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A revisionist study of the career of General He Yingqin, one of the most prominent military officers in China's Nationalist period (1928-1949) and one of the most misunderstood figures in twentieth-century China. Western scholars have dismissed He Yingqin as corrupt and incompetent, yet the Chinese archives reveal that he demonstrated considerable success as a combat commander and military administrator during civil conflicts and the Sino-Japanese War. His work in the Chinese Nationalist military served as the foundation of a close personal and professional relationship with Chiang Kai-shek, with whom he worked closely for more than two decades. Against the backdrop of the Nationalist revolution of the 1920s through the 1940s, Peter Worthing analyzes He Yingqin's rise to power alongside Chiang Kai-shek, his work in building the Nationalist military, and his fundamental role in carrying out policies designed to overcome the regime's greatest obstacles during this turbulent period of Chinese history.
List of contents
Introduction; 1. Life and death in a Kunming teahouse; 2. 'Like Bao Shuya and Guan Zhong'; 3. The eastern route army in the northern expedition; 4. 'Without Chiang Kai-shek, there is no He Yingqin!'; 5. Reorganization and its discontents; 6. Trading reputation for time; 7. 'A force for a hundred-year war of resistance'; 8. 'Maybe now the fire is hot enough to fry Ho Ying-ch'in!!!!'; 9. 'A tall building on shifting sand'; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
About the author
Peter Worthing holds a Ph.D. in Chinese history from the University of Hawaii, Manoa, and is associate professor of history at Texas Christian University. He is the author of two other books, Occupation and Revolution: China and the Vietnamese August Revolution of 1945 and A Military History of Modern China: From the Manchu Conquest to Tian'anmen Square (2007). He has published articles in the Journal of Military History, Modern China, War and Society, Modern China Studies, and the Journal of American-East Asian Relations. He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Chinese Military History.
Summary
General He Yingqin was one of the most prominent military officers in China's Nationalist period, but he is also one of its most misunderstood figures. Examining both Chinese and English-language sources, Peter Worthing offers a revisionist view of He Yingqin's career set against the era's political, military, and diplomatic events.
