An adventurer, gambler, petty criminal and general in the Chinese military, Morris Cohen (1887–1970) was born to Polish Jewish immigrants in London’s impoverished East End. In his youth, Cohen was said to be a petty thief, leading his concerned parents to send him to Canada in 1905. Cohen moved around Western Canada, staying in Saskatoon and Edmonton for a period of time. In Saskatoon, he encountered many Chinese workers who were often victims of racism. Cohen became immediately protective of the Chinese community, as he had suffered similar racism in England as a Jew. Along with Mah Sam, Cohen ran a “Disorderly House,” which would eventually be raided by police and land Cohen in prison. Cohen spent the years of World War One in Europe in the Canadian military, often overseeing the building of railroads by Chinese workers.
After the war, upon recommendation from Chinese Canadians, Cohen became the personal bodyguard of Chinese revolutionary and political leader Sun Yat-sen, until the leader’s death in 1925. It was during this time that Cohen, who had a penchant for self-promotion, was nicknamed “Two Gun.” He explained that he had been shot in the arm in a gunfight while reaching for his revolver and was thereafter forced to carry two guns. When Chiang Kai-shek took power, Cohen, now a prominent member of the Chinese political party Kuomintang, was awarded the rank of general in the Chinese army—the only non-Chinese member ever to hold this rank. While Cohen’s relationship with Sun had been close, Chiang and Cohen remained strictly acquaintances.
In 1937, Japan invaded China and the Chinese army was no match for the highly organized Japanese military. The Japanese apprehended Cohen in 1941 and interned him at the Stanley Prison Camp in Hong Kong. Always having a keen way with words, Cohen managed to escape to Canada during a prisoner exchange between Allied forces and the Japanese. Cohen’s arrival in Montreal in late 1943 was marked by a barrage of media and on-lookers. Members of the Jewish community flocked to see him at the Mount Royal Hotel, including Samuel Bronfman, head of Canadian Jewish Congress. Two-Gun Cohen continued his involvement in Chinese politics and intrigues well after 1943, travelling to mainland China as well as Taiwan, even after the Communist Revolution of 1949. He was also instrumental in changing the Chinese UN delegate’s position from “against” to “abstention” in the vote for the partition plan for Palestine. Cohen married Judith Clark, owner of an elegant ladies clothing store in downtown Montreal. Following their divorce in 1956, Cohen decided to return to England, where he died in 1970, an eccentric footnote to Chinese and Jewish history.
Compiled by Valérie Beauchemin and David Gilbert.
Sources
Ben-Eliezer, Judith. Shanghai Lost, Jerusalem Regained. Israel: Steimatzky, 1986.
Drage, Charles. The Life and Times of General Two-Gun Cohen. New York: Funk & Wagnals, 1954.
Goldberg, M. Hirsch. Just Because They’re Jewish. New York: Stein & Day, 1979.
Levy, Daniel S. Two Gun Cohen: A Biography. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997.
Millar, Ruth. Saskatchewan Heroes & Rogues. Regina: Coteau Books, 2004.
Schnurmacher, Thomas. “Story of China’s Jewish Cowboy: Two Gun Cohen to be Filmed.” Montreal Gazette August 15, 1988.
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