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Inkluderar namnet: John Leighton Stuatt

Verk av John Leighton Stuart

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Stuart, John Leighton
Födelsedag
1876
Avled
1962
Kön
male

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This is a very interesting memoir of a man trying to save his reputation. John Leighton Stuart was a missionary in China for over 40 years before he was asked to be US Ambassador for the final years before the establishment or the PRC. He was president of Yensheng University in Beijing and spent his life in service in China. George Marshall asked him to be ambassador because of his intimate knowledge of Chinese culture and his general good reputation there (a rarity among missionaries). His fellow missionaries viewed him as a sellout for abandoning the missionary cause for a political one.

This memoir makes a much better case for rehabilitation of a reputation than most. Stuart really didn't change much as Ambassador. He constantly tried to bridge the gap between Washington and Nanjing. He also tried to work out a coalition between the GMD and CCP. While the odds of success were unlikely, they became zero when Washington nixed his plans. This was the most unfair thing facing Stuart. He was in a nearly impossible position. The US wanted the GMD in charge but wouldn't commit anything near enough resources to overcome GMD weakness. Stuart told them to either up the aid or cut it off. The CCP was winning. If the US didn't do more, the GMD wouldn't salvage the situation. With CCP victory inevitable, all US money was doing was making the US more hated by the Chinese. In Stuart's opinion, US policy took the worst possible course. Yet he was essentially made scapegoat when China fell.

Even in his memoirs, when he had time to reconcile his thoughts, Stuart never really came to grips with why the GMD fell. He always spoke well of individual GMD leaders, especially Chiang Kai-shek for whom he expressed great admiration, but he was very critical of the corruption and oppression of the GMD as a whole. It might have been his sincere affection for the GMD officers he worked with or his sense of propriety in not trying to burn anyone by name. Nevertheless, he did not reconcile why the leadership was brilliant and virtuous while the organization was corrupt and incompetent. He even mentions that the CCP took better care of its people, putting into practice some of the Christian values that the GMD never did. Despite that, he believed that the CCP was evil and must be stopped. He never accepted their victory as permanent or even long term.

Stuart's quandary on Christian GMD corruption vs. atheist CCP virtue is indicative of what many missionaries in China were facing. It was difficult to say whether the spirituality of loving Jesus was more important that acting with Christian charity and compassion. Of course, as the CCP became more secure in its power and then more abusive, the quandary became easier to deal with. But around 1950, it was a difficult issue.

By the time he wrote the book, there was no gray area for him. Although he sometimes shows ambivalence in his direct recollections, he finishes the book with a very eloquent argument against Communism and for human rights. He claims that God gave us the capacity to make our own decisions, good or bad.. Taking away that choice is evil and thwarting God's will. Stuart argues that the CCP claim to work for the betterment of all but are willing to do anything in the name of the greater good. By lying and compelling people to follow the Communist program, the CCP is demonstrating its hypocrisy and evil intent. Stuart argues that this system cannot coexist with the American system and one is doomed. He's betting the US will succeed.
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Scapegoats | Jun 16, 2011 |

Statistik

Verk
4
Medlemmar
18
Popularitet
#630,789
Betyg
½ 3.5
Recensioner
1
ISBN
6
Språk
1