Russia's Land Grabbing

     Russia's recent annexation of Crimea, and possible further incursions into eastern Ukraine is not something that is alien to Russian behavior when dealing with a weaker neighbor.  Not many realize that today's Manchuria is only about half of its original size.  What used to be Outer Manchuria is now a part of Russia's Primorsky Krai, the area around and northwest of Vladivostok.  Russia began taking chunks of Manchuria from China under a series of "treaties" that it forced upon its weaker neighbor.  Most of the land grabbing took place in the 19th Century, but another chunk was grabbed in 1900 when Russia invaded Manchuria once more and forcibly took an area around Amur that was known as the "Incident of Sixty Four Villages."  The land that Russia took included sixty four Manchu villages that were under Chinese  administration.  What remains of the area called Manchuria today was once called Inner Manchuria.  The other part, called the Outer Manchuria was all swallowed up by Russia and became part of Siberia!
     Although Manchuria was never really a part of China, it was considered to be under Chinese administration and therefore, Chinese territory.  It was not there for anyone to take if they wanted, but Russia did!  There was no international protestation, and China was too weak to do anything.  Besides, at that time most European powers were too busy carving up China themselves, acquiring favorable 99 year leases (Hong Kong and Macao) and splitting Shanghai into several concessions.  Today, there may be a lot of noise made by in protest, but nothing will prevent Russia from grabbing more land, if they want, short of a war!
     More than likely, Manchuria would have become part of Russia had there not been the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 and Japan won that conflict.  Russia had already moved in to the remaining (Inner Manchuria) by establishing various concessions and building a completely Russian city, Harbin!  There were over 250,000 Russian troops stationed in Manchuria before Russia lost the war to Japan and gave up the territory.  Japan, of course, colonized Manchuria and in 1931 created its own short lived puppet state of Manchukuo.  At the conclusion of World War Two, Japan lost all of that territory, plus a lot more.  There were the so-called "northern territories," the Kurils and  Sakhalin itself that was under Japanese administration since the mid 1800s.  Russia took all those territories as well.  No one objected to Russia's actions after World War Two and Japan was in no position to protest.  In the west, Russia swallowed up Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, not as a part of the Soviet Bloc, but as actual part of the Soviet Union!  Land grabbing, it seems, is very much a part of Russia's history, both past and present.

Japanese in Manchuria

     The Japanese had been interested in Manchuria for some time, but it wasn't until 1905, at the conclusion of the Russo-Japanese War, that they were able to set foot in Manchuria. They had taken over all of Russia's concessions in Manchuria, and to protect their new interests, they moved in their troops.  At first, their presence was not too noticeable, but as time went on, they began to flex their muscles more and more, especially since the Chinese Nationalist government was completely ineffectual and Manchuria was run by a war lord.
     In some ways, Japanese presence in Manchuria was a good thing.  For one, there was some measure of security against the "hoonhoozy," the bandits.  Also, the Japanese did try, at least on the surface, to curtail some of the other illegal activities and establish order.  But on the other hand, they participated in activities or instituted some things that can only be described as barbaric, cruel, and inhumane.
     By 1931, when Japan created the "new" state of Manchukuo, they had complete and total control over Manchuria.  There were no pretenses anymore, Manchuria was Japan's colony and even some Japanese critics back in Japan referred to Manchuria as "Japan's bastard child!"
     Outwardly, opium trade was considered illegal.  Yet, if it was to their advantage, they looked the other way and opium trade flourished.  There were experimental laboratories set up on the outskirts of Harbin where horrible experiments were conducted on Chinese subjects with chemical and biological weapons.  The military garrisons where Japan's elite Kwantung Army was stationed had official brothels with Chinese and Korean "comfort women."  Now some Japanese to this day claim that these women were prostitutes.  However, there is ample evidence, including survivors, who can attest to the fact that they were simply sex slaves forced into "servicing" the Japanese soldiers.  Just a few days ago, the Chinese government released some documents from their archives, captured official Japanese documents, which describe the fact that Korean women were forced into serving as "comfort women" at a "northern Chinese" (Manchurian) army garrison.
     Currently, the whole business of the "comfort women" issue is a major stumbling block in the Japanese-Korean relations.  The Republic of  Korea's President refuses to sit down to talk with the Japanese Prime Minister until Japan first acknowledges its guilt in the "comfort women" issue.  For some incredible, stubborn reason, there are still Japanese politicians who refuse to admit or believe that the Japanese had enslaved Korean, Chinese, and other Asian women as sex slaves.  It is not unlike the attitude of some Germans who refuse to acknowledge the existence of the Nazi death camps and the whole issue of the Holocaust.  Unfortunately, until this issue of "comfort women" is settled, relations between Japan and Korea will continue to be strained.  During World War Two, thousands of women were forced to be "comfort women" for Japanese soldiers.
     Japan's presence and its activities in Manchuria were not something that Japan is proud of and wishes to remember or resurrect.  It is an ugly past that most would like to forget.  The younger generation of Japanese cannot comprehend how such things as human experimentation with biological and chemical weapons, or officially sanctioned sexual enslavement of women could have taken place.  But sadly, they did take place, just as those horrid Nazi death camps did exist.

Harbin

     The city of Harbin plays a very important part in THE MANCHURIAN TALES.  Most people today know of Harbin as one of those very cold Chinese cities whose claim to fame appears to be the annual ice sculpture festival.  Anthony Bourdain, the traveling writer/chef went to Harbin not too long ago on one of his TV shows, and besides sampling local food, he experienced the bitter cold of Manchurian winter.  Today, Harbin is a Chinese city, although there are still some remains of the old Russian influence in the form of crumbling old Russian buildings and onion domed orthodox churches.  The Russian population in Harbin is miniscule, compared to what it was prior to mid 20th Century.  It is mostly made up of old folks who somehow managed to avoid Soviet deportation after World War Two, and some new younger people who came for business opportunity.
     The name Harbin is supposedly either of Manchu or Mongol origin.  The Manchu name, which sounds somewhat the same, means "drying fish nets," no doubt in reference to the Sungari River that flows right by the city.  The Mongol name, also sounding somewhat the same "Harbun," means "arrow," referring to the fact that the village, before it became a city, was a center of trade from where goods were shipped to other locations via land and river.  I rather like the Mongol name, as do most people, especially since the early village was supposedly a Mongol village.  Whatever the case may be, Harbin was a small trading village until 1898 when Russians moved in to build a city for the purpose of supporting the construction of a railway system in Manchuria.  By early 1900s, it was a most modern Russian city with a population of about 35,000 Russians and about 25,000 Chinese and Manchus.  It was, perhaps, the most modern city in Asia at the time. 
     When the Russian Revolution forced many to flee Russia, the population of Harbin exploded.  By 1920s, there were anywhere between 150,000 to 200,000 Russians in Harbin.  Harbin had the highest population of Russians outside of Russia itself.  The 1920s saw Harbin grow and become the fashion capital of Asia!  Latest Paris fashions would arrive in Harbin before they reached Shanghai or Hong Kong.  Harbin had more than 55 different nationalities with 22 consulates, including the U.S. Consulate.  However, everything wasn't great for the Russians.  There were those who chose to side with the new Soviet Union and became Soviet citizens, but vast majority who had escaped Russia earlier, had become instantly stateless.  The Russian Koreans, the "uhl mao zeh" too became stateless since they were Tsarist Russians before.  So, Harbin ended up with a huge population of  "Harbinites" who had no citizenship.
     In 1931 the Japanese took over Manchuria and formed a puppet government of Manchukuo.  For travel purposes, some used the identity of new Manchukuo citizenship.  But since the legality of the Manchukuo government was in question, its citizenship was also questionable, although people with Manchukuo passports were permitted to travel around.  The early 20th Century years of Manchuria are often referred to as the time of  "Russian Manchuria," just as the title of one my chapters is named.  The "Russian Manchuria" and "Russian Harbin," of course, disappeared with the Japanese take over and by the end of World War Two, most Russians left Harbin, and those who remained were either killed, imprisoned, or moved by the Soviets when they occupied Manchuria after World War Two. 

The "Hoonhoozy" Part 2

     The "hoonhoozy" or Chinese bandits  roamed the countryside in Manchuria and parts of Siberia, the areas that bordered Manchuria. Those of you who saw the wonderful Akira Kurosawa movie that was made in the 1970s,"Dersu Uzala," may recall a scene where "hoonhoozy" are encountered.  Actually, Dersu and his Russian companions stumble upon "hoonhoozy's" grisly work.  But "hoonhoozy" were not the only Chinese bandits that were around in China and its bordering countries.  There were Chinese bandits operating all over China.  Now the bandits I am referring to are not to be confused with the Triads that operate in the cities.  So, in a sense, there were two types of criminal organizations operating in China in the old days.  The Triads (they were known as "Tongs" or neighborhood associations in America) were very sophisticated organizations that no doubt are still thriving in some parts, especially in places like Hong Kong where traditionally the Triads had been doing well.  They have learned to keep a very low profile, especially in China where the PRC government is ruthless in dealing with such groups.  The "hoonhoozy" of the old days, on the other hand, have disappeared.
     China has been splintered throughout its history.  It is only today that it is united under one rule, the PRC.  But even that is not entirely correct since there is what may be called a separate state in Taiwan that is known as the Republic of China.  So, even today, it is not completely unified.  But in the old days, it was constantly being split, then unified in some parts, then split again.  So the map of China literally changed from one dynasty to the next. In many cases, the various so-called kingdoms that existed in China in the past were founded by war lords who got their own start as brigands.  So, throughout China there were always bandits in the countryside and in the population centers, more sophisticated criminals that later became to be known as Triads.
     Manchuria was not considered part of China in its earlier history.  In fact, the inhabitants of Manchuria were ethnically different, they were not the "han people" as Chinese call themselves.  However, the Chinese did colonize Manchuria and moved-in many of its own people to make Manchuria more Chinese.  Today, of course it is Chinese, although even today there are groups in Manchuria that call for autonomy!  But in the early 20th Century, it had an identity crises which the Japanese tried to solve by creating the puppet state of Manchukuo.  As I say in the book, Manchuria was run loosely by war lord Chiang Su Ling, and the countryside was wild, with "hoonhoozy" operating unmolested.  Japanese were finally able to put a stop to the bandits operating freely, but they still practiced their trade!
     In other parts of China bandits operated in the similar fashion as "hoonhoozy" in Manchuria.  They may not have been called by the same name, but they were the same kind of brigands.  Many American readers of comic strips in newspapers were exposed to Chinese bandits for the first time when they read "Terry and the Pirates" in the 1940s, and later "Steve Canyon" a very popular syndicated comic strip that appeared in the "Stars & Stripes" regularly and ran until the 1980s.  Some may recall the rather sympathetic and comical portrayal of Chinese bandits who were protectors of  Steve Canyon's adopted daughter, Poteet.  I don't know where the author/cartoonist Milton Caniff found such lovable bandits, but in real life, they were ruthless and not so kindly or lovable.  But then, it was just a comic strip.
     The Chinese bandits were most active in outlying areas, at the edges of the country where there was minimal government control.  Manchuria was just such a place until the Japanese moved in and somewhat subdued the "hoonhoozy."

The "Hoonhoozy" (hung hu tzu), the Chinese Bandits

     One of the chapters/tales in the book is dedicated entirely to the hung hu tzu, the Chinese bandits that were more commonly called by the Russian pronunciation as "hoonhoozy."   In the early part of the 20th Century, until the Japanese were able to establish some sort of control, the "hoonhoozy" operated almost unchecked in Manchuria.  They were a major source of concern to those who had to travel or lived outside of populated areas like the city of Harbin.  Harbin was a very modern and a new city at the time.  It was built at the turn of the century and most of its buildings and infrastructure was less than a quarter of a century old.  In  many ways, it was ahead of Shanghai in the earlier years.
     Despite the existence of a modern city of Harbin in Manchuria, the countryside was wild and wooly.  In 1925 a visiting American by the name of Harvey Howard very foolishly went chasing after some "hoonhoozy."  Howard, together with his teenaged son, was visiting an American friend who had a country estate not far from Harbin.  When they heard that the local village was being raided by the bandits, the Americans, including the teenaged boy, decided to chase the bandits for "sport."  They went after the bandits and soon made contact, and a gun battled ensued.  Not surprisingly, the amateur bandit chasers soon discovered that they were in over their heads and Howard was captured by the "hoonhoozy."  He was fortunate that he was not killed and his son escaped capture by hiding.
     Howard spent ten weeks in captivity while the bandits tried to collect ransom.  He was very lucky.  He was also able to verify rumors that there were former Russian soldiers who had thrown in with the Chinese bandits.  Howard's experience was much publicized in international press and after he returned stateside, he wrote a book about his ten week captivity.  As exciting and newsworthy Howard's experience may have been, it was also a very unusual occurrence.  "Hoonhoozy," for the most part avoided contact with Europeans and other foreigners.  Their primary prey were rich Chinese merchants and their family members that they could hold for ransom.  They were ruthless and extremely cruel to those they considered to be their enemies.  They also lived by no rules of any known society.
     In my book I describe a couple incidents in which "hoonhoozy" were encountered.  In one incident they got more than a bloody nose when they attacked a taxi whose passengers were armed Mongols.  In another incident they seized and very brutally killed a man and a woman who had apparently cheated them.  The Japanese had been trying to control "hoonhoozy" ever since they came to Manchuria in 1905 when they took over all of the Russian concessions.  They tried everything, including the bribing of the war lord Chiang Su Lin (also written as Chang Tso Lin) to control the bandits.  By the mid 1930s they did manage to control most of the countryside.  But the "hoonhoozy" never really went away, they just  kept a lower profile when things got too hot.

Russian Koreans II

     After posting my initial blog on Russian Koreans, it occurred to me that there still might be some lingering confusion over the use of the name uhl mao zeh in The Manchurian Tales rather than the name Koryo saram, which appears to be the more common name used today to refer to Russian Koreans. To dispel any further confusion, let me put it this way.  The Russian Koreans who fled Primorye, the Far Eastern Siberia during the Bolshevik Revolution and ended up in Manchuria took to calling themselves uhl mao zeh, the Chinese name for westernized Asians.  Those Russian Koreans that remained in Russia and later deported to Kazakhstan and other Soviet Central Asian countries called themselves Koryo saram.  Later, in the late 1940s when the Soviets occupied Manchuria, and before they turned it over to PRC, they deported the remaining uhl mao zeh in Manchuria to Soviet Central Asia where earlier they had deported the Russian Koreans from Primorye.  So, although they were basically the same people, many related, some as closely as siblings, they were referred to by different names and had lived different lives.
     Those Russian Koreans that remained in Primorye and were deported in the 1930s, never got a chance to experience freedom, live a life style that was relatively free, be educated abroad.  They were simply moved to an isolated region but continued to live under oppressive Soviet regime.
On the other hand, the ones that escaped to Manchuria and called themselves uhl mao zeh experienced a totally different life style.  Although some had a very rough time surviving, still, they managed to live a relatively free life.  Japanese occupation of Manchuria and their rule may have been brutal in some ways, but it was not as bad as the Soviet rule.  Under the Japanese, the uhl mao zeh (if they could afford it) could go abroad to study, as many did.  Their less fortunate counterparts living under Soviet rule could not leave the country! 
     By the time of the second generation in Manchuria, the uhl mao zeh in Manchuria became somewhat different from the Koryo saram in the Soviet Union.  The younger generation, many of whom where educated abroad, were multi-lingual and very cosmopolitan, whereas the ones in the Soviet Union did not have the exposure nor the opportunity to change.  It is this particular generation of uhl mao zeh, the ones that grew up in Harbin, Manchuria in the first half of the 20th Century that were so unique, and unfortunately lost in time and history.
     The Manchurian Tales is not about all Russian Koreans, it is only about a much smaller group that was a product of post Russian Revolution in Manchuria, known as the uhl mao zeh.
    

Russian Koreans

     At the recent Winter Olympics in Sochi, a 16 year old figure skater, Denis Ten, a Russian Korean from Kazakhstan won a bronze medal.  Denis, I believe, is either a third or fourth generation Russian Korean.  This wasn't the first time that a Russian Korean excelled in an Olympic sport.  About 35 years ago, another Russian Korean, Nellie Kim, was a sensation in the Summer Olympics and won multiple gold medals and scored the first perfect tens in two categories in Women's Gymnastics.
     Ethnic Koreans have always done well in their chosen professions in Russia or the former Soviet Union.  Ironically, very little is known about these people and certainly not much has been written about them except in some scholarly journals with a very narrow readership.  It was this very lack of information about Russian Koreans that in part motivated me to write my book, The Manchurian Tales.  The Manchurian Tales is a family saga that takes the reader through three generations in the lives of a Russian Korean family and their tragedies and triumphs.  In the book, the Russian Koreans are referred to by the name of uhl mao zeh, a Korean pronunciation of Chinese name for westernized Asians, er mao tzu.  In Chinese the name is not flattering since it means "second foreigner" in the polite version but could also mean a "second hairy barbarian" or some such unflattering name.  Koreans in Manchuria called Russians mao zeh, since uhl means two or second in Korean, the Korean version of uhl mao zeh simply meant a second Russian.  This label or this name was applied to only those Koreans that were Russofied.
     Other ethnic Koreans who were not Russofied called themselves by the  old name of Koryo saram.  It seems that today the name uhl mao zeh has disappeared and only the Koryo saram survived and is being used, at least according to some scholars.