to occur; despite of 4 million Chinese people in the United States, they ‘are weak in political capability’, and the ‘older Chinese’ and ‘younger Chinese’ begin to split. The recall of the leaders and political chiefs in the modern and contemporary history of China in the past 70 years and narration of major historical events by Wang Ji in his book actually serve one purpose: to promote the conceptions of Chinese culture and establish ‘a Chinese leading person in political circle who is able to influence the US-wide politics’. Only in doing so can a genuine legend be created between China and the United States by blending the essence and blood of the history.
Attached:
In his colorful life, Mr. Wang Ji mainly takes two identities: One is the head of Chinese Section of the US Library of Congress, assisting in setting up the library of the Chinese University of Hong Kong; the other is the peace-loving man who travelled between China and the United States as well as to Taiwan and Hong Kong during the Cold War to facilitate the interactions, assist in ending the period of the Cold War and direct to the peace. The book From Beijing to Washington D.C. is right a vivid and readable biography of himself.
——Yu Guangzhong, Taiwan poet
Dr. Wang Ji held a high position in the American governmental departments and played a critical role in reopening the gate to communication in the knowledge community between China and the United States. As the offspring of a famous family, he might have made a different success if he stayed in China; however, in the United States, he also turns out to be a very important person. He and those people he met with, have created a legendary story of life. I believe that you will love this book too much to part with it.
——Charles W. Freeman, Jr., former US ambassador to China and chief interpreter during President Nixon’s visit to China
Book Recommendation
Book Info.: From Beijing to Washington D.C.---my memory of Sino-American diplomatic history
In August 2012, Sino-Culture Press is committed to promoting the biographical memoir of Mr. Wang Ji, head of Chinese Section of the US Library of Congress, From Beijing to Washington D.C.---my memory of Sino-US diplomatic history. Born from the family of a political chief in the Republic of China, Wang Ji frequently travelled between China and the United States as well as to Taiwan and Hong Kong. He not only kept close contact with the leaders of the Chinese Nationalist Party in Taiwan, but also established a strong friendship with the political chiefs of the United States and the top leaders of Chinese Communist Party. This book has a substantially high historical value, in which, as the participant of several major historical events, the author reveals for the first time many major events behind the scenes, such as the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, failure of Zhang Xueliang’s secret visit to Chinese mainland in 1994, Soong Mei-ling’s speech at the Congress of the Unites States in 1995, the Lien Chan and James Soong campaign in Taiwan general election in 2004, and Lien Chan’s visit to Chinese mainland in 2005. Charles W. Freeman, Jr., former US ambassador to China, and Yu Guangzhong and Yang Tianshi, well-known scholars, highly appreciate the value of this book and have made great efforts to promote the first publishing of this book in China.