Graham Hutchings - China 1949: Year of Revolution

For Maisie Ella (in memoriam), Millicent Grace,
Charlotte Anna, Joseph Luke and Jacob Dylan Noah

Today is the first day of the year [according to the lunar calendar]. I got up at dawn, went to the riverside and gazed up at the surrounding mountains. I reflected on the year that had just passed. As for the year ahead, it is very hard to say what it will bring. It is even more difficult to know how many people are suffering and experiencing anguish during this Spring Festival. The country is drenched in blood and tears. I would really like to be able to say something that is in keeping this festive time of year. But with things like they are, what can I do?

CHIANG CHING-KUO (CHIANG KAI-SHEKS SON), DIARY ENTRY FOR
29 JANUARY 1949 (AUTHORS TRANSLATION)

Many friends have been generous with their time in reading all or parts of this book. I am extremely grateful to the following for the questions they have raised and the improvements they have suggested: Bob Ash, Cui Cui, Rory Macleod, Rana Mitter, Simon Scott Plummer, Jon Sullivan and Steve Tsang. The finished product is better than it would have been had they not shared their enthusiasm and been committed to the highest standards in the study and interpretation of China. The shortcomings that remain are mine alone.

At I.B. Tauris I had the benefit of working with Jo Godfrey as editor. When Bloomsbury took over I.B. Tauris, Maddie Holder took on the project and was a constant source of good ideas as the book took shape. I am very grateful. Thanks are also due to Jill Hedges, a former colleague at Oxford Analytica, who suggested I approach I.B. Tauris in the first place; and to my agent Christopher Sinclair Stevenson, whose support I have been fortunate to count on again.

I should like to record my gratitude to the staff at the British Library, the archives of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, Kings College London archives, the Church Missionary Society in Oxford, the Salvation Army Heritage Centre and Sheffield University. They were without exception welcoming and helpful in locating relevant materials.

I am especially grateful to Professor Rana Mitter, then Director of the China Centre at Oxford University, and his colleagues, who granted me associate status at the centre. Among other things, this meant that I enjoyed access to the marvellous resources of the China Centre Library. My thanks also go to the library staff, first under Joshua Seufert and then Mamtimyn Sunuodula; Cui Cui, the Readers Service Librarian, was unfailingly well informed, quick in response, patient and supportive.

I should like to acknowledge the authors of four books in Chinese on the topic of 1949 that I have found especially valuable in understanding the events of that year. They are Long Yingtai (Vast Rivers, Vast Seas, 1949); Lin Tongfa (1949: The Great Withdrawal); Zhang Renyi (1949: Chinese Society); and the reference work produced by Beijings Contemporary China Institute (Chronicle of the Peoples Republic of China 1949). Full details of all four works can be found in the Bibliography.

My long immersion in this book has taxed the patience of members of my family. I remember with gratitude and affection my mother who, in the last, confused months of her life, suddenly said, You are writing a book, arent you. I am sorry that she was not able to see the finished product; I very much hope that my father, who will be nearly ninety-nine, will be able to do so. I owe a special debt to Lizzie Hutchings, accumulated over many years. Her support has again made something possible that once seemed beyond reach. Finally, this book is dedicated to my grandchildren in the hope that Millie, Charlie, Joe and Jacob will one day read it and more importantly understand why their grandad wrote it.