History has its own life, it is like a person, both easy-going and self-respecting. ——Yu Qiuyu
Wen | XuXuan
Time, also known as Time, was founded in 1923 and is one of the three major current affairs weekly magazines in the United States. As a nearly century-old newsweek, Times has great appeal and influence in the world, and many people are proud of the aspects of this weekly magazine. When Time was founded, it declared that it was designed to enable busy people to fully understand world events, so Time Magazine was based in the United States and focused on the world from the beginning. For China, which is far away from the ocean, Time Magazine also pays attention to it.
After focusing on the cover characters of Time between 1923 and 1977, Lenus made relevant statistics, and of the 2814 cover characters with a total of 3336 people on the cover, Americans accounted for 68.8%, and all other countries in the world accounted for 31.2%. China ranked after the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, France and Germany, with 52 people on the list, accounting for 1.6%. So which characters were on the cover of Time Magazine during the Republic of China period? According to statistics, during the Republic of China period, Wu Peifu, Chiang Kai-shek, Feng Yuxiang, Yan Xishan, Puyi, Wang Jingwei, Song Meiling, Chen Cheng, Song Ziwen, Chen Lifu, and Mao Zedong appeared on the cover of Time Magazine 19 times.
The history of the Republic of China period is unpredictable, and every time the appearance of Chinese in Time Magazine reflects the rapid changes in domestic politics and society, the profound changes in the times and the situation, and every appearance of relevant characters also shows the image of China in different periods and tells different Chinese stories.
01 Image of China during the warlord period
On September 8, 1924, a year after its inception, the figure of Chinese appeared on the cover of Time Magazine for the first time, and he was Wu Peifu. As the leader of the warlords directly under his command, Wu Peifu was able to appear on the cover of Time Magazine, which naturally has its era background.
In 1920, Wu Peifu followed Cao Kun in the Zhiwan War, cooperated with the Feng clan to defeat the Anhui forces, and in September Wu Peifu was appointed as the deputy envoy of Zhilu Yu. In 1921, Wu Peifu was again appointed as the Envoy of the Two Lakes Patrol, and by this time the direct warlord forces had expanded to Zhiluyu, Jiangsu, Shaanxi and the Two Lakes region, apparently occupying half of China. In April 1922, the First Zhifeng War broke out. Wu Peifu and Cao Kun drove the Feng warlords outside Shanhaiguan, and the warlords directly under them took over the Beijing government.
Wu Peifu thus became the leading figure among the Beiyang warlords, combining political power, military strength and prestige, and from then until the outbreak of the Second Zhifeng War in 1924, Wu Peifu could be said to have reached the peak of his human rights. Therefore, in 1924, The American Time Magazine selected Wu Peifu on the cover, accompanied by an explanatory text "Biggest man in China", using the words of the strongest person in China to describe Wu Peifu, which shows his power position and influence in the Chinese political arena at that time.
(September 8, 1924 Times cover)
On April 4, 1927, Chiang Kai-shek appeared on the cover of Time Magazine for the first time, which was also the second Chinese to appear on the cover of Time Magazine. Time magazine portrays Chiang Kai-shek with a grim expression and a sharp-eyed portrait, accompanied by brief descriptions of "GENERAL CHIANG KAI SHEK" and "rose out of Sun-set" (rising after Sun's fall). At this time, when the national revolution in China was in the ascendant, before chiang kai-shek became the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition on June 4, 1926, and launched the Northern Expedition, taking the lead in attacking Wu Peifu's forces. The Northern Expeditionary Army's offensive was swift and fierce, and Chiang Kai-shek also used this as capital to become a rising star in China's political arena.
From 1927 to 1949, before the founding of new China, Chiang Kai-shek appeared on the cover of the times 6 times alone, and appeared with others 3 times. According to Lenus's statistics of all the characters who appeared on the cover from 1923 to 1977, among the Chinese, Mao Zedong appeared 12 times, ranking 12th; Chiang Kai-shek 10 times, ranking 17th; and Zhou Enlai 8 times, ranking 22nd. It can be seen that Chiang Kai-shek's historical position and importance in China's modern and contemporary history can be seen. Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek's inclusion on the cover of the era in 1927 marked, in a sense, the end of the era of the Beiyang warlords and the advent of a new era dominated by him.
(Epoch cover, April 4, 1927)
In 1928, when the Northern Expedition was basically completed, Chiang Kai-shek began to convene a dispatch conference to carry out large-scale disarmament on the grounds that the war was over and military expenditures were saved for economic construction. This move seriously affected the core interests of local power factions such as Feng Yuxiang, Yan Xishan, and Li Zongren, which led to the Central Plains War in 1930, which was the largest and longest warlord melee in modern Chinese history. Against this backdrop, Time magazine selected Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan as cover characters on July 2, 1928, and May 19, 1930, respectively.
(July 2, 1928 Times cover)
It can be seen that during this period, Proceeding from the interests of the United States in China, Time Magazine selected Wu Peifu, a pro-US warlord directly related to the United States, Chiang Kai-shek, the successor of Sun Yat-sen, and Feng Yuxiang, who believed in Christianity, as cover figures.
02 The image of China during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression
In September 1931, after the September 18 Incident, the smoke of Japan's war of aggression against China quickly spread throughout northeast China, and the domestic situation was suddenly tense, at this time Chiang Kai-shek was facing a fierce struggle between factions within the Kuomintang, especially the Guangdong forces represented by Hu Hanmin. Against the backdrop of this internal and external troubles, on October 26, 1931, Time Magazine chose Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling as cover characters to express concern and wait-and-see about the situation in China. Later, Chiang Kai-shek was forced by the current situation to go down for the second time on December 15, 1932.
(October 26, 1931 Times cover)
From 1933 to 1936, Time Magazine had Chinese on the cover for four consecutive years, revealing the intricacies of the domestic and foreign environment before the all-out War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the situation of Sino-Japanese relations and the extremely tense situation.
On December 11, 1933, Chiang Kai-shek was once again on the cover of the times, at this time he had come to power again shortly after his second resignation, and in 1932 he took a series of measures in cadre organization, intelligence system, etc., to complete his transformation from military leader to political leader.
(Cover of the Times, December 11, 1933)
On March 5, 1934, Puyi appeared on the cover of the Times. Just a few days ago, under the planning of the Japanese army, Puyi changed the name of "puppet Manchukuo" to "puppet Manchukuo Empire" and held an enthronement ceremony, calling him "Emperor of Puppet Manchukuo" and changing his era name to Kant First Year. This area was also known as Manchuria two years ago, and in the past two years, the situation has deteriorated rapidly with the advance of the Japanese army, and Puyi has reveled in the imperial dream of the so-called "Paradise of the King's Road".
(March 5, 1934 Times cover.) ）
On March 18, 1935, Wang Jingwei appeared on the cover of the Times. At this time, Wang Jingwei was appointed president of the Executive Yuan and foreign minister of the National Government of the Republic of China, and the situation in China was extremely turbulent this year, and the continuous tense Sino-Japanese relations, war and uncertain environment directly pushed the foreign minister to the cusp of the storm. Time magazine likened Wang Jingwei to the whiskers of a whale — easy to bend and able to fight back, which actually reflects Wang Jingwei's psychological posture of wavering between China and Japan at this time.
(March 18, 1935 Times cover.) ）
On February 24, 1936, Time magazine included four characters on the same cover— Emperor Hirohito of Japan, Puyi, Stalin, and Chiang Kai-shek, four key figures who solved the crisis in the Far East, in the same frame, accompanied by the text "The spokesman: one false step-one mistake-will go bang like a fire cracker." It simply and intuitively conveys the dynamic changes of the forces in the Far East at that time and the momentum.
(Epoch cover, February 24, 1936)
The outbreak of the July 7 Incident in 1937 marked the beginning of the All-out War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression by the Chinese nation. In the years that followed, every time the Chinese appeared on the cover of the era, it reflected an important historical stage or historical event.
On January 3, 1938, along with Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling, who jointly became the Annual Figure of the Times, the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was fully launched.
(January 3, 1938 Times cover)
On June 16, 1941, Chen Cheng appeared, accompanied by the difficult days of the Chongqing bombing.
(Cover of the Times, June 16, 1941)
On June 1, 1942, Chiang Kai-shek was once again on the cover, accompanied by the transition from the strategic defense stage of the War of Resistance Against Japan to the stage of strategic stalemate, with the outbreak of the Pacific War on the international battlefield, Britain and the United States declared war on Japan, China's difficult predicament was improved, the international status was gradually improved, and Chiang Kai-shek's prestige and status gradually reached its peak.
(June 1, 1942 Times cover)
On March 1, 1943, Soong Mei-ling appeared on the cover, that year Soong Mei-ling visited the United States, gave a speech in the US Congress and met with President Roosevelt, Soong Mei-ling with his outstanding eloquence, elegant demeanor and appearance in the United States quickly blew a gust of american age, Song's visit to the United States reflected the Nationalist government's diplomatic efforts to win greater support and assistance from the United States.
(March 1, 1943 Times cover)
On December 18, 1944, Song Ziwen appeared on the cover of the Times, not long after Song had just taken over the post of Acting President of the Executive Yuan and Minister of Foreign Affairs. The United States obviously favors such a high-ranking Kuomintang politician with experience in the United States, and Time Magazine praises Song Ziwen to the extreme, even comparing him with Hamilton, the first Treasury secretary in the founding period of the United States. In July 1945, Song Ziwen attended the United Nations Constituent Assembly in San Francisco and served as one of the four presidents. At the time of its establishment, the United Nations General Assembly was the chief representative of China. In August 1945, Song Ziwen visited the United States and won comprehensive assistance from the United States.
(Cover of times, December 18, 1944)
On August 15, 1945, Japan officially announced its unconditional surrender, and on September 2, the signing ceremony of Japan's surrender was held aboard the American battleship USS Missouri. On September 3, Chiang Kai-shek appeared on the cover of Time Magazine as a victor in the War of Resistance. On the cover, Chiang Kai-shek is dressed in military uniform, smiling, with a peaceful look, and behind him is the blue sky and white sun flag.
The cover is accompanied by the caption "After eight years of war, the challenge of peace" (after eight years of the War of Resistance, peace is being challenged), and Time magazine congratulates China on its victory in the War of Resistance, but also shows an uncertainty and concern about China's future direction. When the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was over, whether it was peace or war became the most important question before the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and it was also a question that Chiang Kai-shek urgently needed to make a choice.
(September 3, 1945 Times cover)
Most of the characters who appeared on the cover of the era during this period were military and political leaders of chiang kai-shek and the surrounding Nationalist government, and compared with the early serious and stereotypical images, the cover images of this period were much richer and more lively. Due to the progress of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, especially after the outbreak of the Pacific War, China and the United States were in the same anti-fascist united front, whether from the perspective of alliance relations or anti-fascist propaganda, Time Magazine's portrayal of China's cover character and its related news reports have added a sense of friendship and concern.
03 From the War of Resistance to the War of Liberation
On May 26, 1947, Chen Lifu, the head of the Kuomintang Party affairs and cc department for a long time, appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, with a famous sentence by Chen Lifu on the cover, "The essence of life is the performance of benevolence" (The principle of life lies in Shi Renyi).
Unlike previous reports that focused on current political news, This time Time magazine highlighted Chen Lifu's research on philosophy, the principles of writing and life, and the promotion of Confucianism as its own responsibility, and its starting point was as Time magazine said: "The bridge between the United States and China must extend from Marshall's completely American thought to Chen's completely Chinese thought." It should be admitted that this is a huge span; but it must carry the weight of peace and progress in Asia."
(Cover of the Times, May 26, 1947)
The cover of Time magazine on December 6, 1948, was Chiang Kai-shek's last appearance during the Republican period, when the Kuomintang was defeated and lost in Chinese mainland, and Time magazine described the situation with the words "the howitzers could now be heard in Kansas City" (the sound of howitzers can be heard as far away as Kansas City). The Battle of Liaoshen from September to November 1948, the Battle of Huaihai, which began on November 6, and the Battle of Pingjin, which began on November 29, were not optimistic for Chiang Kai-shek, whether they had ended or were in progress.
(Cover of times, December 6, 1948)
On February 7, 1949, Chiang Kai-shek's last appearance during the Republic of China period was mao zedong's first appearance on the cover of the times. Just a week ago, the Battle of Pingjin had just ended, and Peiping was peacefully liberated. After the completion of the three major battles, the main military forces of the Kuomintang were basically wiped out, and the war situation was fundamentally reversed.
On the cover, Mao Zedong looks up with a smile on his face, and there are four words of democratic unification behind him, which seems to reflect a kind of prejudgment of China's direction in the United States. Time magazine said in the report: "Mao Zedong put China on the page of the international communist bloc. For the West, this is an incalculable catastrophe. For communism, it was the greatest victory since the Soviet Revolution. ”
(February 7, 1949 Times cover)
It can be seen that with the advancement of the Liberation War and the increasingly revealing defeat of the Kuomintang, affected by the change of the current situation, the value orientation and overall evaluation of China in the United States have gradually undergone profound changes. After the founding of New China, with China joining the socialist camp headed by the Soviet Union and the United States and the Soviet Union launching an all-out Cold War, due to the influence of the international situation and ideological factors, the cover of Time Magazine showed more distorted, one-sided, ugly, and negative images of China.