Getting Back To My Father's Book

Wow!  It's been so long since I've updated this blog.  This summer has been so busy, between my vacations and co-workers' vacations, which mean I have a forever alternating work schedule, I just have not had time to concentrate on this project!  But now, I'm back at it.  I spent three hours on the phone with my father yesterday and got two interesting blog topics to write about.  What I'm focusing on today is mostly historical.  1927 was really a turning point in Chinese history, particularly how it led to the fall of the Kuomingtang and the Communist Revolution.  (Keep in mind, I'm writing this as a descendant of so-called "Communist traitors.")

For many years, China was split into states, all of them controlled by warlords.  In 1926, the Kuomingtang began what was called the Northern Expedition, which was an effort to unify China.  It began in the south and moved north, hence the name.  The Communist Party, which was smaller at the time, joined in on the effort.  During this period, the Communist Party consisted of a lot of peasants and it was still relatively disorganized so most of its movements were somewhat chaotic.

In April of 1927, Chiang Kai-shek, who was an important military leader then, announced he wanted the Kuomingtang to separate from the Communist Party.  As a result, many of the Communists were caught and executed.  A few months later, in July, the Kuomingtang officially announced it was going to split from the Communist Party.  The Communists retreated from Wuhan quietly.  It was from here on out that the Communist Party was declared an illegal organization.

However, just because they were no longer "in power" the Communists did not stop organizing.  In fact, it was probably because they were forced to retreat that anger and resentment grew.  The party recruited peasants and other uneducated people who were unhappy with the way they were treated by the wealthy.  Therefore, the Chinese Communist Party become the force that eventually overthrew the Kuomingtang.

Back to 1926-1927, Wuhan served as a center for all of this activity.  This was when my great-grandfather joined the movement and served as an instructor at a military school there.  He supported the idea of a unified China.  However, he was mortified by the amount of unnecessary violence the Communist Party used to gain control.  When the Kuomingtang announced the separation, my great-grandfather was afraid he would be captured by the Communists so he went into hiding with his family.  They rented a small apartment in another section of Wuhan and used another name for a while.  It wasn't until the Kuomingtang took complete control of Wuhan that my great-grandfather and my family were able to lead somewhat normal lives again.

This was always a very confusing part of Chinese history for me.  I wasn't aware the Kuomingtang and the Communist Party worked together for a while.  I remember my LaoLao (my mother's mother) telling me when she was young, she was a part of the Communist Party.  I was shocked because I know my grandfather, her husband, died at the hands of the Communists during the Revolution in the 1960s.  Now I understand.  At one point, the two parties were mixed, supposedly fighting for the same goal on the surface, while each secretly wanted to gain total control of the country.

Through this process, I am not only learning about my family's history, I'm learning so much more about Chinese history as well.  And what I wrote here is an over-simplified version of events.  China's history is so much more complicated than I think I will ever understand.  I just hope I can get enough insight to know where I come from.