Wu Peifu: The First Chinese to be featured in Time's Magazine
The George Washington of Asia: Who Was He?
When we think of a political leader from the Republican era in Mainland China, we often mention Chiang Kai-shek, who was the dominant figure of the Nationalist Party during the Sino-Japanese War, the Civil War against the Communist Party, and the early years of the Republic of China’s rule in Taiwan.
But while Chiang Kai-shek was also featured on the cover of Time magazine, did you know that he wasn’t the first Chinese leader to appear there? On September 8, 1924, the cover of Time featured another Republican general, Wu Peifu, who many believed would be the one to unify China and restore peace to the country. He was often nicknamed the “George Washington of China.” Unfortunately, a military defeat ended his political rise.
Let’s take a look at the history of Wu Peifu, his military prowess, and what ultimately led to his downfall.
历史课本上写明他是直系军阀的领导人；照片上看起来是一位留着一嘴小胡子的将军；在当时也有人昵称他为吴秀才，只因他是当年北洋军人中少数有拿过秀才功名的“书生将军”，美国史学家费正清显然也看重这个北洋军人的文化背景，干脆称吴为“学者军阀”。
军阀 (jūn fá): warlord
将军 (jiāng jūn): general
昵称 (nì chēng): nickname
秀才 (xiù cái): scholar who passed the lowest level of imperial exams
干脆 (gān cuì): simply; straightforwardly; just (see HSK post)
History textbooks record him as the leader of the Zhili clique warlords; in photos he looks like a general with a neat mustache; at the time he was also nicknamed “Scholar Wu,” because he was one of the few Beiyang officers who had once earned the traditional xiucai degree, a degree for scholars. American historian John Fairbank clearly valued this Beiyang general’s cultural background and straightforwardly called Wu a “scholar warlord.”
袁世凯在被迫宣布取消他的帝制美梦后，于短短三个月内即病逝，而旗下的北洋军阀分裂成直、奉、皖等派系互相夺权，都想接管北京的中央政权，吴佩孚也在 1920 年与 1922 年分别打败皖系与奉系张作霖的 12 万大军，当时张的军队甚至还没入山海关就被打趴了。
病逝 (bìng shì): to die of illness; pass away from sickness
而旗下 (ér qí xià): under one’s command (literally “under the banner of”)
夺权 (duó quán): to seize power
接管 (jiē guǎn): to take over; to assume control
打趴 (dǎ pā): to knock down; to defeat (slang, colloquial)
After Yuan Shikai was forced to abandon his imperial dream, he died within just three months, and the Beiyang warlords split into the Zhili, Fengtian, and Anhui cliques, all fighting to control the Beijing central government. In 1920 and 1922, Wu Peifu defeated both the Anhui clique and Zhang Zuolin’s 120,000-strong Fengtian army. At that time, Zhang’s forces were crushed before they even crossed Shanhai Pass.
人们普遍看好吴佩孚的前途，上海英文杂志《密勒氏评论报》的主编、美国人约翰·鲍威尔甚至认为他“比其他任何人更有可能统一中国”；就连苏俄在成为世界上第一个社会主义国家后，为了打破孤立状态，在对华政策上也企图首先联合握有重兵、正在崛起的吴佩孚，而非手无兵权，被他们称为“梦想家”的孙中山。
前途 (qián tú): future; prospects
就连 (jiù lián): even; right down to
苏俄 (Sū é): Soviet Russia
孤立 (gū lì): isolated; isolation
企图 (qǐ tú): to attempt; to try; to scheme
崛起 (jué qǐ): to rise abruptly; to emerge prominently
People widely believed in Wu Peifu’s bright future. John Powell, the American editor of the Shanghai English-language magazine The China Weekly Review, even said Wu was “more likely than anyone else to unify China.” Even Soviet Russia, after becoming the world’s first socialist country and seeking to break its isolation, aimed to ally with Wu Peifu, who commanded powerful armies and was on the rise, rather than Sun Yat-sen, whom they called a “dreamer” with no military power.
这也是为什么《时代》杂志特地将封面保留给吴，然而如此前景大好的吴总司令，却在第二次直奉战争中被冯玉祥背叛而战败；在当时接受苏联支持的国民党广州国民政府，也因吴的反苏立场，将直系吴军列为北伐的首要目标，被北伐军击溃主力之后，吴率领残军一路撤退到河南，后来又被张作霖排挤，而在这一连串的战役之间，吴也早已失去权倾中央的机会。
封面 (fēng miàn): cover (of a book, magazine, etc.)
背叛 (bèi pàn): to betray
立场 (lì chǎng): position; standpoint
北伐 (Běi fá): Northern Expedition (historical military campaign)
击溃 (jī kuì): to rout; to smash; to completely defeat
撤退 (chè tuì): to retreat; to withdraw
排挤 (pái jǐ): to push aside; to exclude
权倾 (quán qīng): to wield overwhelming power; to dominate
This was why Time reserved its cover for Wu. However, despite such promise, Commander-in-Chief Wu was betrayed by Feng Yuxiang and defeated in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War. The Kuomintang’s Guangzhou government, backed by the Soviets, also made Wu’s anti-Soviet Zhili forces their top target in the Northern Expedition. After his main force was crushed, Wu retreated with remnants to Henan, only to be sidelined later by Zhang Zuolin. Through this series of battles, Wu had already lost his chance to dominate the central government.
顺带一提，吴佩孚的死因至今仍是一个谜，有一说是因吃羊肉饺子咬到一块碎骨，引发牙痛，当时找来一位日籍牙医师来帮他拔牙，却不知怎地引发感染，短短几天内就离开人世；当然也有更多人相信，是因为他屡次拒绝与日本合作，而被日本人暗杀掉的。
顺带一提 (shùn dài yī tí): by the way; incidentally
谜 (mí): mystery; riddle
拔牙 (bá yá): to pull a tooth; tooth extraction
感染 (gǎn rǎn): to infect; infection
屡次 (lǚ cì): repeatedly; time and again
暗杀掉 (àn shā diào): to assassinate; to murder secretly
Incidentally, Wu Peifu’s cause of death remains a mystery. One account says he bit down on a bone while eating lamb dumplings, causing a toothache. A Japanese dentist was called to extract the tooth, but an infection set in, and he died within days. Many others believe, however, that he was assassinated by the Japanese for repeatedly refusing to collaborate with them.
而当年的国民政府与最高国防委员会还分别决议，追赠吴佩孚为一级上将。报纸上，更誉吴为“中国军人的典范”；看到这里，有没有稍微了解一些这位被称为中国华盛顿的人物，民国初年的历史实在是十分混乱。
分别决议 (fēn bié jué yì): to make separate resolutions; to decide individually
追赠 (zhuī zèng): posthumously confer a title or honor
誉 (yù): to praise; honor; acclaim
典范 (diǎn fàn): model; example; paragon
华盛顿 (Huá shèng dùn): Washington (as in George Washington)
At the time, both the Nationalist government and the National Defense Supreme Council passed resolutions posthumously awarding Wu Peifu the rank of First-Class General. Newspapers further praised him as a “model for Chinese soldiers.” By now, you may have gained a better understanding of this man once called the “George Washington of China.” The early Republic’s history was, indeed, a chaotic era.
How do you think China would have looked if Wu Peifu had succeeded in unifying the country? Maybe the Communist Party would never have risen to power.
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