|
Maoâs "Long March" not so long....
SHANGHAI, China (AP) - [Red Chinaâs army] slogged across rugged terrain for a year, fleeing Nationalist forces and forming the cornerstone of Chinese communist legend - the "Long March" that turned Mao Zedongâs guerrillas into folk heroes of the masses they would soon command. Now, seven decades after the grueling trek, two Britons who retraced the marchâs route on foot are committing political heresy. Their conclusion: The journey was more than a third shorter than the Communist Party says - by at least 2,500 miles. Ed Jocelyn and Andy McEwan said their findings showed the journey - during which Mao cemented his rule over the party that took control of China in 1949 - was 3,700 miles long. "It was still a remarkable achievement in endurance and courage," Jocelyn told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "The fact that itâs shorter than originally believed doesnât diminish that in any way." Not a chance, say communist traditionalists. "How could they possibly know the exact route and distance well enough to revise the figure?" said retired party historian Liu Binyan. "What kind of exact map could they have had?" Jocelyn, 35, and McEwan, 37, completed their journey Monday after 384 days; the original march reportedly took 370 days. The two, who have worked as editors for English publications in Beijing, are neither geographers nor historians; they based their estimate on timed walks, maps and distance markers. History books often say the 1934-35 Long March covered 6,200 miles; some accounts say it was as long as 8,000 miles. "Some will get upset at what they see as an attack on a central myth of the revolution," McEwan acknowledged by mobile telephone from near Yanâan, where Maoâs forces settled in western China following the march. Fleeing the forces of Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek, Mao and his Red Army followers trudged through some of Chinaâs poorest, most remote areas, from Jiangxi province in the southeast to Shanxi in the north. Conditions were harsh. Of the roughly 80,000 men - and 35 women - who began, only between 8,000 and 9,000 survived. "The Long March is the first of its kind," Mao wrote in late 1935. "It is a manifesto, a propaganda force, a seeding machine." (big snip, read the rest at the link) Gao Zhiyin, a spokesman for the Yanâan Foreign Affairs Department, dismissed their findings and wants to argue the matter face to face. "Can they change history?" Gao said. "The whole world acknowledges these facts." Posted by: Seafarious 2003-11-05 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=20854 |