The Manchurian Bandits

     I have actually blogged on this subject in the past, two blogs in fact, back in March of 2014.  But I thought it would be worthwhile and interesting to revisit this subject again.  Like most, I too have referred to these bandits as "Chinese Bandits" in the past, including in my two earlier blogs.  However, the correct name should be "Manchurian Bandits," for they operated predominantly in Manchuria or what was then called Manchuria.  Today, of course, all of that territory is simply called China.  But until 1946 when the Soviet Union turned over control of the region to Mao and PRC, it was known as Manchuria.
     The "Manchurian Bandits" were unique in that many of them were former Chinese soldiers and the bandits were by and large ethnic Chinese, so I suppose that calling them "Chinese Bandits" is also correct.  They were, as I explained several times before, called Hung hu Tzu or Hong hu zi.  The Russian pronunciation was "hoonhoozy" so that is what they were commonly called.  In Chinese, Hung hu Tzu means red beards.  Apparently in the early years there were some red bearded (ethnic Russian?) members of some bandit gangs.  But more than likely the name originated from Russian Siberians who used to raid Manchurian villages back in 1600s.  However, since the 19th Century, the name applied to Manchurian bandits only.  In the more recent times, during the height of their activity in the early 20th Century, many of the recruits were either former (discharged) members of the Warlord's or Nationalist Army or simply deserters.  Chang Tso Lin, the Manchurian Warlord who operated until 1929, had a very large army which was organized as a regular army.  However, they were in fact, little better than the "hoonhoozy" themselves, except for the fact that they wore uniforms and had ranks!  Transition from the Warlord's Army or the Chinese Nationalist Army to banditry was not a very difficult move!  Often the bandits continued to wear the uniforms with which they left the service to join the bandits or acquired uniforms from soldiers that they killed.  So, at times it was very difficult to tell the real Warlord or Nationalist Army soldiers from "hoonhoozy."
     In the early 20th Century word reached Europe and America about the existence of the Manchurian bandits.  The civilized world was starved for some exciting news from less "civilized" areas.  The American West and its violent and wild life style which was so popular for many years in the press and popular literature was tame by the early 20th Century.  The Manchurian bandits, the "hoonhoozy" replaced the Apache Warriors or the Desperados of the Old Wild West in the sensationalized reporting of the media of the day.  Most of the stories that emerged were wildly exaggerated and inaccurate.  Reporters who had never been to Asia wrote stories about the Manchurian bandits.  Names, locations, and other information were horribly incorrect, mangled, and stories were so improbable that they were laughable.  Yet, the public bought it and read the stuff eagerly. 
     In 1925 a visiting American doctor in Manchuria was held captive by "hoonhoozy" and upon his release ten weeks later wrote a book which became a best seller, Ten Weeks With The Chinese Bandits by Harvey Howard.  Howard's account was interesting, although it really did not give the full view of the "hoonhoozy" and their activities.  His lack of knowledge of the region and ability to speak the language fluently made for very sketchy descriptions of some things.  He was captured by a very small band of bandits who spent most of their time on the run.  However, he was able to confirm that there were ethnic Russian members of the bandit gangs. The book was published in 1926 and it was, for all practical purposes, the very first factual account and gave the readers at least a partial view of Manchurian bandits. 
     It may be hard to believe and comprehend today, but there was a very lively interest in Manchurian bandits, especially in America, back in the early 20th Century.  The great American artist of the late 19th and early 20th Century, Fredric Remington, is mostly known for his paintings and art work with the American West theme.  Remington's paintings of cowboys, Indians, and other Western subjects are famous and sought after by collectors.  But even Remington tried to cash-in on the popularity of Manchurian bandits.  His 1904 painting titled "A Manchurian Bandit" is a superb piece of work portraying a "hoonhoozy" on horseback.  Remington was very accurate in his portrayal of the Manchurian bandit.  He must have consulted people who had actually seen the bandits and studied photographs, for the clothing appears accurate and the bandit with the old, what appears to be, Mauser service rifle, looks every bit the part of a real "hoonhoozy."  Remington painted several works on the subject of Manchurian bandits and the Amur Cossacks.  Amur Cossacks were Cossacks who were mostly ethnic Asian and were the main deterrent to "hoonhoozy" on the Russian side of Amur River.
     But, as I said, information about "hoonhoozy" was very sketchy.  Harvey Howard's book gave readers some insight, but it was only a small piece of a much larger puzzle.  Had Howard been more familiar with Asian culture and spoke fluent Chinese, he would have been able to give the readers a much broader and informative picture of the bandits and their way.  Nevertheless, many stories were being published, outrageously inaccurate, by authors who never set foot in Manchuria and knew nothing of the place and the culture.  Still, if the stories had lots of action, the gorier the better, the readers gobbled-it up.  Those who were more knowledgeable simply ignored these sensationalized, inaccurate stories and treated them more or less like those cheap "dime novels" of the 19th Century!
     In the late 1920s, a short story about "hoonhoozy" was published in Redbook magazine.  The Redbook, along with Collier's and Saturday Evening Post were the most popular magazines of the day and published many literary works.  The Redbook of old was not like it is today.  The story was written by a college student in Nebraska, a Valentin Hahn, who came from Manchuria.  Although it was a work of fiction, it was very accurate and informative about "hoonhoozy," and the story was based on an actual incident that took place in Manchuria some years earlier.
     Except for Harvey Howard's book and Valentin Hahn's short story, there really weren't any accurate works describing the Manchurian bandits, the "hoonhoozy."  There were works written by scholars, anthropologists and historians who traveled to Manchuria and some even interviewed supposed "hoonhoozy."  But as for general information, it was strongly lacking and ambitious reporters made up stuff as they went along.  As I mentioned in the earlier blogs, during World War Two, even cartoonists got into the act.  The popular syndicated newspaper strip cartoon Terry and the Pirates heavily relied on stories about "Chinese bandits."  Later, Terry and the Pirates morphed into Steve Canyon, and the artist/cartoonist continued with the subject of "Chinese bandits."
     Hollywood has never been able to do a believable portrayal of the "hoonhoozy."  Many movies, particularly those about China before World War Two attempted to show Chinese bandits.  But somehow the characters never came out right.  I believe that is mainly because to this day there is so little factual and accurate information about the "Manchurian Bandits" and script writers have to rely on their imagination and the wildly inaccurate portrayals in some of the earlier newspaper accounts and stories.
     Like so many other things, the Manchurian bandits are a thing of the past.  They are like those American Wild West Desperados, the gunslingers, and the various Indian Warriors.  They were, like the American gunslingers of the old West, mostly killers, thieves, and robbers.  Not exactly nice people or someone that you want your children to admire.  But, they were there, for an awful long time, longer than their counterparts in the American West.  The "hoonhoozy" had been in Manchuria and parts of Siberia (which used to be Manchuria!), since around the early1800s when their name first surfaced, and they lasted well into the 20th Century, into the 1930s and 40s.  Some say that they are still around in the remote areas, and there are a lot of remote areas in Manchuria and Siberia!