My China Kanfa.....China on My Mind

I'm off to China tomorrow folks, and not back until the EOM. I'm  just too busy being a dad at the moment, and thus while I have lots to say, my blogging has without question fallen off a bit.  But I don't mind.  Even if no one reads this blog, it will continue. See you in May!

When Mao took over China in 1949, the country was in a shambles. Chiang Kai Shek had taken all the gold from China, along with as much of it's cultural treasure as he could get his hands on.  Nearly 170 tons in fact.  and to make matters worse, China's so called "pal", Russia was busy raping Manchuria of all its industrial might.  Ever wonder why the Soviet Union was so "eager" to help out America at the end of the war?  Now you know why. Indeed, the Russian Army would not leave China upon its entry in 1945 for a decade afterwards.  It's a little known fact that major cities today such as Dalian were occupied by a foreign power for several years after the surrender of Japan.  Mao had to "ask" in order for Stalin to agree to their eventual removal. Agricultural production was thirty percent below its prewar level. As I write this the exchange rate for the RMB is 6.7 rmb for one USD.  In 1949 one USD traded for 23 million yuan. ...

Stuck deep in middle age that I am, I've found my libido still going strong.  Very strong in fact.  However, much to my wife's chagrin, I can no longer have kids (thank God!). Call it women's lib in reverse.  The freedom as a Man to fuck whenever I want without worrying about having a kid, much less having to have great timing ALL THE TIME. I've found China Wife losing interest however, and this bothers me so.   She has her father's 老思想。 The nice thing about her parents is their sense of regularity.  When it is 6pm, it’s time for dinner.  But China Wife has inherited that as well.  And now that she's in middle age she suddenly wants to stop having sex.  Huh? "I'm old now we have to stop these things." China Wife is in her late 40's.   Awhile back I wrote a post about why China Man "fucks around".   Add this to the list. So what is Dumbass Husband of Tiger Mom to do? I just can't tell m...

Upon Zhou returning to Yanan from Chongqing, a slow subtle change in the Party had irrevocably taken place;  Mao Zedong was in charge.   From the end of the Long March, to the one by one failings of his rivals, Mao eventually stood head and shoulders above everyone except for one person.  That would be Zhou. Upon Zhou's return from Chongqing, Mao felt he had enough power and influence to basically browbeat Zhou into submission. Zhou could've easily said "fuck off" and called Mao's bluff.  But he didn't.  Zhou could've challenged Mao, and quite quickly have put the "fear of  Marx" in Mao, but he did not.  Most of China's future leaders quite frankly owed their allegiance to Zhou En Lai. His immediate, unswerving show of loyalty to Mao was impressive, and devoid of ego.  And signaled to his colleagues that Mao would indeed be the future leader of China going forward.  Zhou was perhaps just tired.  But he also at the end ...

Something happened to Zhou.  The Great Zhou En Lai. Administrator Supreme. Father of China's Intelligence service, along with the founder of a major Chinese newspaper.  Cold blooded killer.  Druglord. How did someone so capable and invaluable to the Rise of China so willingly fall into line behind Mao? Zhou EnLai continues to "flaunt" his ability after the end of the Long March.  He serves in Chongqing, as liaison between the CCP and KMT.  He was ripe for becoming a paid American spy(or someone's spy) but never bit.  Chiang Kai Shek could only dream of Zhou turning, like so many others before him. Zhou's passion for the cause was unstoppable.  His reputation unscathed and beyond reproach. The mantle of leadership within the Chinese Communist Party was his for the asking.  There is no way Mao could have become Supreme Leader of China if not for Zhou's acquiescence.   Zhou need simply raise his voice, flash his passion fo...

Zhou was the undisputed leader of China's Communist Party. The Comintern thought so. He had the intelligence, and when times called for it, the ruthlessness to seek revenge.  He had the operational competency, and had proven himself an able administrator.  It was his idea to create an Intelligence Division.  He knew immediately the need for information. He knew his enemy.  Chiang Kai Shek. He knew how to mobilize and organize.  And he knew most of the players.  He knew Deng Xiaoping nearly fifteen years before Mao did.  Indeed, he had brought several future great leaders into the Party, such as Ye Jianying. He also had a price on his head.  The Nationalists wanted badly to kill him.  What more street cred than that was necessary? Well, it turns out his weakness if any was his lack of knowledge of China's Great Peasantry.  In my view, Zhou was simply too sophisticated and urbane for his own good.  At ease perh...