"Not so fast" re: Chinese Communist history
Originally Posted by
Leto
I wasnt either, I'm sure he was born in Indonesia. The history story that Bruce posted says he was born in 1943, then goes on to say that his parents "fled China after the commnunist party came to power". That happened in 1949. It's just another example of poor attention to detail on the part of the SD story tellers. They are trying to add a detail which makes the story sound more authentic, but get history wrong trying to do it. Even if they used wikipedia for a minute or two, they would know better. It's frustrating. I don't know why they couldn't just tell the truth about Sin The, whatever that is. Keep it simple and there is less for people to gripe about. If you don't know the dates for things, don't try to make historical references in the story which might not be correct.
"Sin The was born in 1943 in Bandung, Indonesia, to a family of Chinese immigrants. He studied martial arts in the school of Ie Chang Ming, another member of the Chinese community in Bandung. In 1964 he came to the University of Kentucky, where he made the decision to stay in the United States and teach martial arts full-time." That is all it needs to be, and there would be nothing to gripe about.
Its been said his family fled China when "the communist party came to power." Historically PRC founded by Mao in 1949. But the Communists had been fighting for power in China for decades. According to many sources (Wikipedia, as Leto suggested, FWIW, quoted below), Communist Party in China founded 1921, went through 2 "civil wars," ending up in the final push to power from 1937 to 1949 or so.
"During the Second Sino-Japanese war (1937–1945), the CPC and KMT were temporarily in alliance to fight their common enemy. The Communist government moved from Bao'an (Pao An) to Yan'an (Yenan) in December 1936.[8] The Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army became army groups belonging to the national army (8th route army and New 4th Army), and the Soviet Republic of China changed its name as a special Shaan-Gan-Ning administration region (named after the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia provinces at the borders of each it was located). However, essentially the army and the region controlled by CPC remained independent from the KMT’s government.
In eight years, the CPC membership increased from 40,000 to 1,200,000 and its military forces - from 30,000 to approximately one million in addition to more than one million militia support groups.[9][citation needed]
It is a well accepted idea that without the Japanese invasion, the CPC might not have developed so fast. This accelerated development is attributed by some[who?] to the lack of attention the CPC paid to the war against Japan, they argue that the Chinese Communists took advantage of the KMT's preoccupation with the Japanese to gain an edge on the nationalists. This, however, can not be entirely true as the Chinese Communists did wage costly guerrilla wars against Japanese occupied areas.[citation needed]
[edit]Third Civil Revolution periods (1946-1949)
After the conclusion of WWII, the civil war resumed between the Kuomintang and the Communists. Despite initial gains by the KMT, they were eventually defeated and forced to flee to off-shore islands, most notably Taiwan. In the war, the US supported the Kuomintang and the USSR supported the CPC, but both with limited degrees. With the Kuomintang's defeat, Mao Zedong established the People's Republic of China in Beijing on October 1, 1949."
Again, many things in SD history to fault, but I'm not sure that calling it a "lie" to say his family fled to avoid the Communists, even if well before 1949, isn't just splitting hairs. I suspect the Country wasn't pleasant for avowed capitalists in the years leading up to actually taking over, and getting out while the getting was good, as they say, is not inaccurately described as "fleeing the county when the Communists came to power."
Just an historical point that might defuse some of the criticism of that point, at least. I know there are others.
And here we are (sorry, "I am") on Xmas Eve debating Chinese-Communist history. I hope the kids get to bed soon so I can finish wrapping presents -- i.e. doing something really productive. Happy Holidays to everyone.
Just One Student
"I seek, not to know all the answers, but to understand the questions." --- Kwai Chang Caine
(I'd really like to know all the answers, too, but understanding the questions, like most of my martial arts practice, is a more realistically attainable goal)
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