Pai Ch'ung-hsi 白崇禧 papers, 1926-2006

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Summary

Creators:
Bai, Chongxi, 1893-1966
Abstract:
The Pai Ch'ung-hsi 白崇禧 papers (1926-2006) include diaries, writings, correspondence, notes, DVDs, photographs, and a videotape relating to the Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War.
Extent:
13 manuscript boxes, 19 oversize boxes, 1 videotape reel, 1 oversize folder, 1 sound tape reel, digital media (27.1 Linear Feet)
Language:
In Chinese
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Pai Ch'ung-hsi 白崇禧 papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The Pai Ch'ung-hsi 白崇禧 papers include official files from different stage of his military and political careers; correspondence between Pai and important Nationalist Chinese government officials; family letters and correspondence; personal diaries; notes and writings; decorations and certificates; and documentaries recording his family activities, an inspection tour he took to Taiwan in the spring of 1947, and his funeral. The papers also include over a thousand photographs, which document the Muslim general's military and political careers at different stages of his life, and DVDs relating to TV documentaries about General Pai and his son, Professor Kenneth Pai.

Biographical / historical:

Pai Ch'ung-hsi 白崇禧 (Bai Chongxi) (1893-1966) was born in Guilin, Guangxi Province, into a Chinese Muslim family of Hui nationality. In 1921, after graduating from Baoding Military Academy, Pai joined Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary movement. During the Northern Expedition of 1926 to 1928, which aimed at annihilating regional warlords and reunifying the whole of China, Pai served as the chief of staff of the Nationalist Revolutionary Army under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek, moving and fighting in several provinces. For his battlefield exploits during the Northern Expedition, Pai was known as one of the great military strategists in Chinese history. From 1930 to 1936, with Li Tsung-jen (Li Zongren) and several other prominent military and political leaders from Guangxi, Pai engaged in the program of building his home province into a model area in terms of economic development and administrative efficiency. During the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), Pai was made deputy chief of staff of the Nationalist army, responsible for military training and operations. During the war, Pai assisted Li in defeating the Japanese in Tai'erzhuang in Shandong Province. He also commanded the Battle of Wuhan and defeated the Japanese in Guangxi Province.

In 1946, Pai was appointed minister of national defense and assisted Chiang Kai-shek in waging war against the Chinese Communists. Shortly after the riot broke out in Taiwan in February 1947, Pai was sent as Chiang's personal representative on a fact finding mission and to help pacify the populace on the island. By late 1948, the Communist victory in the Civil War was imminent. In January 1949, after Chiang resigned from the presidency and Li became the acting president, Pai was responsible for building a solid Nationalist defense line along the Yangtse River. As the Nationalist governance in most of China was quickly disintegrating, Pai continued to fight against the Chinese Communists in Central and Southwest China. In October 1949, Pai planned to make a last anti-Communist stand in Southern China and his home province of Guangxi, but this failed to materialize. At the end of 1949, Pai fled to Taiwan, where he spent the rest of his life.

Acquisition information:
Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2017.
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Boxes 1-5, 7-8, 10-26 closed to researchers while undergoing digitization. Estimated end date: August 29, 2025. Box FH18 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Pai Ch'ung-hsi 白崇禧 papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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