FENG YU-HSIANG (冯玉祥)

Feng Yu-hsiang—around that name there are, we suspect, more controversies than that of any other contemporary of ours. Have we not heard of him as a mean schemer, a treacherous ally, and have we not heard of him as man of integrity, the most honest of warlords? Have we not heard of his thrift, and have we not heard of the luxuries under the cloak of his thrift? Because of these contradictions and the tales purported to support them, his name has an air of mystery that fascinates one, and so I find myself querying those who know something about him, every time I have a chance.

One of General Feng's former teachers, now in the government service, bluntly sums up his formula of this mysterious personality thus: a half-baked person with a single-track mind. When General Feng was known as the "Christian General," he truly believed that China's salvation lay in Christianity; when he allied himself with Russia, he really believed that that was the only way to save China; later, when he supported General Chiang Kai-shek in ousting General Chang Tso-lin from Peking and the communists from Kuomintang, he sincerely believed that he was doing the only thing that could rescue China and that the realization of the San-Min-Chu-I would mean a millenium for our country. He believed in one thing at a time to the exclusion of everything else; he has the single-track mind because he is half-baked, and he is half-baked because he is a self-educated man, whose reading has been omnivorous rather than intelligently chosen.

Although it was due chiefly to his military strength that the Peking regime collapsed so soon, he publicly declared that what was good for the central government and China he would willingly accept, that the garrison posts of his troops were of no consideration at all, and that General Chiang and the central government would play fair. But when the central government decided to snatch the Hopei and Shantung provinces from him, well, the whole world knows the story already. That's human, all too human, we all can afford to be idealists when idealism doesn't touch our purse.

Another man, one of his former subordinates now living in retirement, paints a full-size portrait of him. As a boy Feng lived near Tientsin, and the pillages of Tientsin and Peking by the foreign troops during the Boxer Uprising made a lasting impression on him. However, it was due more to the desire to support his father, a retired army officer and an opium-smoker, than to defend the country that he entered the army. He was ambitious, and he began to study in spite of the jeers and mortifications of his fellow soldiers. He was filial, patriotic and loyal to the throne. It was said that when Empress Dowager died, he cried bitterly for days. With his ambition, his excellence in military drill, and his ability to read and write, he found himself, in 1911, a major at the head of one battalion, with which he staged a revolt at Luanchow, that ended in failure. Somehow those three years between 1908 and 1911 found him greatly changed from a loyal officer to a revolutionist, to which his ability to read must have contributed no small part. However, during the first years of the republic his loyalty was transferred from the crown to his superior officers, and he never raised the standard against Yuan Shih-kai when the latter attempted to make himself emperor, for his connection with the revolutionists had never been very close.

Having been a commoner among the people and a private among the soldiers, General Feng well knew their sad plight and tried as was within his power to alleviate their conditions. This is the tenet of his patriotism and the guiding principle of his life, which remains the same, though his formulas for attaining the desired goal—a prosperous China free from foreign domination—changed with time and circumstances. This accounts for the strict discipline of his troops, which were also well cared for; and it was this more than anything else that was responsible for his conversion to Christianity. The hospitals, orphanages, and schools of the missionary found a warm corner in his heart; he believed that the salvation of China reposed in Christianity, and he tried to Christianize the soldiers under him. It was at this period too that he came into closer contact with revolutionists, for at that time many Christians were revolutionists, notably Dr. C. T. Wang and George Hsu Chien. Though he was now opposed to the Peiyang warlords, still he was loyal to his commanding officers, because he was a better soldier than a revolutionist, and because he knew that he was not strong enough to oppose them.

Later he joined Wu Pei-fu against Tuan Chi-jui, and was made Military Governor of Honan; but, just as he was planning to do something for the people of Honan, General Wu transferred him to Peiping. This highly displeased him and, together with their difference regarding certain political issues, accounted for his coup d'etat, overthrowing the Tsao Kun regime. But he was not yet powerful enough to have his way in North China, and his failure to oust General Chang Tso-lin ended in his own departure from the country.

In Russia he imbibed quite a part of communism, but he was too nationalistic to embrace it whole-heartedly. The Russians knew this and that was why they gave him such a mere pittance of support. This in turn swung him to General Chiang Kai-shek, but when General Chiang decided to give Tientsin and Peiping to General Yen Shih-shan, Feng felt himself cheated; for he had set his mind at being the master of North China so that he could do something for the people, and from the very beginning he felt that he was cooperating with Kuomintang rather than a mere cog in the party wheel. He revolted because of the conflict of interests; but his last conflict with the central government in Charhar was one more of policy than of interests.

Yes, General Feng was largely a child of circumstances, his opinion and his policy are largely a result of the persons around him. He is honest, but too simple; and he thought, when he was in Nanking, that China could be saved by the officials getting less pay and leading a simple life. Being a simple man himself, and seeing the logic that both men and officers are employees of the government and are to serve the country, he would not allow his officers such little comfort as smoking, not to say luxuries. That is why his generals left him and would not come back to him, leaving him "without capital," as he said in his reply to Fukien's invitation to join the revolt. Perhaps, the finis is written over the public career of an extraordinary man, who rose from a private to a commander of 300,000 men at one time.

[No. 10; Mar. 8, 1934]

冯玉祥¹

冯玉祥——在我们同时代的中国人中，可能没有谁比这个名字引发过更多的争议。难道我们不曾听说，他是个卑鄙的阴谋家，是个背信弃义的盟友？难道我们不也听说过，他是个正直的人，是最诚实的军阀？难道我们不曾听说他生活俭朴，难道我们不也听说过他俭朴外衣掩盖下的奢侈？由于这些彼此矛盾的说法，和各种旨在支持这些说法的故事，他的名字便蒙上了一层使人如坠迷雾的神秘氛围。所以，我要是遇到了对他多少有所了解的人总要打听一番，绝不错过任何一次机会。

冯将军早先的一位老师，目前在政府任职，把他对这位神秘人物的评价概括为这样一句话：一个稀里糊涂的人，一个不知变通的头脑。当冯将军被叫做“基督将军”时，他果真就认为基督教可以救中国；当他和俄国结盟时，他确实就相信那是拯救中国的唯一道路；后来他支持蒋介石将军把张作霖²赶出北京、把共产党人清除出国民党，他也真诚地认为这是挽救中国所能做的唯一的事情，认为实行三民主义就意味着我们国家的千年好景。在他相信一件事情的同时就会把其余的一切排除在脑外。他有一个不知变通的头脑，是因为他稀里糊涂的；他稀里糊涂，则因为他是自学成才的——他读的书十分庞杂，没有经过明智的选择。

虽然主要是由于他的军事实力，北京政权才会那么快垮台，但是他公开声明：只要对中央政府有利、对中国有利，任何解决方式他都乐于接受；他属下部队的防区不足为虑；蒋将军和中央政府自会公平处置。但是当中央政府决定要从他的控制下夺走冀、鲁两省，瞧吧，全世界都已经知道故事如何发展了。那是人之常情，太合乎人情了。我们全都当得起理想主义者，只要理想主义不来碰我们的钱包。

另一个人，是他以前的部下，现在已经退休，对他的标准描绘如下所述：少年时代的冯玉祥居住在天津附近，义和团运动期间外国军队对北京和天津的掠夺，给他留下了终生难忘的印象。但是他后来入伍当兵，在更大程度上是为了供养他的父亲——一个吸鸦片的退伍军官——而不是为了保卫国家。他胸怀大志，不顾行伍伙伴的嘲笑和羞辱，开始学习。他孝顺、爱国、忠君。据说，慈禧太后死的时候，他恸哭了好几天。由于他的远大理想、在训练中的出色表现以及他的文化程度，1911年，他就当上了一个营的管带。他领着这一营人在滦州造反，结果以失败告终。不知怎么地，在1908到1911这三年间，他由一个效忠清廷的军官变成了一名革命分子，他的文化程度一定是起了不小的作用。然而在民国初年，他也只是把他的忠诚从君主转移到了他的上级长官身上。袁世凯试图称帝时期，他从不曾举旗反抗，因为他和革命党人的关系从来就不十分密切。

由于在人民中间曾经是普通百姓，在军人中间曾经是普通一兵，冯将军了解他们的疾苦，因而总是在力所能及的范围内努力改善他们的处境。这是他的爱国主义信条，也是他为人的准则。虽然，他赖以实现目标——一个摆脱外国统治的、繁荣昌盛的中国——的方案随着时移势易而有所变化，那信条和准则至今依旧。正因为如此，他的部队纪律严明、训练有素，并能得到良好的照管。也正是由于这个而不是别的什么原因，导致他信奉了基督教。医院、孤儿院、教会学校，在他的心里找到了温暖的关怀。他相信，要救中国还要靠基督教，所以他试图使部下的士兵全都皈依基督。也是在这个时期，他和革命党人建立了密切的联系，因为那时候不少基督徒都是革命党人，著名的就有王正廷博士³和徐谦⁴。虽然他现在反对北洋军阀，但是他仍然忠于他的司令长官，因为他作为军人要比他作为革命党人更加合格，也因为他知道他还没有强大到足以对抗他们。

后来他参加吴佩孚⁵反对段祺瑞⁶的斗争，被任命为河南督军；但是正当他准备为河南人民做一些事情的时候，吴佩孚把他调到了北京。这种调动使他很不高兴，再加上他们在一些政治问题上的分歧，促使他发动了一次推翻曹锟⁷政权的政变。但是他的力量还不足以使他在华北为所欲为，而未能赶走张作霖将军的失败之举，则以他自己的出国而告终。

在俄国，他受到不少共产主义的熏染，但是他是一个太坚定的民族主义者而不可能全心全意地接受共产主义。俄国人对这一点也心里有数，所以只给了他十分有限的支持。于是他又摆向蒋介石将军，但是当蒋介石决定把天津和北京（后改称北平）交给阎锡山将军⁸时，冯将军觉得受到了欺骗。他早已打定主意要做华北的主人，这样他才能为人民做一点事情，而从一开始他就觉得自己是在跟国民党合作而不是它的一个无足轻重的卒子。他以前反叛，是由于利益冲突；但是最近一次在察哈尔和中央政府的冲突，却更是一场政策冲突。

是的，冯将军在很大程度上是环境的产儿，他的主张和政策在很大程度上是他身边人物影响的结果。他为人诚实，但是过于简单。在南京的时候，他以为只要官员们少拿点俸禄，生活简朴一点，中国就能得救。他本身十分简朴，而且认为士兵和军官全都是政府的雇员，理当为国家服务。对他的军官，连抽烟这样的小享受他都不允许，更别提奢侈的生活了。这就是为什么他的部将会离开他并且再也不愿意回到他身边的原因，就像他答复福建邀他参加起义⁹时所说，已经使他再“没有资本”。也许，这个从普通士兵上升为30万人统帅的非凡人物，其公共职业生涯的最后章节已经写就。

［第10期，1934年3月8日］