Many people may believe that adventure, escape and the rescue of prominent women are the fiction of war novels but Professor James Bertram, of the V.U.W. English Department, who was deeply involved with the China of the Thirties and Forties seems to have found them in fact. In a recent public lecture he outlines his experiences and impressions of China amid wars both civil and international.

Until the Thirties there had been growing discontent with the foreign influence and finance that controlled the Nationalist regime in China. This was highlighted by the embryo intellectual revolution of the 'May 4 Movement' and the formation of the Communist Party in 1921. The left grew and certain units in the Nationalist Army who were inspired by Russian models and the work and constructive policy of Mao Tsetung detached themselves and the Red Army began to build and grow.