Chinese oral history project, 1958-1975

Biographical Note

Prof. C. Martin Wilbur 韋慕廷 (1907-1997) of the East Asian Institute, Columbia University, and Prof. Franklin L. Ho 何廉 (1905-1975) officially started the Chinese oral history project in 1958 to interview and document the life of prominent Chinese political leaders of Republican China (1911-1949) living abroad. The project was financed by Columbia University, the Ford Foundation, and later by the National Endowment for the Humanities. In designing the project, Professor Wilbur and Professor Ho decided to use an intensive approach instead of the extensive approach as in the American oral history project. They envisioned the project to concentrate on a few outstanding interviewees and to produce more accurate and detailed autobiographies. A total of nineteen prominent Chinese political figures residing in the U.S. and Hong Kong were interviewed. The Chinese oral history project staff consisted of a team of scholarly interviewers with outstanding knowledge of modern Chinese history: Julie Lien-ying How (pinyin: Xia, Lianying; simplified Chinese: 夏连荫; traditional Chinese: 夏連蔭), Te-kong Tong (pinyin: Tang, Degang; simplified Chinese: 唐德刚; traditional Chinese: 唐德剛), Minta Chou Wang (王明德), Alice Kwong Bolocan, Kai-fu Tsao, Lillian Chu Chin, James Seymour, and Crystal Lorch Seidman. The scholar interviewers worked as collaborators, translators, and co-authors with the interviewees closely in the process of drafting, editing (and/or translating) the interview transcription, which later becomes their memoir. The project produced a total of sixteen finalized oral history interviews that were deposited at RBML for future scholarly research, many of which were later published. The project officially ended in the 1980s.

Scope and Contents

Interviews document the lives of seventeen prominent figures in the Republic of China (1911-1949). Narrators discuss military affairs, politics, national and regional governance, education, economics, culture, transportation, and other topics. Military campaigns are a major topic of the collection. Narrators discuss the operations and impacts of the Northern Expedition (1928-2928), Second Sino-Japanese War/War of Resistance (1937-1945), and Chinese Civil War (1945-1949). Narrators discuss the practical matters of governing during a period of upheaval. They also discuss the politics of the era and entities such as the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. Many narrators studied abroad in the United States and Europe. The collection gives insights into Chinese education and the experiences of Chinese nationals abroad, including observations from their travels. Several narrators worked as diplomats for the Republican government and offer insights into international affairs and world leaders of the mid-20th century. Oral history interviews were heavily edited by interviewees and project staff, as was a common convention during this period. As a result, transcripts and audio may differ considerably. For many interviews, only short segments were retained. Audio was recorded on open reel magnetic tapes (including Grundig tape reels), and all surviving audio for the collection has been digitized. The collection's narrators are Cai Zengji (Choy, Jun-ke; 蔡增基), Chen Guangfu (Chen, Kwang Pu; Chen, K.P.; 陳光甫 ), Chen Lifu (陳立夫), Ho Lien (Franklin L. Ho; He, Lian; 何廉 ), Hu Shih (胡適), V. K. Wellington Koo (顧維鈞), H. H. Kung (Kung, Hsiang-hsi; Kong, Xiangxi; 孔祥熙), Hanhun Li (李漢魂), Li Huang (李璜), Li Shuhua (李書華), Li Zongren (Li Tsung-jen, 李宗仁), Shen Yiyun (Shen I-yun, 沈亦云), Tsiang Tingfu Fuller (Jiang, Tingfu; 蔣廷黻), C. T. Wang (Wang, Chengting Thomas; Wang, Zhengting; 王正廷), K. C. Wu (Wu, Kuo-Cheng; 吳國楨), Zhang Fakui (Chang, Fa-k'uei; 張發奎), and Zuo, Shunsheng (Tso, Shun-sheng; 左舜生).

Subjects

• Cai, Zengji,
• Chen, Guangfu, 1881-1976
• Chen, Lifu, 1900-2001
• Chin, Lillian Chu,
• China--Foreign relations
• China--History, Military--1912-1949
• China--History--20th century
• China--History--Civil War, 1945-1949
• China--History--Northern Expedition, 1926-1928
• China--History--Republic, 1912-1949
• China--Politics and government--20th century
• China--Social life and customs
• Education--China--History--20th century
• Ho, Franklin Lien, 1897-1975
• How, Julie Lien-ying, -1982
• Hu, Shi, 1891-1962
• Koo, V. K. Wellington, 1888-1985
• Kung, H. H., 1880-1967--(Hsiang-hsi)
• Li, Hanhun, 1895-1987
• Li, Huang, 1895-1991
• Li, Shuhua, 1890-1979
• Li, Zongren, 1891-1969
• Seidman, Crystal Lorch,
• Seymour, James,
• Shen, Yiyun, 1894-1971
• Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945
• Taiwan--History--1945-
• Tsiang, Tingfu F. (Tingfu Fuller), 1895-1965
• Wang, Minta Chou,
• Wang, Zhengting, 1882-1961
• Wilbur, C. Martin, 1908-1997--(Clarence Martin)
• Wu, Kuo-Cheng, 1903-1984
• Zhang, Fakui, 1896-1980
• Zuo, Shunsheng, 1893-1969