Research On Service’s Understanding Of Chinese Communist Party From 1943 To 1945

John S.Service is an American diplomatic officer stationed in China in the 1930s and 1940s,and he is also one of the most famous Old China Hands of America in 1940s.Service was born and bred in China as an American missionary’s son,he lived and worked in China for many years,he had visited many districts of China,which came into being his comprehension to the actual situation of Chinese politics.Service had arrived at Yenan along with the first section of the U.S.Army Observer Group,so he had the chance to access to the Chinese Communist Leaders,such as Mao Zedong,Zhu De,Zhou Enlai and so on.Through the actual observation of the Shensi-Kansu-Ninghsia Border Region of Communist Base in the North,and assessment of the military strength and distribution of the Chinese Cmmunist,Service gave positive appraisements to the impression of the North Shensi Communist Base in his despatches.The Chinese Communist Party launched the Great Production Campaign against the martial and economic blockades by Kuomintang around the counter-Japanese bases,which greatly improved the economic situation of the border areas.The Chinese Communist Party improved the economic situation of the Shensi-Kansu-Ninghsia Border Region by the Great Production Campaign,and had made achievements in eliminating banditry.Service detailedly investigated the strength and distribution of the Communist forces,and he drew the justified conclusions as follow:Firstly,the Army of Chinese Cmmunist had control the countryside of North and Central China behind the line of Jpanese penetration;Secondly,the Japanese invader only occupied the major cities and transportation corridors,the rest of the vast rural area was controlled by the Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army which are leaded by the Chinese Communist Party.Service gained an insight into the drawbacks of the Kuomintang Regime,which included the extreme fragility of political foundation,the severity of economic problems and the downside of resistance against Japanese aggression.After the comprehensive analysis of the policies which were taken by Chinese Cmmunist toward the Kuomintang,Service understood that Chinese Cmmunist insisted on the policy of "the national United Front of resistance against Japanese aggression" and the claim of "One-Party Autocracy Kuomintang Government Reshuffle".Based on the above analyses,Service predicted the possibility of reaching an reconciliation between the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party.Service perceived that the domestic situation of China was deteriorating,the situation of Chinese Civil War was looming.Service was keenly aware of the political implication in the civil war situation of China.The Communist forces controlled the territory through which they might have access to Inner Mongolia,Manchuria and Japanese North China bases,the strategic importance of their position would be enhanced by the entry of Russia into the war against Japan.The eventual defeat and withdrawal of the Japanese would leave the Kuomintang still confronted with the Communists solidly entrenched in most of North China.The Communists would be in position to move into the vacuum created by the Japanese withdrawal from Suiyuan,Jehol and Manchuria.In the rest of China they would have the sympathy of elements among the liberals,intellectuals and students.In addition,the Communists would be likely to be supported by Russia.It was impossible for Kuomintang to defeat the Communists.Considering the likelihood of civil war which was the greatest problem facing China,ignoring the existence of the Communists,and providing preferred support to the Kuomintang would not only impede the progress of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression,but also greatly block the return of peaceful conditions and the orderly large-scale rehabilitation of China.Service’s understanding of the Chinese Communist Party’s foreign policy to USA accurately seized the strategic motivation of the Chinese Communist expressing the willingness of cooperation with USA,reflecting his keenness of political acumen.In his despatches,Service proposed that the limitation of the American support and supplies to the Kuomintang would not win an effective and wholehearted ally,and the USA should warrant the extension of American military aid to the Chinese Communist armies.These views are full of far-sighted and historical perspectiveness.Service elaborately analysed the likelihood of the Chinese Civil War,and explicitly showed the inexorable trend that the Chinese Civil War would break out.Service’s thought was representative of the generation of old China hands during the World WarⅡ in America.Service’s despatches including the diplomatic policy of the supreme leader of the Chinese Communist Party,not only provide a full and accurate of historical records,but also give us the insightful views for explaining,which have an important reference value in the comprehension of the orientation of Sino-American relations in history.Therefore,the researches on the despatches of Service’s understanding of the Chinese Communist party and his policy proposal for the U.S.government,provide a kind of historical reference and thinking on how to treat and solve the differences and contradictions in China-U.S.relations nowadays.