Wang Jingwei’s Associates & Family Members Continue to Preserve His Political Writings

News reports on the 1944 formation of the Editorial Committee to publish Wang Jingwei’s writings

Wang Jingwei’s collection of essays and speeches comprises the most prescient and well reasoned political discourse created in China in the last century. Crowds would stand and cheer during his speeches because of what he said.

From his early 20s, when Wang Jingwei first published his political thoughts in Minbao, his works have been collected and published for their eloquent persuasiveness, particularly in his expressions of his love for the nation. Throughout Wang’s political career, his followers recognized their significance as well as the importance of preserving and sharing them. Upon his death on November 10 1944, members of the family joined in the efforts.

As Wang Jingwei’s son-in-law, Ho Mang Hang was present at Wang’s bedside in Nagoya Imperial Hospital for 254 consecutive days until the day Wang Jingwei died. His memoir Cloud, Smoke, Scattered Memories features this first-hand account in intimate detail.

In the memoir, Ho Mang Hang recalled a visit by Minister of Publicity Lin Baisheng to Wang’s hospital bed in Nagoya. Lin tactfully asked whether Wang had any additional instructions to leave behind. Wang Jingwei answered to the effect that “while my life’s thoughts and speeches had gradually been published according to changing times for everyone to see, what can truly be handed down for future generations is Shuangzhaolou shicigao (Wang Jingwei’s poetry collection.)”

Cover of Wang Jingwei Anthology: Shuangzhaolou Shicigao (Wikimedia Commons)

Soon after Wang’s death, Lin Baisheng formed the 編纂汪故主席遺訓—中央常務委員會議決組織編纂委員會 Chairman Wang Legacy Instruction Compilation Editorial Committee to publish a series of books on Wang’s life and writings, including separate volumes on poetry and essays and speeches. Poetry was the first project they accomplished on May 4 1945, in commemoration of Wang Jingwei’s birth date (see news reports below). As the series title Wang Jingwei Anthology indicates, the intention was to publish a collection of writings, not poetry alone. Unfortunately the Committee’s plan had to be abandoned when Lin and other members of the Committee including Long Yusheng (1902-1966) were arrested a few months later and Lin was executed the following year for “treason.”

The essays and speeches project was completed in 16 volumes by Fang Junbi (1898-1986), who was a longtime Wang family friend and widow of Wang’s confidante Zheng Zhongming (1896-1939). One of the 16-volume sets was given to Ho Mang Hang, who used the material as the foundation for the Wang Jingwei & Modern China series. The 16-volume set that Fang Junbi gave to Ho can now be found in the “Ho Mang Hang Collection of Historiography Materials Concerning Wang Jingwei” at the C.V. Starr East Asian Library at Columbia University in New York.

16-volume set of Wang Jingwei’s writings compiled by Fang Junbi

To augment the Fang Junbi 16-volume set of books, Ho Mang Hang added his own collection of handwritten manuscripts, newspaper clippings, which he hand- or photo-copied into an 18-volume anthology of Wang’s political writings for donation to libraries. After retirement, he dedicated decades to the collection, analysis, compilation and preservation of these works. Ho Mang Hang wrote about Wang’s political writings:

Although his own writings may not be the only material necessary to study his person, using his own political writings to follow his thought processes and verify his deeds is the correct path to follow.HO MANG HANG

In 2010, Ho co-founded the Wang Jingwei Irrevocable Trust (WJWIT) with his wife, Wang Jingwei’s eldest daughter, Wang Wenxing (1914-2015) to further the understanding of the life and ideas of Wang Jingwei using his own words, the words of his associates and factual events.

Mr. Ho Mang Hang fulfilled Wang Jingwei’s last wish with true dedication, gathering Wang’s letters, speeches, essays and poems, including key works such as his testimonial written upon his arrest during the late Qing Dynasty. Ho weaves together a comprehensive biography of Wang, citing excerpts from his life. Beyond explaining the historical context and political situation, he offers almost no analysis or judgment, allowing Wang to speak for himself. Unlike most biographies of Wang, the book neither resorts to scathing criticism nor blindly eulogizes. Instead, it offers a refreshing and unpretentious account of Wang’s life, witnessing the turbulent China from the late Qing Dynasty to the war against Japan.WANG KE-WEN, Wang Jing-wei Studies Expert

Wang Jingwei’s eldest son Wang Wenying (1913-2011) also contributed to the preservation and publication of his father’s writings. He safeguarded the handwritten manuscripts of Nanshe Shihua and Wang Jingwei’s “Confessions” after being arrested for attempting the Prince Regent’s life, along with poetry drafts, and shared them with Ho Mang Hang. This enabled us to include this firsthand material in our books. These, along with other important archival documents, are now in the collection of the Hoover Institution.

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Since 2019, Wang Jingwei’s granddaughter Cindy Ho, a daughter of Ho Mang Hang and Wang Wenxing, has been leading the WJWIT towards accomplishing its mission with digital and print publications of Wang Jingwei’s own words. WJWIT continues to expand on Ho Mang Hang’s work, with a focus on primary source material, to further our understanding of Wang Jingwei and the history of modern China.

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now available as individual e-books and in print