Ｓｕｃｃｅｓｓｏｒｓ ｔｏ Ｃａｕｓｅ ｏｆ Ｓｉｎｏ－ＵＳ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ

The 92-year-old Dr. Charles M. Grossman， president of Evans F. Carlson’s Friends of the People’s Republic of China， arrived at the Beijing International Airport with his son-in-law Mark Johnson on August 31， 2005. The 85-year-old Jeanne， daughter-in-law of Evans F. Carlson， and Karen Loving， granddaughter of Carlson arrived in Beijing 15 minutes later on the same day. It was quite meaningful that they met in Beijing as they had never met in the United States. They had come to China on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War at the invitation of the CPAFFC. Together they participated in the grand commemorative activities and attended the banquet in the Great Hall of the People on the evening of September 3， where they met Chinese Party and State leaders. Later， they went to Chongqing together and visited the Joseph W. Stilwell Research Centre.

Legendary Life of Evans F. Carlson

Evans F. Carlson was an American officer with conscience and vision. He first came to China in 1927 and sympathized with the Chinese people when he saw the general conditions of the country， and began to study the Chinese language. In July 1937， as a navy intelligence officer with the mission of learning about the situation of the war in China entrusted by President Roosevelt， he came to China for the third time. Upon arriving in Shanghai， he witnessed the resistance war fought in the area near the Songjiang River and Shanghai and the defeat suffered by the Kuomintang army at the major battlefields and was deeply worried about the inability of the Chinese army to resist the Japanese aggressors armed with modern weapons. In the meantime he heard various legendary stories of the heroic Eighth Route Army putting up tenacious resistance in the enemy’s rear areas and about the leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Eighth Route Army. He was fascinated and decided to go to the battlefront in the enemy’s rear areas to find out the truth. With the help of Chiang Kai-shek’s adviser William Henry Donald and his friend Edgar Snow， he got approval from both the Kuomintang and the CPC and made a trip to the enemy’s rear areas in North China.

Carlson’s first visit to the base area behind the enemy lines was made in December 1937. With writer Zhou Libo accompanying him and acting as his interpreter， he passed through Wuhan， Xi’an， Tongguan and Linfen and finally reached the Eighth Route Army headquarters in Gaogong Village of Hongdong County in Southern Shanxi， where he met with Commander-in-Chief Zhu De， and Zuo Quan， Ren Bishi， Nie Rongzhen， He Long and other famous Eighth Route Army generals. He came back to Wuhan on February 28 in the following year.

Carlson visited the base area again on May 5， 1938. He first went to Yan’an and met with Mao Zedong， Zhang Wentian and others， during which he made the request to visit guerrilla areas. Chairman Mao granted his request and sent five cultural and art workers---Liu Baiyu， Ouyang Shanzun， Wang Yang， Jin Zhaoye and Lin Shan---to go together with him. Mao himself wrote a travel permit for him， thus， he could get to his destinations without any hindrance. They entered the vast Northwest via Suiyuan along the Great Bend of the Yellow River， and then crossed the Datong-Puzhou Railway， climbed the Wutai Mountains， passed through the Beiping-Hankou Railway at Dingxian County and reached central and southern Hebei. They spent more than 3 months in the base areas before they came back to Hankou.

Carlson was deeply moved by the devotion of the CPC and the Eighth Route Army to the people and the nation. His objective views and open expression of them caused discontent among the US military who warned him not to do so. But Carlson held on to his belief， saying that freedom and equality were important basic elements of his concept of human rights; seeing them so brutally trampled upon by the Japanese aggressors natural disgust and resistance against them were aroused in his heart. Under high pressure he resigned from his military post in order to speak and write freely as an ordinary citizen. After he returned home at the end of 1938， he gave many public speeches， wrote many articles for magazines and published two books---Chinese Army and Twin Stars of China. What worth mentioning is that in 1942 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Habour， he rejoined the army and organized a detachment known as the Raider Battalion (also known as Gung Ho Battalion) with Roosevelt’s son and his own son in it. By adopting the strategies and tactics of the Chinese guerrillas， they defeated the Japanese army and won great victory on Makin and Guadalcanal Islands in the Pacific and made their names known throughout the United States.

Evans F. Carlson’s Friends of the People’s Republic of China

In 1946 when Carlson was critically ill in Oregon， Vice President Henry Wallace assigned the young doctor Charles M. Grossman in charge of the treatment of his illness. Although Dr. Grossman worked wholeheartedly and did all he could， he did not succeed， which has become the greatest regret of his life.

China and the United States restored diplomatic relations in the 70s of the last century. Dr. Grossman founded Evans F. Carlson’s Friends of the People’s Republic of China to commemorate this sincere friend of his and the great man he worshipped. He organized delegations of Evans F. Carlson’s Friends of the People’s Republic of China to visit China on a yearly basis ever since 1974， publicizing the deeds of Carlson among both the American and the Chinese people and promoting understanding and friendship between them. By 1996， he had organized 20 delegations to China and also played host to many Chinese delegations， groups and individuals that came to his hometown Portland. At the same time as a medical doctor， he also worked among the medical circles for opposing nuclear war and safeguarding world peace. In addition， he serves as secretary general of the nongovernmental organization---Americans for a New Relationship with Korea， and has visited the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea several times.

In recent years， although he himself still comes to China every year， due to his advanced age and the passing away of his capable assistant， his wife Frosty， he is unable to organize delegations to China. He has compiled the records of the achievements of the delegations’ China visits in the 20-odd years into a book， Evans Carlson’s Legacy of Friendship， and has it published.

Tracing Her Grandfather’s Past

In 2002， through the introduction of Dr. Grossman， Karen Loving wrote me a letter， telling me that she was writing a book about her grandfather Carlson and that she would like to come to China to do interviews in order to learn about what Carlson had seen and heard in the Eighth Route Army， what were the things that touched his heart so deeply and changed the direction of his life. She wanted to see those who had met her grandfather and listen to their impressions of her grandfather.

She and her husband John Loving came to China in July. We arranged for them to meet in Beijing Huang Hua， Israel Epstein and Ling Qing as well as Liu Baiyu and Ouyang Shanzun who had accompanied Carlson on his visit to the base areas behind the enemy’s line in Shanxi and Hebei， and visit Xi’an， Yan’an， Taiyuan， the Taihang Mountains and the Wutai Mountains that Carlson had been to， where they talked with people who had met her grandfather. This was their first visit to China. In a letter to me she wrote upon returning home， she said: “I found people who are right， handsome， and strong in mind and spirit. I found people who are humble， friendly， and curious about my world. I found people who honour their friends…for generations.”

Later， Karen told me that she came to China to find out what had captured her grandfather’s heart and she had seen all those things. She said she learned a lot through the visit. The warm hospitality and friendship moved her. And now she knows what changed her grandfather’s thought and life.

In 2003， Karen came with her son Benjamin. They went to the old base areas in Shanxi and Hebei to see the old traces of the Eighth Route Army and visit the old guerrilla veterans. They made a special trip to Beidaihe to see Gen. Lu Zhengcao who recalled his meeting with Carlson in 1938. He talked in great details the old stories which were very touching. Karen presented to the general a boat-shaped cap with the words Carlson “Gung Ho” printed on it. The general put it on and had a picture taken with them.

In 2004， Karen came to China again with over 20 people from Furman University where she worked. They went to many places in China including Yan’an， and spent three months studying at the East China Normal University in Shanghai.

Karen’s father died of illness in 2005. He did not realize his long-cherished wish of visiting China. This time his wish was fulfilled by his wife Jeanne Carlson.

Successors to the Cause of Sino-US Friendship

Karen Loving said: “The Eighth Route Army influenced Evans Carlson， Carlson influenced my father， and my father influenced me. My whole family takes China as our family.”

She noted: “Carlson is remembered as a friend of China who was willing to sacrifice all that he had to help the Chinese people in their time of great need. He is regarded as a man of great moral and physical courage and is remembered as being both compassionate， honest and straightforward in his dealings with the Chinese.”

When Karen called on Liu Baiyu and Ouyang Shanzun in 2003， Liu told her about his visit to the United States in 1998 together with Ouyang Shanzun and Wang Yang at the invitation of Dr. Grossman. They went to the Arlington National Cemetery nearby Washington D. C. to pay respects at the tomb of Carlson. Liu published an article on it in the People’s Daily upon returning to China. After meeting with Karen， Liu wrote two articles entitled “Mao Zedong Writing A Travel Permit for An American Friend” and “Carlson---the American Spirit in My Mind” for the magazine Sons and Daughters of China. Unfortunately， Liu Baiyu died of illness two days before Karen and her mother arrived in Beijing. They went to his home to express their condolences. Ouyang Shanzun gave Karen the diaries he had written in the three months he accompanied Carlson on his visit to the plains of Central Hebei. Karen was very grateful. She told Ouyang that when he took her grandfather on the visit to Central Hebei， her grandfather also kept diaries， and took many pictures and wrote letters and that all these things were preserved in her home. She said that they would be compiled and published one day.

Karen said: “We are in a unique time in history where both China and the United States are reaching out in friendship… What you are devoting yourselves is to educate people not to forget the international friends like my grandfather. You are greatly respected. It is important to teach the younger generations of both our Nations about friends of China such as Stilwell， Carlson， Smedley， Strong and the Snows.”

As descendants of Carlson， Karen said that she would write a book about her grandfather as soon as possible and that she would carry on the cause of the older generations and work hard to let more people work for promoting understanding and friendship between the American and Chinese people.

November 7， 2005