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George Aylwin Hogg (26 January 1915 – 22 July 1945)^[1]^[2] was a British adventurer. He read economics at University of Oxford.^[3]

Early life

George Aylwin Hogg was the son of Robert Hogg a merchant tailor from Belfast, Co. Antrim & his wife Kathleen née Lester. Hogg grew up in the small town of Harpenden in the United Kingdom.^[1]^[3] He attended St George's School, Harpenden, where he was head boy.^[1] Afterwards, he went to Wadham College in Oxford,^[3] read economics, obtaining a degree of Bachelor of Arts.^[1] He then became a freelance journalist for the Manchester Guardian.

In 1937 he sailed on the Queen Mary to New York City, hitchhiked across the United States, and joined his aunt Muriel Lester^[1] (a well-known English pacifist and friend of Mahatma Gandhi).^[3] They continued their trip to Japan.^[1]

Life in China

In January 1938, during the undeclared war between China and Japan, he left Japan to visit Shanghai, China for two days.^[3] He helped Kathleen Hall, a nurse from New Zealand, smuggle food and medicine to the communists.^{[citation needed]} During this, he witnessed first hand the brutality of the Imperial Japanese Army towards the Chinese^[1]^[3] and chose to stay in China. In Shaanxi Province, Hogg befriended communist General Nie Rongzhen and participated with the Eighth Route Army in guerrilla raids against the Japanese.^[1] While on the front lines, he wrote the book "I See a New China".^[1]

There have been claims that Hogg was an independent reporter for the Associated Press, supposedly^[3] writing on the atrocities which he witnessed during the war. However, these are unsubstantiated and there are no articles authored by him in either the archives of Associated Press and United Press International.^[4]

Shandan Bailie School

Hogg started to assist the Gung Ho movement operated by New Zealand-born communist Rewi Alley in Shaanxi.^[1] He helped Alley operate a lice-infested facility (without books, beds or food) for 60 orphaned boys.^[3] He converted a nearby cottage into a dormitory.^[3] With credit established in town, he was able to supply millet and vegetables to the children.^[3] Funds for the facility came from the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives (CIC), also organised by Alley.^[3] CIC regional headquarters in Baoji was 60 miles (97 km) over the Qinling Mountain pass.^[3] Hogg occasionally traveled by bicycle to CIC.

The boys called him Ho Ke.^[3] To get respect and control over the boys, Hogg participated in many activities with them, including singing, swimming, sports and hiking.^[3] The children tended a vegetable garden for food and Hogg made a basketball court for recreation.^[3] He personally adopted four boys (brothers Nie Guangchun, Nie Guanghan, Nie Guangtao and Nie Guangpei).^[1]

In late 1944, the Nationalist army searched classrooms for boys to recruit. The army arrested Hogg for resisting recruitment.^[3]

Relocation

Hogg then decided to relocate the boys to Shandan in Gansu Province 700 miles (1,100 km) away.^[3] The first 33 left in November 1944, and the remaining 27 boys followed in January 1945.^[3] They travelled heavily snow-covered mountain roads by foot.^[3] After a month of walking, 450 miles (720 km), they arrived in Lanzhou.^[3] Hogg hired six diesel trucks to complete the trip.^[3]

In early March 1945, Hogg and his boys arrived in Shandan.^[3] Alley rented some old temples, turned them into classrooms and workshops, and appointed Hogg as headmaster.^[1] From the beginning, the school was aided by a group of friendly New Zealanders who later formed the New Zealand China Friendship Society.^[5]

Death

In July 1945, Hogg stubbed his toe while playing basketball with the boys.^[3] It became infected with tetanus and two boys went to Lanzhou by motorcycle, a 500-mile round trip to get medicine.^[3] To comfort Hogg until he died, the boys sang nursery rhymes he had taught them.^[3]

He died on 22 July after three days.^[3] He was laid to rest outside town.^[5] His headstone is engraved with lines from his favourite poem.

He never saw the end of the Sino-Japanese War with the surrender of Japan just one month after his death.

In popular culture

Hogg's life is dramatised in the film The Children of Huang Shi (2008), also called Children of the Silk Road or Escape from Huang Shi, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Hogg and Chow Yun-fat as a Chinese communist resistance fighter Chen Hansheng. Writer James Macmanus has emphasised that the events in the film are fictionalised, with some events, such as his entry into Nanjing being constructed for dramatic effect.^[6]

His life is chronicled in Ocean Devil: The Life and Legend of George Hogg by James MacManus. His own account is George Aylwin Hogg, I See a New China, which includes his participation in the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives project in rural industrialization.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Shu, Zhang (4 April 2008). "George Hogg Forever Lives in Chinese and British People's Hearts". The Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
^ National Library of Australia (catalogue entry). ISBN 9787119035390. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z MacManus, James (9 March 2008). "The heroic Englishman China will never forget". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
^ "Sankei daily news 2016.8.31" reference Zhengding Missionary Murder
^ ^a ^b "Shandan Bailie School". New Zealand China Friendship Society. Archived from the original on 25 March 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
^ Sankei daily news 2016.8.31

Books

Blades of Grass - The Story of George Aylwin Hogg by Mark Aylwin Thomas, ISBN 978-1524676971
I See a New China by George Hogg, ISBN 0-7089-1503-5
Ocean Devil: The Life and Legend of George Hogg by James MacManus, ISBN 0-00-727075-5
Fruition: The story of George Alwin Hogg by Rewi Alley,[1]

[cpaffc-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Shu, Zhang (4 April 2008). "George Hogg Forever Lives in Chinese and British People's Hearts". The Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2009.

[AustraliaLibrary-2] National Library of Australia (catalogue entry). ISBN 9787119035390. Retrieved 20 September 2009.

[SundayTimes-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z MacManus, James (9 March 2008). "The heroic Englishman China will never forget". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2009.

[4] "Sankei daily news 2016.8.31" reference Zhengding Missionary Murder

[NZCFS-5] "Shandan Bailie School". New Zealand China Friendship Society. Archived from the original on 25 March 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2009.

[Sankei_daily_news_2016.8.31-6] Sankei daily news 2016.8.31

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[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|British adventurer}}
 {{other people|George Hogg}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
-'''George Aylwin Hogg''' (1915 – 22 July 1945)<ref name="cpaffc" /><ref name="AustraliaLibrary">{{cite web
+'''George Aylwin Hogg''' (26 January 1915 – 22 July 1945)<ref name="cpaffc" /><ref name="AustraliaLibrary">{{cite book
  | url = http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/4594250?lookfor=author:%22Hogg,%20George%20Aylwin,%201915-1945%22&offset=1&max=1
  | title = National Library of Australia (catalogue entry)
+ | isbn = 9787119035390
- | accessdate = 2009-09-20}}</ref> was a British [[adventurer]]. He was a graduate of [[Oxford University]] in economics.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> He is known as a hero in China for saving 60 [[orphan]]ed boys<ref name="NZCFS" /> during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], including leading them {{convert|700|mi|km}}<ref name="SundayTimes" /> through dangerous mountain passes, escaping the approaching Japanese secret police in the Shaanxi area.
+ | accessdate = 2009-09-20}}</ref> was a British [[adventurer]]. He read economics at [[University of Oxford]].<ref name="SundayTimes" />
 == Early life ==
-'''George Aylwin Hogg''' was the son of Robert Hogg a merchant tailor from Belfast, Co. Antrim & his wife Kathleen née Lester. Hogg grew up in the small town of [[Harpenden]] in [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="cpaffc" /><ref name="SundayTimes" /> He attended [[St. George's School, Harpenden]], where he was head boy.<ref name="cpaffc" /> Afterwards, he went to [[Wadham College, Oxford|Wadham College]] in [[Oxford]],<ref name="SundayTimes" /> obtaining a degree of Bachelor of Arts.<ref name="cpaffc">{{cite web
+George Aylwin Hogg was the son of Robert Hogg a merchant tailor from Belfast, Co. Antrim & his wife Kathleen née Lester. Hogg grew up in the small town of [[Harpenden]] in [[United Kingdom|the United Kingdom]].<ref name="cpaffc" /><ref name="SundayTimes" /> He attended [[St George's School, Harpenden]], where he was head boy.<ref name="cpaffc" /> Afterwards, he went to [[Wadham College, Oxford|Wadham College]] in [[Oxford]],<ref name="SundayTimes" /> read economics, obtaining a degree of Bachelor of Arts.<ref name="cpaffc">{{cite web
  | url = http://www.cpaffc.org.cn/yszz/detaile.php?subid=963&id=405
- | title = George Hogg Forever Lives in Chinese and British People’s Hearts
+ | title = George Hogg Forever Lives in Chinese and British People's Hearts
  | last = Shu
  | first = Zhang
@@ Line 17: / Line 20: @@
 |archive-date=2011-07-07
  | accessdate = 2009-09-20}}</ref>
-He then became a journalist for the ''Manchester Guardian''.
+He then became a freelance journalist for the ''Manchester Guardian''.
-In 1937 he sailed on the ''[[RMS Queen Mary|Queen Mary]]'' to [[New York]], [[hitchhiking|hitchhiked]] across the [[United States]], and joined his aunt [[Muriel Lester]]<ref name="cpaffc" /> (a well-known [[England|English]] [[pacifist]] and friend of [[Gandhi]]).<ref name="SundayTimes">{{cite news
+In 1937 he sailed on the ''[[RMS Queen Mary|Queen Mary]]'' to [[New York City]], [[hitchhiking|hitchhiked]] across the [[United States]], and joined his aunt [[Muriel Lester]]<ref name="cpaffc" /> (a well-known [[England|English]] [[pacifist]] and friend of [[Gandhi|Mahatma Gandhi]]).<ref name="SundayTimes">{{cite news
  | url = http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article3510793.ece
+ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080509201749/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article3510793.ece
+ | url-status = dead
+ | archive-date = 9 May 2008
  | title = The heroic Englishman China will never forget
  | last = MacManus
  | first = James
  | date = 2008-03-09
- | publisher = The Sunday Times|accessdate=2009-09-20}}</ref> They continued their trip to [[Japan]].<ref name="cpaffc" />
+ | work = The Sunday Times|accessdate=2009-09-20}}</ref> They continued their trip to [[Japan]].<ref name="cpaffc" />
 == Life in China ==
-Hogg was an [[stringer (journalism)|independent reporter]] for the [[Associated Press]].<ref name="SundayTimes" /> In January 1938, during the undeclared [[Second Sino-Japanese War|war between China and Japan]], he left Japan to visit [[Shanghai]], China for two days.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> He helped Kathleen Hall, a nurse from [[New Zealand]], smuggle food and medicine to the [[Chinese Communist Party|communists]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} During this, he witnessed first hand the [[Japanese war crime|brutality]] of the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] towards the Chinese<ref name="cpaffc" /><ref name="SundayTimes" /> and chose to stay in China. In [[Shaanxi]] Province, Hogg befriended communist General [[Nie Rongzhen]] and participated with the [[Eighth Route Army]] in [[guerrilla]] raids against the Japanese.<ref name="cpaffc" />  While on the front lines, he wrote the book "''I See a New China''".<ref name="cpaffc" />
+In January 1938, during the undeclared [[Second Sino-Japanese War|war between China and Japan]], he left Japan to visit [[Shanghai]], China for two days.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> He helped [[Kathleen Anne Baird Hall|Kathleen Hall]], a nurse from [[New Zealand]], smuggle food and medicine to the [[Chinese Communist Party|communists]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} During this, he witnessed first hand the [[Japanese war crimes|brutality]] of the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] towards the Chinese<ref name="cpaffc" /><ref name="SundayTimes" /> and chose to stay in China. In [[Shaanxi]] Province, Hogg befriended communist General [[Nie Rongzhen]] and participated with the [[Eighth Route Army]] in [[guerrilla]] raids against the Japanese.<ref name="cpaffc" /> While on the front lines, he wrote the book "''I See a New China''".<ref name="cpaffc" />
-There is an objection to the above. According to the original author of this movie<ref>"The Children of Huang Shi"</ref>,James MacManus, he was a teacher who kept the children from war. Teacher was vocation. MacManus said "His entry to china was February 1938. He did not go to Nanjing. The movie has been dramatized. It's not the fact."<ref>Sankei daily news 2016.8.31</ref> He wrote travel writings. But the articles that he saw the atrocities have not been found in the archives of Associated Press and United Press International.<ref>Sankei daily news 2016.8.31</ref>
+There have been claims that Hogg was an [[stringer (journalism)|independent reporter]] for the [[Associated Press]], supposedly<ref name="SundayTimes" /> writing on the atrocities which he witnessed during the war. However, these are unsubstantiated and there are no articles authored by him in either the archives of Associated Press and United Press International.<ref>"Sankei daily news 2016.8.31" reference [[Zhengding Missionary Murder]]</ref>
 === Shandan Bailie School ===
-Hogg started to assist the [[Gung Ho - ICCIC|Gung Ho movement]] operated by New Zealand-born communist [[Rewi Alley]] in [[Shaanxi]].<ref name="cpaffc" /> He helped Alley operate a [[lice]]-infested facility (without books, beds or food) for 60 orphaned boys.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> He converted a nearby cottage into a dormitory.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> With credit established in town, he was able to supply [[millet]] and vegetables to the children.<ref name="SundayTimes" />
+Hogg started to assist the [[Gung Ho - ICCIC|Gung Ho movement]] operated by New Zealand-born communist [[Rewi Alley]] in [[Shaanxi]].<ref name="cpaffc" /> He helped Alley operate a [[lice]]-infested facility (without books, beds or food) for 60 orphaned boys.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> He converted a nearby cottage into a dormitory.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> With credit established in town, he was able to supply [[millet]] and vegetables to the children.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> Funds for the facility came from the [[Chinese Industrial Cooperatives]] (CIC), also organised by Alley.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> CIC regional headquarters in [[Baoji]] was {{convert|60|mi|km}} over the [[Qinling Mountains|Qinling Mountain]] pass.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> Hogg occasionally traveled by bicycle to CIC.
-The boys called him Ho Ke.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> To get respect and control over the boys, Hogg participated in many activities with them, including singing, swimming, sports and hiking.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> The children tended a vegetable garden for food and Hogg made a basketball court for recreation.<ref name="SundayTimes" />
+The boys called him Ho Ke.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> To get respect and control over the boys, Hogg participated in many activities with them, including singing, swimming, sports and hiking.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> The children tended a vegetable garden for food and Hogg made a basketball court for recreation.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> He personally [[adoption|adopted]] four boys (brothers Nie Guangchun, Nie Guanghan, Nie Guangtao and Nie Guangpei).<ref name="cpaffc" />
+In late 1944, the [[National Revolutionary Army|Nationalist army]] searched classrooms for boys to [[army recruit|recruit]]. The army arrested Hogg for resisting recruitment.<ref name="SundayTimes" />
-He [[adopt]]ed four boys (brothers: Nie Guangchun, Nie Guanghan, Nie Guangtao and Nie Guangpei).<ref name="cpaffc" />
-Funds came from the [[Chinese Industrial Cooperatives]] (CIC), also organised by Alley.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> CIC regional headquarters in [[Baoji]] was {{convert|60|mi|km}} over the [[Qinling Mountains|Qinling Mountain]] pass.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> Hogg occasionally travelled by bicycle to CIC.
-Late 1944, the [[National Revolutionary Army|Nationalist army]] searched classrooms for boys to [[army recruit|recruit]]. The army arrested Hogg for resisting recruitment.<ref name="SundayTimes" />
 === Relocation ===
-Hogg then decided to relocate the boys to [[Shandan County|Shandan]] in [[Gansu]] Province {{convert|700|mi|km}} away.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> The first half (33) left in November 1944 and in January 1945, the remaining 27 boys followed.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> They travelled heavily snow-covered mountain roads by foot.<ref name="SundayTimes" />
+Hogg then decided to relocate the boys to [[Shandan County|Shandan]] in [[Gansu]] Province {{convert|700|mi|km}} away.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> The first 33 left in November 1944, and the remaining 27 boys followed in January 1945.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> They travelled heavily snow-covered mountain roads by foot.<ref name="SundayTimes" /> After a month of walking, {{convert|450|mi|km}}, they arrived in [[Lanzhou]].<ref name="SundayTimes" /> Hogg hired six diesel trucks to complete the trip.<ref name="SundayTimes" />
-After a month of travel by foot, {{convert|450|mi|km}}, they arrived in [[Lanzhou]].<ref name="SundayTimes" /> Hogg hired six diesel trucks to complete the trip.<ref name="SundayTimes" />
-Early March 1945, Hogg and his boys arrived in [[Shandan County|Shandan]].<ref name="SundayTimes" /> Alley rented some old temples, turned them into classrooms and workshops, and appointed Hogg as headmaster.<ref name="cpaffc" /> From the beginning the school was helped by New Zealand friends, who later formed the [[New Zealand China Friendship Society]].<ref name="NZCFS">{{cite web
+In early March 1945, Hogg and his boys arrived in [[Shandan County|Shandan]].<ref name="SundayTimes" /> Alley rented some old temples, turned them into classrooms and workshops, and appointed Hogg as headmaster.<ref name="cpaffc" /> From the beginning, the school was aided by a group of friendly New Zealanders who later formed the [[New Zealand China Friendship Society]].<ref name="NZCFS">{{cite web
  | url = http://nzchinasociety.org.nz/shandan-bailie-school/
  | title = Shandan Bailie School
  | publisher = New Zealand China Friendship Society
  | accessdate = 2009-09-20
- | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20110325071628/http://nzchinasociety.org.nz/shandan-bailie-school/
+ | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110325071628/http://nzchinasociety.org.nz/shandan-bailie-school/
  | archivedate = 2011-03-25 }}</ref>
@@ Line 64: / Line 64: @@
 He never saw the end of the Sino-Japanese War with the [[surrender of Japan]] just one month after his death.
+==In popular culture==
-==Legacy==
-An abridged and modified account (eliminating Alley and modifying Hall) of his life and adventure is portrayed in the feature film ''[[The Children of Huang Shi]]'' (2008), also called ''Children of the Silk Road'' or ''Escape from Huang Shi'', starring [[Jonathan Rhys Meyers]] as Hogg and [[Chow Yun-fat]] as the [[intelligence agent]] [[Chen Hansheng]].
+Hogg's life is dramatised in the film ''[[The Children of Huang Shi]]'' (2008), also called ''Children of the Silk Road'' or ''Escape from Huang Shi'', starring [[Jonathan Rhys Meyers]] as Hogg and [[Chow Yun-fat]] as a Chinese communist resistance fighter Chen Hansheng. Writer James Macmanus has emphasised that the events in the film are fictionalised, with some events, such as his entry into Nanjing being constructed for dramatic effect.<ref name="Sankei daily news 2016.8.31">Sankei daily news 2016.8.31</ref>
 His life is chronicled in ''Ocean Devil: The Life and Legend of George Hogg'' by James MacManus. His own account is George Aylwin Hogg, ''I See a New China'', which includes his participation in the [[Chinese Industrial Cooperatives]] project in rural industrialization.
-Hogg is also a popular topic of study for students at his old school, St Georges in Harpenden.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}
 == References ==
@@ Line 75: / Line 73: @@
 == Books ==
+*''Blades of Grass - The Story of George Aylwin Hogg'' by Mark Aylwin Thomas, {{ISBN|978-1524676971}}
-*''I See a New China'' by George Hogg, ISBN 0-7089-1503-5
-*''Ocean Devil: The Life and Legend of George Hogg'' by James MacManus, ISBN 0-00-727075-5
+*''I See a New China'' by George Hogg, {{ISBN|0-7089-1503-5}}
+*''Ocean Devil: The Life and Legend of George Hogg'' by James MacManus, {{ISBN|0-00-727075-5}}
 *''Fruition: The story of George Alwin Hogg'' by Rewi Alley,[http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2490340]
 {{Authority control}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2012}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hogg, George}}
@@ Line 91: / Line 88: @@
 [[Category:Deaths from tetanus]]
 [[Category:People educated at St George's School, Harpenden]]
+[[Category:China–New Zealand relations]]

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