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1939, Winter - Contract Negotiations
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[size=-2]January issue discussing the future of Chinese aviation[/size]
3 January: I finally decided to marry Sheng Jie as part of my New Year’s Resolutions for 1939. Back home, the process would be pretty simple- I would stop by and visit her father in private and ask his permission to marry her, then I would find some romantic setting to use to propose to little Jie herself. However, over here in China things get a little more complex when you are dealing with a very traditional family. One problem I have is that it is the parents of the bride and groom who are required to make all the arrangements. With my own family out of the loop, this is going to be a bit difficult. I have found out from Jie in previous conversations on the topic that her parents were willing to make some exceptions to the usual rules for my case, but even so there are still lots of hoops to jump through. In addition to the fact that not only do the parents need to make the arrangements, they don’t even normally speak to each other this early in the process. A middle-man who is known to both families opens up the negotiations. I had been discussing my problems at the government building and Ma Bufang himself, no less, offered to serve in this capacity for me in honor of our brief time together on the road to Chungking. He has been back in Golmud for the last few days providing updates on the situation in Yunnan. So far the army is still pushing up north from Kunming to reach Dali, and a major counterattack from the Yunnan troops to drive a wedge between the forces near Dali and Kunming has been beaten off after its initial success. Ma Hongkui granted him permission to try and help me out after assurances that the front could hold without his direct supervision for a few days (Alexei is more than competent enough to keep the push on Dali going).
[size=-2]Yunnan troops make a push that is quickly repulsed[/size]
Before I sent Bufang off to talk to the Sheng family I had to give him the skinny on my financial assets as it were, so that he could convince Jie’s family that I could take care of her. My typical appearance and the fact that I still live out of a hotel belies the fact that I am doing quite well as it turns out. When my father sold out to the United Fruit Company back in 1909, he received a large cash payment as well as numerous shares of United Fruit stock. He put a little of both aside for my benefit with the proviso that I couldn’t touch either until I reached my majority. But even after that point, I continued to let him manage the money as he has done very well with it. I require very little to serve my needs and basically wire home whenever I need a fresh injection of liquidity to get me by. Anyway, the money was placed in an investment trust which did very well throughout the 1920s. However, my father is an old-fashioned sort who gets suspicious of value that increases for reasons not tied to physical things- for example, the actual profitability of a given company. He’s also somewhat of a student of business history and is well aware of things like the South Sea Bubble and the crash of the tulip market in the Netherlands. As the Dow Jones Industrial index continued to rise through the 1920s he became nervous and started to transfer some of the investment trust portfolio into Homestake Mining stocks throughout 1928
[size=-2][1][/size]. Homestake Mining focuses primarily on gold production and did quite well in the aftermath of the Great Depression. My United Fruit stock bottomed out with everybody else’s in the crash, but by 1935 every $1,000 I had in Homestake Mining was now worth $6,200 *and* paying out dividends of $56 a share. I’m going to have to use some of this largess to have a home constructed that is worthy of my status in her parents’ eyes, which might ruin my reputation a bit at the public house as they view me as working-class over there (which I am as far as I’m concerned).
[size=-2]Ma Bufang (standing, far left) treats the Sheng family to a lavish dinner to open marriage negotiations.
Jie’s father Qiang is fourth from left; her mother Wen is fifth from left.
Following tradition, Jie must await the results of the discussion at home[/size]
I already wrote Bufang a cheque for $300
[size=-2][2][/size] drawn on the Bank of China for him to use to get suitable gifts to present to the family when he has the meeting to offer my proposal to them. I had my own ideas on what would be good, but I thought it would be best to have a native handle it as I wouldn’t want to unwittingly commit a faux pas at this delicate stage. If her family agrees to our union in principle, then they will provide Bufang with a special document containing all the circumstances of Jie’s birth which I then need to hold onto for at least three days. Normally I should leave this at my home’s altar honoring my ancestors, but I’ll have to try to make up something to stand in for that in my hotel room. If I don’t see any inauspicious omens in this time, then I have to pass this along to a reputable astrologer who needs to confirm that we would be a good match (and I’m sure with enough money, any couple can just happen to be a good match). So once I have the astrologer’s okay, then I write up the document containing all the details of my birth so that Jie’s family can run through the same steps. If that all works out then we can finally meet to make arrangements without Bufang as the go-between, but even this would be unusual, since normally it would then be my parents and hers meeting to make the betrothal arrangements. At this stage in the process it would not be unusual for the bride and groom to not even have met for the first time yet. I’m expecting this to go well since Jie has mentioned her parents aren’t too prejudiced about her marrying a non-Chinese.
5 January: Word came in over the wireless that the search is being called off for aviatrix Amelia Earhart, and she has been declared dead
in absentia along with her navigator Fred Noonan. It doesn’t seem like we have too many of the fairer sex doing feats of bravado; she will be missed.
7 January: Got some interesting snapshots today of training going on outside the city. The Mas are trying to create some brigades of combat Engineers, which they feel might be a better supplement to their forces when making urban assaults than the heavy artillery most of the generals have been asking for. Today they were mainly setting off smoke bombs and doing a lot of gagging from the fumes; later this week they will practice making bridges in the field on one of the many rivers around Golmud. In the meantime I’m still on pins and needles waiting for word to come back from Ma Bufang on what happened with his meeting with the Sheng family.
[size=-2]Ma Engineers get vital training in construction work[/size]
8 January: This evening there was a minor fight at the public house. Some people were there with their families to watch
Little Miss Broadway when some of the more rougher evening crowd started to trickle in to have a stiff drink or two (or three, depending on the state of the booze supply for that day). One of the men who was there with his children started to complain to Crosetti about the language the latter as using in front of his kids (who were apparently part of one of the few working-class families in the city that speak any English at all). Of course, if we had known in advance we might have warned the man that Crosetti is a bit of a hothead. As it was he was mad enough that he was about to lay into the fellow but we were able to hold him back forcibly and calm him down.
The incident did bring home some of the problems that Konrad faces trying to attract a wide base of customers so he can maintain his bottom line: a lot of these different types don’t mix well. Some of us were of the opinion that if he could get a few outside investors, he could split off his business: keep the bar running for his original patrons but migrate the movies into a different building where he could also perhaps serve better-quality food if he built a place with a real kitchen (currently he occasionally has somebody cooking rice or noodles for him right in the street out back). We started joking around about what he might call such a business- my favorite was
The Sour Kraut. Konrad didn’t appreciate the jest but he did seem to think the idea had some merit. Later when I returned to my digs at the hotel, I had word from Ma Bufang that the Sheng family agreed to open negotiations to discuss my marriage proposal, and I would get the document with Jie’s astrological data soon. Certainly a very noteworthy day!
18 January: Still awaiting new word from the Sheng family. In my room at the hotel I had set out some pictures of my parents and kept incense burning while I was on the watch for any bad omens. Of course, I’m not entirely sure what would qualify as a bad omen, but I wasn’t going to ask, lest I see any. I’m now awaiting word from the Shengs’ astrologer to find out if I’m acceptable. If I’m lucky I might be able to have the big meeting with her family at the end of the month.
I was also able to have dinner with Claire Chennault tonight down at `Polo’s Place`. He’s back in town after overseeing the construction of a new airfield in the old Kwangtung capital of Guilin. It transpired that he did in fact go into forced retirement from the Army Air Corps back in ’37 and worked his way over to China. He had been hoping to get an aviation job with Chiang Kai-shek but that fell through when the Japanese (and later Ma Hongkui) attacked. He found himself trapped in Nanking but managed to get out after the Japanese took control of the city (the Japanese are still unwilling to antagonize Westerners- well, at least no more than necessary). Still wanting to remain in China, he then worked his way to Golmud where Ma Hongkui has him very highly placed in the Air Force. However as of yet there is no real `Air Force` being run by the Mas (Chiang’s aircraft ended up being seized by the Japanese), but civilian aviation is taking off. Currently he is head of the Civil Air Transport Company that he founded here and is overseeing the continued buildup of airports all across western China. With the recent completion of the airstrip in Guilin, there is now government service and limited civilian commercial service running down from Golmud to Minxian, Meishan, and Guilin in Kwangtung. He is quite happy in China and looking forward to further aviation developments.
It’s great to have him working in Golmud, as we now have me, Peter, Max, and Claire as a fearsome foursome in regular bridge sessions. I usually end up paired with Peter as I’ve known him longer, but sometimes I’ll work with Max to practice my weak German. Peter and I are usually Rothschild Contract bidders, so that works out well, but Max uses some sort of system developed in Germany called the Tuebingen Pass system, which sometimes causes trouble for Claire as it is all new for him to learn. Still, it’s all in good fun until the money comes out! I was also able to parlay Claire’s experiences into another article that earned me a cover for LIFE, as Henry thought that the development of Civil Air Transport and the burgeoning Chinese aviation industry made for some good press. Right now most of the pilots are American expats like Claire, but he’s working on getting flight schools up and running.
20 January: Finished a lengthy meeting with Jie’s family today where we worked out the terms of our formal betrothal. I had some telegrams with me expressing the approval from my parents, and Ma Buqing attended as a show of moral support in place of his younger brother (and to perhaps add the looming presence of the government in my favor to the proceedings). Ma Bufang had wanted to be here, but had to get back to Yunnan over a week ago to supervise the siege of Dali.
[size=-2]Unsupported Infantry has little staying power on the attack, but victory is certain[/size]
I almost ran into a bit of trouble of not properly negotiating Jie’s dowry. I could really care less what her family chooses to provide for her, as it’s the girl I care about, but it looks embarrassing for my side if I don’t haggle. I was actually kicked a few times by Buqing when it looked to him like I wasn’t being serious enough in the bargaining. The next step is to set a date for our wedding, but this needs to be delayed as the local astrologers have to calculate the most auspicious times to do so. They are reluctant to start this process now since the new lunar New Year is coming up next month, and when it does, the revised astrological almanac is going to be published that they need to use in their calculations. So it’s more waiting, but I am becoming used to that at this stage.
3 February: Ma Bufang reports that the siege of Dali is over. His troops were nearly exhausted by the attack, so the same Cavalry division that we had accompanied to Chungking was sent in to take the city and handle the negotiations for the formal surrender. This will be good news for Konrad, as the Mas will now be directly in charge of the transport links running down to Hanoi, which will help him get some booze. He does still appear to be interested in splitting up his business, so we just have to find the right group of investors to help him out with that.
[size=-2]The last warlords in Yunnan province finally capitulate[/size]
10 February: Had to dash off a quick wire to my mother today, as it will be her 60th birthday back home. I’m a bit embarrassed that I haven’t made the time to try and arrange something special for her. I’ve been quite busy here with everything going on, but it’s no excuse (and neither is the fact that we’re on different continents at the moment!) I’ll have to make it up to her next year.
19 February: The lunar New Year begins today, making this the year of the Earth Rabbit. This starts the Spring Festival, which means I get more moon cakes from Jie and everyone is celebrating. Ma Hongkui sponsored a major party this year to both continue his quest for wider KMT support and to get the people in a good mood after the victories in Yunnan province. This is very timely as things are still somewhat hard as metal shortages continue to plague Golmud’s industries. There are major plans in place to get a harbor facility built down near the coast, but that will take time, and the transport links down there aren’t of the best quality (read: nonexistent).
[size=-2]Local Lion Dancers prepare for the big event[/size]
The New Year celebrations are designed to be part of a cultural renaissance for the city. In addition to things like the traditional Lion dances, Hongkui is also promoting local cinema. When the Japanese occupied the east coast after Chiang capitulated, China’s cultural and intellectual elite basically had two choices: move to Hong Kong or Golmud. Hongkui has done a fairly remarkable job of persuading many of them to come here even though there is little infrastructure in place to support their activities, but such things are now on the increase. I suppose many of these folks would prefer if the fruits of their labors were entirely enjoyed by the Chinese and not shared with the British, and Hongkui now has enough of China’s banks in his pocket that those pockets can be quite deep. Perhaps his greatest cultural coup came from getting film director Yuan Muzhi and the Mingxing Film Company to relocate here. They are most famous locally for the movie whose title translates as `Street Angel`. This film starts Zhou Xuan (a very remarkable singer) as one of two sisters who fled to Shanghai from Shaanxi province after the Japanese attacked back in July of ‘37. She sings a few numbers in the film and her voice is absolutely captivating. As part of the celebrations a local premiere of
Street Angel was held here in town, which I attended with Jie and her family. Many of the principal actors are now residing here and attended the premiere; as a consequence, I was able to use the little clout I have to arrange for Jie’s family to meet Zhou Xuan, which raised my stock considerably in their eyes. Not that I needed it, as they’ve already agreed to our wedding!
[video=youtube;RlEu2lcE9sg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlEu2lcE9sg[/video]
2 March: The astrologers have finally worked out a set of acceptable dates for our wedding. I picked out Thursday, November 30th, as the Thanksgiving holiday will be celebrated at that time back in New York, so I explained to the Sheng family that this day would be held as auspicious by my side of the family. Right now it seems so far away, but I am sure it will come soon enough. One consequence of the betrothal is that her family has forbidden her to continue to work for Konrad, feeling that this job is beneath her future status. In order to help preserve the good omens I’m told we have running, I’m not going to be allowed to see her anymore until the wedding. I’m finding this out after the fact, so I don’t even have the luxury of giving her a good-bye kiss to hold me over until then! Well, when the wedding comes, I’ll have plenty to be thankful for.
In the meantime I also have a great deal to keep me busy. As part of the wedding contract, I have to get a house built not only for us, but one for the Sheng family as well. Dealing with those issues will hopefully keep me distracted from missing my little Jie, but I doubt it.
27 March: The nation of Czechoslovakia is no more. The Hungarians pressed the government in Prague to resolve some border disputes in the Carpathian region, in a move that oddly enough had fairly widespread international support. The disputed area is one that was traditionally Hungarian for the last 1,000 years or so but was taken away as part of the Treaty of Trianon. The negotiations were hotly contested, with Poland prepared to offer military support to the Hungarians and the Romanians ready to help the Czechs. The Czechoslovak government really had its back against the wall, as any further territorial losses after the Sudetenland would likely leave it completely unviable as a state. They simply had no choice but to refuse the Hungarian offers to dismember their country.
[size=-2]Polish band celebrates the annexation of the town of Zaolzie, a minor concession awarded to them as part of the First Vienna Award.
Little did they know they would have little else to celebrate in the near future.
The sign reads `For 600 years we have been waiting for you`[/size]
Instead of going to war, the countries declared failed negotiations and invoked a clause in the previous Treaty of Munich that called for Germany, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom to settle the issues with a final arbitration. This might have possibly then worked out in the Czechs’ favor, if not for the odd fact that both France and the UK declined to participate. This left the fate of the area completely in the hands of the Germans and Italians. Admiral Horthy, the Hungarian leader, won over Italian support by positing an expanded Hungary as a strong ally in the region to counterbalance Germany. However, since he was also quoted as saying something to the effect that if he ever found himself at war with the Czechs, he would be defeated before he had time to climb out of bed, I have a hard time thinking that Mussolini would have found such an alliance compelling
[size=-2][3][/size]. For their part, the Germans pushed the Slovaks to declare full independence, and took recognition of Slovakia plus the last rump of Bohemia as their fee so to speak for granting Hungarian demands in Carpathia... and sic transit Czechoslovakia. The knife of the diplomat can cut more deeply than any bayonet.
[size=-2]The short-lived Czechoslovak Republic comes to an ignominious end[/size]
28 March: The Germans have successfully pressed another territorial claim. The port city of Memel, at the eastern end of East Prussia, was occupied by the victorious Allies after the Great War and it remained that way even after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. France and Poland wanted to make the place an international city despite its overwhelming German population, but the neighboring state of Lithuania also claimed it, and sent troops to occupy the city back in 1923. The dispute over the city was referred to the League of Nations, which decided the following year to formally grant the city to Lithuania with the minor proviso that it have some autonomous rights. Now the German Chancellor has somehow convinced them to turn the area over to full German control. The only territorial issue the Germans have remaining is the city of Danzig and the so-called Polish Corridor, unless they want to make a fuss over their old colonies in the Pacific Ocean. However the Allies have already granted those to Japan as their reward for their minor participation in the Great War. If I was Polish President Ignacy Moscicki, I’d be sleeping with one eye open right now (well, or Marshal Jozef Pilsudski, at least).
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[size=-2]Editor’s Notes:
1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was at a peak of 385 in October of 1929, and bottomed out at 41 during the worst of the Great Depression. The value reached 1,000 in 1972 and hit 10,000 in 1999. The General Electric Company has the honor of having the longest continuous presence in the index, having been added in 1907
2. A value of about $4,600 in 2010 dollars
3. Specifically, he is alleged to have said `A Hungarian military intervention would be a disaster for Hungary, because the Czechoslovak army has currently the best arms in Europe and Budapest is only five minutes from the border for Czechoslovak aircraft. They would neutralize me before I could get up from my bed`[/size]
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