The Timaru Herald THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 1926. THE CHINESE PUZZLE.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 8 April 1926, Page 6

The Timaru Herald THURSDAY , APRIL 8, 1926. THE CHINESE PUZZLE.

Notwithstanding the meagi'enessi of the news from the Ear' East, it is daily bepQining- patent to the most superficial observer of .-the march of events- in China, that the plotter's of Moscow Are playing an inereasingly. , important, part in-fanning the smouldering embers of ahti-Ghristian agitation into a disastib-ns conflagration . Recent. reports from Shanghai indicated that the civil war in North China is ' again- raginb more fiercely tliafi ever. It is extremely .difficult to follow, the course of events arid more'difficult' still tp : give ,a coherent account of the procecdiiigs. Fresh combinations, and aUiances are made and broken from day to day. It would almost seem As if a Chinese' general keeps the respective uniforms of the opposing factions in hiswardrobe, ready to rise at a moment’s fiotiee and that it is- only' after his morning .enp of tea and incidentally after ille'receipt of reports from the ftogt Yelatiye ■to Ihe fortunes of the .battle,: he can safely dress for tbe day. The latest comhination is -that-of Marshals IYu TeEfu arid Chang Tso-liu against "the ‘‘Christian General” Feng Yu-bsiang, the late commander of .what, is kiiOhn as the Kiip-liuii-eluin, Of natiolnal army. ,W.u, .the former chief of the-Chihli faction, and Chang as head of tlje Fengtein (Mukden) forces, .have be,eii sworn eiieini'Cs for. years, while Feng, has always been tin unknown quantity. Feng was mainly instrumental in causing flie defeat of the Fengtien forces of Chang in the ChililiFengtien war of 1922. -Again, in 1924, in a further trial of strength’ between the' Chihli and kengtien. factions, Wu was defeated through the treachery Of .Feng. Since 1924 AYii has more or less been liviiig rh’retireixierU; hut apparentlv ho has once more taken' the fioM. "If the comhin.rliion ' between Wu and ' Chang holds it will go - hard with . the Christian General. It whsi stated earlier, i.h the year* that Felljg was goittg abroad to study econ.qmio conditions in: other'";, couniriesi but. according- to t-liefi latest fcjioits'Fong'. has hot yet left. .China, hilt. fending a quiet life, spending' his' days -iu reading books iiful planting- trees, lie is ‘till keeping’ \ip his 'character..pt being- "a“sphiiix;' He is to-day the most advertised, tire most -discussed, th.e most, abused, and the most notorious figure in the political and military world of China. Feng’s army recently marched into a town they had captured with the baud playing-, “Onward 'Christian. Soldiers.” Feng has certainly done some very, queer things- wlueb are not, quite 'in accordance with the moral standard of Western ethics and tlie best thing that could be said, of the Christian General is that he is “not understood.” Elis successor, Marshal Gliang- CMh-kiang, appears to life following in Feng’s footsteps. This f general has ordered from the American Bible Society, 2000 Bibles . and 400,0 New Testaments-• for distribution among the Kuominclmn .’forces. Each book contains a short statement by the General himself relative to the value "of- the Bible study from personal, eocp.crieiice,' and an exhortation to always carry the precious' volume and to read it. daily. In the. back of the book is another page to be filled iu with tho owner’s name, and a pledge to iiso the book each day tor his inoral edification; .Tlie undisciplined hqrdes of Cliina.’w spldiex-s are most unpopular with lie country people. These soldiers are, for the most, part, ex-bandits, and robbers and when things are a hit slow in the fighting- line •hoy turn their hand' to looting and pillaging the. villages. The peasantry of North Chiiiii, adopted the habit of, holding- their noses when passing- some soldiers, thus indicating' that: these soldiers were an offence to the nostrils. This action was reported, to the higher military authorities and was forbidden under a pchaJly ot the offenders being- arrested' and flogged. The, latest, move when encountering sonic soldiers is simply to close, one eye, as an indication that these soldiers aie an eye-sore, Recent cable messages from Shanghai announced that ahoulv 10,000 troops, aie opposing -the Kou-m.in-chun. (National Army), and are now ;n lientsm. They include 250 Rus-sian-While cavalry, wlu> ore serving tinder the Manchurian: leader, Marshal Chang Tso-liu, and General Lei Glnnig-lin. There, were no trains to Peking-, as air armoured train of (lie Kuo-miii-ehun is blocking the line neatJ aiigtsun. Two annoured trains manned by White ltussiaiis have aimed, They are to proceed• ilo ..angl.sun to attack a Kuo-niin-eluin annoured train there. Unquestionably, the Chinese leaders* ■•»'o Imng to nw tlie dav when hey permitted the Bed ploftera' O', Aloscov to come io t.lteir aid 1,1 .’he “Jibe,rating” styugoh; ag-ainst the so-called Western bondage.