A Letter to Uncle Snow: The Red Star Shines Over China

In the woods beside Weiming Lake at Peking University lies a very special tomb. Inscribed on the tombstone are the words "Tomb of Edgar Snow, an American Friend of the Chinese People".Here lies Edgar Snow, the American writer and journalist who wrote Red Star Over China, a book that had a global impact. He was named one of the "100 Heroic Models Who Made Significant Contribution to the Founding of the People's Republic of China".

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and also the 90th anniversary of Edgar Snow's interviews in northern Shaanxi, China. As the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March approaches, Sow's nephew Eric Foster came to Snow’s tomb to pay his respects to his uncle and read a letter he had written, telling his uncle about "the China under the Red Star."

90 years ago, Edgar Snow broke through the blockade and entered the Northern Shaanxi Soviet Area from Yanjing University (now Peking University), where he taught, to personally explore the truth of "Red China" and wrote Red Star Over China. This was the first work to systematically introduce the Red Army’s Long March to the world. The book has since been translated into nearly 20 languages, published and disseminated. Enabling hundreds of millions of readers to learn about the Chinese Red Army and the Long March.

In the letter, Eric Foster told his uncle Snow that in May this year he had met in Wuhan with descendants of "Pastor Wang", the man who had escorted Snow into the Soviet Area. In July he had retraced the Long March route, from Tongxin in Ningxia to Diebu, Minxian, and Hadapu in Gansu; and that also in July, Xinhua News Agency and Peking University had organized a "Retracing Snow’s Route" event, where he attended a seminar. The Chinese people have never forgotten their American friend Edgar Snow.

Eric Foster spent 25 years traveling through more than 30 countries and has settled in Beijing since 2010. He told his uncle that China today is changing rapidly and is attracting many new-era "Snows" from all over the world, while young Chinese are also spreading abroad to share their stories with the wider world. The Red Star shines over China, and it also lights the way for mutual understanding and exchange across mountains and seas.

Produced by
China Center for Edgar Snow Studies, Peking University
Cnhubei  (Hubei Daily Network)
Yichang International Communication Center
Advisor：Sun Hua，Fan Xingsheng
Planners：Chen Junwang，Wang Wei
Coordinators：Zhong Nan，Yang Chunyan
Core Creators：Wang Shuxian，Ou Yang，Xu Chi，Bao Xiyang 
Editors：Wu Jiajia，Fang Tian，Liu Fei，Cao Ni，Pei Zhenzhen
Designe：Li Yanqing