Wu Heling

Name in Chinese
吳鶴齡
Name in Wade-Giles
Unenbayin
Related People

Biography in English

Unenbayin (8 February 1896-), also known as Wu Ho-ling, leading intellectual in the Inner Mongolian autonomy movement. After serving as head of the Mongolian section of the Mongolian-Tibetan Affairs Commission from 1930 to 1936, he returned to his native region. In 1942-45 he headed the political affairs department of the Mongolian Federated Autonomous Government. A Mongol of the Right Kharchin Banner of the Josuto League, Unenbayin was the son of Lamajab (Wu Feng-sheng), a commoner who was commander of the banner's forces. Unenbayin received his early education at home under the tutelage of Chang Kung-chien, a Shantung Chinese who held the chu-jen degree. He then attended the Normal School at Chengteh, Jehol, after which he entered the Cheng-fa ta-hsueh [university of politics and law] , from which he was graduated in 1917. In 1926 he became the first Mongol to be graduated from Peking University, where he majored in Chinese literature.

While studying at Peking, Unenbayin taught, beginning in 1918, at the Mongolian-Tibetan Academy. This school for young Mongols had been founded in 1912 by Gungsang Xorbu, the prince of the Right Kharchin Banner, and its graduates included Buyantai (q.v.), Merse, and Fumingtai. Unenbayin also assisted Gungsang Xorbu at the bureau of Mongolian- Tibetan affairs and held a position in the ministry of the interior at Peking. In addition, after 1924 he taught at the Chu-shih Middle School, worked at the Ching-kuan kao-teng hsueh-hsiao, and served as vice president of the Peking YMCA.

Unenbayin was a conscientious student, and his thinking was influenced by new trends in China. Still, he remained aloof from the radical and revolutionary currents of the day. While such young Mongols as Merse, Buyantai, Fumingtai, and Ulanfu (q.v.) pressed for social revolution in Mongolia, Unenbayin advocated the unification and strengthening of Mongolia through gradual reforms. He favored the attainment of Mongolian autonomy purely through political means, and, although pan-Mongolism appealed to him emotionally, he believed that Inner Mongolia had lost its opportunity for independence from China and unification with Outer Mongolia at the time of the 1911 revolution. Because of this belief, he consistently worked for political self-determination and cultural preservation of the Mongols through the complex and tedious process of strengthening the legal position of Mongolian autonomy within the administrative structure of the Chinese republic. At the same time, he urged reforms in the quasi-feudalistic administration of the Mongol banners.

After the successful completion of the Northern Expedition in June 1928, Buyantai was given responsibility for the reorganization of the Mongolian-Tibetan affairs office at Peking. Unenbayin and other Mongols at Peking were distressed by this decision, and their unease increased when the Kuomintang Central Political Council on 29 August 1928 passed a proposal to convert the Mongolian special districts of Jehol, Chahar, and Suiyuan into provinces. Accordingly, Unenbayin and other Mongolian banner representatives at Peking formed a delegation which went to Nanking in November to press for the autonomy that Sun Yat-sen had promised China's minority peoples in Principles of National Reconstruction. The delegation did not achieve its aims, and all of its members except Unenbayin left Nanking. Because he believed that he could accomplish more for the Mongols by staying at the capital, he established residence at Nanking and set up the Capital Office of Allied Mongolian League and Banner Affairs. Through this office, he was able to assist Mongol students and to exert pressure on the National Government in the cause of Mongolian autonomy.

The National Government established the Mongolian-Tibetan Affairs Commission at the end of 1928, and Yen Hsi-shan (q.v.) assumed office as its chairman on 1 January 1929. Buyantai became a member of the commission, and Unenbayin joined the staff of its Mongolian affairs secdon, becoming section head in 1930. He soon proposed the convening of a Mongolian conference to consider outstanding problems. Over 40 representatives met at Nanking in May 1930, and among the results of the conference was a concession from the National Government for 15 Mongolian representatives to be taken into the new National Assembly when it met the following year. Agreement also was reached on a proposal for a "Basic Law for the Organization of Mongolian Leagues and Banners." When the National Assembly met in 1931, the 15 Mongol representatives went to great lengths to gain ratification of their proposals. Led by Unenbayin, they congregated and Mtjr-ld threatened mass suicide if their demands were ignored. The Law for the Organization of Mongol Leagues and Banners was passed by the National Assembly on 12 October 1931 and subsequently was approved by the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang. The passage of this law was one of Unenbayin's most cherished accomplishments. It provided a legal basis for preserving the integrity of Mongol banners and leagues, for their relationship to the Chinese provinces in Inner Mongolia and to the National Government, and for the reform of banner administration through the abolition of hereditary rule and succession. The law fell short of Unenbayin's hopes, however, because it made no provision for uniting the separate and isolated Mongol banners.

In August 1933 a new crisis arose when the ruling princes of western Inner Mongolia sent a telegram to Nanking which announced their intention of establishing an autonomous Mongolian government. The National Government sent a delegation to Pailingmiao, which included Huang Shao-hung (q.v.) and Unenbayin, for talks with Te Wang (Demchukdonggrub, q.v.) Yun Wang (Prince Yun), and other Mongol leaders. With Unenbayin and the Panchen Lama (q.v.) working essentially as mediators, agreement finally was reached. However, the dispute began again when the terms of the agreement were modified at Nanking and the Kuomintang Central Political Council passed an act on 1 7 January 1934 which omitted much of the substance of the Pailingmiao agreement. Because of Unenbayin's objections and the threat of an Inner Mongolia- Manchoukuo alliance, this act was repealed almost immediately. On 28 February, the Central Political Council passed the Eight Principles of Mongolian Autonomy (Mengku tzu-chih yuan-tzu pa-hsiang), drafted by Unenbayin, which provided for the establishment of the Mongolian Local Autonomous Political Council and for an end to Chinese migration into Mongolian lands.

In the mid-1930's Unenbayin was forced to make a crucial personal decision with reference to Inner Mongolia and its relationships with China and Japan. By early 1936 it had become obvious that a Japanese takeover of Inner Mongolia was inevitable, for the Chinese authorities at Nanking would do nothing to counter increasing Japanese influence in that area. Because Unenbayin believed that he could accomplish nothing if separated from other Mongols by a Japanese occupation, he decided to return to Inner Mongolia. In a private meeting with Chiang Kai-shek, he persuaded Chiang to let him go without suspicion of treachery. According to their agreement, in the event of Unenbayin's death a public announcement would be made to scotch any accusation of treason. Unenbayin's decision was a difficult one. For the next decade he would be regarded by some Japanese as a Chinese agent, by some young Mongols as a compromising conservative, and by some Chinese as a war criminal.

When Te Wang inaugurated the so-called Inner Mongolian Government at Tehua (Coptchil) on 28 June 1936, Unenbayin became its chief counselor. Later, after a sort of exile in Japan (1939-41), Unenbayin became head of the political affairs department of that regime's successor, the Mongolian Federated Autonomous Government. At Kalgan, the government headquarters, Unenbayin was responsible for day-to-day administration in guiding the government under Japanese occupation. With the full support of Te Wang, he also served as a buffer between idealistic Mongol nationalists and harsh Japanese military authorities. Although he did not stir young men to ambition for Mongolian independence, he did much to encourage young Mongols to prepare themselves for service to their people. He was the leading planner and patron of a special school in Kalgan which prepared hundreds of Mongol youths for advanced study in Japan. One of Unenbayin's proudest achievements during this period was the development of the horisha, an adaptation of the cooperative. This economic institution had several purposes: liberating Mongols from traditional financial bondage to Chinese merchants, establishing standard selling prices for goods, increasing Mongol economic power during the Japanese occupation, and producing increased revenue for national development and the strengthening of Mongol autonomy. In addition to cooperative marketing, Unenbayin and other Mongol leaders promoted the use of modern techniques in gathering and processing milk products and animals in nomadic areas.

Unenbayin held office at Kalgan until the Second World War ended and the Chinese Communists began to take control in that area. Rejecting the Communist alternative, he moved south and evacuated his family to Taiwan. Then, at the behest of Te Wang, he flew to Ninghsia to assist in another attempt to organize Mongolian resistance. The attempt failed, partly because the Communist advance, led by P'eng Te-huai (q.v.), was unexpectedly rapid. Unenbayin and a number of other Mongol leaders then escaped to Taiwan. There, despite heart attacks and other severe illnesses, he continued to urge the National Government to follow progressive policies which would win Mongol support.

Biography in Chinese

乌尼伯英
汉名:吴鹤龄

吴鹤龄(1896.2.8—),内蒙自治运动的知识界首领。1930—36年任蒙藏委员会蒙事处处长,1942—45年任蒙古联盟自治政府政务院长。

吴鹤龄,卓索图盟科尔沁右旗人,父剌曼加伯(吴凤生)出身平民,是该旗军队的指挥员。是该盟代表,拥有军权。吴早年在家受学于山东举人张昆前(译音),后进热河承德师范,又进政法大学,于1917年毕业。1926年成为毕业于北京大学的第一个蒙族人,他在北大主修中国文学。

1918年起,吴在北大上学时,即在北京蒙藏学校任教,这是科尔沁右旗王公贡桑诺尔布于1912年为蒙族青年创办的学校,学生中有白云梯、郭道甫、方明达等人。吴协助贡桑在蒙藏事务处工作,并在北京内务部任职。1924年后,在珠泗中学教书,又在北京高等学校工作,并曾任北京基督教青年会副总干事。

吴学习认真,并接受了当时新思想的影响,但他并不介入急进和革命潮流。他与郭道甫、白云梯、方明达、乌兰夫等主张社会革命的蒙族青年不同,主张用改良的方法促成蒙族的统一和强盛。用政治手腕达到蒙古自治,而且虽然大蒙族主义强烈地侵袭着他,他却认为内蒙已错过了于1911年辛亥革命时脱离中国而独立并与外蒙统一的机会。因此,他力求在中华民国的行政结构内,通过加强蒙族合法自治地位的长期复杂过程,来争取政治上的自决权并保存蒙族文化。与此同时,他要求对蒙古各旗半封建性的行政制度进行改革。

1928年6月,北伐完成后,白云梯负责改组北京的蒙藏办事处,吴鹤龄等人,对此决定感到沮丧。1929年8月29日国民党中央政治会议通过决议把热河、察哈尔、绥远三个蒙族特别区改为行省后,他们的不满增强了。于是,吴鹤龄和其他在北京的各旗代表,组成代表团于11月去南京要求依据孙逸仙的《建国大纲》给予自治权。代表团没有达到目的,除吴鹤龄以外都离开南京。吴认为留驻首都可以为蒙族多所陈言,他寓居南京并成立了蒙旗驻京办事处,一方面协助蒙族学生,一方面向国民政府施加压力,争取蒙古自治。

1928年底,国民政府成立蒙藏委员会,1929年1月1日以阎锡山为委员长。白云梯当了一名委员,吴鹤龄则参加了蒙事处工作,1930年当了处长。他不久建议召开蒙事会议讨论重要问题。1930年5月,四十多名代表在南京开会,结果是国民政府作出让步,答应吸收十五名蒙古代表参加于下一年召开的国民会议,同时又就“蒙古各盟部旗组织法”达成了协议。1931年国民会议开会,十五名代表极力希望通过他们的提案,他们由吴鹤龄率领聚集在一起,声言如果他们的要求不被采纳,就集体自杀。1931年10月12日会议通过了各盟部旗组织法,不久又由国民党中央执行委员会批准。这是吴的很大成就,由此而从法律上保证了各盟旗的完整性及其与内蒙古各汉族省份的关系以及与国民政府的关系,并规定取消政治上的世袭制以改革盟旗行政。但是这个法律使吴鹤龄感到失望的是,它没有规定将分散的各不相干盟旗归于统一的办法。

1933年8月,内蒙西部王公电告南京政府,他们打算成立蒙古自治政府,可是又出现了新的危机。国民政府派出代表团去百灵庙,代表中有黄绍竑、吴鹤龄,与德王、云王及其他蒙族首领会商。经吴鹤龄和班禅喇嘛调解,达成协议。但是协议条款在南京作了修改,国民党中央政治会议于1934年1月17日通过一个法令将协议内容又作了许多删改,争执再次发生。由于吴鹤龄的反对以及面临组成蒙满联盟的威胁,这个法令几乎立即就撤销了。2月28日,中央政治会议通过了吴所拟订的“蒙古自治原则八项”,允许成立蒙古地方自治政务委员会,并终止汉族向内蒙移民。
三十年代中期,吴鹤龄被迫就内蒙和中、日的关系问题作出重大的个人决定。1936年初,日本进占内蒙已不可避免,因南京中国当局无意阻遏日本势力在该地区的扩张。吴深感他本人一旦脱离被日本占领的蒙族地区人士,就将无所作为,就决定回到内蒙。他在同蒋介石的私人谈话中表示决不叛国,按照他们之间的协议,吴死后的讣文将消除任何指控他叛国的责难。吴作出的是一个困难的决定。因为此后十多年中,日本人将把他当作中国特务,某些蒙族青年将把他当作谋求妥协的保守分子,某些汉人则将认他为战犯。

1936年6月28日,德王在德化成立内蒙军政府,吴任参议部部长。以后,经过某种形式到日本流放(1939—41年)后,他又当了军政府的继任者,蒙古联盟自治政府的政务院长。吴鶴龄在张家口主持这个在日军控制下的政府的日常工作。在德王的全力支持下,他在理想主义的蒙族民族主义者和粗暴的日本军事当局之间起着缓冲作用。虽然他并不煽动青年人争取蒙古独立的雄心,但却大力鼓舞他们为本民族人民服务。他在张家口筹划和开办一所特别学校,训练了几百名学生到日本留学。

吴鹤龄这一时期最值得骄傲的成就之一是发展了合作制度,这种经济组织具有几重目的:帮助蒙古人摆脱汉人历来的经济束缚,确定货物的标准出售价格,在日本占领时期发展蒙古经济、增加收入以谋求民族的发展和加强民族自治。除供销合作以外,吴鹤龄和其他蒙族首领还在游牧地区提倡挤奶和加工奶制品的现代技术。

吴在张家口任职到二次世界大战结束后共产党接管这个地区为止。他不愿听从共产党,遂从张家口南下并将全家迁往台湾。他奉德王之命飞往宁夏企图组织蒙族进行抵抗。他的企图宣告失败,部分原因是彭德怀率领的共产党部队进军神速。吴及其他蒙古首领逃到台湾。他身患心脏病及其他严重疾病,但仍吁请国民政府实行进步政策以取得蒙族支持。

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