Ep. 99 | Sidney Rittenberg

The China History Podcast
Written By Laszlo Montgomery

In this episode, we introduce Sidney Rittenberg, 李敦白, known by the title of his 1993 book  as “The Man Who Stayed Behind.”  He arrived in China in his 20’s at the end of WWII and witnessed the Chinese Revolution from a front-row seat.

When the US pulled out of China after the war, Sidney Rittenberg stayed behind with his dreams of contributing to the building of a new China.  He remained in his adoptive country for 35 years.  

This episode tells his story.

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Terms in Episode

Pinyin/TermChineseEnglish/Meaning
Dabie Mountains大别山Mountain chain in central China
Deng Yingchao邓颖超Wife of Zhou Enlai
Guanxi关系Relation, relationship, contacts
Hanyang汉阳One of the three cities that make up Wuhan
Hengyang衡阳City in south central Hunan
Kalgan张家口Kalgan is the Mongolian name of the present day city of Zhangjiajou
Kang Keqing康克清Wife of Marshal Zhu De
Li Xiannian李先念Another great military man who went on to become president of China and one of the 8 Immortals
Lushan庐山Scenic place in Jiangxi province where a famous conference was held during the Great Leap Forward
Ma Haide马海德Dr. George Hatem (See CHP-062)
Ren Bishi任弼时Another early military leader who died a year after the founding of the PRC
Song Qingling宋庆龄Madame Sun Yat-sen, one of the three Soong Sisters
Taihang Mountains太行山Mountain chain running through Shanxi, Henan and Hebei
Wang Zhen王震Effective military commander and later one of the 8 Immortals

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