In the magnificent history of the Republic of China, there is a figure who, although not always in the most dazzling position on the stage, always emits a unique and undeniable light. He is Jiang Baili.
Background and early experiences
Jiang Baili was born in 1882 in Haining, Zhejiang. His family background was quite distinctive. His grandfather, Jiang Guangxu, was a famous bibliophile in the Qing Dynasty, with a collection of up to 100,000 books. From this point of view, Jiang Baili's family can be called a "scholarly family". However, fate had a different arrangement for his family. Jiang Baili's father, Jiang Xuelang, was born with a disability and missing his left arm. This condition made him not favored by his grandfather, Jiang Guangxu. Therefore, he was sent to a temple at a young age, cut his hair and became a monk, becoming a young novice monk.
Fortunately, after Jiang Xuelang grew up, he resolutely returned to secular life, chose the path of studying medicine, married and had children, and Jiang Baili was able to come into the world. However, fate did not stop there. When Jiang Baili was 13 years old, his father passed away. Due to his father's experience of becoming a monk, Jiang Baili could not smoothly join the Jiang family and naturally could not inherit the family's legacy. Since then, the mother and son have relied on each other and lived a very difficult life.
In an era when educational resources were relatively scarce and difficult to obtain, Jiang Baili's thirst for knowledge never extinguished. At that time, his uncle hired an old scholar to teach his own child. Jiang Baili, who was poor and unable to afford tuition, could only sneak out of the study to "listen". Perhaps it was fate's favor to this exceptionally intelligent child, the old scholar had a discerning eye and discovered Jiang Baili's extraordinary qualities. He decided not to charge him tuition and taught him to read for free. With his own intelligence and diligence, in 1898, Jiang Baili, who was only 16 years old, successfully passed the imperial examination.
At that time, China was in a dilemma of internal and external troubles. The disastrous defeat of the First Sino-Japanese War dealt a heavy blow to this ancient country. Before Jiang Baili became a scholar, he had a strong interest in collections of Chinese poetry and literature reflecting the First Sino-Japanese War, such as "Putian Building Loyalty and Anger Collection". Whenever he read the passionate and indignant words in the book, describing the suffering of the country, Jiang Baili couldn't help but cry out loud, filled with emotions of sorrow and indignation. It was also at that time that he secretly vowed to contribute his own strength to the strength of the country.
II. Study Abroad and Military Experience
At the age of 19, Jiang Baili made a decision that changed the trajectory of his life. Influenced by the trend of many ambitious young people joining the army, he resolutely gave up the stable path of becoming a private school teacher. With the generous sponsorship of a prefect, a county magistrate, and a supervisor (it can be seen that there were many people who believed in his potential at that time), he embarked on a journey to study in Japan, with the goal of applying to the Japanese Army Sergeant School.
There have been many versions of his study experience at the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School. One widely circulated story is that in 1905, when Jiang Baili graduated from the 17th Infantry Division of the school, he achieved outstanding results and ranked first. At the graduation ceremony, he took away the imperial sword given by the emperor in front of all Japanese graduates, which made all Japanese people lose face. Therefore, it is said that the Army Non-commissioned Officer School decided to separate Chinese and Japanese students in calculating their grades to prevent Chinese students from winning this honor again (in this version, the second place is Cai E, the third place is Zhang Xiaojun, and the top three are taken by three Chinese people). This achievement is recorded in many works such as Tao Juyin's "Biography of Jiang Baili" and Cao Juren's "Biography of Jiang Baili", and later narratives are mostly based on this.
However, with the passage of time and more rigorous research, people have found that there seem to be some doubts about this long-rumored story. In fact, the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School does not have the tradition of the Emperor giving swords (in contrast, higher-level Japanese Army Universities do have this tradition). Moreover, it is difficult to conclusively prove Jiang Baili's so-called glorious deeds, whether it is from the graduation time, colleagues' names, or recorded academic rankings. Therefore, from a more objective and accurate perspective, Jiang Baili's widely praised glorious past at the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School lacks sufficient and strong evidence to support it.
However, among the Japanese colleagues who graduated from the Army Non-commissioned Officer School almost at the same time as Jiang Baili (some with a difference of one period), there were also some notorious figures who later committed heinous crimes on the Chinese battlefield. For example, Tojo Hideki, Dohihara Kenji, Itagaki Seishiro, Anami Yuki, Yamashita Fumifumi, and so on. These people were all top students at the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School, but later became Japanese division commanders who wantonly ran amok on the Chinese land and brought endless suffering to the Chinese people (Tojo Hideki later became the Prime Minister of Japan, and Anami Yuki became the Minister of the Army).
Although the glorious deeds of Jiang Baili in the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School are questionable, judging from the fact that he was highly valued and recommended by Zhao Erxun, the governor of the three northeastern provinces of the Qing Dynasty, after graduating and returning to China, Jiang Baili should still have had a certain prestige in the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School at that time. Moreover, Jiang Baili did not have a high evaluation of the Japanese Army system throughout his life.
In 1906, Jiang Baili encountered another important opportunity in his life. He was sent to Germany to study military affairs. During his time in Germany, he became a platoon leader under Marshal Hindenburg (who later became the President of Germany and appointed Hitler as Chancellor). After four years of hard work, Jiang Baili returned to China. At the age of only 28, he had already become a second-class commander of the Kyoto Guard, an achievement that was unparalleled among his peers at the time.
III. The period of Baoding Military Academy and its heroic actions
After the age of 28, Jiang Baili's series of deeds were even more widely praised. Among them, his experience at the Baoding Army Officer Academy was particularly noteworthy.
Baoding Army Officer School is the first regular army school in China, which plays a crucial role in cultivating military talents. A large number of senior generals from both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party emerged from here. At the end of 1912, 29-year-old Jiang Baili was promoted to major general and became the principal of the school. Serving in this important position at such a young age is enough to show his high status in the military field at that time.
After Jiang Baili took office at Baoding Military Academy, he was full of ambition and ambition. He first made a solemn promise to all the students: he would train them to be the best officers, otherwise he would "commit suicide to thank the world". Afterwards, he launched a series of drastic reform measures, not only living and eating with the school's teachers and students, but also personally teaching. His overseas experience in Japan and Germany gave him a broad vision that far exceeded that of other people in China at that time, which made both teachers and students admire him greatly. Before he took over, the school was already overgrown with weeds and on the verge of bankruptcy. However, under Jiang Baili's careful management, the school was completely renewed, with new vitality and vigor.
However, at that time, a group of old military representatives in the Beiyang government (led by Duan Qirui) did not agree with the new training methods implemented by Baoding Military Academy. They made things difficult everywhere, and even the school's funds were no longer allocated. At the beginning of Jiang Baili's tenure, he promised his colleagues to manage the school well, but now facing such difficulties, he feels ashamed of his colleagues' trust.
At 5 am on June 18, 1913, just as the sky was getting light, Jiang Baili summoned more than 2,000 teachers and students from the whole school for an emergency lecture. That day, Jiang Baili was wearing a yellow woolen military uniform, a long-handled saber hanging from his waist, and shining riding boots. Standing on the stone steps, he passionately said to all the teachers and students, "When I first came to this school, I taught you that what I asked you to do, you must do. What you want me to do, I must also do. If you can't do it, I will punish you. If I can't do it, I will also punish myself. Now it seems that everything is fine with you, and there is nothing wrong with me." I can't fulfill the principal's duties myself, and I'm sorry to you... Don't move, remember, you must muster up the courage to take on the great responsibility of China's future!
Just as the teachers and students were wondering why the principal would say such words, Jiang Baili took out a pistol and aimed it at his chest. He resolutely chose to commit suicide. Fortunately, the orderly beside him reacted quickly and quickly pulled him, allowing the bullet to enter Jiang Baili's ribs without hurting his heart, thus saving his life.
Afterwards, someone found three suicide notes written by Jiang Baili the night before in his residence, which were addressed to his mother, his friend Cai E (who was then the governor of Yunnan), and the school's education director Zhang Yaoting. Later, people learned that the day before, Jiang Baili had once again tried to demand school funds, but failed again. Feeling guilty and helpless, he decided to apologize to the students by committing suicide.
IV. Love stories and family relationships
Jiang Baili's attempted suicide not only added a touch of tragedy to his life, but also led to another story that people talked about - love.
After the news of Jiang Baili's failed suicide attempt spread, it shocked the whole country. Upon hearing about this, Yuan Shikai ordered the best Japanese hospital to treat Jiang Baili's injuries. During the recovery period, Jiang Baili gradually developed feelings for the nurse Sato Utsumi who was responsible for taking care of him, and eventually they became husband and wife. Due to Jiang Baili's love for plum blossoms, Sato Utsumi changed his name to "Saomei".
A Chinese soldier who devoted his whole life to researching how to resist Japanese aggression ended up marrying a Japanese wife, which was undoubtedly a shocking thing in the social environment at that time. However, Jiang Baili always did his own thing and did not care about worldly opinions.
After Jiang Baili's death, his good friend Feng Yuxiang once excitedly suspected that it was Mrs. Zuo Mei, a Japanese, who poisoned Jiang Baili. This statement undoubtedly brought great pressure to Zuo Mei, but she resisted the pressure. She not only educated Jiang Baili's five daughters in standard Beijing dialect, but also donated her jewelry to support China's anti-Japanese cause. She even personally went to the front line to treat Chinese wounded soldiers. Mrs. Zuo Mei passed away in 1978, and her tombstone was engraved with the name "Jiang Zuomei" (as the inscription goes). In her later years, she expressed her support for China's fight against her own country because the Chinese people's fight at that time was a just fight.
In fact, Jiang Baili originally had an original wife. In that era, like many young people, Jiang Baili's original wife was arranged by his parents, and Jiang Baili himself was unwilling to accept this marriage from the bottom of his heart. After Jiang Baili went to study abroad, his mother gently advised the original wife to break off the engagement, but the wife said she would never marry someone else. After Jiang Baili returned to China in 1910, he reluctantly married her, and the two lived apart. The wife served Jiang Baili's mother until her death in 1938. The original wife's name was Zha Pinzhen, and she had a nephew, who later became the famous writer Jin Yong. Jin Yong later commented specifically on the matter of his uncle Jiang Baili: "It is the father who seeks friendship and the mother who seeks a wife, not the husband who seeks a wife, so this is not enough to be considered Baili's illness."
Jiang Baili and Mrs. Zuo Mei had a daughter named Jiang Ying. When Jiang Baili was studying at Zhejiang Academy, he had a classmate and friend named Qian Junfu. The two families were old friends, but later Jiang Ying married Qian Xuesen, the only son of the Qian family and a famous scientist. As a result, Jin Yong called Jiang Ying "cousin", and Jin Yong became Qian Xuesen's cousin.
V. Literary Achievements and Magazine Career
Jiang Baili was originally a scholar and had a solid cultural foundation since childhood. During his study in Japan, he became close friends with Cai E, who was also Liang Qichao's disciple. Through Cai E's introduction, Jiang Baili also treated Liang Qichao as a disciple.
In 1920, Jiang Baili returned from Europe and unexpectedly wrote a book called "A History of the European Renaissance". He invited Liang Qichao to write a preface for the book. After reading it, Liang Qichao greatly appreciated the book and couldn't control his thoughts when writing the preface. He even wrote 50,000 words in the preface, which was almost the same length as the main text of the book. Liang Qichao felt that such a long preface was unheard of, so he wrote a short preface for Jiang Baili and named his long preface "Introduction to Qing Dynasty Academics", published it separately, and then asked Jiang Baili to write the preface.
After the publication of "History of the European Renaissance", it was warmly welcomed by readers, which greatly encouraged Jiang Baili. In September of the same year, Jiang Baili began to host the magazine "Transformation". The popularity of this national magazine at that time was second only to "New Youth" edited by Chen Duxiu. Prior to this, the magazine "Zhejiang Chao" hosted by Jiang Baili during his stay in Japan was also very popular, and Lu Xun, Zhang Taiyan and others had published articles in the magazine.
From 1920 to 1935, Jiang Baili devoted a lot of effort to the "Communist Society Series". This series published a total of 16 sets of 86 books, including works by many writers such as Qu Qiubai, Geng Jizhi, and Zheng Zhenduo.
In addition, Jiang Baili also wrote a large number of research articles on literature and history, such as "Diplomacy of the Song Dynasty", "History of Eastern Culture and Philosophy", "Sovereign Class and Auxiliary Class", etc. If following this development trajectory, when future generations recall Jiang Baili, they are likely to give him the titles of "literary scholar", "historian", or even "editor-in-chief of a newspaper".
VI. Contributions to Military Theory and National Defense Theory
However, what Jiang Baili was most concerned about was always how to resist Japanese aggression and achieve national defense security. Although he never led troops to fight in his life, his contribution to military theory should not be underestimated.
In early 1937, Jiang Baili compiled the results of his years of in-depth thinking during his study abroad and daily life into a book with far-reaching influence - "On National Defense". In this book of about 100,000 words, he systematically introduced the most advanced Western military concepts and systems at that time, including the importance of air superiority and the concept of total warfare. At the same time, he also combined China's national conditions and gave many suggestions and specific methods for China's national defense construction.
After the book was published in the "Ta Kung Pao" at that time, it caused a sensation in society. Jiang Baili was most familiar with Japan, which was about to launch a full-scale invasion of China. He had long predicted that there would be a war between China and Japan, and had repeatedly discussed the strategy towards Japan. He summarized it into the following three points:
First, China is not afraid of being swallowed up by Japan, but it is afraid of being encroached upon by the other side. Therefore, in the face of Japan's aggression, we cannot retreat step by step. We must take the initiative to carry out a comprehensive war of resistance and not let the Japanese army stay in the rear. We must let them have no time to digest the occupied areas. Later, the Communist Party's troops did a good job in achieving this.
Secondly, they took the initiative to attack the Japanese army in Shanghai, forcing the Japanese army to stop fighting from north to south (this is the most common way to destroy a dynasty in Chinese history), but to start from Shanghai, go up the Yangtze River, and fight from east to west, so that China could use the mountains and lakes along the river to eliminate the advantages of the Japanese army in terms of weapons and training. This was achieved by the Kuomintang's troops. Chiang Kai-shek launched the brutal "Battle of Songhu" in 1937, and as a result, the Japanese army's offensive route really changed.
Third, trade space for time and fight the Persistent Challenge. Drag the Japanese army into the second edge of Chinese geography, the junction of Hunan and Sichuan, and engage in a stalemate with the Japanese army. The longer the time drags on, the closer to victory. The Kuomintang army later followed suit. Especially Xue Yue, a student of Jiang Baili's Baoding Military Academy, commanded the four battles of Changsha, and firmly nailed the Japanese army to this line in the first three battles.
Jiang Baili kept emphasizing one point: to fight against Japan, "whether we win or lose, we must not make peace with it!" From these three points, it can be seen that the situation of the later Anti-Japanese War did develop according to Jiang Baili's original judgment. During the Anti-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-shek never made peace with Japan from beginning to end. Of course, this is also related to Chiang Baili later becoming a high-ranking official around Chiang Kai-shek.
VII. Death and Afterlife Evaluation
Unfortunately, Jiang Baili did not witness the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in his lifetime. In October 1938, Chiang Kai-shek handed over the position of president of the Army University to Jiang Baili - before that, he had served as president himself. However, just one month later, on the early morning of November 4, 1938, Jiang Baili passed away due to a sudden heart attack at the age of 56.
Famous educator Huang Yanpei wrote an elegiac couplet for him: "Born to be a military expert, also born to be a literary expert. Sigh, you have experienced the storms of the world, and your talent did not show until wartime. A Chinese person, come and write a Japanese article. Leave this final crystallized text, with light that makes the enemy's courage cold."
Jiang Baili's life is full of legendary colors. In the past, there may have been some tendencies in public opinion to "deify" Jiang Baili, and there were also some legends that could not withstand verification. But when we put aside these and look at it with a more objective perspective, we will find that Jiang Baili is still an outstanding military strategist - although not a military strategist, because he has never led troops or fought in battle. In a grand war, not only soldiers who bravely kill the enemy on the front line, generals who strategize in the command post, but also people who rely on their own experience and vision to stay away from the war and analyze the situation from a strategic perspective are needed. Jiang Baili is undoubtedly such a person, and at that time, China also needed such people. Faced with the armed and arrogant Japanese army, the Chinese people at that time, including many Chinese soldiers, had more or less a sense of timidity in their hearts. At this time, Jiang Baili stood up and analyzed in detail with his own experience and reasoning, telling everyone that the Japanese were not so terrible! He wrote this sentence on the title page of "National Defense Theory": "A thousand words, just to tell everyone one sentence: China has a way!" This sentence undoubtedly gave countless Chinese people encouragement and hope at that time.