f V •.4BU. L' - •. r \ M '/ MS f tf- Ml- MA S s 1 i ... VOL. XXI NO. 6 JUNE 1972 PUBLISHED MONTHLY IN ENGLISH, FRENCH, SPANISH, ARABIC AND RUSSIAN BY THE CHINA WELFARE INSTITUTE (SOONG CHING LING, CHAIRMAN) CONTENTS EDGAR SNOW —IN MEMORIAM Soong Ching Ling 2 EDGAR SNOW (Poem) Rewi Alley 3 A TRIBUTE Ma Hai-teh {Dr. George Hatem) 4 HE SAW THE RED STAR OVER CHINA Talitha Gerlach 6 TSITSIHAR SAVES ITS FISH Lung Chiang-wen 8 A CHEMICAL PLANT FIGHTS POLLUTION 11 THE LAND OF BAMBOO 14 REPORT FROM TIBET: LINCHIH TODAY 16 HOW WE PREVENT AND TREAT OCCUPA TIONAL DISEASES 17 WHO INVENTED PAPER? 20 LANGUAGE CORNER: LOST AND FOUND 21 JADE CARVING 22 STEELWORKERS TAP HIDDEN POTENTIAL An Tung 26 WHAT I LEARNED FROM THE WORKERS AND PEASANTS Tsien Ling-hi 30 COVER PICTURES: YOUTH AMATEUR ATHLETIC SCHOOL 33 Front: Traditional sword- play by a student of wushu CHILDREN AT WUSHU 34 at the Peking Youth THEY WENT TO THE COUNTRY 37 Amateur Athletic School {see story on p. 33). GEOGRAPHY OF CHINA: LAKES 44 Inside front: Before the OUR POSTBAG 48 puppets go on stage. Back: Sanya Harbor, Hoi- nan Island. Inside back: On the Yu- Editorial Office: Wai Wen Building, Peking (37), China. shui River, Huayuan county, Cable: "CHIRECON" Peking. General Distributor: Hunan province. GUOZI SHUDIAN, P.O. Box 399, Peking, China. EDGAR SNOW-IN MEMORIAM •'V'^i»i . Chairman Mao and Edgar Snow in north Shcnsi, 1936. 'P DGAR SNOW, the life-long the river" and seek out the Chinese that today his book stands up well •*-' friend of the Chinese people, revolution in its new base. This against the background of interven struck down by cancer, peacefully base had been reached after the in ing history. In the northwest he breathed his last on February 15, credible hardships of the Long found Chairman Mao and the other which this year was the Spring March over 25,000 li. In Red Star leaders of China's revolution living Festival, today's name for the New Over China Edgar Snow reported in loess caves like everybody else. Year according to China's old lunar his findings: that the Communist He interviewed Chairman Mao at calendar. In the first few days of Party and the leaders of China's length and in this way learned this "old" new year, President revolution — who had so often much about China's past, present Nixon came to China. Though it been "reliably" reported dead by and future. It meant a great en was not given to Edgar Snow to be the hirelings of imperialism out of richment for him — historically as around during this visit, his life's wishful thinking — had made this well as philosophically. work thereby came to a full cycle. trek a vibrant victory despite ter In his years of stay in China, Over forty years ago at the age rible loss of human life and were while teaching at Yenching Univer giving the Chinese people a new of 22, after graduating from the sity, Edgar Snow befriended the hope, showing them a new road school of journalism, Edgar Snow Chinese, learned their language and came to China and reported the forward through collective effort recognized as his life's work the and struggle. facts as he found them. For a while search for friendship between the he worked for an American weekly In his unquenchable thirst for people of China and the American in Shanghai and contributed arti truth and knowledge, Edgar Snow people. In those years he came in cles to various publications in the wrote down what he saw and heard contact with a number of under United States. In 1936 he had the and learned in China's northwest, ground Communists. His writings courage to go to "the other side of and it is a fitting epitaph for him of that period, including transla- CHINA RECONSTRUCTS tions from contemporary short productive labor, the ravages and people said that a dialogue with stories, gave poignant glimpses of hardships they suffered. President Nixon was necessary to resolve the problems between the life of the Chinese people and His sympathy for the Chinese China and the U.S.A., led to the made them understandable abroad "Reds" gained Edgar Snow many opening of friendly contacts be although they had been callously enemies. During the witch-hunt tween the Chinese and American called "inscrutable". period in the United States he was peoples after an interruption of maligned and few papers or maga To me and a few Left-wing com more than twenty years. This was zines dared publish his articles. But rades who went to Hongkong after one of the objects to which Edgar nothing could change his deter Shanghai was invaded by Japanese Snow had dedicated his life's work. mination to bridge the gulf be militarists, Edgar Snow was a gr^t tween the peoples of China and In the midst of writing another help in starting the China Defence America. book, the most important one of his League, forerunner of the China life, illness relentlessly struck him After liberation Edgar Snow paid Welfare Institute. It was through down. The Chinese government three visits to the People's Re this organization alone that news of flew doctors and nurses to help public— in 1960, 1964 and 1970. the war in China was enabled to him, and he was much comforted. Indefatigably he retraced his steps spread abroad, and medical sup It is a tragedy that Edgar Snow did over all the areas he had visited so plies and other contributions for not live to see his endeavors guerrilla regions were requested long ago, faithfully recording the brought to fruition. But the Chi and received. These we sent with great changes he saw and how the nese people will always gratefully great difficulty to their destination most populous nation on earth was remember Edgar Snow, the tireless in the interior. He was also an en pulling itself up by its own boot partisan of friendship between the thusiastic co-initiator of Indusco, straps. Chinese and American peoples, and Chinese Industrial Cooperatives, or Although he did not know it future generations on both sides of the "Gung Ho" (work together) then, the long talks he held with the Pacific will be indebted to him movement during the war, which Chairman Mao in December 1970, for the legacy he left them in their helped people to overcome, through in which the leader of the Chinese researches on Chinese history. Edgar Snow REWI ALLEY Looking out at me the world in every major from the morning's paper language. the quiet steady face the understanding eyes He did not die rich this good American; never of the American dreamer with more than Just who saw how dreams enough to get by; yet ever could be made come true with ordinary people, and who caught some millions of them, of the fire of the Chinese hanging on his words Revolution and its leadership gaining through him so that along with them, new clarity. OS they so incredibly fought, did he fight with his pen Gone from us in body for all he came to believe in. his spirit living through Yes, he suffered all right, his writing is this man not simple to face those wild whose heart was with Northwest highlands in search fighters and to whom of the Red Army that youth of the future will look the then-world called bandits in gratitude for the classic only to be exterminated; "Red Star Over China" not simple to get their that ever remained his star, story and paint it so deftly his hope for a saner so that it rocked around cleaner world to be. JUNE 1972 A Tribute MA HAI-TEH (Dr. George Hatem) HIRTY-SIX years ago Edgar Snow and I went into what was then the unknown land of Communist China. What we saw and heard Ed has written and ably interpreted time and again, com- mittedly and with great sympathy. Both of us were very young when we sat together with Chairman Mao Tsetung and heard the story of the immense struggle and problems facing the Chinese people, of how they were seeking to free them selves from the burdens of semi- feudal semi-colonial oppression internally and the growing aggres sion from abroad. Ed, with his sense of historical appreciation, asked numerous ques Edgar Snow in Switzerland in 1969. tions night after night in the candlelight, painstakingly writing queries was always why were these The forces seemed so meagre, just out in longhand Chairman Mao's people so dedicated, why did this a few thousand dedicated men and brilliant delineation of the goals dedication encompass the people women, and aspirations of the Chinese peo of the whole world? ple. I learnt about China and com Ed turned to me and said, "They munism from these and many sub One bitter windy day I stood are immensely brave to take on the sequent interviews, and from travel with Ed on a log-supported plat whole world." with Ed throughout the communist form attending a special meeting From those early days, Ed was regions of Shensi, Kansu and Ning- in honor of "international friends". moved to an identification with the sia. Ed himself thought over, exam All the "red armies" assembled struggles of the Chinese people and ined and re-examined these new filled no more than a football-sized their leaders, especially Mao Tse and stimulating ideas, sometimes field.