“They Helped to Build New China”

This book tells stories of China through the author’s 15-year-long experience of teaching， traveling， and participating in cultural activities， telling his China stories in song， writing and speaking. Mark Levine came to China in his late 50’s and that is where this book begins.

Singing My China Stories to the World

Mark Levine

China Intercontinental Press

September 2021

138.00 （CNY）

Mark Levine

Dr. Mark Levine is an American public sociologist who spent nearly three decades working as a full-time volunteer with organizations of low-income workers across the United States. Arriving in China in 2005， he first taught at Huaiyin Normal University for two years， and then began working at Minzu University of China where he is still teaching today. He is also a well-known speaker， and a singer-songwriter who has written more than 70 American country/folk style songs about China.

A few weeks after our first visit with Huang Huanbi， she calls Fu Han and invites us to a tree-planting event on the outskirts of Beijing. It is in an empty field where saplings are being planted. Different organizations bring their members， pay a fee for each tree， and plant them. Shovels， other tools， and water are available， and all that is needed is some labor.

The group we are with is the International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives （ICCIC）， also known as Gong He， which means work together. The organization was formed in the 1930s to promote small-scale self-supporting cooperatives， primarily in rural areas. The goal was to create employment for workers and refugees and buy goods to support the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Gong He was founded at the suggestion of， and with help from， a number of old foreign friends， including the New Zealander Rewi Alley and the Americans Edgar Snow （author of Red Star Over China）， Helen Foster Snow （author of My China Years）， and Ida Pruitt （author of Daughter of Han）. Epstein was also involved in forming the organization in cooperation with a number of Chinese officials and individuals.

One of the first tree-planting participants I meet is a 94-year-old woman named Isabel Crook. We are riding in the same car on the way to meet a van that will take us to the site. As I often do when I meet a non-Chinese， I ask Isabel how long she has been in China. She answers， “About 60 years，” and to say I am surprised is clearly an understatement. Equally impressive as her tenure in China is the fact that despite her age， Isabel is wielding a shovel and filling the hole where a sapling has been planted. Two of Isabel’s three sons are also at the event. All three， who are in their late 50s， were born in China， attended primary and middle school in China， and went abroad for college. While all three are British， Canadian or American citizens or hold multiple citizenships in some combination of those countries， all are native Chinese speakers. Despite being fluent in English， when they are together their language of choice is Chinese.

Although different， Isabel’s story is just as interesting as Eppy’s. She was born in Sichuan Province to parents who were Methodist missionaries from Canada. She went to Canada for her education， returning to Sichuan as a graduate student in anthropology to undertake field research. In China， she met her future husband， Davidn.

Many Chinese who became diplomats， translators， and top professors in foreign studies were taught by David and Isabel. All of their early students have long since reached retirement age， as have their students’ students.

Through Isabel’s son Michael， who established one of the first international schools in Beijing， I begin to meet other children of the old foreign friends. Michael grew up with many of them. Their parents had come from the US， the UK， Canada， Russia， Singapore， India， Italy， Brazil， and other places. Many of their parents were in China for 5 to 15 years. Many of their offspring are still in China too or， after leaving for education or work， have returned “home” in China. Meeting some of these children （and even grandchildren）， I realize that few people， Chinese or foreigner， know much about them. I approach Professor Guo Yingjin， then the dean of the School of Foreign Studies at MUC， about inviting some of them to speak to students. He is quite enthusiastic， as is the director of the Office of International Relations at our school， He Keyong.

While they have diverse views about China today and Chinese history， all of them consider China their home and all are unhesitatingly proud of their relatives’ contributions to building New China and are eager to tell their stories. Although sponsored by the School of Foreign Studies and the Office of International Relations， the eight sessions in our “They helped build New China” lecture series draw students， and even faculty， from all across MUC. Held on different days and times， the smallest attendance is 75 on a day during an exam period. Half of the sessions are standing room only， ranging from 105 to 125 people in the audience. After presenting these lectures at MUC， I am contacted by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs. They had learned about this lecture series and are eager to educate more students about the contributions of these old foreign friends of China. They encourage me to take these lectures to other universities as well.

Several months later I am at an event at Peking University where I meet two officials from the school’s Edgar Snow Research Center. I describe these lectures to Dr. Li Yansong， the center’s director and vice president of Peking University， and Dr. Sun Hua， a journalism professor and the center’s deputy director. Both are excited and agree that educating Chinese youth about these people is very important. Dr. Sun invites me to run an abbreviated series of presentations about foreign journalists at Peking University. During the spring semester of 2012， second and third generation foreign friends come forward to tell the stories of the “old foreign friends” so that their contributions will be remembered. While these presentations are extremely valuable， there is one thing that I believe needs to be added， so I submit a proposal to Peking University that this lecture series be organized as a formal class. Instead of an informal series of lectures that students may or may not attend， with no homework and no other assignments， I suggest it should be part of the regular curriculum and that students should have formal assignments. This is approved and during the spring semester of 2012， this class is held. There are more than a dozen speakers， and students are given assigned reading. 32 students select one book from the books written by Epstein， the Snows， Agnes Smedley， Anna Louise Strong or others to read， write a brief report， and give a speech about it in class.

The response from students is tremendous as they learn about the contributions that foreigners made to China in the mid-20th century and how these foreign friends viewed this period of Chinese history. Li Shenghuan， a sophomore journalism major， wrote， “The People’s War by Israel Epstein is one of the best books to understand Chinese history during World War II… It can help us know the history of China and the importance of justice and objectivity in journalism.” Another journalism student， Jin Zhenghao， wrote， “I think today’s students should read The People’s War… The reader can feel the courage of the 23-year-old on the battlefield and his mission as a reporter.” He Chengmin， a South Korean undergraduate studying at Peking University， read Good Deeds and Gunboats： Two Centuries of American-Chinese Encounters by the American journalist Hugh Deane. “By reading this book， I learned not only historical events but also a new perspective，” he said. “I expanded my way of thinking， especially about the American perspective on China.” He did not limit the book’s value to only Chinese students， saying， “I believe it could help many students today experience a unique part of history， so I recommend this book to foreign students in China as well.”

Agnes Smedley’s China Fights Back is a compilation of her news dispatches while she accompanied the Eighth Route Army during the Japanese invasion. Yan Danhua， a student in the Peking University class， read this and wrote， “I think that this is worthwhile for students today to read… Her diary was very interesting… （it） makes us want to know more about what happens next… Therefore， I highly recommend it for students to read.” It is clear that the lectures and reading assignments increased the students’ appreciation and respect for the contributions made by foreigners throughout critical periods of Chinese history.