The movie was set in 1926 China. Was the conflict between the Nationalists, (lead by Sun Yat-sen who died of Cancer in March 1925 who was replaced by Chiang Kei-shek in 1926) and the Communists forces - who finally displaced Chiang in 1939?
Can anyone correct my history and/or add to it. Basically, I'm interested in the conflict in which the San Pablo became involved.
Maybe I'm not understanding your question, but Chaing headed the Nationalists until well after the end of WWII.
The movie is set in the period between the fall of the imperial government (c 1912) and probably The Long March (March 1934). The conflict is the pushing and shoving between factions (mostly Nationalist and Communists) as China tries to find itself.
But wasn't Chiang forced to Taiwan in 1949 (not 1939) I think he still served as president - at least in name
shareActually, during this period the Nationalists and Communist were joined togerther and supported by Lenin and Later Stalin. It was in order to get soviet support that the nationalists allied with the CCP, as the CCP was still a very small party while the nationalists had the support of Sun Yat Sen who was the most prominant liberal in China.
It was only after the Nationalists siezed Shanghai that they broke from the CCP and massacred communists and labor unions who were supported by the communists. Mao and the few remaining CCP members fled to south central china and began a rurally focused soviet statelet which resisted Nationalist forces untoll kicked out in 34. They then fled across the country in the long march to north-west china, where they led a sucessful guerilla campaign against the Japanese and Nationalists.
The movie appears to end in 27 when the Nationalists took over shanghai, and kicked out the foreigners.
Read The Sand Pebbles by Richard McKenna.Its a novel but based on his own experiences .Its actually quite good.
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Never quite grasped the history of this film. Like many I was confused with the true story of the Panay sunk by the Japanese evacuating Chinese officials in 1937. China in the 20s was a war torn mess with every warlord and his brother fighting for a piece. The 'major powers' with the US the least of them sought to protect what interest they had. Killing foreignors was the only thing all the contenders found expedient.
I'm not saying we won't get our hair mussed!share
It seems like everybody's looking for easy cause-and-effects to explain the motivations of all sides in the movie. You're not going to get it until you read up on the history of china of the pre and post revolution eras. You have to look to the opium wars, Taiping rebellion, the boxer rebellion, and the spread of Christian missionaries to get the cause. Then you can see the rise of Sun Yet Sen, the communists and the nationalists as the effects.
Killing foreigners wasn't just expedient, but tapped into a rich vain of anti-foreign sentiment in China of yesteryears... and even today.
Chiang retreated to Taiwan and lived a long life though mainland China has been breathing down their necks ever since.
shareClarification -- The Nationalists "ruled" China for the period in question. Chaing Kai-Shek commenced his Northern Expeditions to stamp out rival warlords as he sought to unify and bring the entire country under KMT rule. The American government was an unwelcome presence along with the British, Russians and the Japanese. These were the dominant powers with national interests in keeping China under their respective influence.
A pervasive anti-foreign/anti-Western sentiment ran through the country. Resentment towards all the concessions made to Western powers and Japan during the Qing dynatsty period when China lost many wars to foreign powers. Gunboat diplomacy was the foreign countries means to enforce their interests in China by a show of force.
Recommend that you see "55 Days At Peking" with Charlton Heston.
Jake tells the San Pablo crew that his previous posting was the flagship of the Asiatic Fleet. Does anyone know which ship that might be in 1926?
shareAh. Never mind. The ship he was likely referencing was USS Pittsburgh (CR-4), originally named USS Pennsylvania (ACR-4). This pre-dreadnought was certainly impressive in its day, but was relieved by USS Houston (CR-32) and scrapped only 5 years after the time setting of the film.
shareThe split between the Communists and Nationalists occurred in 1927. After the earlier revolution back in 1911, China attempted to form a government under Yuan Shikai, who later tried to have himself crowned emperor. When Yuan died in 1916 after his aborted attempt to become emperor, no single unifying personality was left so the country broke down to a warlord dominated form of rule which lasted until 1928. Incidentally, one of the warlords attempted to reinstall Pu-Yi (last Manchu emperor) back to the throne in 1917, but was eventually rejected by other warlords.
I guess the movie setting in 1926 involves the Imperialists backing the warlord government (Beiyang government) after Yuan's death. There were anti-imperialist demonstrations going on in March 1926 and a massacre occurred on March 18. Those involved in the demonstrations were hunted down (both Nationalists and Communists). The demonstrations came about after a Japanese warship was fired upon from a Chinese fort on March 12. The Japanese said the attack violated the Boxer Protocol of 1900 and demanded that the fort's defenses be destroyed. This then created anger about the unequal treaties between China and the foreign powers. I guess the civil war going on is referring to the constant warlord battles as well as the growing numbers of people either allied with the Communists or Nationalists. The San Pablo is "protecting" the US interests in China. I believe the term "gunboat diplomacy" is derived from ships like the San Pablo.
In 1926, no one ruled China outright. Chiang and the Nationalists were trying to assert more control but were opposed by the many regional warlords. There was a very uneasy alliance of sorts with the communists but that would soon breakdown. Foreign powers also had many spheres of influence and control and hoped to keep it. British, French and American business interests saw many opportunities in China and hoped to exploit those. The nationalists were opposed to that level of interference in internal Chinese affairs. The communists were opposed to the same things that the Nationalists were but they had their own agenda on how to do it. Many Chinese were increasingly impatient with the chaos and the exploitation which created the undercurrent of tension. What we see in the movie are the Nationalists attempting to assert control in the region that the San Pablo patrolled.
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