WsTTi cum^ ye E- &y $9.95 China Revisited Chiang Yee In 1933, Chiang Yee, then the governor of a district in China, was forced to leave his homeland after an argument with a warlord. The China he left was an unhealthy country: a weak central government unable to control the power of the warlords; a deteriorating economic condition; a reputation for corrup­ tion based on an ill-defined and unsatisfactory land-tax system; widespread illiteracy and famine. As leader of a district, Mr. Chiang’s aim was to help wipe out social evils. His efforts were futile. In 1975, after an absence of forty-two years, Chiang Yee returned to China. In this book he tells of his travels and records his impressions of the new China as compared with the China he left. In addition, his two grown daughters, who, along with their mother, remained in China, provide another perspective on China’s progress. As Mr. Chiang travels through China, he tells of his visits to both well-known and less familiar landmarks; he describes the com­ munes and factories of light industry which have been built in the last twenty-five years. He attends the May First celebration—the important festival of labor. But, above all, he contrasts the backward country he left with the brand-new independent nation that has been emerging in the last twenty-five years. He points with pride to the accomplishments: 800 million Chinese living and working to­ gether in a united spirit; the feeling of peace and prosperity; no unemployment; sufficient food for all; great technical, scientific, and educational advances; increased literacy; uni­ versal medicare; and vast improvements in the status of women. JACKET DESIGN BY CHIANG YEE JACKET ILLUSTRATION BY CHIANG YEE ISBN 0-393-08791-3 C H I N A R E V I S I T E D After Forty-two Years f • f I I I t ) a by the same author THE CHINESE EYE CHINESE PAINTING CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY A CHINESE CHILDHOOD BIRDS AND BEASTS CHINPAO AND THE GIANT "PANDAS CHINPAO AT THE ZOO LO CHENG, THE BOY WHO WOULDN’T KEEP STILL THE MEN OF THE BURMA ROAD A STORY OF MING DABBITSE YEBBIN THE SILENT TRAVELLER IN LAKELAND THE SILENT TRAVELLER IN LONDON THE SILENT TRAVELLER IN WARTIME THE SILENT TRAVELLER IN THE YORKSHIRE DALES THE SILENT TRAVELLER IN OXFORD THE SILENT TRAVELLER IN EDINBURGH THE SILENT TRAVELLER IN NEW YORK THE SILENT TRAVELLER IN DUBLIN THE SILENT TRAVELLER IN PARIS THE SILENT TRAVELLER IN BOSTON THE SILENT TRAVELLER IN SAN FRANCISCO THE SILENT TRAVELLER IN JAPAN The rivei and mountain are so beautiful like this!” A line from one of Mao Tse-tung poems. C H I N A R E V I S I T E D After Forty-two Years written and illustrated by CHIANG YEE “ The Silent Traveller” W • W • NORTON & COMPANY • INC • NEW YORK COPYRIGHT © I977 BY W. W. NORTON & COMPANY, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published simultaneously in Canada by George J. McLeod Limited, Toronto First Edition Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Chiang, Yee, 1903- China revisited, after forty-two years. 1. China—Description and travel— 1949­ 2. Chiang, Yee, 1903- I. Title. DS711.C4643 1977 95i.04'092'4 [B] 77-22587 ISBN 0-393-08791-3 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1234567890 Contents PROLOGUE 13 I WHY I LEFT CHINA FOR ENGLAND 15 II IN ENGLAND 35 III IN AMERICA 48 IV OFF TO CHINA AT LAST 55 V IN PEKING AND NORTH CHINA 57 VI TACHAI TO CHENGCHOW 94 VII MOVING SOUTHWARD 105 VIII HOME AT LAST 1 19 IX LU MOUNTAIN 133 X KUEI-LIN AND YANG-SHUO 15 1 XI WHAT IT MEANT TO ME 162 177 EPILOGUE