Bandits, Soldiers, and Warlords - Part II

In addition to the hunghtze (bandits), another important element of Manchurian life during Anna Bøg’s time was the presence of soldiers. There were Chinese troops loyal to the ruling warlord Chang Tso-lin and, even during the 1920s, there were large numbers of Japanese soldiers stationed in Manchuria.

As mentioned previously, Japan had acquired the South Manchuria Railway and related leases in 1905 at the conclusion of the Russo-Japanese War, and had expanded the railway. The Japanese had a very high profile in Manchuria, especially in the southern tip, not far from where Siuyen is located.

Aside from the railroad itself, the Japanese owned a large concession in the southernmost part of the Liaodong Peninsula. This concession was called the Kwantung Leased Territory. It included Port Arthur and Dairen, where the South Manchuria Railway Company was based, and was comprised of 1,350 square miles or 3,500 square kilometers. (The concession was
southwest of Siuyen, which was not a part of the leased territory.)

While geographically within the southerly Manchurian province of Liaoning, the Kwantung Leased Territory was administratively independent, with its own Japanese governor-general. It was divided into two districts, with two cities, with city governments, and nine towns. This leased territory was protected by Japanese troops, first called the Kwantung Garrison and later the Kwantung Army.

In addition to the Kwantung Leased Territory, the Japanese also leased the South Manchuria Railway Zone, consisting of a wide strip of land on either side of the railroad tracks, extending along the 700 kilometer route from Dalian to Changchun, the 260 kilometer route from Mukden to Antung, and four other spur routes.* The total length was 1,100 kilometers and the total land area was 250 square kilometers.

The South Manchuria Railway zone was also protected by Japanese soldiers. As the Wikipedia entry puts it, “[T]hese were regular Japanese soldiers, and they frequently carried on maneuvers outside the railway areas.” (1) According to some estimates, there were 7,000 to 14,000 Japanese soldiers in Manchuria in the 1920s. (2)

While these Japanese soldiers were ostensibly in Manchuria for the purpose of guarding the South Manchurian Railway and related interests, Japan’s imperialist agenda was evident. Akiko Yosano, the Japanese poetess who toured Manchuria as a guest of the railway in 1928, wrote vivid descriptions of the military ambience at that time, which she found repugnant. About her stay in a hotel in Liaoyang, south of Mukden, in May, 1928, she wrote:

“Because of the troops from Korea** lodged there, we were unable to enter the rooms on the lower floor from which we could have seen the park. The officers and soldiers who came and went appeared to be in an excited state, as though a war was commencing. Imperialism and the smell of liquor rippled through, and the atmosphere of this inn became thoroughly incompatible with our desire to write poems about the gentle White Pagoda and the willow catkins. We entered a poorly lit room in a corner of the lower floor, and for a time could not even bring ourselves to open our bags and change clothes.” (3)

It was during Yosano’s visit to Mukden in early June, 1928, that Manchurian warlord Chang Tso-lin was assassinated. The events leading up to his assassination were as follows: revolutionaries had overthrown the Qing Dynasty in 1911 and established the Republic of China with Sun Yat-sen as its first ruler. Sun Yat-sen also founded the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party), which had ties with Soviet Russia, and eventually split into left- and right-wing factions. Sun Yat-sen was succeeded as its leader by Chiang Kai-Shek.

While internationally recognized, the Republic struggled unsuccessfully to consolidate its rule. Warlords such as Chang Tso-lin had their own armies and individual warlords or cliques of warlords held various parts of China. In 1924, Chang Tso-lin began a campaign to take North China and Beijing. By August 1925, Chang’s army controlled four large provinces within the Great Wall, including Shantung. And, after some setbacks, Chang Tso-lin captured Beijing in June, 1926. By May 1928, however, an alliance led by Chiang Kai-Shek had the upper hand. Chang Tso-lin left Beijing on June 3, 1928, and was assassinated the following morning. It is believed the Japanese assassinated Chang Tso-lin because he failed to stop Chiang Kai Shek, who went on to rule the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1948.

The assassination of Chang Tso-lin occurred so close to the city that Yosano, who was staying there are the time, heard the explosion that killed him. Here is Yosano’s description of the events of June 4, 1928:

“We arrived at [Mukden] Station at 8:30 p.m. . . [and] put up at the Yamato Hotel in the station building. We read in the newspaper that Marshal [Chang Tso-lin] was steadily retreating from [Peking] and that very day had left [Tientsin] to return to [Mukden] aboard the Jing-Feng Railway.**d that at the time of the explosion there were shots exchanged between the Japanese troops guarding the South Manchurian Railway line at the crossing and the Chinese troops watching the Jing-Feng line. We then understood what the earlier strange explosion that we had heard had been. After breakfast . . we heard all sorts of wild rumors. These were all stories that I, as a Japanese, could not bear to hear. It seemed as though, both inside and out, the city of [Mukden] was gripped with fear, the threat of danger, and chaos.” (4)

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*See the sketch map for the location of the Manchurian railroad routes, different parts of which were owned by the Japanese, the Russians, and the Chinese.
**Japanese troops based in Korea, which had been annexed by Japan in 1912.
***The Jing-Feng railway, which ran from Beijing to Mukden, was Chinese-owned.

Referenced sources:
(1) Wikipedia article entitled, “South Manchuria Railway Zone”
(2) Wikipedia article entitled “Chang Tso Lin”
(3) Yosano, Akiko; Travels in Manchuria and Mongolia [1928], translated by Joshua A. Fogel (Columbia University Press, New York, 2001), p. 43
(4) Yosano; op cit.; pp 118-119.

Image:
Wikipedia picture of soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army in 1900