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Diaries of General Joseph W. Stilwell (1900–1939, 1945–1946) Introduction

These diaries of General Joseph W. Stilwell are those remaining in the Stilwell Papers at the Hoover Archives that had not been placed on the Hoover Archives web site. In addition to chronicling his career and activities up to and following World War II, they offer insights into his developing character, as he matured from a twenty-one-year-old second lieutenant, fresh out of West Point, to a mature four-star general officer. They provide evidence of his early passion for exploring and observing different cultures and people and his innate curiosity, which led to an expanding mind and widespread interests. The entries also reveal his keen sense of humor, his ability to assess the character of others, his command of the English language, his artistic abilities, and his warmth for his family.

The diaries were Stilwell’s private writings and notes; he never intended others to see them. Some of the language used in the diaries was commonly accepted during the periods in which they were written; it is not appropriate or valid to apply today’s standards to it to draw conclusions about Stilwell’s character or views. Writing about some of the language and labels in the diaries, Barbara Tuchman, in her book Stilwell and the American Experience in China, makes the following statement, “Lesser vulgarities he used easily and seemingly without pejorative content.”

Often the diaries contain short notes and observations made by Stilwell. Some of those entries he incorporated into the daily entries, some he later crossed out, some were simply meant to remind him of something, and some are so cryptic they make no discernible contribution to the diaries’ historical significance. In those cases such entries have not been transcribed. When they are of interest or add to the daily entries, however, they have been incorporated into the transcripts.

The diaries were first transcribed several decades ago, when his widow and a daughter-in-law, Bettye Stilwell, manually typed them. The diaries, along with the rest of Stilwell's papers, were deposited at the Hoover Institution in stages from 1951 on. In 1998, my cousin, Deborah Bunce, began entering the manually typed transcriptions into a computer database. When Richard Sousa (senior associate director) and Linda Bernard (deputy archivist) agreed that the diaries should appear on the Hoover Archives web site, I began proofing the computer database text against the original diaries. Lisa Miller (associate archivist) provided the impetus for the project and coordinated formats, scanning of drawings and maps, and integrating the various elements into the final product. Lisa Nguyen (East Asia curator) transcribed and translated the Chinese characters Stilwell used in the diaries. Russell Rader (digital archivist) and Daniel Jarvis (digitization production specialist) did the scanning of the drawings and maps and the integration.

Principles of Transcription

Stilwell’s spelling throughout the diaries was remarkably correct. Distinguishing between his handwritten n’s and u’s, however, was sometimes difficult, and errors in place names or names of people containing those letters could have made their way into the transcripts. Based on Stilwell’s superb spelling elsewhere, then, any such errors must be attributed to the transcriber, not to Stilwell.

In some of the diaries Stilwell included drawings of maps, people, places, and things that interested him. Those drawings have been incorporated into the transcriptions, with the exception of partially completed drawings or those not germane to the diaries.

Hoover Institution Archives: The Diaries of General Joseph W. Stilwell. Copyrighted Material 2012

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Where Stilwell wrote Chinese characters in the diaries, those characters have been translated using the Wade-Giles convention, which was in use at the time he wrote them.

SYMBOLS USED IN THE TEXT

* Indicates Stilwell’s use of military unit designations that have been translated into words because the designators are not reproducible online.

*** Indicates words or sentences redacted. Redactions were made where the words or sentences might negatively affect persons still living or where words or sentences are personal and have no impact on the historical content of the diaries. Redactions were made in the 1935, 1938, and 1946 diaries.

Words written in italics are editorial comments for which explanations were warranted.

Select Bibliography

Haith, Michael E. “Joseph W. Stilwell as Attaché, 1935–1939: Foundations for Command in the CBI.” Thesis submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board, April 1985.

Schaller, Michael. The U.S. Crusade in China, 1938–1945. New York: Columbia University Press, 1979.

Tuchman, Barbara. Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911–45. New York: Macmillan Company, 1970.

-John Easterbrook, 2012 Copyright Statement Joseph W. Stilwell's diaries are covered by the copyright law of the United States. Please refer all requests to publish excerpts or quotations to the Hoover Institution Archives, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305-6010, or to [email protected]. Such requests will be forwarded to the Stilwell family, who owns the rights to the diaries.


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mailto:[email protected]

Notes from Diary #41 1939

Siam – 200,000 sq. mi. (France) Eng and Ireland 12,000,000 people. 1,000 mi. N. to S. 7,000,000 acres in rice. 4,300,000 tons annual export. = 63% of total exports. 10% more in tin. 5% more in teak. SATANG, TICAL, & BAHT. Bangkok, built in 1782. Area there & south, all alluvial. Siamese came from Yangtze. Constant wars with Burmese & Cambodians. Rama I, II, III, IV and V, VI. Then Prajadipok VII & present King VIII. (1257) Angkor used to be in Siam. Grabbed by France in 1907. Angkor & Borabudur both Indian. Aborigines negroid. Rama V was Chulalongkorn d. 1910. Rama VI 1910-1925 Rama VII 1925-1932.

The jap face mask gets to be an annoying thing. To see those little pig eyes peering from behind a leather contraption that fits over mouth & nose lets you know how superior in a sanitary way the jap feels over it. Most of them wear it as much for that feeling as to keep dust out. It puts them one up on any foreigner who does not wear one, too. But when you come to think of it, you should be glad – it covers up at least part of an ugly mug that would be overwhelming if seen entire. The correspondent complex “I – I – I” “Bulson Chang waited on me.” “All you have to do to be convinced is go with me to Yenan.” “You can go with me & see for yourself.” etc. If China wins, it will be through the middle & lower classes, not through the slacker educated & wealthy muts. Develop idea of how they would all be dumb if denied their “patter.” Indo-China. – 23,000,000 people – of whom about 18,000,000 Annanites. 5 provinces – Tonkin, Annam, Cochin-China, Cambodia, Laos. Three native kings – Cambodia, at Pnom Penh (Sisowathmaniwong); Laos at Luang Prabang, & Annam (incl Tonkin) at Hue. 8,500,000 in Tonkin – 4,500,000 in Cochin China – 4,000,000 in Cambodia – 5,000,000 in Annam – 1,000,000 in Laos.


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Rice in the two big deltas. – Tonkin with the Red River, & Cochin China – Cambodia, with the Mekong. 1100 miles Hanoi to Saigon. Old Mandarin Road – Hanoi to Saigon to Pnom Penh to Siamese border, about 2250 kilometers. Saigon 320,000; Haiphong 100,000, Hanoi, 140,000; Pnom Penh 75,000. No other big towns. SIAM – under Khmers till 1257. (KHMER, BRAHMINS. SIAM. BUDDHIST) _____________________ SUKHODAI DYNASTY 1257–1350 AYUDHIA DYNASTY 1350–1767

(Ayudhia burned by BURMESE.) (After constant wars.) DHONBURI DYNASTY 1770–1782 CHAKRI (BANGKOK) DYNASTY 1782–date _____________________ Burmese conquered Siam 1569 – (for 15 yrs) and in 1767 (Ayudhia burned.) _____________________ Khmers at Angkor 9th to 13th Century when Siamese broke loose. Acc. to Cambodians, this was aggression.

____________________ Foreigners. PORTUGUESE 1511 Constant in- JAPS (Ayudhia) 1592 tercourse, even DUTCH 1604 after 1636 when

Japan was closed ENGLISH 1612 DANES 1621 Mission R.C. FRENCH 1662 from Louis 14.

Embassies. Budget – 120 million Baht $65 million

French progress in Indo China – Dynastic rivalry in Annam. French helped Nguyên Anh to win 1799. His successors broke off relations with foreigners & persecuted the missionaries. So, a French-Spanish fleet takes Tourane (1858) & Saigon (1859) & France gets part of Cochin-China & an indemnity. Then the emp. Tu-Duc “denies his word”, so the French complete the grab. Then Tu-Duc, “to revenge himself,” “causes the Tonkin mandarins to baffle the Fr. there.” But F. Gariner conquers the



Tonkinese delta, and in ’74, a treaty gives the Fr. Cochin-China & “a MORAL protectorate” over Annam. In 1882 Tu-Duc got Chinese help & the Black Flags came in. In 1884, the Treaty of Hué made the protectorate effective. Kuang Cho Wan, 99 yr. lease from China in 1899 – plus a feeler on Hainan & aspirations in Yunnan. As for Cambodia, it was “threatened with extinction” when the French relieved it, first by removing the “Annam threat” in l861, & then the “Siamese threat” in 1863, making it a protectorate. In 1904 “France obtained for C. the renunciation of Siamese suzerainty” & in 1907, “the retrocession of the provinces of Battembang, Sisophon & Siemréap.” As for Laos, the Annamese & Siamese were “constantly encroaching” on it, so France in 1893 forced the withdrawal of the Siamese from it. The Siamese had “invaded” in 1885. A Fr. fleet threatened Bangkok & Siam gave up her “pretensions” to the left bank of the Mekong, and in 1907, Siam also “evacuated” the Laos territory on the right bank, thus “saving” Laos.

This is one way of writing it, – the official French version. There is, of course, a possibility of phrasing it differently.

Penang – (Prince of Walles Island) – GEORGE TOWN. 108 square miles – Pop. 170,000. First Br. settlement in Malaya. Ceded by Rajah of Kedah in 1786. 1867, tr. from Indian govt. & incorporated in Str. Set. 106 inches of rain. JAVA – (7% area of Dutch India; 70% pop of Dutch India) About 700 miles x 75-100 miles. Pop. 40,000,000. OIL, RICE, SUGAR, TEA, COFFEE, TEAK, CACAO, CITRONELLA, NUTMEG, CINNAMON, etc. etc. TOBACCO, KAPOK, COCONUT, RUBBER. RHINO, TIGER, BUFFALO Sundanese –West Java Javanese – center & east Java Madurese – N.E. Java. Balinese – Bali Malay is the lingua franca. All tribes have own languages. NO PIGS – Of course not, Mohammedan. Chinese have them. Kept outside town. Easy going. Accept Brahman & Buddhist temples & stories & beliefs and services as well as Moham. Hindu influence before 4th cent. Up to 16th. In 15th & 16th Moh. influence swept over Java. Bali 8 years to learn Balinese. No European does it. Extreme precision in pronunciation. 1,200,000 pop. 2200 sq. mi. >Delaware – Hindu. Moham influence never got here. Dutch first in 1597. In 1906 they took over on south side after being in north since 1849. Balinese heaven, -- come back here. Balinese hell, – have to stay in heaven. Village temples everywhere. Clans live in walled compounds. Western part very wild & unpopulated. Hindu immigrants – farmers. Aborigines – weavers, silversmiths. Caste system. Balinese used to control Lowbok. Chinese cash in circ. – big ones – 1” in diam. 7 cash = 1 cent. Variable exchange.



Brahma – Blue – Fire (?) Vishnu – Red – water Siva – white – Wind Balinese also have the story of Rama.

Sago comes from Sago palm. Tapioca comes from cassava root. (10% of arable land in Java is cassava.) Jack-fruit & Bread-fruit look alike, but aren’t. – Jack-fruit can be eaten raw. Bread-fruit must be processed. Only 7 cities in Java over 100,000. Batavia (500,000+), Soerabaya (350,000), Semarang, Djokjakarta, Bandoeng, Sotrakarta, Malang (100,000) About 1730-1740 – the Dutch had a small garrison on KISAR near Timor; & forgot all about it. The garrison mixed with the natives & the result is a mestizo population. Bunk by “Youth” about how the last generation muddled things. Well, how about the present mess? Did they do that too? _____________________ Slop about what suckers we were to go to France. We were suckers afterward, when we failed to grab & hold our leadership.

Isolation = fear – & where will it get us? Can’t we walk the earth unafraid any more? Putting off only makes it worse. June 3 ’39. Good news from N. Hupeh. Japs pull back from attempt on Siangyang & Fancheng, leaving dead & wd. as well as guns, for 1st time in the war. Chang Tzu Chung mentioned. Apparent Chinese success. Should be pushed to halt jap adv. on Changsha. So, 59A is there (4xx & 25xx S.E. of Yochow (52ndA & 13thA) about May 25). Feng Yü Hsiang mentioned in W. Hupeh.

Jap flop since Nov. 1, 1938. No progress. Only Chungking bombing, & Nanchang.

_____________________ May 20 – Jap meeting decides on liquidation of China Incident as first priority. _____________________ June 19 – Jap newspaper says British should hand over Hong Kong to the Nanking government. _____________________ July – Buir Lake – Khalka R. affair. Absurb jap claims – 522 planes down. Still on in August.



Neuhaus – Sanoer, Bali (Bali carvings) Rumpi Adji – chauffeur in Bali Tung Yoo – chauffeur in Bangkok Herman Scholtz – Bangkok Neville Armand Tejor – Saigon – Touring. Better get it in the chest fighting than in the back side running away. Lacking orders, you’re O.K. if you fight. Your apparent failure may be somebody else’s success. Hang on. Common sense solves most problems. “Don’t worry” is the bunk. You must worry, – about supply, orders, the sit., the future. Somebody will tell you where to start from, the direction to move, & the limits of your lane & the time to jump off etc. etc. Control – Directing fire – Keeping contact – Reporting. The big thing is to walk up to it & take what comes. Don’t worry because you’re shy on technique – ask. Meanwhile follow your common sense.

Do a book for the O.R.C. Organization – Barn-yard tactics – Supply. Functions of the arms. Setups, attack & defense. Orders, communications, evacuation, etc. Equipment, photos of art. (75,150, 80 T.M., 37mm 50 TM. L & HMG 50c MG How & when used) 20mm A.A. 88 A.A. etc. Tanks. – Let ’em go, they’re blind. Get the Inf. Planes C.A.C. All in one-syllable words. What you must do & how you do it – EXECUTION. General rules –

Always – Sec. – Inf. – Contact. Always check up on execution. Always start early. Anticipate action. Always check – am. – water – food – feet – morale. Disperse for defense vs. art. & air

etc. Debunk the slop about the development of the S. W. (See Reader Digest of May ’39 – digest of articles in Asia). “They are doing this & that – The univ. have all gone west, bringing these modern ideas to the poor medieval nit-wits,” etc. The gallant youth of China – etc. etc. _____________________ It is the middle & lower classes with the 2% impetus at the top that is doing the work. All this Pollyanna stuff is O.K. as far as it goes, but it is mostly slop to excuse slacking. (Develop this idea)



All China has is the idea that she has been kicked around enough & that she is now going to do something about it. All the 2-weeks’ experts dress up this idea & call it this & that, but it is just a dim idea so far. But it is growing & when the Chinese get their backs up, God help you. Put any fancy name you want to on it, and let the studes & intellig. etc. label it & analyze it & use it for their own shabby ends – the lao pai hsing will go in & rescue the country from the mess & reconstruct it afterwards. There are 400 million of them. _____________________ Also, – all these flat statements about England did this & the U.S. did that, etc, for this or that reason. Can anybody say there is any continuous policy in effect anywhere? Each nation takes each situation & set of conditions as they arise & acts on it. Witness 1927 – all against China, on acct. of the KMT policy then.

Should act on the facts now & stop the japs. Afterward if China doesn’t behave we can “stop the Ch.” But they won’t need it. _____________________

Sunrise & Sunset in the Orient About jap character –

appearance – build – character – motives – amusement. Dull & limited in intelligence. Energy – perseverance – imitativeness. Everything plays into their hands. The situation, attitude of foreigners, who take them at

their own valuation. _____________________ The politician rarely has to face a test of his actions – the comdr. continually & in every detail. _____________________ Burning of Changsha showed the state they were in. The japs were tired out & had no fresh troops.

The fundamental conception of Japan is wrong. She is just a feudal barbarian dressed in modern clothes. What a compliment to our type of civ. if she could assimilate it so easily. To accept the japs as equals is the big mistake.

Jap concept – a non-jap is an enemy. Lie to him. Kick him. Sting him. Smile sweetly at him. Blame it on the “ignorant soldier,” etc. etc.

What a travesty! We give the results of all our work to these monkeys & they proceed to annihilate helpless people with them.

Pull down the statues of Perry. We opened ’em up; we should smack ’em down.

FACTS ABOUT FAR EAST

The war was inevitable because China was getting strong. Japan had to jump in while the

odds were all her way. Lukouch’iao was just the occasion, any other incident would have served as well.



The japs had no definite objective. The “5 northern provinces”, vaguely, or rather probably, as being the limit they could go without getting China’s back up. They thought this loss would so reduce the prestige of CKS that he could be ousted & regional regimes would result – easy to handle. They must have thought this would ruin the K.M.T. Otherwise they had a long struggle on their hands to hold it. Shanghai was not in the calculations. Once committed there, the war HAD to be general & objectives enlarged. Without limit – and this will bust them.

No matter who wins, there will be chaos in China for a long time. Everybody has a gun & if China wins, banditry will be wide-spread. They have no way of taking care of ex-soldiers. If the japs win, the patriots will still be in the hills in large numbers. Either way the foreigners lose their stake, although they will get far better terms & treatment from the Chinese.

China is unified. Largely due to jap brutality & excesses. jap stupidity is defeating them. They could have had cooperation in the north.

The air bombing is not breaking down the Chinese will to resist. One good crop & China will be back on her feet. Japan must re-capture her foreign trade.

No. China (& Manch.) is actually producing very little for the japs. Some coal, fur, wool & a little cotton. That’s all, ex. salt.

Vladivostok is still only 600 mi. from Tokyo. The myth of jap universal education

The myth of jap progress & modernization The myth of jap martial prowess.

The Chinese were demoralized after Nanking. They were evacuating Hsuchow. Japs could have gone to Hankow without opposition & maybe finished the war.

Same after Hankow & Canton.

From here on Note made in 四川 (Szechuan) March-April 1937

Science Developing New and Terrible engines of War!

This kind of slop continues to recur. What are the facts? Science, in pursuing developments in all lines develops certain methods & materials which it is afterward found can be adapted to use in war. Primarily these are for use in peace. The plane is a sample. Acids, gasses, Caterpillar tractor. Only guns & explosives are primarily war-like & they have been only slightly improved in many year. Do you want to go back to conditions before science developed the phone, the telegraph, radio, gas engine, automobile, chemical industry, etc. etc. anesthetics, modern surgery, disease control, vaccination, etc. Is it worse to be killed by a M.G. bullet than an oak splinter or a minie ball? And what do you mean by mass killing? How about Cannae & similar fights?

War is hell & you cannot refine it, but it isn’t any worse than it ever has been.

Plane vs. Ship; Death from the Air. No ship has even been damaged in the Spanish war, up to June, ’37. Why is any one left alive in Madrid? What is deciding the location of the battle lines? Result of British Study. Retain capital ships. Cost: 1 ship = 43 bombing planes, – not 1,000.



Internationalism. The internationalists snort at patriotism & the narrow minds of those who preach loyalty to their country. This point of view is open to criticism: 1. Was Geo. Washington, & others who struggled to form the U.S.A., just a dumb-bell? 2. Were their sacrifices foolish? 3. Do the inter’s. feel no gratitude for their efforts? 4. Do they believe that the injustice from which the colonies suffered should have been

swallowed? 5. Are they prepared to accept the situation they would now be in if it has been? 6. Do they believe that no wolves remain in the world? 7. Do they trust the assurances of Japan, Germany, Italy, Russia, Gr. Britain, etc? 8. Do they accept for themselves & their children the unlimited mixing of aliens? 9. Do they want to turn the world over to the fastest breeders? 10. Do they think the standard of living in the U.S. should be lowered?

Cheerful sights along the road. _____________________ Chauffeur & asst. ch. beating up a coolie farmer, for not jumping off the road quickly enough. _____________________ Chauffeurs spitting in people’s faces on the road. _____________________ Corpses in the Yang Tze. _____________________ Faces with holes for noses. _____________________ Chink in Chengtu in worsted drawers. Another on train from Hankow. _____________________ Soldier being beaten by sgt. with a stick. _____________________ Pig’s head in tree at Cha Ting. _____________________ Rain ceremonies & processions. _____________________ Woman beating her son in the street. _____________________



The Yang Tze city people are just as nasty as usual. Liars & thieves, rapacious & grasping, loud & offensive. They love to sting a foreigner. (Coolie to Sha Yang $25.) Sometimes they get a flare back, such as we furnished at Ichang, but not often. They love to see foreigners in trouble, or in what they think is trouble. They love to trample all over the foreigner’s rights, & then gloat over it & nudge one another. They have courage for this only in large numbers; when alone or in small groups they are careful not to offend. But when they think they can safely do it, they openly ridicule the foreigner in the most insolent & insulting manner. They find us extremely funny. They respect us only when we dress well & appear rich, or act in a dominating way & thus show we have power & influence. If we appear poor or without influence, they have only contempt for us. Hupeh is worse than Szechuan, & Hunan is worse than Hupeh. A big killing should be arranged here. _____________________

1,200,000 soldiers in single file, 12” per soldier, will stretch for 240 mi. (If they are all turtles, they can stretch out their necks & double the distance.)

Fully equipped, with art. & small trains, the Chinese could have 100 divs. of about 10,000 men each plus necessary auxiliary troops. Each division would in one column cover about 10 miles, and the army would be 1000 miles long in one column.

The Chinese could profitably expend 10 lice to kill 1 mustard; to get 100,000 mustards (total killed in ALL Japan’s wars) only 1,000,000 lice are required. By the time these were used up, 3,000,000 more would be available. (March, 1937). By Aug. 1938, they had done it. – Over 100,000 mustards are dead & probably 5 – 600,000 lice. And there are about 2,000,000 more lice ready. They have done it, begod.

榮 (jung) = Yün, of Yün Hsien 張家場 (Chang Chia Ch’ang)

Pushing the Chinese is like shovelling in a sand pit, or like holding back water. Each drop is easy to move, but there are too God damn many drops. The entire crowd lays its dead weight of inertia on anything that opposes it, & just waits. After a while, you get tired & quit, & the Chinese flow back into the little hole you may have made. Lin Yu T’ang’s Great Executioner is the only answer. _____________________ The Chinese in their handicrafts, have perfected methods of turning out inferior articles almost as fast as a machine can turn out good ones. – Which proves that they will go on doing it rather than buy the machine. They are “almost as good.” (p.e. candles) _____________________ The poppy is cultivated all along the Yang Tze, for 100 mi. or more E. of Ch. Ch. _____________________



The Yang Tze at low levels gives the impression of a big artificial canal just dug out, with her guts flung along the landscape on both sides. It looks raw & new & unfinished.

茅荍 MAO CHIAO 河咡坎 HO ERH K’AN

Rice truck robbed on road to Ch. Ch. There will be plenty of it. _____________________ The SIMIAN SOLDIERS of China doing M.P. work in the streets of 自流井 (Tzu Liu Ching), spaced about 10’. On their hats, “SAVE THE COUNTRY, FIGHT JAPAN!” _____________________ Wan Hsien like most of the river towns, is both dirty & hostile. Warned to stay on main streets. Usual corpse on exhibition on beach. At last saw the old bridge. What the japs would do with that gully & what the Chinos do. On top of the natural bridge, (the 石 (Shih) Ch’in) – drying field for turd. The stream, for washing only. The falls, with stone prongs to keep the washer women from falling over. The water, completely fouled. The banks garbage, trash, & corruption. The houses on stilts, filthy & dilapidated. Pigs straying around. A swarm of women & kids. One old gray horse. (The Glen!) Flour at Kwanhsien 10¢ a chin. Cord shoes – 10¢ a pair. Kan pings 2 coppers – skags 8¢ & 10¢. _____________________ Li Piu was called 西海 (Hsi hai) lung 王 (wang). In Ch’engtu 44A, 2D?? Banyan, bamboo, carabao, flor de la muerte (?), rice, wheat, tobacco, hemp, pepper, salt-wells, cotton, silk, paper, tiles, water-wells, foot-pumps, sugar etc. etc. A rich section. CHA TING, 20 li to HSIN TS’ANG. High wind & rain. 50 li to Ma Ti Chin (Chên?). – A fair-sized busy town every 10 or 15 li. – 9-team water-power crowd near Ma Ti Chin. Triple wheels, with squirrel-cage action to lift water. Rich country but dry. ½ rice fields cracking, to flood the rest. – No soldiers needed in the country. Everybody well behave. – Louse boxes at every town. In the chi tan kao belt – O.K. – (Peanuts – tangerines, chi tan kao, rice crispie soup, molasses candy, fresh peas, la tze chi, bamboo shoots, yu ts’an, cabbage, pig ball soup, pao tze, kuo kuei’sh, sandwiches, sweet potatoes, cornmeal, imitation meat, wafer cake (over charcoal), yu tze crystallized rind, Irish potatoes, tung kua rind. No mantou, no poppies, no wheelbarrows, no bound feet on kids. No Hunan rudeness. _____________________



Mt. Top platform – Long Mt. Bridge, the Bamboo Grove Store, Wash Elephant Pool – Ceremonies for rain everywhere. Prayers, processions, etc. _____________________ The Chinese respect riches, power, or the appearance of same. They have contempt, rather than any sense of pity, for others less fortunate than themselves. _____________________ PLENTY POPPY ’LONG THE YANG TZE. _____________________ Beggar swipes leavings in 重 (Chung) Ch’ing restaurant. In-grab-out-gone. 謝德堪 Brig. Comdr. HSIEH TÊ K’AN – 45th Army. 特科司令官 LIU HSIANG – cigars & thanks TENG HSI HOU – thanks (truck) HSIEH TÊ K’AN – thanks (courtesy) _____________________ Data on Kwanhsien Bridge. Suspension – 7 spans, bamboo cables, each of 3 strands, each 2½” in diam. Floor support 10 cables – floor 7’ wide. 5 susp. cables on each side. Anchorages stone, cables wrapped around vertical piles one foot thick. Tension adjusted by twisting anchor poles. 6” planks cross wise for floor. Piers are 5-poles each. One stone pier after 3 spans. About 1500’ long. Floorway 25’ above stream.

Kwanhsien – Jap flavor – temples – trees, clean water, curving streets with shops, stone basket revetments, paved road, hills, damp. _____________________ Szechuan – 4 roads – south road (west) to Tachienlu, west road (NW) to Sung p’an, north road (NE), to Kwan Yuan, east road (SE) to Ch.Ch’ing.



Li Pin originated the Kwanhsien project. Ch’in dynasty. His temple is a gem, – would do well in Kyoto. His advice was to “LI2 TUI”, – avoid mounds. “Keep the dike low; keep the channel clear. Kwanhsien is just on the fringe of the mountains & catches a tinge of Tibet and the wild places west of the Ch’engtu plain. _____________________ Simplicity – Bamboo bucket. Hang up a flute etc. over a pole, cooking especially. Write M.I.D. about closing in on privileges to Chinks in U.S. Have a letter written to Nanking to advise a bit more courtesy to our accredited representatives, so we won’t have to sit around for three days waiting for a S.O.B. to see our attaché. _____________________ Liu Hsiang’s gang: 21A 21st T’ang Shih Chen All former Liu (old) 23rd P’an Wen Hua boys in 21st. Now 44th Wang Chih I vs. 24th Lin Wen Hui – Sikang 41st Sun Teh Chen – Mien Yang Fav. disp. 45th Têng Shih Hou – Ch’eng Tu toward 47th Li Chia Yü – Ch’ung Tsu

Frank. 20th Yang Sên – Kweichow

Game now proceeding _____________________ Dinner at 成都 (Ch’eng Tu), March 24 Barbara Shurman (Mrs. Petro) M. & Mme. Fontaine, Fr. R. R. Eng. M. Bechon, Fr. Consult. Père Montel, Fr. Mission & Consulate Ch’ien Hsun Sheng, Ch., Fr. Consulate Herzog, German, Eurasia pilot Switzer, Swiss, Eurasia pilot Cavaliere, Italian, Postal Com. Engler, American. (?) Saravitch (?) ______itsky, (?) Russian woman dr. Joe, 1st Lt. 15th Inf. JWS, Am. M.A. (Petro in Chungking) 7 nationalities _____________________



Cocktails, etc. Caviar, (by Eurasia plane) Pigeon egg soup Fish ring Ham & pineapple Fresh lima beans, green Pâté de foie gras & lettuce. Strawberry tart. coffee & liqueurs Vodka, white & red wine, & champagne. BOOKLESS (salt gabelle) at 自 (tzu) Liu 井 (ching) . 汪 (wang)’s card to ting-ch’ai.

Ch’êngtu – Chungking R.R. 530 kilometers – (330 miles). Just double the air-line. 36,000,000 cu. m. of terrassement. 1% grade. Constr. started March 17. 3½ yrs. to finish. An inverted S, lower loop big; up river about 100 kilometers & then up a lateral valley. Many tunnels & bridges. Cost $35,000,000, cut down from Randolph estimate of 52,000,000.

50,000 laborers. Hard to get the rock work done, no experienced men. No cement. It cost 5 times here what it does in Shanghai. Instead, lime cement will be

used. (de la chaud) No extremes of temperature. Never freezes, minimum temp 32° F. Bridges not long, but many very high ones, some 40 meters. All bridges in steel. Construction from Chungking end, for economy’s sake in transporting materials.

All engineer personnel American trained Chinese. The Fr. Eng. is thus forced to adopt American methods & measurements. Easy grades & big curves, a well built road, – built for the future. The Yunnan link will also be put in by the French. The link to Sian will be put in by the Lung Hai line. FONTAINE (Fr. RR Eng.) Chung King No. 2 in Fr. mission is Père Poisson. Young père is José. Regards. Bechon to Sabattier. Bechon was a doctor with the Russians during the war. Fontaine’s first job was on the Yunnan R.R. He has built them in Russia, Turkey, Syria, & Africa as well.



126 D 45 A in Kwanhsien. “Wang Kiang Lou” outside east gate in a grove of bamboo – sacred to the memory of a T’ang poetess. Bamboo rafts on river. We chowed on upper porch. Pleasant summer resort. ____________________ Beggar with his feet displayed – mummified. _____________________ Tomb objects of Han & T’ang times. Coolie cutting up fish. Coolie with broom and dust-pan – man playing a musical instrument. The West China Union Univ., supported by Episs-copalians, Methodists, Baptists, Friends, & two other sects (6), an immense plant with only 400 studes. An over-developed Tung Chow. College of medicine, dentistry, science, etc. 20 girl graduates last year, – considered quite some feat! It seems like a mighty puny return on the investment. There ought to be at least 4,000 studes there to justify it. They get 20,000 a yr from Nanking, and nothing from 四川

(Szechuan). Miao letter written on bamboo. Old type shêng – miao on lolo. Tree money – bronze. out of a log – 一斗字 (i tou tzu) picture. (God puts a 斗 (tou) on a man’s hat & he becomes famous.) – 1000-armed barley-meal god going to it. – Tomb pot – double boiler type – outer casing carved – of pottery. – Neck-lace of beads made of human skull-bone. – Frog & duck wine pitchers (lama). Iron & string Tibetan devil-net, jumbled & tangled. – Rubbing from the Sha stone – the so-called Butcher of Szechuan (Li Tzu ching’s time) – found just as the boys were about to use it on road work! _____________________ Tomb of LIU PEI – San Kuo emperor in Szechuan. Aided by Chu Ko Liang –he became emp. Opposed Ts’ao Ts’ao with help of Sung Ch’uan – (about 370 A.D.). A mound like the Momoyama tomb of Meiji. Posthumous name – Chao Lieh – Inscription reads (“Han Chao Lieh Chih Ling”. The temple looks like a jap temple – big trees in the courts. (127th & 144th Divs. message centers here. Group of 41st A. 1 D. No fan handles in Graham’s collection. _____________________ Hard porcelain began in SUNG times. One color – occasional 2-color, blue or cream. Colors in MING times, – blue & white, & then the wu sê. Then full bloom in CH’ING times.

Glaze in colors on T’ang pottery.

Look up Miaos, Lolos, & Ch’angs.



_____________________ Museum – Bronze drums (Han) – Quilt made of communist money. Shang dynasty jade implements. Grooves apparently cut with metal implements. Only proof of this. Han & T’ang tomb objects – houses, fish-ponds, women’s figures, warriors, cooking utensils, dancers, large 3’ figures of guards. – Lama image of god on bull on prone woman, bronze. – Coffin of lime & sand, holes for drainage. – Linked mail coat of armor. – (Graham didn’t have lapis lazuli.) – Stuff from the Peking man cave. Ivory poor. The 八仙 (Pa Hsien) in ink. – Lama gongs of alloy of gold, silver & brass. – Lama sacred books, written in gold and silver. 108 candle-stick lamps – Tibetan ladder cut. Hu Kuo-Kung is at Chungking. (Nanking adv. P.C.) – in command of all troops (C.G. and Prov.) theoretically. Actually he “co-operates” with Louis (4 C.G. divs. They stay here). Nanking subsidizes 四川 (Szechuan) troops. There is a min t’uan system here. All districts have militia. B. locally. The pao chia system is in effect. _____________________ Check up – Natl. Econ. Com. & its work in N.W. 四川 (Szechuan) incl or excl. Natl. Reconstr. Com.??? _____________________ 21st A & 41st Div car passed us to-day. Send a shêng to D.C. GRAHAM, – West China Union U., Chengtu (Museum man). He says glass dating from 600 B.C. has been found in tombs, & that Doc Ferguson knows about it. (Ask him.) _____________________ There were no poppies anywhere along the road from Han Chung to Chengtu. Sung says they are really cutting it out. _____________________ Land near Chengtu is $180 & $200 a mou. Even 100 li out it is $100 & $120. _____________________ One crop of rice a year. Two & three crops of vegetables & other grains. Crops never fail in Szechuan except at times in the mountains in the north. _____________________ Look up S.O. road maps. _____________________ Bamboo – coal – iron – rice – vegetables – oranges – grains (except millet – why?)



The old 29thA is the new 41st. The old 28thA is the new 45th. The old 21st was unchanged. The 24th (Lin Wen Hui, former gov.) is in Sikang. Liu Hsiang had the 21st (split up). 鄧錫候TENG HSI HOU has the 45th; he is the candidate for Chu hsi if Louis loses out on holding both his jobs. Theme: “Chinese Should not Kill Chinese” Utter slop. There are millions of Ch. that richly deserve killing. The arrogant, parasitic, paralytic & syphilitic coolie armies that howl patriotic slogans & demand war with Japan, – with somebody else to fight it – should be decimated eight or nine times, & the remnant culled out, with the culls put to work on the roads. This curse of soldiers is not simply expense of maintenance of a million and a half “soldiers”, but the tremendous economic loss induced by their oppression. They are out for money, & behind the mask of service & patriotism they are all busily bleeding China white. They are ruthless in taxation, extortion, conscription & confiscation. They justify their acts of brigandage by howling that they are getting ready to fight Japan. They are going to die for the country so why shouldn’t they live on it? All these hordes still acknowledge the sovereignty – not of the state, but of the chief bandit from whom they get their living, & license to loot and extort. There is still no real allegiance to a government. – The soldier is either Lin Hsiang’s man, or CHL’s man, or Pai Ch’ung Hsi’s man. The personal policy of the leader, dictated by purely (sic) personal motives, determines the action, or inaction, of his following. The only control of the govt. lies in some community of interest, or by compromise or concession or threat. There is no unity of command, & therefore no cohesion. This fact of personal allegiance is fundamental, & it will take a long, long time to get it out of the mind of the Chinese soldier, who has been accustomed to it for so long, & who has been so thoroughly encouraged in the idea by his leaders. “Leaders” is a misnomer; “bosses” is a better word. The general’s command is his stock in trade, – up for sale to the highest bidder, & it is always an easy matter for the Ch. general to find a high-sounding excuse for the blackest treachery. If we say that Japan, by taking ready-made the trappings of modern civilization without going through the painful process incidental to developing them, is incapacitated from understanding or using them to the best advantage, why should we expect the Chinese to develop a strong army without going through the fire? The constant condoning of rebellion & rewarding of rebels, the arguing over obedience or disobedience of orders, the compromising, the buying off of opposition, etc. etc. are breaking down what little discipline & morale there is. The argument for all this is that China must at all costs be unified. What kind of unification is it that grows out of such maneuvering? The very size of the enormous body of troops on foot in this country is a serious weakness. Without control, the greater the number, the more likelihood of splits & attempts by local Napoleons to extend their authority (& powers of taxation). If, instead of this constant bickering & talk & compromising of vital issues the C.G. would take vigorous action against the first rebel who stuck up his head, even to the point of cutting it off, not so many of these so-called military leaders would risk rebellion. Of course, some Chinese would be killed by other Chinese; but what of it? They richly deserve it, and the result would be not only to rid the land of some of the bloodsuckers now fattening on it, but also to achieve some degree of real unification.



CHINO CROWDS. The speed with which a crowd will collect on the slightest suspicion of anything of interest going on, is appalling. Focussing a camera or writing in a notebook is good for 50 to 100 in about 15 seconds. They are generally very quiet & orderly, but like sand they seep into every crevice & soon you find one or two in your lap without knowing how he got there. They are accustomed to numbers. They are always in crowds, – in the house, in the street, at work, at leisure. They get no irritation as we do from being pinched in a mass. On the contrary, they would be lost otherwise. Graham – Drought is serious in over 100 hsiens – 2 mos. more & there will be a famine. CKS lightened up the burden of taxation materially, but as soon as his troops went out, the old game began. Not yet nearly as bad as it was. Lin Hsiang a blood-sucker. Education controlled by Nanking. No reconstruction. No health campaign, or animal inspection & care. Poppy production cut down materially. Kept under cover. Former method was light tax on poppy & heavy tax on stuff harder to raise. Also forced sale of the opium, – smoke it or throw it away, as you please. Engler, Cavaliere, et al. Interest here is 2% a week. And of course the military have the dough.

Price of rice has doubled in past 2 months & is expected to double again. The farmers have to take their rice to a given rendezvous & sell at a fixed price.

Opium still being widely produced. Not much chance of control by Nanking. Szechuan is too big & too far away. The

communist campaign was a good excuse, but the ground won has been largely lost as the result of withdrawal of troops. The officers stayed in town when there was any shooting. All the generals are millionaires. It only takes a few months. Lin Hsiang is surrounded by a crowd of blood-suckers who drive him for their own benefit, but (He is the chief blood-sucker.)

There is no hope in sight for the lao pei hsing. There is little improvement since before CKS came. Taxation is still capricious & exhorbitant.

Private car pays a large tax to use the roads. The owner’s family cannot go with him unless each member pays a tax equivalent to the value of a bus ticket.

There is still a 15% import duty & a 10% export duty in Szechuan.

The revolver is the great persuader. Taxes absolutely without reason. Labor conscripted for roads. No pay; usually no food. Sometimes materials. Some tools supplied. What happened to the reconstruction loan? Taxes for the Chengtu-Chungking R.R. enough to build the R.R. several times over. The illegal taxes along the motor road blotted out all private traffic, leaving the monopoly to the military. In spite of the rich soil & abundant harvests, the people get nothing, being taxed up to 80% & over of total revenue. Sung admits that although military pay for supplies, they grab back in taxes much more than they pay out. The attitude of the civilian is the same everywhere; utterly cowed by the truculent lice.



The communists are not communists, but simply bandits or hopelessly oppressed farmers. They accept any chance to better their lot. Fundamentally, the Ch. being individualists & realists, communism cannot succeed here. Szechuan. 122d, 123d, 124th (41stA) all on march back into 四川 (Szechuan). (Former Kuominchun). In Chengtu, Hqrs. of 21stA & 41stA. Hqrs of 162xx of 21stA. – & 45thA. Still 4 divs. of C.G. troops in province, between Chengtu & Chungking. Louis on outs with Nanking; now niggatatin’. Will compromise. Communism. Bah. Never a serious fight. Only serious thing was the construction of thousands of blockhouses, with bricks supplied by lao pei hsing. The military rule; they own all the business, & carry it on at times behind the counter in uniform. Taxes terrible. Close to total revenue. Last year gas was $44 a case. Now about $22. Only military can run cars. Their gas costs about half – no tax. Some taxes collected to 90th year of the republic. Some collected 6, 8, 10 & 12 times in one year. Fr. father crossed a river in his car, – ferry toll $46. The lice would not even look at his hu chao, signed by the governor. Tax situation somewhat better than last year, but still terrible. SIANFU. Yang remains as Pac. Com., but so does Ku Chu T’ung. Latter is popular; gives jobs to Shensi people instead of grabbing everything for Nanking & the KMT. Wants CHL restored to command. Says object of revolt was “Unification”! Should stop fighting communists. The old “Chinese should not kill Chinese” stuff. What caused the trouble was that too many CG troops were sent to Sianfu, instead of to Suiyuan. (Thus gumming the local graft). – The 17th chün is dissolved; it reappears as the 38th, the 2 divs, stationed N. of the Wei River. Now in Sian, 36th (Anhui), part at least of 47th & 10th. 41st at Shenchow; – 42nd at Hua Yin, going out, 78th going out; 105th & 113th still here in groups at least. 105, 107, 108, 112 all out. 13th going out E. of Pao Chi. At Hanchung, 51st Div. 12th & 42nd of 3A east of Pao Chi. 140th near Pao Chi – also a few of 1st. 115th, 117th, & 129th going out, Hsien Yang. 51stA coming out of Lanchow (Pop-eye). Groups 25th & 27th in Sian. The Szechuan mts. end just east of Tsê T’ung, where the density populated Chengtu plain begins. _____________________ The Sword Gate pass blocks the approach to Chengtu from Shensi about miles N.E. of Chengtu. _____________________ The old Chengtu – Shensi road for 70 miles east of the Chengtu basin must have resembled the Tokkaido in the old days. It was lined with big cypress & paved for a great part of its length. (There remain about 70 miles of the trees, – protected by imperial order.) _____________________



Mtd. couriers – Chengtu to Sian & Peking. Three round trips make them officers. The change of horse stations are called YEH. The courier went all the way. Yang Kwei Fei accompanied the T’ang Min Huang on his flight from Sian when a rebellion threatened his overthrow. At Ma Wei P’o, the Emp’s generals refused to go with him any further unless Yang Kwei Fei was killed. She is supposed to have committed suicide. The Emp didn’t hear about this till several days later – so he must have been running fast. He is reported to have wept bitterly. Of course, they bumped her off. _____________________ When the emp got within 5 miles of Chengtu, the news came that the revolt was quelled. He turned back to Sian at once, & the place is still called 天回鎖 (T’ien Hui Chen). _____________________ Tu Shou Bird. The 吐 (t’u) SHOU bird in Chengtu. The old man put a pigeon in a cage, & put him in the street. The吐 (t’u) shou saw him & got interested. He undid his bib & rolled it out over his chest, & wiggled his horns. The climax of the act was stretching himself out to full length & standing in a tremble. Then he relaxed & pulled in his bib. Brilliant peacock green. Body dull red with small black & gray eyes all over him. Peacock green wigglers. Bib of brilliant peacock green with flaming orange-red spots. Over 4” long – Joe says longer.



Li T’ou couldn’t get the squeeze at the shih ch’ang on Kuan’s stone because Erh Kuniang had told them she would take it & bring it down. Read: – “Disgrace Abounding.” (Read) “Insanity Faire” Book @ Magellan’s voyage.

Adventures of America 1857-1900 (old prints) Benj. Franklin ______________________

Get Snow’s book (Red Star).

Timperly’s book (What War Means).

Bertram’s book. NO. CHINA HERALD Germany – Prepare for War!

Prof. Banse Pub. By Lovat Dickson Ltd LONDON

_____________________

KUAN’S SHIH PEI

From Hsi Pien Men go out to P’ao Ma Ch’ang. Keep straight through P’ao Ma Ch’ang to Ku Miao Ts’un. Keep straight on through Pa Yeh Ts’un, & just beyond the ground is all flat & open on the south of the road. Here a road branches off to the south-west & goes to the Ch’ing Ta Lao Yeh Miao, which is on a small hill. Kuan’s shih pei is on the right of this road about 3 or 400 yards short of the temple. There are two large trees & two small ones there, – The only ones around. _____________________ (Li T’ou reports, Apr. 9, that the squeeze for Kuan’s shih pei will be paid to Erh Kuniang (Kuan) who will bring it down to-morrow. So probably she made a little deal of her own with the shih ch’ang.)



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