Peking

Peking is presented as the arrival point and diplomatic setting of Dag Hammarskjöld’s mission to negotiate the release of American airmen held by China during the Korean War. The city’s significance in the account lies in the negotiations begun there: Hammarskjöld arrived as United Nations Secretary-General with an urgent but constrained task, facing an international dispute whose outcome remained uncertain for months.

Arrival on a Diplomatic Mission

Hammarskjöld travelled to China aboard a U.S. military plane to seek the release of American airmen shot down during the Korean War. A Chinese court had convicted eleven of them of spying, claiming they had violated Chinese airspace; the United States maintained that they were over North Korea. China was already holding four other American pilots, and the newer captives had further inflamed hostilities.

The mission unfolded amid pressure at the United Nations. A resolution condemning China for violating the Armistice Agreement was about to be passed, while China sought admission to the organization and faced substantial opposition. Hammarskjöld knew he could promise nothing on that question. During the long flight, before reaching Peking, he copied verses from Psalm 139 into his journal, a record of religious reflection carried into the diplomatic journey.

Negotiations in Peking

When Hammarskjöld’s plane landed in Peking, he met Premier Chou En-lai. Their negotiations were described as long and delicate, reflecting the difficulty of pursuing the airmen’s release amid opposing accounts of the incident and the broader political tensions surrounding China’s place in the United Nations.

The arrival did not resolve the immediate crisis. The airmen were not finally released until many months later. Peking therefore marks the beginning of a sustained negotiation rather than a moment of decisive settlement: Hammarskjöld could open discussions, but the account emphasizes that the result remained beyond his immediate control.

Narrative Significance

The account sets the inward and outward dimensions of Hammarskjöld’s mission alongside one another. On the flight to Peking, he turned to a psalm about being guided and held even at the farthest limits of the sea; on arrival, he entered negotiations shaped by military conflict, international disagreement, and the limits on what he could offer. The city becomes the point where private religious practice accompanies public diplomacy, without guaranteeing a quick outcome.