'Who is CPC?': Edgar Snow, the first Western journalist to introduce Red China to the world

A Red Army soldier doing high-jump/Photo by Edgar Snow

When asked by Snow, "What do you think of the Red Army", a bare-footed farmer boy said, "The Red Army is the army for poor people, and they fight for our rights". And when asked "How do you know they liked the Reds", the soldiers answered, "They made us a thousand, ten thousands, of shoes, with their own hands. Every home sent sons to our Red Army." "We, the Red Army, are the people."

After over 100 days in Shaanbei, Snow found the answer he had been looking for. He was fascinated by this unique charm of the East, something he believed representing the light of rejuvenation for the ancient nation of China. For him, the Communists were the most outstanding men and women he had met in China in the past decade with the "military discipline, political morale, and the will to victory", and "for sheer dogged endurance, and ability to stand hardship without complaint", they were "unbeatable". He recalled his four-month time with the Red Army as a most inspiring experience, during which he had met with the most free and happy Chinese he'd ever known. In these people who devoted themselves to what they believed was the right and just cause, Snow felt a vibrant hope, passion and the unbeatable strength of mankind, something he had never felt again ever since.

In the preface to the Chinese edition of Red Star Over China, Snow attributed the global popularity of the book not to its style or form, but the stories. According to him, the stories were created by the young Chinese revolutionaries and based on the accounts of Mao Zedong, Peng Dehuai, Zhou Enlai and many others. What he did was simply writing them down in words as fair as the water running in spring. The spirit, strength, desire and passion that made these people invincible represented the richest and most glorious of human history.

After returning to the United States, Snow continued to share stories about China's war against Japanese aggression in his country and with the world. He regarded the Chinese people's cause as one for truth, fairness and justice. Snow went back to China in 1970, standing side by side with Mao Zedong on the Tian'anmen gate tower. That moment was the highlight of his life-long bond with China's revolution.