ABSTRACT
By January 1937, the precarious independence that Song Zheyuan had so far managed to preserve was in jeopardy. National developments in November and December 1936 left him with significantly less room for manoeuvre in his dealings with the Japanese, and he was under increasing pressure to abandon the equivocation and ambiguity on which his survival had hitherto depended. Through 1936, Song had infuriated both the Chinese central authorities and the NCGA by his refusal to declare openly in favour of either side, coming perilously close to forfeiting the trust of the Nanjing government with his discussions with the NCGA on anti-Communist action and economic affairs, while still contriving to alienate the Japanese military by withholding final commitment to regional autonomy and Sino-Japanese co-operation. Now, however, the Suiyuan and Xi’an incidents and the acrimonious collapse of the Zhang-Kawagoe talks profoundly changed the national political environment, leaving the Nanjing government as well as the growing ranks of ‘national salvation’ activists convinced that the possibilities for a political resolution to relations with Japan had been exhausted. Where Nanjing had been anxious to avoid the open pursuit of policies that would exacerbate Sino-Japanese tension – such as thediscussions with the CCP – the centre now moved towards a more pragmatic line in relations with its domestic critics while becoming notably less pacific in its approach toward Japan. In this context, Song Zheyuan’s own caution, and the persistent ambiguity of his position vis-a-vis the Japanese, appeared increasingly incongruous: the pressure on Song to show his hand consequently increased.
