ＵＮＤＥＲＳＴＡＮＤＩＮＧ ＣＨＩＮＡ： Ｃｅｎｔｅｎｎｉａｌ Ｃｏｍｍｅｍｏｒａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ Ｅｄｇａｒ Ｓｎｏｗ ｉｓ Ｂｉｒｔｈ

An international symposium “Understanding China: Centennial Commemoration of Edgar Snow’s Birth”， jointly sponsored by the Peking University， the Information Office of the State Council， the China Society for People’s Friendship Studies (CSPFS)， the All-China Journalists Association (ACJA) and the University of Missouri of the United States， was held at the Yingjie Exchange Centre of the Peking University on the morning of July 19， 2005.

Huang Hua and Ling Qing， honorary president and president of the CSPFS， Zhao Qizheng， minister of the Information Office of the State Council， Shao Huaze， president of the ACJA， Min Weifang and He Fangchuan， chairman and vice chairman of the University Council of the Peking University. Wu Zhipan， vice president of the Peking University， Wang Xuezhen， director of the China Edgar Snow Research Centre， among more than 60 Chinese scholars， attended the symposium. Also invited to attend the symposium included John Deadwyler， Nancy Wilson， and John Phillips， president and vice presidents of the U.S. Edgar Snow Memorial Fund， Hamid Mowlana， professor of the American University， Sheril Bischoff， niece of Helen Snow， Esther Thorson， vice dean of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication of the University of Missouri， Peter A. DeCaro， executive director of the American Communication Association， Robert Farnsworth， Edgar Snow researcher， and more than 20 friends from the United States， Japan， Singapore and Russia who had come to Beijing specially for this activity.

The symposium has four workshops respectively centring on the topics of Edgar Snow and China， Edgar Snow and Journalism Practice， Edgar Snow and Cross Cultural Communication， and Globalization and International Communication. Hiroji Yoshida， Japanese Edgar Snow researcher， showed the unpublished Edgar Snow’s hand-written notes of his interview with Mao Zedong in Northern Shaanxi in 1936. Wang Xirong， curator of the Shanghai Lu Xun Museum， talked about how Snow came into contact with Lu Xun through Yao Ke (Yao Shennong) and translated the works of Lu Xun and other Chinese progressive writers into English and introduced them to other countries. Jin Jianfan from the Chinese Writers’ Association read out the article by Yao Xiang written specially to commemorate the friendship between Snow and her father Yao Ke and the centenary of their births. An Wei， director of the Xi’an Helen Snow Research Centre， played a disc documenting the work and life of Edgar and Helen Snow in Shaanxi and gave some explanation. Blake Antony， grandson of Sheril Bischoff who is studying at the Peking University， was also present at the symposium. He said， Edgar Snow has become part of my family’s history. Great changes have taken place in China. I want to record these changes in a new way.

A plenary meeting of the international symposium—Understanding China: Centennial Commemoration of Edgar Snow’s Birth and a round table meeting were held in the afternoon. Zhao Qizheng， Shao Huaze， Ling Qing， Min Weifang， John Deadwyler， Esther Thorson， Sheril Bischoff， and Fang Hanqi， chairman of the symposium’s academic committee， spoke on the occasion. Ling Qing said: “Edgar Snow came to China in 1928 and left in 1941. He lived in China for 13 years. As a journalist， he traveled far and wide in China and witnessed the dark rule by the Kuomintang reactionary government and the atrocities committed by the Japanese fascist aggressors in those years. He greatly sympathized with the Chinese people who lived in the depth of misery. Snow’s visit to Northern Shaanxi in 1936 was of great political and historical significance. He interviewed Mao Zedong， Zhou Enlai， Zhu De and the people’s revolutionary army men who had just completed the Long March and wrote the book Red Star over China， which was all the rage in the world and one of the most successful reporting on China by a foreigner. After the founding of New China， he visited the country three times. About two thirds of Snow’s life was connected with the people and the revolution and construction in China. His last words before passing away were: “I love China”. Snow proved himself to be a sincere friend of the Chinese people.

John Deadwyler said， on behalf of the Edgar Snow Memorial Fund， I extend warm congratulations on the convening of this symposium. The Chinese people regard Snow as a true friend， for which we from his hometown Kansas City feel especially happy.

Huang Hua， honorary president of the CSPFS， made an impromptu speech. He talked about what Snow saw and heard in Saraqi， Inner Mongolia in 1929. Inner Mongolia then had been hit by natural disasters for three consecutive years. The vast area of land was a scene of utter desolation. People were hard pressed and lived in misery. Snow saw a lot of starving people—men and women， old and young who were just bags of bones. They sat on doorsteps begging from passersby. There were lacklustre eyes and a look of helplessness on their faces. They were on the verge of death from starvation. This was an important awakening and turning point in Snow’s life. Huang Hua recalled how he and Snow got to know each other. He said: “We met in 1935. We often gathered at his home to discuss what he learned about China. He could see what the Chinese fascists were doing from the perspective of an anti-fascist. The underground Chinese Communist Party organization gave him and Helen great help. They， carrying with them cameras and a cinematograph， often went to gather news according to the route and time we had suggested. In 1936 he planned to go to Northern Shaanxi to do interviews. When he told me about it I said to him that there was no problem and that I could give him assistance. We got together in Xi’an first and then split into two groups to go to Northern Shaanxi. Under the cover of the Northeast Army he went first， I followed. We went through Yanan and arrived at Baoan， and met with Mao Zedong， Zhu De， Zhou Enlai and other leaders and some Red Army commanders. The interviews he had with them left deepest impressions upon him and strengthened his determination to do all that he could to make contributions to the progress of the Chinese people.” Huang Hua also talked about how he went to see Snow who was critically ill in Switzerland in 1971. Huang Hua was attending a Security Council meeting in Addis Ababa when a telegraph came. Entrusted by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China， Huang went to convey solicitude from Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou. He started out immediately. Huang said: “Snow was in a coma. When he came to and saw us he reached out for my hand and that of Dr. Ma Haide (George Hatem)， saying: ‘Three old red bandits have got together again’. What a humorous person he was!”

At the round table meeting， Prof. Xiong Chengyu， vice dean of the School of Journalism and Communication of Qinghua University， said: “Snow used modern teaching methods to teach journalism and communication. He had sense of responsibility and love. He loved China as well as the United States and on this platform of love he worked hard to promote communication among all humankind in the world through various channels.”

Yin Yungong， director of the Institute of Journalism and Communication under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， said: “Snow had sense of history. As a journalist， his sense of history was greater than other journalists. He had his own appraisals of the historical events he saw in China such as the December 9 Movement， the Xi’an Incident， the Red Army’s Long March， the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression， Kuomintang and the views of the Communist Party. A journalist without sense of history can not produce any valuable works that will be handed down.”

He Fangchuan， vice chairman of the University Council of the Peking University， said: “I took part in the meeting to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Edgar Snow’s birth in Huhhot in 1985. Today I am here attending this centennial commemoration of his birth， all kinds of feelings well up in me. Many elderly friends attending the meeting in 1985 are still persevering in this field spreading the seeds of culture. They are admirable. When Edgar Snow came to China， our country was suffering from oppression and humiliation and was fighting for its survival and an ideal tomorrow. Having learned the actual conditions of China， Snow saw a future China full of hope， and then wrote the immortal masterpiece Red Star over China. We will always cherish the memory of Edgar Snow and his spirit will live for ever.”

Prof. Hamid Mowlana of the American University said， what made Snow a famous person was not only because that he was a journalist， but more importantly because he covered events across national boundaries. He never worked for any single newspaper. Because he had freed himself from restrictions by the media， he could speak what was on his mind and write what he wanted to write.

Gong Wenxiang， chair of the round table meeting and vice executive dean of the School of Journalism and Communication of the Peking University， said in conclusion: “Snow was a great friend of the Chinese people. He made brilliant achievements in journalism. He had made immortal contributions to enabling the world to see that the dawn is breaking in China at a special time. As journalists， we should remember our responsibilities at all time and report the truth. In commemorating Snow， we should learn from his professional ethics of journalism.”

After the meeting， the participants went to pay respects and lay flowers at Snow’s tomb by the Weiming Lake in the Peking University campus.

The School of Journalism and Communication of the Peking University has published Communicating Across Cultures: Edgar Snow as an Example—An International Symposium in Commemoration of Edgar Snow’s Centennary. The post graduate students of the school shot a video film Edgar Snow for this commemoration. A 5-part TV film Edgar Snow was broadcasted on CCTV 10.