In 1958 Professors Franklin L. Ho and C. Martin Wilbur formulated a project with in the East Asian Institute of Columbia University to record the oral recollections of prominent Chinese leaders of the Republican era, 1911-49. In the ensuing decades, sixteen outstanding figures have devoted hundreds of hours to compiling oral records of their careers. These have been transcribed, translated, researched, and edited to produce memoirs for use by scholars interested in this half-century of Chinese history. Many are accompanied by private papers. The memoirs represent the lives of men who played major roles in Republican China in such capacities as Acting President, Vice President, Ambassador to the United Nations, Ambassador to the United States and other countries, Minister of Foreign Affairs, commanders in the National Revolutionary Army, mayors of the capitals in World War II, governors of provinces divided by the Sino-Japanese War and by civil war, philosophers and spokesman for the Literary Revolution, financiers, industrialists, educators, founders of a new political party opposed to and outlawed by both the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang, and activists in the Third Force. Many attended American universities and returned to China bringing modern attitudes to the still traditional society. Their detailed reminiscences help clarify hitherto confused areas of scholarly inquiry: the historian, sociologist, literary historian, economist, and political scientist will find a wealth of material for research. Most of the private papers are in Chinese.

Preliminary Synopsis of Peter H. L. Chang (Zhang Xueliang) Oral Materials

For further information on this project please contact the Rare Book and Manuscript Library.