Mao& #39;s & #39;five fingers & palm& #39; theory regarding Tibet & Nepal, Sikkim, Arunachal, Bhutan & Ladakh is popularly put forth as examples of CCP& #39;s territorial designs south of the Himalayas.
However, there is little evidence Mao said so. Thread with a dive into history follows:
The first recorded evidence of the & #39;five fingers& #39; comes from Scottish missionary George Patterson in his 1957 book God& #39;s Fools (p. 235). Note that he doesn& #39;t attribute it to Mao; in fact, there is no source but attributed to a Communist communication:
In Islamist Shangrila, David G. Atwill quotes Patterson& #39;s 1965 report in Indian Quarterly:
However, Atwill demolishes Patterson& #39;s assertions. We have to also note Patterson was a romantic adventurer, & like most missionaries, believed in *God& #39;s* will. His Khampa raid filming caused severe trouble among the guerrillas.
Now, Nepali historian V.K. Manandhar also says CCP had territorial designs on Nepal. He provides 2 sources – TR Ghoble& #39;s text on Nepal-China relations, & a 10 May 1954 NYT report. Let& #39;s focus first on the NYT report:
The NYT report says & #39;maps from Peiping& #39; have shown Nepal to be in Chinese territory.
However, this is not a report as much as a story on whispers in Washington, much like Coomi Kapoor& #39;s Delhi Confidential that comes in Indian Express. No sources here either.
Let& #39;s move to Ghoble, whose text is a great primer, but also outdated now. Ghoble asserts (p. 39) Mao thought of Nepal as a dependent state. He sources it to 2 texts. [Note, beyond Patterson, no one has said & #39;five fingers& #39; policy]
Let& #39;s go over Ghoble& #39;s sources. The first is Stuart R. Schram& #39;s translations of Mao& #39;s thoughts. Relevant bits on Nepal screenshots attached from 1939.
Note, nowhere Mao says CCP will assert territorial designs on Nepal (no five fingers here). All he says is England & #39;took& #39; Nepal.
Ghoble& #39;s second source is Robert C. North& #39;s 1960 journal article on Sino-Soviet alliance:
Again, no mention of five fingers, and repetition of Mao& #39;s 1939 thoughts of Qing territorial withering under imperialism (which does not, IMO, amount to Mao and & #39;five fingers& #39;)
So where did the & #39;five fingers& #39; policy come from?
Patterson seems to be the only one saying this, but there is no other evidence for it. Patterson is also notorious for exaggeration & obfuscation, his Khampa raid being the most notorious one that created trouble.
The five fingers theory is an example of how a fiction enters popular imagination & becomes truth. It suits our idea of an expansionist China, esp. during the PRC& #39;s early days.
This in no way excuses Mao& #39;s excesses, nor China& #39;s territorial claims, nor other issues.
End.
Sources:
https://archive.org/details/politicalthought0000unse_k1v5/page/122/mode/2up
https://archive.org/details/p... href=" #page_scan_tab_contents">https://www.jstor.org/stable/763344?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3A1bb3155d80fd7796c707c7cb75e8cd1a&seq=7 #page_scan_tab_contents
TR">https://www.jstor.org/stable/76... Ghoble, China-Nepal Relations & India
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv941r61">https://www.jstor.org/stable/j....
I must add, of course, if there is a more substantive evidence Mao actually said anything about the five fingers, this can change.
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