In 1937, a book with a large number of photographs, "Red Star Shines on China", was published in the United States and Britain. Through the writings of american journalist Edgar Snow, the Western world learned about the Chinese Communist Party for the first time. Edgar Snow once described his feelings about the Chinese Communist Party in this way: "I feel strongly the vibrant hope and the invincible power of humanity." Today, the power that Edgar feels has led Chinese people to great achievements that have attracted worldwide attention.
Video loading...
In 1936, american journalist Edgar Snow entered the Northern Shaanxi Soviet Region and conducted more than 100 days of interviews, visiting Red Army generals, Red Army soldiers, and ordinary people. He wrote "Red Star Shines on China" with the most authentic first-hand information, showing the world the Communist Party of China, a political party that has won the hearts of the people, is full of vitality and has unlimited prospects. For the first time, the world knew about the suffering of China and the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, which fought bravely and had just carried out the Long March.
Kansas City, Missouri, is where Edgar Snow was born. In honor of Edgar, a special Edgar Snow Collection Room was set up in the Miller Nichols Library at the University of Missouri-Kansas. There are many manuscripts, archives and film films of Edgar Snow, including the manuscript of "Red Star Shines on China".
James McCusco, dean of the Honorary College at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and former president of the Edgar Snow Memorial Foundation: "The Red Star Shines on China" became an immediate bestseller when it was first published in 1937. It was published in both London and the United States, and subsequently translated into Chinese and many other languages, and to this day it remains one of the most important historical materials and reference books for the history of the Communist Party of China and the history of modern China as a whole.
James McCusco said Edgar Snow chose to go through the arduous work of interviewing and documenting the history of the Chinese Communist Party during the war years because Edgar knew that China needed leadership that could really bring hope.
James McCusco, dean of the Honorary College at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Edgar Snow Memorial Foundation: (In the early 1930s), Edgar Snow traveled to northwestern China to report on the famine in the region, and he hired a photographer to take the photos, and the photos were very shocking. The person in the photo is starving, with nothing to eat, dying on the side of the road. Edgar Snow was acutely aware that China at that time was a very poor, impoverished country with extremely poor government leadership. He understands the relationship between this situation and the revolution, and that China needs better government and better leadership to reach its incredible potential. He brought this understanding to the writing of "The Red Star Shines on China". Why we want to develop the economy, not to make a few people rich, but to let everyone develop, and everyone can reach their potential for themselves and their families. That was the vision that Edgar Snow learned from the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, and his vision of China's future at the time. As it turned out, he was right.
"The four months I spent with the Reds was a very exciting experience. The people I met there seemed to be the freest and happiest Chinese I knew. In those who have devoted themselves to what they consider to be perfectly just, I feel intensely the vibrant hope, the enthusiasm and the invincible power of humanity. The "power" mentioned by Edgar Snow has brought great changes to China with actions.
James McCusco, dean of the Honorary College at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, USA: In the 85 years since Edgar Snow's visit to China, China has made great progress in economic, social and cultural aspects, and China has become an economic power, and the world has never seen such a country. With highways and high-speed rail lines, China's communication and transportation conditions have been greatly improved, and the people's living standards have also been greatly improved.
(Edited by Wen Yanyi)