A Life Dedicated to China

Not long ago， with a feeling of nostalgia that is quite common to the over-80’s， I went to the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum at No. 62， Changyang Road. I entered a tea house and sat at a table by the window. The afternoon sun spread its rays on the table. This took me back to a 28 years to such an afternoon with sunshine on the table. Israel Epstein and I were having coffee together. He told me about his family.

I thought to myself， my respected old friend was born on April 20， 1915， so he would have been 100 years old today. Though he is gone， his voice and look often appear in my mind. He was of medium build， with his brown hair turning gray. His round face beaming with amiability and his eyes alive with wisdom always gave people a sense of intimacy.

“In the place and time in which history placed me， I can think of nothing better and more meaningful than to have witnessed and linked myself with the revolution of the Chinese people. I love China and the Chinese people. China is my home. This love has linked my work and life with the fate of China.” These passionate words of his often ring in my ears， and the years between 1987 and 2005 when we developed a close friendship flashed before my eyes like a film.

A Veteran War

Correspondent’s Speech

I met Epstein in March 1987 at the International Symposium on “Snow-Smedley-Strong” and other International Friends in Shanghai. Edgar Snow， Agnes Smedley and Anna Louise Strong were excellent American writers. As secretary-general of the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， I was in charge of receiving honored guests and scholars to the symposium. Israel Epstein was one of them. Those who did not know him always took him as a foreign guest and an international friend from his appearance. Then he would correct them saying： “No， I’m not a foreigner. I am a Chinese.” There was pride in his voice and his Chinese pronunciation with a strong foreign accent induced laughter， which also made him laugh.

At the symposium， Epstein gave a speech entitled Edgar Snow， Agnes Smedley and Anna Louise Strong and Their Relationship with Madame Soong Ching Ling in Shanghai. As a veteran war correspondent， he also told the young people of his experiences of reporting at the frontline of China’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression between 1933 and 1944. In the winter of 1933， the head of the Peking Tientsin Times handed Epstein a book and asked him to write a review. It was Far Eastern Front written by Edgar Snow， then a well-known journalist and a professor of Yenching University. Epstein was impressed by the book. He made a trip to Beijing to visit Snow and the two became like-minded friends who often got together at weekends. Later on， through Snow， Epstein got to know Agnes Smedley and other progressive personages and joined the ranks of international friends. His association with Snow greatly influenced the course of his life.

With the outbreak of the full-scale Anti-Japanese War in 1937， Epstein， a correspondent of the American news agency United Press， went to Shanghai， Nanjing， Wuhan， Guangzhou and other places to cover the war. When reporting on anti-Japanese activities for national salvation， he learned the song The March of the Volunteers. The heroic and stirring resistance put up by the Chinese people against Japanese aggressors left a deep impression. Soon， the Lugouqiao （Marco Polo Bridge） Incident occurred. Epstein’s parents moved to the United States， but he stayed in China as the war was intensifying. In the decades that followed， China was the only topic Epstein wrote about. He went to the battle front in Tai’erzhuang in April 1938， and in 1939 published his first book People’s War in London， providing factual account of the heroic deeds of the Chinese people in their fight against Japanese aggression. He， together with Snow， helped patriots and revolutionaries in the occupied zone to go to the revolutionary base area. In May 1937， Deng Yingchao （wife of Zhou Enlai） came to Beijing to seek treatment for tuberculosis. In July， when the Marco Polo Bridge Incident took place， Snow escorted her to Tianjin where he found Epstein and asked him to assist her to return to Xi’an. In 1938， Epstein for the first time met Madame Soong Ching Ling （one of the three famous Soong sisters） whom he had been admiring for some time. Soon after， Madame Soong invited him to join the China Defense League committed to wartime medical relief and international communication. Epstein was in charge of editing and publishing the English fortnightly China Defense League Newsletter， telling the world how the Chinese people fought against Japanese aggressors. In May 1944， a group of Chinese and foreign journalists， breaking through the ruling Kuomintang’s blockade line， visited Northern Shaanxi. Epstein interviewed Mao Zedong， Zhu De， Zhou Enlai and other leaders and filed more than a dozen reports on Chinese people’s resistance war under the leadership of the Communist Party of China （CPC） that circulated the world.

When I first met him， Epstein was 72. But he still had a good memory. He talked about what he had seen in 1938 at the frontline after China’s victorious battle of Tai’erzhuang — burgeoning willow trees cut down by machinegun fire， stinking corpses， Chinese soldiers repairing the houses， Japanese tanks disabled and abandoned， etc.

His speech on the Nationwide War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and Its Spirit touched and educated all present， and received hearty applause.

I shook hands with him after the meeting， thanking him for his inspiring speech for the young people in Shanghai who knew little of the past. I had seen a photo of Epstein taken in Tai’erzhuang after China’s victory there in a book published in 1947. In April 1938， Epstein went to the battle front for the first time. He witnessed Chinese officers and soldiers fighting courageously under heavy Japanese fire and successfully repelling repeated Japanese attacks. The caption of the photo reads： “Foreign journalist Epstein loaded with the spoils of war putting up his hands as if in surrender”. So I said to him jokingly： “Do you remember your funny look then？” He burst out laughing， “Yes， of course. I stood on a stone mill in front of a thatched house， wearing a helmet posing like this.” He raised his hands in imitation of Japanese surrender. “I was really very happy and excited. The Chinese people had won！”

On the sidelines of the meeting， Epstein asked me if I could accompany him to visit the old site of the Ohel Moshe Synagogue. I readily agreed， for I knew that during the Second World War， more than 20，000 Jewish refugees had lived in Changyang Road， Huoshan Road， Gaoyang Road and other places in the Hongkou District of Shanghai and that the synagogue had been the place where they gathered and found support to develop quickly in their new environment. They set up schools and hospitals and opened stores and factories， sowing the seeds of hope and persisting in the anti-Fascist struggle through various organized activities. Shanghai became the warmest and safest haven for them in the Far East. Many of them stayed for many years after the war.

We sat at a table by the window in a tea house. The afternoon sun shone on the table through the window. We chatted while enjoying a cup of coffee.

Epstein told me， his first name “Israel” was the same as the country of Israel and Epstein was a common surname among Jewish people. He was born on April 20， 1915 in Poland. In 1917， his parents took the two-year-old Epstein to Harbin， China from Japan， and soon they moved to Tianjin. When he was old enough， he went to a school run by British and American missionaries in Tianjin. This was then a trading port controlled by foreigners. Four-fifths of the city was foreign concessions while Chinese were crammed into a small area foreigners called Chinatown.

“I do not like national oppression and discrimination，” he said. “My parents taught me to oppose discrimination， whether it was directed against us or anyone else.” This enlightenment of “All men are born equal” enabled Epstein to always look at China where he lived and its people with a sympathetic eye and finally led him to plunge into the people’s revolution of this country.

After a moment of silence， I said： “I have learned that your aunt was killed by the Nazis during WWII and this sad and painful experience seems to have enhanced your feelings of ethnicity.” He stopped for a while and then said： “My family background was roughly this： Grandfather David Epstein， I was told， started life， as a young student of Jewish holy scriptures but became a forwarding agent at the Vilna （Vilnius） railway station in Lithuania， then ruled by the Russian Tsar. He married Haya-Kraina Baver， from a family of publishers of Hebrew prayer books and Talmudic texts used in many countries. Shipping these books worldwide broadened his contacts and knowledge since he had to write addresses and bills of lading in several languages. From letters received he learned something of events abroad. Though his income never exceeded the lower-middle level， he gained enough respect to become the gabbai （Elder） of a neighborhood synagogue. This status was symbolized on public occasions by a silk top hat， which impressively crowned his small height.

“My father Lazar and his sister Rebecca， had outstanding mental energy， and grew into revolutionaries against the Tsar. Their organization was the Bund， or Jewish Labor Alliance.

“Dad， drawn in by an early teacher， served his party from the age of 12 or so. Tiny and humpbacked， he was not the type to be suspected of carrying secret revolutionary messages， which he did. Able and warm-hearted Aunt Rebecca， too， was a lifelong activist. She became a labor union functionary and， for a time in Paris， took courses at the Sorbonne.

“Ultimately， she was murdered — buried alive， by the Nazis in the killing field of Ponary near Vilnius. One believes that， even in line for grisly death， in circumstances designed to denude victims of all human dignity before the end， she stood as straight as her hunched back would allow， and helped others.

“Grandmother Haya-Kraina showed her mettle whenever the Tsarist gendarmes came to search the house for evidence against her son and daughter. She would hide incriminating papers where they could not find them. When her children were jailed， she would stride， head held high， with a basket of food to whatever prison they were held in.

“In the Bund organization， my father had been my mother’s superior. Much more tempered than she， though only five years older， he had already been tested in the 1905 revolution against Tsarist autocracy， undergone the first of his five arrests， and traveled secretly as a Bund delegate to London.

“Yet China’s realities were beginning to impinge on me， not from what I read but from direct evidence. Already before my teens， amidst the country’s surrounding internecine wars and famines， I saw gaunt， ragged refugees flooding into Tianjin. Some begging tearfully for food， some offering to sell their children because it was better for them be slaves than die of hunger. On a never-to-be-forgotten winter morning， while going to school I came upon a boy of twelve or so， my own age then， who was crouching stiff and dead in a doorway where he had tried vainly to seek shelter from the freezing night wind.

“So， drop by drop in my young mind， events and attitudes in China and abroad appeared in mutual linkage. I was learning to take sides， and be confident despite reverses.”

Though it was our first meeting， we had a heart-to-heart conversation as if old friends who had not seen each other for a long time.

“Soong Ching Ling Is My Most Sincere Friend for Life”

From then on we had more opportunities to see each other. We had exchanges at international symposiums held in Shanghai， or when I invited him to give lectures for the youth in Shanghai or to visit the newly-opened Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum， or I made special trips to see him at his home in Beijing.

In December 1992， the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries （SPAFFC） and the Shanghai Society for People’s Friendship Studies decided to co-host an activity in commemoration of the centenary of the birth of Agnes Smedley and I was one of those in charge of the preparations. When drawing up the list of guest speakers， the first person that came to my mind was Epstein. He happily accepted the invitation and said that， having spoken about Snow， Smedley and Strong and their association with Soong Ching Ling in Shanghai at the previous symposium （held in March 1987）， this time， apart from talking about Smedley， he would also focus on his friendship with Soong Ching Ling.

I was glad he chose this topic. In her magnificent life， Soong Ching Ling made many Chinese and foreign friends， among whom the most intimate and special was Epstein， referred to as “my most trusted friend and comrade” by her. In her letter to Epstein dated May 25， 1978， Soong Ching Ling wrote： “Thanks to your sincere and all-out efforts， your able pen gained for us the aid and understanding for our work and the people’s cause.”

Epstein recalled his friendship with her， starting from the summer of 1951 when he received an invitation from Soong Ching Ling and boarded a ship in the U.S. to cross the Atlantic Ocean to come to New China.

It was a long and arduous journey. The Danish liner they boarded used to sail in the waters near China before WWII. A shipping company， a joint venture of New China and New Poland， bought it and named it People’s Friendship. As harbors controlled by Western countries refused to provide fuel， fresh water and food for this ship from socialist countries， it had to follow a zigzag route and reached Tianjin in 49 days. During the long journey， the crew and the passengers helped each other and eked out the food supply. And when there was no fresh water， canvas troughs were put up to catch rain water for drinking. In the last few days when the liner was navigating in the waters near the Korean peninsula where a fierce war was going on， American fighter planes， flying low for reconnaissance often roared overhead in an intimidating way. When Epstein and his wife Elsie stepped off the train from Tianjin in Beijing they were handed one of Soong Ching Ling’s calling cards on which she had written， “Welcome home！” in her familiar， firm script. These words brought tears to their eyes.

In over four decades that followed， Epstein became an able assistant of Soong Ching Ling in her work of building a bridge of friendship between China and other countries through international communications and her chosen biographer. According to incomplete statistics， Mme. Soong had written to her friends more than 800 letters， of which over 200 were to Epstein. This fully showed the profound friendship between them.

In her lifetime， Mme. Soong had turned down many offers to write her biography. In her later years， after thinking it over， she decided to ask Epstein to take on the task. This not only showed her trust， but also her approval of his matter-of-fact writing. She also recognized his ability to grasp the current political situation. After retirement， Epstein lived a fulfilling life. He was active at functions of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference， various symposiums on Dr. Sun Yat-sen and Soong Ching Ling and in keeping contact with international friends. He wished to minimize general social occasions so as to leave him more time for writing， and for a while he even left home and found himself a quiet room in the former residence of Mme. Soong concentrating on writing her biography.

During that period when he got ill and was hospitalized， he would ask his wife to bring a computer to the ward so he could write whenever his condition allowed. He knew the heavy responsibility placed on him and lived up to the expectations of Mme. Soong. With amazing willpower and at advanced age， he worked diligently for 10 years to complete the task entrusted by Mme. Soong. In 1992， Woman in World History — Soong Ching Ling was published. In writing this biography， he did serious research and verified every historical fact. It is a biography of Soong Ching Ling， as well as a book of sidelights on the history of China’s modern revolution.

“A Priceless Treasure I

Have Collected”

In the 18 years of my contact with Epstein， the most unforgettable time was when I accepted his invitation and visited him at his home on June 19， 2001.

I went to Beijing to take part in the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the China Society for People’s Friendship Studies and its second council meeting. When the meeting concluded， Epstein said to me： “Mr. Chen， if you are free， would you like to have a cup of tea at my home tonight？” To be a guest in such a respected old friend’s home was a most welcome opportunity. I nodded my acceptance.

I arrived at the Beijing Friendship Hotel by car and informed the guard that I was visiting apartment 62932， where Epstein lived. In the twilight I saw in the distance an elderly man waiting before the entrance of an apartment building. No doubt， that was Epstein. He shook hands with me and showed me into the room where his wife Huang Huanbi was busy making tea. A lithograph of Chairman Mao Zedong hung high on the living room wall was most eye-catching. The picture frame was old with age and the paper had turned yellow. “This is a priceless treasure in my life. Chairman Mao gave it to me in Yan’an，” said he to me， his eyes behind his glasses had an extremely soft look. I raised my head to look at the portrait and saw Mao’s vigorous autograph still clear. The portrait had been well kept for over half a century. It had traveled to the United State with Epstein and been kept intact in the 1950s when McCarthyism reigned.

The lithograph brought Epstein’s mind back to the hard and difficult times several decades before.

He told me， influenced by his family， he had favorable impression of the 20th century Chinese revolution when he was about ten years old. Later he learned about the Communist Party of China （CPC） and also the Long March.

“I got to know Ye Jianying and Bo Gu （Qin Bangxian）， representatives of the Eighth Route Army， in Nanjing and Zhou Enlai and other comrades in Wuhan. They were full of vigor and vitality in an ancient country China. Despite the hardships they have endured in the long years of civil war， they were still confident in the revolution they have been making…”

He then talked about his meeting with Soong Ching Ling in 1938 and his work assisting the War of Resistance and the people’s revolution under her leadership since， as well as his visit to Yan’an and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Anti-Japanese Base Area with the delegation of Chinese and foreign journalists in 1944.

In his study there was a large photo of a vast gathering of soldiers and other revolutionaries in Yan’an greeting the opening of the “second front” in World War II — the Great Counter-Offensive against Hitler in Western Europe. The large number of people in the photo is spectacular. In the photo， Epstein stands between Sanzo Nosaka， leader of the Communist Party of Japan， and Dr. Ma Haide （George Hatem）.

Epstein took out a few black-cover notebooks from a drawer， the paper of which had turned yellow， but clearly visible were the notes taken in English with beautiful handwriting. Epstein was 29 when he visited Yan’an where he interviewed Mao Zedong， Zhou Enlai， Zhu De， Ye Jianying， He Long， Deng Fa， Xu Teli， Chen Yi， Nie Rongzhen， Wang Zhen， Tan Zheng， Luo Guibo， Li Feng and others.

The photo and the notebooks took him back to the days in Yan’an. He said， sympathetic or unsympathetic， the members of the Chinese and foreign journalists delegation noticed the difference between Yan’an and Chong-qing， and knew that “Tomorrow’s China will emerge from Yan’an”. Epstein was convinced that a New China would be born under the leadership of the CPC. He held this idea before going to Yan’an and the trip reaffirmed his conviction.

He paused for a while and then showed me round the large living room， where on display were art and craft articles including Chinese porcelain he had collected over the years and paintings and calligraphic works given to him by friends. All this showed his fondness of Chinese culture. Especially eye-catching in the room was a tall bookshelf along the wall. It was filled with Chinese and foreign books， from the English version of Das Kapital to the English version of Selected Works of Mao Zedong he had helped to finalize， as well as books on politics， economy， history and culture and books such as People’s War， The Unfinished Revolution in China， From Opium War to Liberation that he had written.

Since he got to know the CPC， he had become one of those foreigners who unswervingly dedicated their lives to the Chinese revolution. In 1951， when he and his wife Elsie returned from the United States to China at the invitation of Soong Ching Ling， he felt he was coming home. Ever since then， he had never left his “home”. He was naturalized in China in 1957 and joined the CPC in 1964. He for decades shared weal and woe and stood by a common fate with the Chinese people， the Chinese revolution and the CPC.

In the period of reform and opening up， Epstein， being a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference

（CPPCC）， actively participated in the deliberation and administration of State affairs. After his retirement， he still took part in many social activities， serving as vice president of the China Society for People’s Friendship Studies， a member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee， vice chairman of the China Welfare Institute and China Soong Ching Ling Foundation， and editor-in-chief emeritus of China Today.

Of his family life， I know that he had profound feelings for his wife Elsie. She had been born in a working family in Britain. They met in Hong Kong in 1939 when they both participated in an activity supporting China in its War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Both were taken into Japanese detention camp and escaped， and later went to Chongqing. He fell in love with this tall and warm-hearted British lady who was a few years older than him and they soon married. In 1951， they came back to China together from America and joined the editorial board as English language experts in preparation and launching the English language magazine China Reconstructs. They settled down in Beijing and adopted two Chinese children. During the “cultural revolution”， they received unjust treatment and imprisonment. When in jail what they worried about most was their two children， who then were taken care of by a Chinese nanny. Not until the spring of 1973 did they reunite with their children. Unfortunately， Elsie passed away in 1984. The passing of his beloved wife brought great sadness to Epstein. In his memoir he wrote a poem in praise of her and expressing his profound memory of her.

The elderly Epstein was left alone. His friends who concerned about his later life helped him find a new partner， thus， Ms. Huang Huanbi came into his life. She kept house， took good care of him in every way and served as his assistant， making contact with the outside world and accompanying him when he attended social functions. She attended him when he was hospitalized and would often go back home to prepare tasty meals to take to the hospital. She deserves the credit for Epstein’s recovery from several illnesses.

Epstein lived in a big family in late life. During weekdays， apart from reading and writing， he would go out in a wheelchair pushed by his wife at the river side in fine days， while at weekend they would enjoy the happiness of family reunion when their children and grandchildren in Beijing came to visit them.

On my departure， he held my hand and walked me to the entrance. We gripped each other’s hands tightly as we said goodbye. The car started and rolled away. When I looked back， I saw him and his wife still standing at the entrance in the darkness of the night.

Splendid Late Life

The following year， that is， 2002， Epstein had colon cancer surgery. Advanced in age， he was far frailer than before， but he was always active and optimistic about life. In 2004， at the age of 89， he， with amazing willpower， completed My China Eye —— Memoirs of a Jew and a Journalist. The 300，000-word Chinese version of the book was translated by senior translators Shen Suru， Jia Zongyi and Qian Yurun， and published by the New World Press. In the last chapter Evensong， he said that his memoir would end there. “If I live for another 10 years， I would like to write a new epilogue.” “In the place and time in which history found me， I can think of nothing better and more meaningful than to have witnessed and linked myself with the revolution of the Chinese people”.

Whenever I read these words， I always say in my heart： “My dear friend， though you had not lived to a hundred years， you had written a brilliant chapter in your limited life. And to you， the evening of your life was also splendid.”

On April 25， 2005， his 90th birthday， I sent a telegram to him from Shanghai expressing my warm congratulations. I never expected that just a month later on May 26， he left us forever. Upon learning the sad news， in the name of the Shanghai Society for People’s Friendship Studies， I sent a message of condolences to his wife Huang Huanbi to express my deep grief.

Written in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Israel Epstein

April 20， 2015

The author is Vice President of the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.