Blood Road
Possible Paper Themes

NOTE: The following are simply some possible themes for your paper. Of course you can choose to answer one of the following themes, but you are also encouraged to answer part of one, a combination of several elements from each, or make up your own entirely own theme. See the class page on the response papers for more specific guidelines.

1. Sun’s death is described by Schoppa as “like the fall of a landmark without which the site loses its previous identity (p. 149).” In what ways is this true both for Shen’s own revolutionary career and for the revolutionary movement as a whole?

2. The alliance between the Guomindang (GMD) and the Communists— in both Shen’s life and inthe broader development of the GMD —is a crucial element in understanding how the Chinese Revolution is “jump-started” after a decade of failed beginnings.  Can we also see the potential seeds of destruction for derailing the second stage?

3. How is Shen’s life a metaphor for the treacherous road of revolution in the first decades of the Republican revolution? Consider several of the problems that he and any revolutionary efforts face: Warlords, Imperialism, Communism, and localism.

4. One of the more powerful messages imparted by Schoppa’s book is how the Shen’s life, like the Revolution itself, was not guided by the long-term trends but a reaction to more proximate events (e.g. everyday events). How convincing do you find this argument for Shen’s life? For the Revolution?

5. The author's description of Shen's life highlights the considerable disconnect between national (or “elite” ) goals/campaigns and local or regional ones. Shen Dingyi while perhaps one of the stronger advocates of a local perspective also appears to lose sight of the “local” perspective at key junctures. From your reading of the events do you really think it was possible, as Shen attempted, to link the two very diveregent arenas of action?