This review is about the 1938 book Red Star Over China by Edgar Snow. I read the 1968 edition (reprinted 1994, Grove Press), which contained numerous additions and corrections to the original work. Snow was one of the first Western journalists to go behind Communist lines in the early 1930s and this book was the first comprehensive account of life under the Communists. I first came across this book in an exhibit in Shanghai Library in 2017 (pictured below), and have been wanting to read it ever since.
It is a unique experience reading a book written almost a century ago, commenting on the genesis of a party which now controls the 2nd largest nation on Earth. The first thing to note about the book is that it is merely the narrative of one man — it does not claim to be an accurate historical record of the events or characters involved. The real highlight of the book is the vivid description of life in the Communist soviets, or regions under their control. Small details, such as the operation of the Red Army University (p. 114), the establishment of the United Front (p. 328), and the fervour of Marxist ideology among the peasants, encapsulated in the Red Theatre (p. 119), give an insight into the daily life and philosophy of the Communists and how they increased support among the peasants. Indeed, the whole account “gave a prospect of the future, …, which was to prove disastrously prophetic”, as John Fairbank, the noted historian of China puts it in the introduction.
The book’s political message (and there is a clear political message of support for the Communists) remains relevant today for several reasons. First, the paramount importance of politics in all areas of Communist life is shown. The material support given by the Communists to the pesantry is shown, but this goes hand in hand with political education and ideology. As Peng Dehuai puts it (pp. 273–274): “Only the Communist Party wants to and can satisfy the demands of the pesantry, understands the necessity for deep, broad, constant political and organisational work among the pesantry”. Second, it reinforces the need for the Marxist ideology to be established through conscious education. This was the crux of the campaign to form a United Front against Japan, not uniting China’s various warlords, armies and the Guomindang Government by force, but rather through patriotism and “[raising] the political consciousness of the masses” (Peng Dehuai, p. 332). All this has implications as we witness a similar push by Chairman Xi to unite his country against perceived foreign competition.
The book itself is remarkably easy to follow — the language is not stilted in any form, and retains its character even after many years have passed. However, some of the biographical information has since been proven outdated, and in my opinion can be safely skipped. Other portions which appear less relevant include the section on Sino-Soviet policy, and the last section on the Xi’an Incident. It is a long read, at 418 pages, with the addition of over 100 pages of notes and an index. One minor note for Chinese readers is, as with all books of this period, the romanisation is in Wade-Giles, not in Pinyin. This means that the spelling of names and phrases will not correspond with modern-day equivalents (which I have used in this review). This is however, easily remedied by Google search.
As an aside, this book is apt to be read after something a little more modern, such as Richard McGregor’s book Xi Jinping: The Backlash, where some of his comments can be put into a historical context.
Overall I give this book a 3.5/5.
