C. Martin Wilbur

Missionaries of revolution : Soviet advisers and Nationalist China, 1920-1927

During the 1920s the Soviet Union tried to stimulate revolution in China, sending scores of military and political advisers there as well as arms and money to influence political developments. The secrecy surrounding Soviet foreign intervention was broken when the Chinese government seized a mass of documents in a raid on the Soviet military headquarters in Peking in 1927. This book weaves together contemporary historical materials and information gleaned from these documents.

The Nationalist Revolution: from Canton to Nanking, 1923–28

The Nationalist Revolution of the 1920s succeeded because of a remarkable mobilization of human energy and material resources in the service of patriotic and revolutionary goals. This chapter discusses the rejuvenating the Kuomintang, creation of a revolutionary military force, conflict in the Kwangtung base, and the Russian financing of Chinese revolutionary activities. The patriotic purposes of the Northern Expedition was to liberate China from the warlords and win its rightful place of equality among the nations, with friendship for all. The disastrous Canton uprising, engineered by a small group of daring Chinese communist leaders to carry out general instructions of the new Provisional Politburo in Shanghai, marked a low point in the Communist Partys long struggle for power. Now the country had five main agglomerations of regional military power: the group proclaiming itself the Nationalist government, the Kwangsi faction, Feng Yii-hsiangs Kuominchiin, Yen Hsi-shan of Shansi, and Chang Hsuehliang and other Manchurian generals controlling domestic affairs in the North-east.

A Different Kind of Missionary: Soviet Advisers in China in the 1920s

This paper develops the thesis that some 260 Soviet advisers and staff working in China at various times in the 1920s had a significant influence both on their times and on later Chinese political history, even though their enterprise ended in failure and they returned to Russia in the summer of 1927 defeated. Why did they go to that distant? What work did they do? What experiences did they have? How did they react to the Chinese scene? What happened to them after their return to Russia?

The Influence of the Past: How the Early Years Helped to Shape the Future of the Chinese Communist Party

EARLY in 1928 the Chinese Communist Party was in crisis. It might have disintegrated and disappeared. Yet in fact it persisted, constantly refashioned itself, and ultimately became the political system of the country. The broad questions we may ask about this historical fact are: What was the nature of the Party in 1928? What had been the experience of the leadership? And what was the relationship between the Party, with its distinctive ideology, and the Chinese social environment?

Preface to My Life in Christian Service, by Hollis A. Wilbur

This is the autobiography of a gentle man, who devoted his adult life to Christian service in America, Japan, China, and Korea. He concentrated his energies on the development of the Young Mens Christian Association (YMCA) at home and abroad. He loved also to help individuals in need. He had innumerable friends: American, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. He enjoyed nothing more than to correspond with his wife and children, his relatives and friends around the world. All who knew him loved and admired him.

Sun Yat-sen: Frustrated Patriot.

Examines the influences which shaped the Chinese leaders personality as well describing the events of Dr. Suns frustrated political life.