A Biography of Jiang Baili

Name: A Biography of Jiang Baili
ISBN: 9787101129885

杜继东Zhonghua Book Company · ChinaDec 2021

4.0

Word count: 217K words
Chapters: 64
ISBN: 9787101129885

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Summary

Jiang Baili, courtesy name Fangzhen, was a native of Xiashi in Haining, Zhejiang, and a renowned military theorist and military educator in modern China. He studied in Japan and Germany, and after returning home served successively as commandant of the Baoding Military Academy and acting commandant of the Army War College, training a group of highly qualified senior officers for China. He wrote the military treatise On National Defense, which analyzed in detail the strength and strategic posture of China and Japan, expounded the theory of protracted resistance, and asserted that Japan was bound to lose the war of resistance and China bound to win. He was also a distinguished scholar of literature and history, a favored disciple of Liang Qichao; he wrote A History of the European Renaissance and formed close friendships with Rabindranath Tagore, Hu Shi, Xu Zhimo, and others. The author of this book has delved deeply into primary sources on Jiang Baili, biographical chronicles, and the rich periodical materials from the Republican era held by the Institute of Modern History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vividly chronicling Jiang Baili's remarkable life. It stands as the authoritative biography of Jiang Baili.

Editor's review

Mr. Du Jidong's Biography of Jiang Baili is a biographical work that strikes a delicate balance between rigorous scholarship and readability. As a volume in Zhonghua Book Company's "Collected Works of Modern Figures" series, it carries on the series' hallmark of solid source materials and meticulous textual criticism, yet never sinks into dry pedantry. The book's greatest value lies not in merely cataloguing the life and deeds of Jiang Baili as a military theorist and army general, but in using his rich life as warp and weft to weave a three-dimensional picture of intellectuals in the late Qing and early Republican era seeking and striving amid national crisis. The author makes full use of Jiang Baili's diaries, letters, and articles as well as the reminiscences of his contemporaries, and offers a particularly deep analysis of the intellectual essence of On National Defense, clearly tracing the formation of the strategic idea of "protracted war of resistance."

Reading this book, you will find that Jiang Baili was not only the prophet who declared that "China has two superior conditions—vast territory and a large population; if we do not fight, so be it, but once we fight we must 'drag it out,' drag it until the Eastern and Western wars merge, and we turn from weak to strong," but also a complex individual steeped in traditional culture yet possessing deep insight into modern Western civilization. The book offers detailed accounts of his studies in Japan and Germany, his teaching at the Baoding Military Academy, and his associations with Liang Qichao, Cai E, and others, showing how he left a deep imprint in military, educational, and cultural fields. For readers who wish to go beyond simple historical labels and understand how modern Chinese elites thought about the nation's fate and way forward, this book provides rich intellectual nourishment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Republican-era military history and intellectual history, especially the origins of strategic thought in the War of Resistance Against Japan
Readers who wish to understand more deeply the inner journeys and patriotic sentiments of modern intellectuals
Readers who prefer biography grounded in solid sources and told with objective, understated narration
Professionals engaged in related historical research or teaching who need reliable reference materials on historical figures

Not a good fit for

Entertainment-oriented readers seeking dramatic plots, strong narrative conflict, or novelistic embellishment
Readers who only want a quick overview of Jiang Baili's life and lack patience for in-depth analysis and source details

Reading tips

While reading, consult Jiang Baili's own On National Defense or related selected writings to gain a more direct sense of his thought
Read this book alongside biographies of contemporaries such as Liang Qichao and Cai E to build a more three-dimensional network of historical understanding
Pay attention to the book's account of Jiang Baili's European travels, which is crucial to understanding the Western roots of his military thought

About the publisher

Zhonghua Book Company China · Founded in 1912

Zhonghua Book Company is a publisher known for collating ancient texts and academic publishing, with its output centered on Eastern philosophy, culture, classic works, art, and historical reading. Its library contains 532 titles, including Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, Guo Qingfan's Collected Commentaries on Zhuangzi, the four-volume Chinese Literature: Four Great Classical Novels, and the two-volume Table of Seal and Clerical Script Forms from Qin, Han, Wei, and Jin. These titles span historical classics, commentaries on the philosophers, classical novels, and philological reference works. Representative authors include Chen Shou, Guo Qingfan, Wu Cheng'en, Shi Nai'an, Cao Xueqin, Luo Guanzhong, Xu Wenwu, and the Hanyu Dazidian character-form group, reflecting a focus on primary sources and scholarly editors. Its publishing character lies in combining authoritative editions and annotated texts with both accessible classics and specialized research. Public information on its fuller catalog is limited; this note describes only the directions evident in the library's holdings.

版权信息
第一章家道中落身世坎坷
硖石的王气
蒋氏家族的盛衰
关于父亲的离奇传说
母亲也是个苦命人
会说书的小神童
第二章硖石才子闻名遐迩
割肉疗亲的孝子
少年秀才
“中国之宝”
求是书院的高才生
第三章留学东瀛名冠千军
东渡日本
结识梁启超和蔡锷
成城学校
激荡的浙江潮
“士官三杰”之一
东京逸事
第四章东北参议德国实习
沪上相士测前程
无奈的总参议
观彰德秋操
游学德国的日子
京华烟云
第五章峥嵘岁月祸福相依
奉天历险
游子回故乡
保定军校起风潮
举枪自杀惊天下
梅花香自苦寒来
参与反袁护国
哭送挚友蔡锷
第六章离乱年代文武兼顾
受挫折复归京华
随梁启超赴欧洲
参与文化活动
推动“联省自治”
建怀萱堂永怀慈母
吴佩孚的患难交
孙传芳的座上客
第七章阶下之囚谁堪与共
唐生智第一次反蒋
唐生智第二次反蒋
西湖冷月
南京三元巷看守所
告别邓演达
挽徐志摩
脱离牢笼
第八章澹泊明志宁静致远
赋闲沪上
哭长女蒋昭
默筹抗日方策
衔命赴欧洲
第九章抗日烽火毁家纾难
卷入西安事变
大战前的奔忙
毁家纾难
再赴欧洲
第十章鞠躬尽瘁死而后已
以笔为枪
代理陆军大学校长
将星陨落鹤山旁
后记

FAQ

What is this book's Douban rating? Is it authoritative?

The book has received a relatively high rating on Douban (the exact score changes over time, generally above 8), and reviews generally consider it well sourced and objectively argued. As an academic biography published by Zhonghua Book Company, its authority rests mainly on its full use of primary sources and rigorous academic standards.

What is the background of the author, Du Jidong?

Du Jidong is a researcher at the Institute of Modern History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, specializing in modern Chinese history, with particular depth in the history of China's foreign relations. His academic background ensures the depth of the book's research and the breadth of its perspective; it is not a simple popular retelling.

How does this book differ from Tao Juyin's Biography of Jiang Baili?

Tao's work was completed earlier and carries more vivid records and literary color from contemporaries; Du's work, building on later scholarship, makes full use of the large quantity of archives and research findings made public afterward, and is more academic with a more systematic framework, especially in its deeper analysis of thought. The two can complement each other.

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About the author

杜继东 Author

Du Jidong is an author about whom limited public information is currently available. One work of his is included in the collection, the biography Jiang Baili Zhuan (A Biography of Jiang Baili). Based on the existing information, his writing focuses on general biography, taking Jiang Baili, a military theorist and strategist of the Republican era, as his subject and presenting his life, writings, and historical context. A biography of this kind requires the author to balance the sorting of historical sources with the evaluation of the figure, so that readers can understand both the subject's experiences and ideas and the historical environment in which he lived. Because only one work is available and details such as nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background remain unconfirmed, it is not possible to introduce his personal experience or the full range of his writing. Judging from the work at hand, Du Jidong's approach leans toward the study of historical figures, with a clear sense of subject in his choice of topic. The book may be useful to readers interested in modern military figures and Republican-era history.