The Xi'an Incident was a turning-point event of momentous significance
in China's contemporary history. The author was fortunate enough to
participate in the process of the Incident and got to know quite a few
inside things. First, the author wrote of episodes, section by section,
from his own reminiscences, one section for one episode. Then, he
collected materials and solicited opinions from those who had
participated in the Incident, noting down things as he interviewed them.
After Comrade Zhou Enlai, at the commemorative forum marking the 20'h
anniversary of the Xi'an Incident, called on related comrades of various
sides to write articles about the Incident, some more materials were
received...
Table of Contents
Foreword of the Renewed Edition /1 Foreword /1
The Red Army's Victories in Southern Shaanxi and Northern Shaanxi /1 The Red 25th Army That Was Active in Southern Shaanxi /1 The Founding of the Red 15th Army Corps /6 The Northeast Army Violently Thrust Yan'an /8 The Laoshan Battle /11 The Yulingiao Battle /15 The Party Central, Chairman Mao and the Central Red Army Arriving in Northern Shaanxi and the Zhiluo Township Battle /17
Winning over Zhang XueHang for the Cause of United Resistance to Japan /25 Zhang Xueliang, Depressed, Sought for a Way out /25 Gao Fuyuan Courageously Conveyed Messages /34 The Visit to Luochuan /42 Liu Ding Appointed as Representative /48 The Yan'an Talks /54 Developing Low-Level United Front Work /63
Winning over Yang Hucheng for the Cause of United Resistance to Japan /67 Initial Moves /67 Yang Hucheng's Political Attitude and Situation /70 Initial Steps in Putting forward the Issue of Uniting with Communists to Resist Japan /75 Chairman Mao Himself Dispatched Wang Feng to Xi'an /81 Wang Shiying Secretly met with Yang Hucheng /90 Several Principles Agreed upon between the Two Sides and the Setting up of the Liaison tations /93 Wang Bingnan Returned from Abroad /98 The Policy of Compelling Chiang to Resist Japan and the shaping up of the Situation of "Three Entities in One Body" /101 Compelling Chiaug to Resist Japan and the May 5th Circular Telegram /101 Evolution of Relationships between Zhang and Yang /105 Shaping up of the "Three in One" Stance of United Resistance to Japan /117
Zhang and Yang's Preparatory Anti-Japanese Activities /123 The Wangqu Officers Training Corps /123 The Association of Anti-Japanese Comrades /127 The Students-Soldiers Squad /130 Coalescing with Power Groups of Various Localities /133 Support Given to the Anti-Japanese Masses Movement /139
The Influence and the Special Agents" Activities Of the Chiang Faction in Xi'an /144 The Influence of the Chiang Faction in Xi'an /144 The Event of 《the Survival Road》 /148 The Event of Besieging and Searching the Provincial Party Organ /153
Chiang Kai-shek Pressed Zhang and Yang to Continue"Communists-Annihilation" /163 Chiang Kai-shek's Resolve /163 Coming to Xi'an /166 The Wangqu Lecture of Instruetion /167 Dispositions for Large-Scale "Communists- Annihilation" /171 Zhang and Yang's Counter Measures /175 Eve of the Incident /177 Obliged to Mount the Liang Mountain /177 Secret Plotting and Disposition after the "Weeping Petition" /179 False Alarms /182 Indignant Waves of the Masses /187 Eve of a Violent Storm /188
The Capture of Chiang /193 The Capture of Chiang and the Circular Telegram /193 Chiang Kai-shek Was Accommodated at the Xincheng Building /199 Chiang Kai-shek Wrote His Testament and Summoned Shao and Yang /205 An Act at the Xijing Reception Center /207
Zhang and Yang's Military and Political Measures as well as Their Publicity Work among the Masses /214 Military and Political Measures /214 Publicity Work among the Masses /220
Domestic and Foreign Reverberations of the lncident /228 Differences in the midst of Nanjing /228 International Reverberations /231 General Trends of the Power Blocs in Various Localities /234 The CPC's Analysis of the Incident and Its Position /238
Nanjing" s Rescuing Operation and Xi'an's Decision /242 Song Meiling's Rescuing Operation /242 The Red Army Delegation's Role in Deciding the Policy /247 Zhang Xueliang's Stand and Yang Hucheng's Apprehensions /256 Negotiation undertaken and Release of Chiang /261 Negotiation between the Two Sides of Xi'an and Nanjing /261 Zhou Met with Chiang /267 Controversy over the Issue of Chiang's Release in the midst of Xi'an /269 Zhang Xueliang Escorted in Person Chiang Kai-shek /276
Chiang's Revenge and Xi'an's Counter Measures /279 Chiang Kai-shek Perfidiously Sought Revenge /279 The Spectacle of Zhang Xueliang's Detention /281 Military Pressure and Political Estrangement /291 Xi'an's Counter Measures /294
The Two Sides Reopened Negotiations /304 The First Fenghua Negotiation /304 The Second Fenghua Negotiation /313 The Tongguan Negotiation /319
Difference between the Peace and the War Options, and Internal Contradictions /323 Difference between the Peace and the War Options in the midst of Xi'an /323 Undermining and Interferences /327 Activities of the CPC Delegation /331
Intensification of Contradictions and Breakdown in the midst of Xi'an /335 Intensification of divergences between the War and the Peace Options /335 The Weinan Conference in Favor of War; the Supreme Conference in Favor of Peace /342 The "February 2nd" Incident /348
The Xi'an Incident and the Shaping up of the Anti-Japanese Situation /354 Entry of the Central Army into Xi'an /354 Deployment of the Northeast Army to East and Reorganization of the 17th Route Army, and Their Consequences /357 A Confidential Telegram regarding Reorganization of the Red Army /361 The Third Plenary of the Kuomintang and Its Initial Reforms /364 The Victorious Shaping up of the Anti-Japanese National United Front and the Situation of National Resistance to Japan /368
Sample Pages Preview
gram from Li Du in Shanghai, saying "the friend sought after'had been
found. Zhang understood it to mean that the Communist Party connec-
tions Li Du sought for on his behalf had been found. At the time, Zhang
thought that the Comintern organization or the CPC Central still had
their organs in Shanghai. Therefore, although he had got in contact with
Li Kenong and established connections with the Party Central, yet he
attached the same importance to the connections introduced by Li Du.
Hence, he specially selected a confidant high staff officer Zhao Yi(赵毅)
to go to Shanghai to meet the person. As a matter of fact, the
representative of the Comintern as well as the CPC Central had long
since left Shanghai by then. Because the or- gans of the CPC in Shanghai
were repeatedly sabotaged, the Party had sustained considerable losses.
Only a small number of Party members hid underground to persist in
struggle. At the time, Comrade Liu Ding(刘鼎) had come out from the
Jiangxi Soviet District. He arrived at Shanghai, and was trying, through
underground Party connections, to go to northern Shaanxi to find the
Party Central. Coincidentally, the un- derground Party, at the request
of Li Du, was looking for a suitable Par- ty member to contact Zhang
Xueliang. Liu Ding was of elite intellectual background, had
considerable struggle experience and was adequate in political theory.
The underground Party considered him to be a very suitable person to
fulfill this task. So it talked to him, requesting him to go first to
Xi'an to contact Zhang Xueliang, and, subsequently, seek op- portunity
to go to northern Shaanxi to find the Party Central. At first, Liu Ding
felt not quite assured. Later, after some responsible persons of the
Party had told him about Zhang Xueliang's changes in thoughts and his
desire for progress, he accepted the mission.
Preface "The
Xi'an Incident" is a turning point in Chinese history. It en- ded ten
years of civil war, promoted the shaping up of the anti-Japa- nese
national united front, and laid the victorious basis for the defeat of
Japanese imperialism and the realization of national liberation. The
participants of the Xi'an Incident, if alive, are mostly over a hundred
years old. Our father( In the following,《father》, is often used instead
of《our father》.-translator's note)was a participant in person of the
Xi'an Incident. If alive, he would be 110 years of age. Father
graduated from the Economic Faculty of Peking University in 1925. He
harbored the aim of serving the country worthily. After graduation he
went to Shantou, Guangdong, to participate in the Great Revolution. In
1927, dismayed over the reactionary policy of Chiang Kai - shek, he left
Guangdong to join the Northwest Army. He won Yang Hucheng's confidence,
and was assigned to important posts by Yang. In the spring of 1934, at
the perilous epoch of Japanese invasion of China, father.