In 1937, the same year that Red Star Shines on China, Edgar Snow's then-wife, Helen Snow, set foot on the land of Yan'an and interviewed a number of Red Army generals, soldiers, and ordinary people. More than four months in Yan'an made her fall deeply in love with China and was also impressed by the fighting spirit of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese Red Army. After that, she spent her life fighting to build a bridge of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.
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At the entrance of City Center Park in Saida, Utah, usa, stands a bronze statue of Helen Snow.
In 1931, 24-year-old Helen Snow came to Shanghai, China, by boat from the small city of Saida, and began an indissoluble relationship with China. Helen witnessed the history of the Chinese Revolution. After her husband, Edgar Snow, finished covering "Red China," Helen wanted to learn more about the Chinese Communist Party and made up her mind to go to Yan'an.
Craig Jones, professor emeritus at southern Utah University: I think she's an idealist, she thinks revolution may be China's best hope, I think she sees the necessity of an agrarian revolution, she wants to understand that movement.
Eric Hale, professor of political science at Brigham Young University in the United States: Many of the students Helen knew were members of the communist movement or people who supported the communist movement.
When Helen Snow finally arrived in Yan'an in 1937, she interviewed the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party and met with fighters, workers, peasants, literary and artistic workers, women, and students in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. The Chinese Communist Party's distinct responsibility for the times and deep people's feelings resonated with Helen. In 1938, she published The Inside Story of Red China, showing the world Yan'an, which was full of hope and vitality.
Adam Foster, president of the Helen Foster Snow Foundation in the United States: (The leader of the Chinese Communist Party said at the time) The country should unite, we should stop the civil war, we need to come together. I think Helen agrees with that very much, and that's why she wants to tell the story of the soldiers and leaders she met, because she thinks the message is very important. At the time, it was clear that only the Chinese Communist Party really wanted China to unite.
Now Brigham Young University has a lot of collections of Helen. Snow's objects, manuscripts, and photographs taken during his interview in Yan'an. In fact, Helen Snow not only recorded the history of the Chinese Red Army in Yan'an at that time and showed it to the world, but more importantly, she wrote many books about China after she returned to the United States. In her own words, "I want to be a bridge, a bridge to build friendship between China and the United States."
John Foster, nephew of Helen Snow: Yes, that's her mission, to build a bridge between Chinese and America.
Helen Snow's niece Debra Foster: Heart-to-heart communication, and that's what I think is the bridge, which is to build and keep that relationship alive between us. Because that's what I think, the whole world is like this, it doesn't matter what culture you come from, it doesn't matter what kind of system you come from, but we all expect people to have communication from the heart.
(Edited by Wen Yanyi)