Evening star., 1938-01-30
Bv Mavy.Carfev Roberts,

BY M0ry.C0rfer ROberfS'
STRONG MAN OF CHINA. BY Rob.
ert Berkov. Boston: Houghton
Mihl.n Co.
"HIS book has been described a.
the first satisfactory biography
of Chang Kai-shek. China's
L present man of the hour. IT.
author, Robert Berkov, gathered the
material while serving as manager OF
the Shanghai Bureau of the United
Press. It is clearly written work,
factual to the point of baroness, and
almost without bias. The writer can
not quite conceal that he admires the
generalissimo, but beyond that he
leaves the story to tell itself.
And, as it tells itself, it turns out
to be a tale of almost hopeless con-
fusion, of China's agony at the hands
of her own leaders, Of disagreements
between ambitious leaders on hair
splitting motives, and of apparently
incurable civil wars. In all this tur-
moil Chang Kai-shek has taken part:
he was an early follower of DR.. Sun
Yet-sen and has been active in his
country's history since 1910. But to
follow his course through China's va
rious phases since that time is to
struggle laboriouSly through a maze.
Mr. Berkov probably makes the trail
as clear as it could be made. But
even in his bare. straightforward tell
ing, this is an immensely complicated
narrative.
1t shows Chang to us as an intelli-
gent and conscientious oppQrtuniSt.
That the generalissimo has not scru-
pied to change his avoWed principles
occasionally Mr.. Berkov admits; that
Chang has been ruthless and some
times devious he also demonstrates.
But he holds that an unselflsh patriot
ism cannot be denied the man and
believes that his drive for power has
been In his countrys interest and not
in his own.
Certainly Chang has had difficult
role to play. His associates have
turned on him many times; he has had
one civil war after another to deal
with; his repeated efforts to carry out
the constitution of his country in its
plan for a peaceful education Of the
people have been frustrated by ambl-
tious war lords and jealous rivals. After
one such interruption, he is reported
as much aged, thin, worn and nervous,
sick at heart with another rebellion.
and at the needless sacrifice Of troops
against his own countrymen." But he
has persevered and, if in the maniacal
winds of Chinese politics, he has
veered from time to time. it would
appear that veering was the course
OF common sense, ana that leader
who refused it would certainly have
been overwhelmed Chang himself
was more than once obliged to retire
to private life, but he invariably re-
turned at the request of those who had
forced him out. for they always found
that they could not manage without
him.
The sensational kidnapping of the
generalissimo by the Young Marshal
Chang Hseuh-liang is given lucid ex-
planalion in the volume. Mr.. Berkov's
account does not materially differ
from other accounts, to be sure, but
it is more detailed and gives some
hitherto unpublished incidents of the
captivity. His story is that the Young
marshal wanted to force Chang to
agree to armed resistance Of the
Japanese invasion of Manchuria and
to abandonment of the campaign
against the Communist rebels, and
hoped that Chang would accept his
conditions in return for his release.
Chang, however, proved to his cap
tors to be tiger whom they held by
the tail" He refused even to discuss
terms with subordinate officers and
roared that either they were loyal, in
which case they should obey him, or
that they were in rebellion. in which
case they ought to shoot him. The
Young Marshal was very badly en-
barrassed. It is fantastic story and
one which seems likely to enter into
the lists of famous anecdotes OF great
men.
The book will contribute no little to
an understanding of China's plight
and to achieving a clear idea of the
various personalities who have briefly
fickered through our Western news
papers as war lords" and the like.
It is probably as clear an account as
could be written of an unbelievaoly
confused period in confused nations
history.
THE PRIVATE LETTERS OF PRIN-
CESS LIEVEN. Edited by Peter
Quennell. New York: E. P. Dut-
ton and Co.
THE Princess Lieven met. in 1918,
the Prince Metternich at the Con-
gress Of Aix-la- -Chapelle He fell in
love with her, she with him. After that
one brief meeting they were seldom
to see one another again, but they
corresponded regularly for long time.
Between 1920 and 1926 Prince Lieven
was Russian Ambassador to England,
and in those years letters from his wife
to Metternich were dispatched regu-
larly. She was, in fact, a friendly
agent of the Austrian statesman, and
he relied on her observations on po-
litical questions to the extent OF en-
bodying some Of her communications
in his official reports. The present
volume contains the letters which she
sent him in that period. There has
been some editing, but not Of the
essential portions.
The effect Of the volume is that
OF . shrewd but utterly feminine
mind. Princess Lieven had sharp
eyes, and little in court intrigues or
politics escaped her. In reporting
what she saw, however, she inevitably
gave in her account what today would
be called "the feminine angle" She
embellishes her story Of an important
debate in Parliament with notes on
how handsome Lord Grey appeared;
she canot write Of another lady in the
court without q feline scratch at the
lady's beauty or reputation. Meter
mich. who was . great lover of women,
must have found her 4 deliohtful