The Peking Express

January 16, 2023
This gripping debut history from Beijing-based lawyer Zimmerman recounts the 1923 raid on a luxury train by Chinese bandits and the ensuing 37-day hostage standoff. Seeking to “fight back against the warlords and business interests that extracted local resources” from Shantung province, ex-soldier Sun Mei-yao and his bandit troops derailed the train just south of the town of Lincheng. But Sun Mei-yao’s plan to use the train’s foreign and Chinese passengers as a bargaining chip went less smoothly. The attackers struggled to march their 100 captives, some of them barefoot and wearing nightgowns, to a mountaintop stronghold. While Chinese passengers who couldn’t keep up were killed, the 28 foreign hostages were treated better. American journalist John Powell, who “advocated for a strong and independent China,” became a leader of the captives and helped open negotiations between the bandits and government troops. Lucy Aldrich, the sister-in-law of John D. Rockefeller Jr., taught the attackers English, while her wily maid, Mathilde Schoneberg, hid Aldrich’s family jewels in her underwear. Zimmerman weaves in snapshots of a country in turmoil, contrasting walled cities and starving villagers caught in the cross fire between bandits and warlords with thriving metropolises built by foreign interests. Dramatic and meticulously researched, it’s an immersive look at a forgotten chapter of Chinese history. Photos.

February 15, 2023
A vividly characterized account of the Lincheng Incident of 1923, a significant moment in the collision of cultures and political currents in post-imperial China. Zimmerman, a Beijing-based lawyer who has lived and worked in China for more than 25 years, examines a largely forgotten yet important international incident: On May 6, 1923, an army of bandits attacked a luxury passenger train traveling from Shanghai to Peking, robbed and killed passengers, and took 120-plus hostages, many foreigners, to extract political concessions. The event exposed the lawlessness of China at the time and highlighted the eagerness of other nations to exploit the tumultuous post-imperial political landscape, mostly controlled by powerful warlords. Sun Mei-yao, a rebel peasant leader and former soldier and his army of disgruntled brigands--the so-called "Self-Governed Army for the Establishment of the Country"--aimed to bring international attention to the plight of those exploited by the ruling warlords. The group derailed the train near Lincheng in the middle of the night, looted it in waves, shot protestors, and dragged hostages on a forced march to the army's hideaway at the top of Paotzuku Mountain. As the author demonstrates in this deeply researched text, sympathy lay with foreigners on the train, including American heiress Lucy Aldrich, John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s sister-in-law; John B. Powell, "publisher of Shanghai's Weekly Review and the Chicago Tribune's man in China"; Italian lawyer Giuseppe D. Musso, who represented the Shanghai Opium Combine; various U.S. military officers and their families; and a host of powerful Jewish businessmen. After many weeks, American fixer Roy Scott Anderson negotiated a peaceful release of the hostages. The perpetrators, despite reassurances of safety, received severe punishment. Zimmerman goes on to show how Mao Zedong later regarded the incident as a worthy peasant revolt that failed because it "lacked a unifying political strategy." Tremendous insight into little-remembered yet crucial events at the beginning of the formation of modern China.

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Starred review from March 1, 2023

In 1923, the world was shocked when a luxury train traveling between Shanghai and Beijing was hijacked in the Shandong province. Beijing-based lawyer Zimmerman (China Law Deskbook) brings back this largely forgotten episode by telling the story of how a group of desperate bandits pulled off the heist and kidnapped a multitude of Chinese and foreign notables, such as Lucy Aldrich, the sister-in-law of John D. Rockefeller. Theoretically, the Republic of China government ruled the nation, but, in practice, powerful local warlords divided the country and were the real authorities on the ground. This reality created the desperate situation in which large bandit gangs thrived, and also complicated the ability of foreign governments to successfully negotiate the release of their captive citizens, most of whom were held in a remote mountain hideout for nearly a month. The vivid descriptions of the physical environment and the many interesting characters involved make this an exciting read for scholars and novices alike. VERDICT Highly recommended for any reader interested in 20th-century Chinese history, especially the Warlord Era of 1916-28.--Joshua Wallace

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