While going about my daily business here in China, I met a rather interesting old man. He came into our restaurant with his family, and after their meal, my friend and I got to talk with him. Turns out he was 97 years old and had come to China from Taiwan to visit his daughter and grandchildren. He started to tell us how he was originally born in the North-eastern part of China, what most would know as Manchuria in 1920, and how his father was the man in charge of the Shenyang arsenal. He also told us about his fathers good friend, who lived in a big house, named Mr. Zhang. He told us how he would go with his father to Mr. Zhang's house for tea, and how Mr. Zhang would give him candy and show him all the amazing things he had in his home from all around China and the rest of the world. He then told us that "Mr. Zhang" would be better known to us as General Zhang Zuolin (Chang Tso-lin) the famous Manchurian warlord!
We were both blown away to say the least!
To meet someone who the knew "The Tiger of Manchuria" was so unexpected, and to hear him talk about him like someone would fondly remember a next door neighbor, just made it all the more amazing.
He went onto tell us about how he remembers when his family heard of the Generals death, how concerned his father was for the well being of the Generals son, Zhang Xueliang (Chang Hsueh-liang), and what he would do next. Would he take over for his father? Could he be cured of his opium habit? Would he support general Chiang Kai-Shek or keep fighting him? He remembers his father and his uncles sitting around the table discussing these things. The men resolved to visit "the young Marshall" and talk to him, advise him, and help him, like they had with his father.
A few years later when the Japanese invaded, he told us how his father opened the doors of his factory and helped people create weapons cache's around Manchuria for later resistance. His family fled to central China after that where they, like many displaced from Manchuria, advocated against the anit-resistance policy of the KMT in favor of fighting the Japanese. He served in the Chinese nationalist army during WW2, and remained a loyal member during the civil war, ultimate fleeing to Taiwan with the rest of the Generalissimo's forces.
He spoke some English too which surprised the hell out of me! He shook my hand and said "you are United States of America" and "I am 97 years old".
It was an amazing experience to meet him but it was a bittersweet feeling when he left our shop. I thought, "there goes a part of living history, there probably aren't many others like him out there, and I doubt if I'll ever see or meet him, or someone like him, ever again".
Sorry to ramble, but I had to share this
15 December 2012, 09:30:08 PM