Volume 2: The crown and the hat are all over the capital, and the spirit is full of energy and enter the foggy city Chapter 89 Heintje (Part 2)
Subtitle of this chapter: A letter from the Magic City
March 1927
Dear Father,
I am writing this letter to you, my father, in Shanghai. When I sent the last letter, I was still in the Philippines. I had just been promoted to second lieutenant and transferred to the high-speed transport ship USS Chaumont as the boatswain, but now I have arrived in the mysterious Central Kingdom.
Rest assured, I'm not in the least bit upset, I'm actually quite excited because this is the life I want to live. Thank you for letting me go to Annapolis School.
This move was quite sudden. I think you have seen the news about China in the newspapers. The southern Chinese government is marching northward. This army is very unfriendly to the civilized world. This year (1927) they occupied an inland port (Hankou) and even recovered the British concession.
In February, the southern government's army arrived near the Magic City. Local American businessmen asked the government for help, so our Chaumont accepted the emergency order and rushed to the Magic City with the 4th Marine Regiment at a sprint speed.
We arrived at Wusongkou in the early morning of February 24, 1927. The young Marines lined up on the side of the ship, ready to fight at any time. Even my men and I picked up our rifles.
Fortunately, the southern government had no intention of angering the civilized world, and they informed the Shanghai Municipal Council that they would not take Shanghai for granted. So soon we were allowed to move freely, but we still had to return to the ship to stay every night..
I met Mr. Yuan at the American Consulate General in Shanghai. It was a great pleasure to meet an old friend in a foreign country, and you also know that Mr. Yuan is a very polite gentleman.
He also entertained the officers of the 4th Marine Regiment and the Chaumont, and became good friends with my superiors. Under Mr. Yuan's arrangement, my two colleagues and I lived in a "SHIKUMEN" located at the junction of the French Concession and the International Settlement, and there were cooks and servants to serve me.
In short, I am very safe and having a great time in Shanghai, so please don't worry.
Please say hello to my brother and sister-in-law and my nephew Julian, and tell them I miss them. It's a rare opportunity for my brother to stay in New York, so please continue to work hard to give me another nephew or niece.
Eva wrote to say that she is going to Germany to make a movie. I want to laugh when I think of her German. So I wish her a safe journey.
——Your Heintje
…
May 1927
Dear Brother,
Do you remember Mr. TS Eliot? We once met him at Mr. Yuan's party in New York. And I still have his autographed copy of The Waste Land.
April is the cruelest month, and I spent the cruelest April of my life in Shanghai.
I don’t know whether I should thank or curse Mr. Yuan, because during this month he took me to travel almost all over the Magic City, allowing me to witness many...many scenes that I don’t want to recall.
Although these experiences were painful, we were actually very safe. According to Mr. Yuan's instructions, we hung the American flag on our car. He said that as long as we did that, the "YANGNU" would never dare to shoot at us. And he was right. During the time we shuttled through the streets and alleys of Shanghai, no one dared to stop us.
In fact, our main job is to protect a filming team that was organized by Mr. Yuan to shoot a documentary.
We rescued his brother from a group of Chinese soldiers, a very angry young man who accused Mr. Yuan of not saving his comrades and that he would rather die with them. Mr. Yuan had no choice but to throw him into the Marine Corps' brig.
I also asked Mr. Yuan why he didn't save the others. He didn't answer that question either. But after that, his "mischief" became more and more serious.
He took us to break into some people's homes and beat up the men inside. I remember there was a man named "CAI" who seemed to have served as a university president or something. There was also a man named "HUANG" who was probably the inspector of the French Concession.
In late April, Mr. Yuan held a large-scale funeral in Longhua, inviting a group of Chinese religious figures and several bands to perform a pagan sacrificial ceremony. According to Chinese customs, a lot of incense and candles were burned and a lot of paper money was scattered.
The Chinese were all very uneasy at first, but they seemed to get used to it quickly. It's not that no one wanted to stop the ceremony, but probably because we were there, they didn't succeed.
Brother, this April is really cruel. Maybe Mr. Yuan is right. Our world is inherently cruel. What we can do is to make this cruel world more pleasant to listen to.
——Your Heintje
…
June 1927
Dear Sister,
I didn't know who to tell, so I had to write to my little sister.
Sister, I'm in love.
I fell in love with the daughter of a Chinese doctor, her surname is Tang and she is seventeen years old.
I met her at a charity theatre convention in May when she was performing on stage and I fell in love the first time I saw her.
I couldn't help it, so I had to ask Mr. Yuan about her. After hearing what he said, Mr. Yuan was completely stunned, and then he laughed for a full five minutes. At that time, I was really angry and almost wanted to leave.
However, Mr. Yuan stopped me, apologized to me sincerely, and promised to do everything he could to help me catch up with the girl.
He said it and did it.
With his help, I met this girl at a dance, and she seemed to like me, too. Then I became the happiest person in the world.
Last month, this city seemed like hell to me; but this month, this city became my paradise.
I decided to marry her, and according to Chinese etiquette, Mr. Yuan and I went to ask her family for help. But her father cruelly rejected me, even Mr. Yuan's persuasion was useless.
In the end, even Mr. Yuan became angry. He told Mr. Tang that if his daughter did not marry the American second lieutenant, she would become a burden to her family and would have to marry twice.
Well, that didn't help us. Mr. Tang kicked us out of his house and wouldn't allow his daughter to see me again.
Sister, I’m heartbroken.
You wrote to me that you had made the acquaintance of a fine German gentleman, so I hope your luck is not as bad as mine.
——Your Heintje
…
July 1927
Dear Father,
This is my last letter written in Shanghai. The Chaumont will set sail to return to the Philippines tomorrow. The 4th Marine Regiment will stay here, and Mr. Yuan and his brother will stay on the ship .
This period of time should be the most...according to Mr. Yuan, the most adventurous experience in my life.
Life and death, revolution and reaction; love and hate, heaven and hell, we humans are such contradictory creatures.
I now feel more and more that Mr. Yuan’s views are correct.
The enemy of mankind is this boring world.
——Your Heintje
PS. The package enclosed is my gift to you. I hope you like it.
