An old American soldier is still fresh in the memory of the Chinese people because of his unique contribution to China's war effort against the Japanese invaders and his role in developing Sino-American relations. This American soldier is General Joseph W. Stilwell (1883-1946).
Sponsored by the China Society for People's Friendship Studies and the Chongqing municipal government, a seminar on Joseph Stilwell was held October 11-14 in Chongqing Municipality, to mark the 45th anniversary of his death.
Nearly a hundred people, both Chinese and American, attended the conference including General Stilwell's family members, old friends, Chinese and American scholars in Sino-American relations. Present and former diplomats and government officials from both countries also participated, including foreign minister Huang Hua, leaders of the Chongqing municipal government, American military attaché Admiral Eric McVadon, and consul to Chengdu Marshall Adair.
Chongqing is a fitting site for the seminar and activities commemorating General Stilwell. It was in Chongqing, the mountain city always surrounded in mist, that Stilwell spent his last years, reaching a climax in his entire China experience.
Stilwell came to China five times during the period from 1911 to 1944, witnessing nearly every vicissitude in China's political life. He acquired a deep understanding of China and the Chinese people through his various assignments – language officer, American legation official supervising engineering projects, commander and trainer of the Chinese army fighting against the Japanese in Myanmar (Burma), military attaché and, finally, chief of staff of the Supreme Command of the China Theater during WWII.
Addresses and papers given at the conference focused on Stilwell's military and political achievements while he was fulfilling his duties in China. His efforts to lead both Chinese and American soldiers fighting against the Japanese in Myanmar and India experienced some initial defeats but eventually were successful. With his technical and strategic expertise he engineered and supervised the Stilwell Highway, an essential supply line through Myanmar to China. This road was essential for equipping and training the Chinese army under his command which, he believed, was one of the most efficient armies in the world.
Stilwell's political role and influence at that time surpassed his military achievements and remains a topic of controversy. He insisted on cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists in the fight against the Japanese invaders and an even-handed US policy in supplying the two resistance forces. His endeavors resulted in the arrival of the American military observation group, usually known as the Dixie Mission, to Yanan and subsequent voluminous reports by Western correspondents about Red China.
A persistent conflict between Stilwell and Chiang Kai-shek crippled the general's influence on China's political and military decision making but added a dramatic episode for his biographers and a wealth of information for future researchers on Sino-American relations.
Most of the participants at the seminar held the view that the conflict between Stilwell and Chiang was not so much one of personalities but rather a difference of approach towards the utilization of lend-lease supplies and the strategic deployment of Chiang's military forces. Stilwell believed that his duty in China was to utilize everything in the fight against the Japanese, while Chiang preferred hoarding the lend-lease materials and military forces under Stilwell's control for a future fight against the communists.
Chiang's lobby was successful in the United States and the four-star general was recalled by the White House. In 1944 Stilwell left China, a country he loved and understood so well but would never see again. While located in Okinawa in 1946 Stilwell requested an informal visit to old friends in Beijing but his request was turned down by Chiang.
Even though Stilwell was deprived of a heroic epilogue to his China assignment, he was seen as a real hero by most of the Chinese people. Yan Siguang, an American studies scholar with the American Research Society of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "Never before had a US general fought with the Chinese troops against invaders under such difficult conditions and won the respect of both the Chinese soldiers and people. Never has an American officer enjoyed such high prestige and power in China while affecting such great influence on Sino-US relations."
What also makes General Stilwell a controversial figure is his personality and temperament. He was never impressed with the glamour of Caesar-like military leaders. Instead, he was "Vinegar Joe," the nickname he was given in infantry school. According to Stilwell Easterbrook, the general's eldest daughter, John Easterbrook, the general's grandson, a former adjutant and his former Chinese liaison officer, general Stilwell was by no means a cynical or sour person. He was known for many good qualities – morality, integrity, a sense of beauty and intellectual curiosity. He was straightforward, honest, frank and modest. His sharp attitudes were reserved only for himself and for those who stood on the opposing side in matters of principle.
General Stilwell was held in high esteem in China, not for his agreement with present authorities and ideology, but for his integrity as a man.
He was also remembered as a good father and a person of thorough equity and humanity. It was recalled that one day he received a high-ranking Chinese officer and was greatly perturbed to see the officer riding in a litter carried by two coolies.
A point of view shared by nearly every Chinese and American attending the conference was that General Stilwell set an example in relations between the two countries. He had never judged the people of a country only by the policies of its government, as Moute R. Bullard, the former US Army Attache in Beijing between 1980-82, pointed out. Consequently, though very critical of the Kuomintang government, he deeply loved and offered enthusiastic help to the Chinese people.
The general's policy toward China was rooted in his political philosophy. Israel Epstein, former editor-in-chief of China Today, pointed out, "He (Stilwell) never judged the whole country by its worst representatives, but on the contrary always remembered that whatever rot there was at the top, the people were healthy in spirit."
Also participating in the seminar were a number of businesspeople from both countries. All were enthusiastic about Sino-US bilateral trade and cultural exchanges. They believed that a scholarly and pragmatic approach in dealing with bilateral relationship, like that of General Stilwell, is useful for a healthy development.
In addition to the seminar, a Stilwell memorial exhibition was opened to the public, given in the general's former residence, a small grey house on the hillside by the Jialing River. Huang Hua and Nancy Stilwell Easterbrook cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony and escorted others to more than one hundred photos on display.
Another ambitious project is the establishment of the Stilwell Institute, a higher educational center for training both Chinese and American scholars in the language, business and culture of the two countries. Universities in Chongqing as well as in California, Washington and Wisconsin will take part in the project. The Stilwell Institute Foundation has been set up in Boston and Chinese investment will come from the budget of the local Chinese government.
(Beijing Review by staff reporter Jiang Wandi November 17, 1991)
