Helen Foster Snow:
American Journalist in the Chinese Revolution
Spencer Standing
Daniel Nelson
Jr. Division
Group Website
Annotated Bibliography
American Journalist in the Chinese Revolution
Spencer Standing
Daniel Nelson
Jr. Division
Group Website
Annotated Bibliography
Primary Sources: (12)
An, Wei. An Wei Wenji (Collected writings of An Wei). Beijing: Guangming Ribao Chubanshe, 2014. We received an autographed copy of An Wei's book during our interview with BYU Asian Studies' professor, Eric
Hyer. The book is divided into two sections, the first in Chinese, and the last part, in English. It has photographs
of Helen's work with the Chinese people, as well as An Wei's work on her behalf and with her. The writings are
documentation and interpretation of Helen's work and his involvement with her in promoting goodwill between
nations. He was her personal guide and translator when she returned to China and has established the Helen
Foster Snow museum in Xi'an and the translation scholarship in her honor. We cited him as a primary source
because of his personal involvement with Helen during her post-China years.
Bischoff, Sheril Foster. Bridging, A Photo Essay on the Life of Helen Foster Snow, Chinese translation by An-Wei & Mary
Niu, 1997. Yorba Linda, CA: Shumway Family History Services, 1997. Print.
This book was very critical part of our website. It gave lots of pictures of Helen in China which we were able to
use in our website. Many of these photos are one-of-a-kind that were from the Foster family collection.
Besides supplying us with primary source pictures it had excellent information we were able to use about
the INDUSCO.
Bischoff, Sheril Foster. "Helen Foster Snow’s Contributions during the Sino-Japanese War." Shanghai Jiao Tong
University, Shanghai, China. 11 May 2016. Speech.
Sheril Bischoff sent us several speeches she has given as a primary spokesperson and expert on her aunt's work. This speech was given in Shanghai, and covers Helen's the vital role Helen played in initiating the Gung-Ho
Industrial Cooperatives which sustained the Chinese economy and saved lives during the war with Japan. It also
promotes her journalistic integrity, her humanitarianism, her heroism to the Chinese people, and her ability to
create propaganda and mobilize a group of students to protest and persuade their leader to fight the Japanese
and save their country.
Bischoff, Sheril Foster. "Helen Foster Snow's Passion for Bridging Cultures, Families and Generations." Helen Foster
Snow Symposium. Wuhan, China. 11 May 2016. Speech.
Helen Foster Snow's niece, Sheril Foster Bischoff, and her husband, Garth, served as Co-trustees of the Helen
Foster Snow Literary Trust. At Helen's request, Sheril officially represented her aunt for the first time 1987 in
Xi'an, China. During the more than twenty-five years that followed, she represented her aunt in Shaanxi
Province, Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai, South Korea, and at events in honor of Helen Snow in the United States. As
Helen's life was drawing to a close, the Bischoffs made several trips to her home in Connecticut to help prepare
her voluminous papers to be sent to Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Sheril spent nearly three months
assisting librarians with identification and organization of Helen's materials. On October 14, 1997, Sheril spoke at
the Memorial Meeting held for Helen in the Great Hall of the People. In the years since Helen’s passing, Sheril
organized three delegations of about twenty to visit China in 1997, 1998, and 2007. She has continued to
represent Helen at events honoring her in China, South Korea, and the U.S. In 2007 three generations of Helen’s
family met in Beijing and Xi’an to attend symposium honoring the 100th birthday of their aunt, Helen Foster
Snow. This was one of several speeches we read that she sent us that gave us a summary of her life and
contributions. We used a quote from Utah Senator Orrin Hatch on our legacy website page from this talk that he
sent as an expression of condolence at Helen's passing to His Excellency Li Daoyu Ambassador of the People's
Republic of China.
Bischoff, Sheril Foster. "Personal Communication about Helen Foster Snow." Message to the author. 12 March
2016. E-mail.
Sheril Bischoff is the niece of Helen Foster Snow and expert on her life. We listed her as a primary
source because not only did she know Helen personally, but she was a witness and participant in many of the
events in Helen's post-China life. She called us on the phone and then we exchanged several emails about the
impact of McCarthyism and opposition to Helen and Edgar when they returned to the United States.
"Helen Foster Snow Papers." MSS 2219, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young
University.
We got permission to enter the BYU special collections wing of the library and review documents that were
donated from Helen’s personal and professional writing. It gave us an appreciation for the vast amount of
writing she produced. Everything was either handwritten or typed on a manual typewriter. She was a
journalist and she documented everything she experienced for 10 years in China, and kept writing until her
death. We used a few scanned letters for the website under sources.
"Interview with Sheril Bischoff." E-mail interview. 28 Apr. 2016.
We had the privilege of contacting Sheril Bischoff, Helen's niece and biographer. She is the author of "Bridging: A
Photo Essay on the Life of Helen Foster Snow." In the early 1990's, she and her husband, as Trustees of Helen’s
Literary Trust, prepared and packed over 300 boxes of film, letters, hundreds of historic photos and other
material Helen had produced about 1930's China. The collection donated to the Brigham Young University
special collections library is estimated at $350,000 with rare and one-of-a-kind photographs. She corresponded
with me by email and helped improve the historical context and accuracy of my website by referring us to Dr.
Eric Hyer. She was delighted at this NHD project that will educate others about Helen's work. She said that our
NHD project has fulfilled these goals from the Helen Literary Trust: (1) that her papers would be available for
today's students and those of the coming generations; and, (2) that they would receive the widest possible
exposure to future generations.
Snow, Helen Foster. My China Years. New York: Morrow, 1984. Print.
This book is an autobiography by Helen Foster Snow talking about her experiences and interactions in China.
She details her interviews with top Chinese leaders in Yenan and Peking which helped us a lot when writing the
encounter part of our website. She also explained what she did with the Gung-Ho cooperatives, which helped us
understand what they were and how much of an impact it made on the Chinese people and their economy.
Snow, Helen Foster. Unlacquered Tales from China. Guilford, CT.: Royal Printing Services, 1992. Print.
This primary source, written by Helen, is a compilation of her writings and experiences with others while in
China. It also included a few translations of Chinese literature which she edited. It gave us an insight on her
personality and daily life.
Wales, Nym. The Chinese Communists: Sketches and Autobiographies of the Old Guard. Book 1: Red Dust. Book 2:
Autobiographical Profiles and Biographical Sketches. Westport, CT: Greenwood Pub., 1972. Print.
Since Helen Snow was a woman in the 1930's and 1940's, she often used a pseudonym of Nym Wales to publish
her works. So this book was really written by Helen herself. It is divided into two parts. The first part is her book
"Red Dust" about military propaganda and teachers and students. She also wrote about doctors, ordinary
Chinese and women of that time. There are biographies and sketches along with photos of the subjects she took
pictures of herself. The second part of this book is called "Autobiographical and Profiles and Biographical
Sketches." She knew that by interviewing the wives of military and political leaders, she could have a unique
perspective and inside look on personal lives.
"Wei, An. Interview on Helen Foster Snow." Personal interview. Orem, Utah. 23 March 2016.
We made personal contact with Sheril Bischoff, niece of Helen Foster Snow and author of her life. She put us
in contact with An Wei and we were able to schedule a Skype interview with him from China. The interview
lasted over 60 minutes, but we edited it down to the most essential parts and used quotes from it on the
website. He also provide us with personal photographs and the document about the translation award. An
Wei's titles are Senior Translator, Writer, and President of Shaanxi Translation Association, and Honorary
Chairman of Edgar and Helen Snow Studies Center.
Wei, An. "Personal Communication about Helen Foster Snow." Email message to the author. 12 March 2016. E-mail.
After our interview with An Wei, we continued to communicate with him through e-mail and learned many
more vital things such as historical context when Helen returned to America. We used a quote from these emails
in the, After China section. We also added the photos of the museum in Xi'an, and the scholarship application
that he sent us.
Secondary Sources: (32)
Biography.com Editors. "Jawaharlal Nehru Biography." http://www.biography.com/people/jawaharlal-nehru-
9421253, n.d. Web.
We used this for the picture of Jawaharlal Nehru on the INDUSCO page and we also learned
some information about him.
Brigham Young University. "Helen Foster Snow Collection." Mormonism, Utah, and the West. Brigham Young
University, 4 June 2013. Web. 12 Dec. 15.
The following website, http://sites.lib.byu.edu/muw/20thcentury/bibliographies/snow/, describes her
accomplishments and her life in China. It also includes a list of secondary sources, along with how to access
them through the Harold B. Lee Library.
"Building Bridges of Love -- China.org.cn." Building Bridges of Love -- China.org.cn. China Daily, 3 Sept. 2007. Web.
30 Jan. 2016.
This website, http://www.china.org.cn/english/LivinginChina/222944.htm, gave a basic introduction to Helen
Foster Snow and her encounters and exchanges in China. From this website we used a picture of Helen
encountering and interviewing Mao Zedong.
Cao, Katy Xinquan. Helen Foster Snow: A Journalist in the Chinese Revolution in the 1930s. N.p.: n.p., 2002. Print.
This book went in depth and gave lots of good information regarding the Gung-Ho Cooperatives as well as
giving some information about her interviews. The author presents a thesis about Helen and her works and
defends it.
Chaney, Charles C. "Helen 'Peg' Foster Snow (1907 - 1997) - Find A Grave Memorial. Dameron-damron, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
This website, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=26840417&PIpi=10950162
gave a brief description of the life of Helen and talked about her funeral. This helped us understand her
importance to the Chinese people.
Choate, Amy. "Amy Choate-Nielsen: Statue to Honor Cedar City Native." DeseretNews.com. Deseret News, 10 Nov.
2009. Web. 09 Jan. 2016.
The website, http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705343408/Statue-to-honor-Cedar-City-native.html?
pg=all gives a description of her life and describes the details of the statue that was made for her. This helped
us gain more information about the statue that we wrote about in the website.
Fox, Ronald. "China Treasures from BYU." DeseretNews.com. Deseret News, 17 July 2011. Web. 9 Jan. 2016.
The pictures located at the following website, http://m.deseretnews.com/photo/700152507, are first
hand photos of Helen’s life inside and outside of China. Also included in the website are several copies of
Helen’s personal letters with Chinese authorities. We used many of these photos in our website to better
describe her life.
Fung, Walter. "Gung Ho, Chinese Industrial Cooperatives (CICs) and the WCML." The 'Gung Ho' Movement. Society
for Anglo-Chinese Understanding, 2012. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
This website, http://www.sacu.org/gungho.html helped us understand more about the Gung-Ho Industrial
Cooperatives, and gave examples of how they were set up and used.
Gardner, Launa. "Helen Foster Snow – A Utah Pioneer." Utah Communication History Encyclopedia. N.p., 13 Apr.
2012. Web. 06 Jan. 2016.
The following website, https://utahcommhistory.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/helen-foster-snow-a-utah-
pioneer/, gives a brief overview of Helen’s journey into China. It also gives a few quotes on how she and her
colleagues were feeling at the time. One of the quotes we used explained their feelings about the war
surrounding them.
Hansen, Gary B. "The Contribution of Helen Foster Snow and INDUSCO to Job and Enterprise Creation, Income
Generation and Economic Democracy." Utah State University, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
We used this to better understand what the INDUSCO was and how she set it up. It goes into a lot of detail
and we wrote more about the INDUSCO in our exchange section because of it.
Havnes, Mark. "Chinese Honor Cedar City Native with Bronze Statue." The Salt Lake Tribune. The Salt Lake Tribune,
16 Nov. 2009. Web. 06 Jan. 2016.
The Website, http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/ci_13801780, is of an article written in The Salt Lake
Tribune describing the dedication of a bronze statue in honor of Helen Foster Snow. It also included a small
collection of photos of her life in China. We used a quote from this website to emphasize the importance of
Helen Foster Snow’s contributions to the Chinese.
Helen Foster Snow: Witness to Revolution. Prod. Eric Hyer. Brigham Young University and Combat Films and Research
Inc., 2001. DVD.
We received a personal copy of this documentary from Dr. Eric Hyer, producer. He gave us some background
about how and why it was made and how he teamed up with Combat Films cinematographer, Dodge
Billingsley. They traveled to China to interview people and create the setting for the film. It gave us an
appreciation for how many people have been influenced by her in China. We learned a lot about the history and
information we did not encounter in any of our other research.
Hyer, Karen E. "Helen Foster Snow's Mother and Role Model." Shaanxi Translation Association. Women's Research
Institute, Brigham Young University, 3 Nov. 2010. Web. 11 May 2016. <http://www.chsta.org/news_detail.asp?
id=367>.
This article was sent to us by Sheril Foster Bishoff. This talk was part of Sheril's book "Bridging." Karen was
associated with Women Studies at BYU, and her husband Paul developed and headed the Asian Studies
department. Her article is about what made Helen the strong, compassionate, able, resourceful person she was.
The author tied these characteristics to Helen's mother, Hannah Foster. She elaborates on how Hannah's
pioneer ancestry used a communal-type model in taming the West, and these ideals guided Helen as she created
the Gung-Ho Cooperatives. Karen Hyer asserts that both Helen and her mother were women ahead of their
time. She said, "Helen received a legacy of good character and service to others. She continued to build on
that legacy with her commitment and efforts to improving the lot of the common man."
"Interview with Dr. Eric Hyer." Personal interview. 4 May 2016.
Helen Snow's niece and biographer, Sheril Bischoff, referred us to Eric Hyer. He is a professor of Political Science
at Brigham Young University and coordinator of Asian Studies. He produced the movie "Helen Foster Snow:
Witness to Revolution" and traveled to China to film it. He also attended the dedication of the museum in Xi'an.
He is an expert on Helen Foster Snow's work and sat down with us in his office for an interview. He gave us
tremendous insight into the historical context of the times and cultures Helen traveled between. We learned that
communism prior to 1940 was different than after 1950 and Helen supported it because its intentions were
noble in helping the poor and advocating for opportunities for all Chinese. It was not corrupted until later, when
Helen and Edgar returned to American and communism was cast in a negative light. Helen was not targeted
under McCarthyism as much as her husband because she was a woman and less known. After their divorce,
Edgar had to flee to Switzerland and lived there until he died. Helen lived an isolated life in Connecticut, cut off
from friends and family in the U.S. and China.
Long, Kelly Ann. Helen Foster Snow: An American Woman in Revolutionary China. Boulder: U of Colorado, 2006.
Print.
This biography of Helen Foster Snow gives greater detail of what Helen Foster Snow did to help the
Chinese people. It gives insight on her perspectives and emotions at the time. It also encompasses photos of
Helen immersing herself in the Chinese culture.
Lynden Pioneer Museum. "Invasion of Manchuria and Japanese Aggression." The Pacific Theater. N.p., 10 Apr.
2014. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.
This website, https://lyndenpacifictheater.wordpress.com/china-invasion/, was based on the Japanese military
and its interaction against China. We used a picture from this website in the timeline section of our project.
Lyons, Lisa Ann. Helen Foster Snow: Witness to Revolution. Provo: Brigham Young U, 2000. Print.
This book gave an overview of the most important times in Helen’s life. It included information on Chinese
Industrial Cooperatives, the student act, and Helen’s encounters with communist leaders. It also included a
photo gallery of the Helen Foster Snow: Witness to Revolution exhibit located at Brigham Young University.
From this book we were able to extract insightful quotes about Helen and her encounters.
Mahony, Edmund. "Helen Foster Snow Dies." Tribunedigital-thecourant. Hartford Courant, 14 Jan. 1997. Web. 05
Jan. 2016.
The following website: http://articles.courant.com/1997-01-14/news/9701140244_1_edgar-snow-chinese-
people-yenan-years is of an article published in the Hartford Courant, an online newspaper. It was written in
dedication to Helen Foster Snow right after her death. We used this source to find the date and place of her
death.
McCardle, Carl W. "Edgar Snow, Back from the Orient, Thinks We'll Fight Japan Soon" [Philadelphia] 4 June 1941: n. pag. Print.
This newspaper article from the Philadelphia Bulletin was emailed to us from Sheril Bischoff. We used it for the,
"After China" page as evidence for Helen's prediction of an impending war with Japan. Although the headline
credits it to Edgar, the caption over the photo states, "They Foresee a War with Japan." We assume the media
was following a preference for a man's ideas but it was both their idea that the U.S. would have to face
Japan's aggression.
Needham, Joseph. "Photographs - Wartime China, 1942-1946." Gungho. Needham Research Institute, n.d. Web. 30
Jan. 2016.
The website, http://www.nri.org.uk/JN_wartime_photos/gungho.htm, was a big help in trying to find primary
source photos about the industrial cooperatives. Many of these photos show up in the INDUSCO part of our
website.
"On the Life of Helen Foster Snow." SUU News. Southern Utah University, 2016. Web. 1 Feb. 2016.
Using the following website, http://www.suunews.com/photos/galleries/2011/apr/07/life-helen-foster-snow/,
we were able to obtain multiple pictures related to our topic. Some of them including her house in Cedar City,
an INDUSCO reunion, and some others.
Panda, Ankit. "Reflecting on China's Five Principles, 60 Years Later." The Diplomat. N.p., 26 June 2014. Web. 09 May
2016.
This website, http://thediplomat.com/2014/06/reflecting-on-chinas-five-principles-60-years-later/, gave us a
picture for the communist leaders page.
"Photos." Photos. The Orchestra of Southern Utah, 2009. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
This website, http://www.orchestraofsouthernutah.org/about-osu/photos?page=2, helped us by showing
pictures of the statue that was dedicated for Helen. We used several of these photos in our website.
Rand, Peter. China Hands: The Adventures and Ordeals of the American Journalists Who Joined Forces with the Great
Chinese Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. Print.
This book was recommend to us by Sheril Bischoff and we ended up using a quote from it on the student
movement page.
Ren, James. "Chinese Revolution Timeline." Timetoast. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2016.
This website, https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/chinese-revolution-timeline, had a timeline of the history of
China. We used a picture from this on the encounter page.
Saxon, Wolfgang. "Helen Foster Snow, 89, a Founder Of Industrial Co-ops in China." The New York Times. The
New York Times, 14 Jan. 1997. Web. 05 Jan. 2016.
The website, http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/14/world/helen-foster-snow-89-a-founder-of-industrial-co-
ops-in-china.html, is of an article published in the New York Times, online version. This detailed obituary of
Helen included key details of her personal life as well as important dates. We used this source to better
describe her death on our website.
Simons, J. Lee. "Helen Foster Snow: Enigmatic Heroine." Kennedy Center, BYU, 2016. Web. 6 May 2016.
<http://kennedy.byu.edu/helen-foster-snow/>.
Eric Hyer, coordinator of the BYU Asian Studies Program, is interviewed and highlighted in this editorial about
Helen. He was the producer of the documentary about her life and traveled to China for the museum dedication.
We interviewed Dr. Hyer for this project. Other experts are also interviewed for this article with their unique
perspectives.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Zhu De | Chinese Military Leader." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
Using this website, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Zhu-De, we found information about Zhu De and
his interactions with Helen.
The Scientologists. "Gung-Ho." The Scientologist. Association of Professional Independent Scientologists, 2007.
Web. 30 Jan. 2016.
The following website, http://the-scientologist.com/Gung-Ho.shtml, we used to get a picture of the words,
“Gung-Ho” in English and Chinese. We used this picture in the INDUSCO section of our website.
Thomas, S. Bernard. Season of High Adventure: Edgar Snow in China. Berkeley: University of California Press,
c1996 1996. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft9p30098q/
This e-book is written mostly about Edgar Snow but also includes many important contributions of his wife
Helen. One thing that really stood out was the Gung-Ho Industrial Cooperative section which told about how the
idea came to be and how much they had to work together. It also tells about how the Marines used the term
"gung-ho" as a slogan and it spread to all Americans using it as a "can do" attitude.
Zhong, Rui. "Red Star, Blue Eyes: Reexamining American Journalists in Yan’an." (n.d.): n. pag. Department of
History. Emory College of Arts and Sciences. Web. 12 Dec. 15.
This website, http://history.emory.edu/home/documents/endeavors/volume4/Zhong.pdf, is a pdf on what
other foreign travelers were doing in China at the time. This included Edgar Snow, Helen’s husband, Agnes
Smedley and some of their accounts.
Ziggy Elman & Orchestra. I'm Through With Love. 1939. 1930s Music. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
We used part of this music, from the 1930s, on the front page of our website to try and give a feel for the era when Helen went to China.
An, Wei. An Wei Wenji (Collected writings of An Wei). Beijing: Guangming Ribao Chubanshe, 2014. We received an autographed copy of An Wei's book during our interview with BYU Asian Studies' professor, Eric
Hyer. The book is divided into two sections, the first in Chinese, and the last part, in English. It has photographs
of Helen's work with the Chinese people, as well as An Wei's work on her behalf and with her. The writings are
documentation and interpretation of Helen's work and his involvement with her in promoting goodwill between
nations. He was her personal guide and translator when she returned to China and has established the Helen
Foster Snow museum in Xi'an and the translation scholarship in her honor. We cited him as a primary source
because of his personal involvement with Helen during her post-China years.
Bischoff, Sheril Foster. Bridging, A Photo Essay on the Life of Helen Foster Snow, Chinese translation by An-Wei & Mary
Niu, 1997. Yorba Linda, CA: Shumway Family History Services, 1997. Print.
This book was very critical part of our website. It gave lots of pictures of Helen in China which we were able to
use in our website. Many of these photos are one-of-a-kind that were from the Foster family collection.
Besides supplying us with primary source pictures it had excellent information we were able to use about
the INDUSCO.
Bischoff, Sheril Foster. "Helen Foster Snow’s Contributions during the Sino-Japanese War." Shanghai Jiao Tong
University, Shanghai, China. 11 May 2016. Speech.
Sheril Bischoff sent us several speeches she has given as a primary spokesperson and expert on her aunt's work. This speech was given in Shanghai, and covers Helen's the vital role Helen played in initiating the Gung-Ho
Industrial Cooperatives which sustained the Chinese economy and saved lives during the war with Japan. It also
promotes her journalistic integrity, her humanitarianism, her heroism to the Chinese people, and her ability to
create propaganda and mobilize a group of students to protest and persuade their leader to fight the Japanese
and save their country.
Bischoff, Sheril Foster. "Helen Foster Snow's Passion for Bridging Cultures, Families and Generations." Helen Foster
Snow Symposium. Wuhan, China. 11 May 2016. Speech.
Helen Foster Snow's niece, Sheril Foster Bischoff, and her husband, Garth, served as Co-trustees of the Helen
Foster Snow Literary Trust. At Helen's request, Sheril officially represented her aunt for the first time 1987 in
Xi'an, China. During the more than twenty-five years that followed, she represented her aunt in Shaanxi
Province, Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai, South Korea, and at events in honor of Helen Snow in the United States. As
Helen's life was drawing to a close, the Bischoffs made several trips to her home in Connecticut to help prepare
her voluminous papers to be sent to Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Sheril spent nearly three months
assisting librarians with identification and organization of Helen's materials. On October 14, 1997, Sheril spoke at
the Memorial Meeting held for Helen in the Great Hall of the People. In the years since Helen’s passing, Sheril
organized three delegations of about twenty to visit China in 1997, 1998, and 2007. She has continued to
represent Helen at events honoring her in China, South Korea, and the U.S. In 2007 three generations of Helen’s
family met in Beijing and Xi’an to attend symposium honoring the 100th birthday of their aunt, Helen Foster
Snow. This was one of several speeches we read that she sent us that gave us a summary of her life and
contributions. We used a quote from Utah Senator Orrin Hatch on our legacy website page from this talk that he
sent as an expression of condolence at Helen's passing to His Excellency Li Daoyu Ambassador of the People's
Republic of China.
Bischoff, Sheril Foster. "Personal Communication about Helen Foster Snow." Message to the author. 12 March
2016. E-mail.
Sheril Bischoff is the niece of Helen Foster Snow and expert on her life. We listed her as a primary
source because not only did she know Helen personally, but she was a witness and participant in many of the
events in Helen's post-China life. She called us on the phone and then we exchanged several emails about the
impact of McCarthyism and opposition to Helen and Edgar when they returned to the United States.
"Helen Foster Snow Papers." MSS 2219, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young
University.
We got permission to enter the BYU special collections wing of the library and review documents that were
donated from Helen’s personal and professional writing. It gave us an appreciation for the vast amount of
writing she produced. Everything was either handwritten or typed on a manual typewriter. She was a
journalist and she documented everything she experienced for 10 years in China, and kept writing until her
death. We used a few scanned letters for the website under sources.
"Interview with Sheril Bischoff." E-mail interview. 28 Apr. 2016.
We had the privilege of contacting Sheril Bischoff, Helen's niece and biographer. She is the author of "Bridging: A
Photo Essay on the Life of Helen Foster Snow." In the early 1990's, she and her husband, as Trustees of Helen’s
Literary Trust, prepared and packed over 300 boxes of film, letters, hundreds of historic photos and other
material Helen had produced about 1930's China. The collection donated to the Brigham Young University
special collections library is estimated at $350,000 with rare and one-of-a-kind photographs. She corresponded
with me by email and helped improve the historical context and accuracy of my website by referring us to Dr.
Eric Hyer. She was delighted at this NHD project that will educate others about Helen's work. She said that our
NHD project has fulfilled these goals from the Helen Literary Trust: (1) that her papers would be available for
today's students and those of the coming generations; and, (2) that they would receive the widest possible
exposure to future generations.
Snow, Helen Foster. My China Years. New York: Morrow, 1984. Print.
This book is an autobiography by Helen Foster Snow talking about her experiences and interactions in China.
She details her interviews with top Chinese leaders in Yenan and Peking which helped us a lot when writing the
encounter part of our website. She also explained what she did with the Gung-Ho cooperatives, which helped us
understand what they were and how much of an impact it made on the Chinese people and their economy.
Snow, Helen Foster. Unlacquered Tales from China. Guilford, CT.: Royal Printing Services, 1992. Print.
This primary source, written by Helen, is a compilation of her writings and experiences with others while in
China. It also included a few translations of Chinese literature which she edited. It gave us an insight on her
personality and daily life.
Wales, Nym. The Chinese Communists: Sketches and Autobiographies of the Old Guard. Book 1: Red Dust. Book 2:
Autobiographical Profiles and Biographical Sketches. Westport, CT: Greenwood Pub., 1972. Print.
Since Helen Snow was a woman in the 1930's and 1940's, she often used a pseudonym of Nym Wales to publish
her works. So this book was really written by Helen herself. It is divided into two parts. The first part is her book
"Red Dust" about military propaganda and teachers and students. She also wrote about doctors, ordinary
Chinese and women of that time. There are biographies and sketches along with photos of the subjects she took
pictures of herself. The second part of this book is called "Autobiographical and Profiles and Biographical
Sketches." She knew that by interviewing the wives of military and political leaders, she could have a unique
perspective and inside look on personal lives.
"Wei, An. Interview on Helen Foster Snow." Personal interview. Orem, Utah. 23 March 2016.
We made personal contact with Sheril Bischoff, niece of Helen Foster Snow and author of her life. She put us
in contact with An Wei and we were able to schedule a Skype interview with him from China. The interview
lasted over 60 minutes, but we edited it down to the most essential parts and used quotes from it on the
website. He also provide us with personal photographs and the document about the translation award. An
Wei's titles are Senior Translator, Writer, and President of Shaanxi Translation Association, and Honorary
Chairman of Edgar and Helen Snow Studies Center.
Wei, An. "Personal Communication about Helen Foster Snow." Email message to the author. 12 March 2016. E-mail.
After our interview with An Wei, we continued to communicate with him through e-mail and learned many
more vital things such as historical context when Helen returned to America. We used a quote from these emails
in the, After China section. We also added the photos of the museum in Xi'an, and the scholarship application
that he sent us.
Secondary Sources: (32)
Biography.com Editors. "Jawaharlal Nehru Biography." http://www.biography.com/people/jawaharlal-nehru-
9421253, n.d. Web.
We used this for the picture of Jawaharlal Nehru on the INDUSCO page and we also learned
some information about him.
Brigham Young University. "Helen Foster Snow Collection." Mormonism, Utah, and the West. Brigham Young
University, 4 June 2013. Web. 12 Dec. 15.
The following website, http://sites.lib.byu.edu/muw/20thcentury/bibliographies/snow/, describes her
accomplishments and her life in China. It also includes a list of secondary sources, along with how to access
them through the Harold B. Lee Library.
"Building Bridges of Love -- China.org.cn." Building Bridges of Love -- China.org.cn. China Daily, 3 Sept. 2007. Web.
30 Jan. 2016.
This website, http://www.china.org.cn/english/LivinginChina/222944.htm, gave a basic introduction to Helen
Foster Snow and her encounters and exchanges in China. From this website we used a picture of Helen
encountering and interviewing Mao Zedong.
Cao, Katy Xinquan. Helen Foster Snow: A Journalist in the Chinese Revolution in the 1930s. N.p.: n.p., 2002. Print.
This book went in depth and gave lots of good information regarding the Gung-Ho Cooperatives as well as
giving some information about her interviews. The author presents a thesis about Helen and her works and
defends it.
Chaney, Charles C. "Helen 'Peg' Foster Snow (1907 - 1997) - Find A Grave Memorial. Dameron-damron, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
This website, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=26840417&PIpi=10950162
gave a brief description of the life of Helen and talked about her funeral. This helped us understand her
importance to the Chinese people.
Choate, Amy. "Amy Choate-Nielsen: Statue to Honor Cedar City Native." DeseretNews.com. Deseret News, 10 Nov.
2009. Web. 09 Jan. 2016.
The website, http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705343408/Statue-to-honor-Cedar-City-native.html?
pg=all gives a description of her life and describes the details of the statue that was made for her. This helped
us gain more information about the statue that we wrote about in the website.
Fox, Ronald. "China Treasures from BYU." DeseretNews.com. Deseret News, 17 July 2011. Web. 9 Jan. 2016.
The pictures located at the following website, http://m.deseretnews.com/photo/700152507, are first
hand photos of Helen’s life inside and outside of China. Also included in the website are several copies of
Helen’s personal letters with Chinese authorities. We used many of these photos in our website to better
describe her life.
Fung, Walter. "Gung Ho, Chinese Industrial Cooperatives (CICs) and the WCML." The 'Gung Ho' Movement. Society
for Anglo-Chinese Understanding, 2012. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
This website, http://www.sacu.org/gungho.html helped us understand more about the Gung-Ho Industrial
Cooperatives, and gave examples of how they were set up and used.
Gardner, Launa. "Helen Foster Snow – A Utah Pioneer." Utah Communication History Encyclopedia. N.p., 13 Apr.
2012. Web. 06 Jan. 2016.
The following website, https://utahcommhistory.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/helen-foster-snow-a-utah-
pioneer/, gives a brief overview of Helen’s journey into China. It also gives a few quotes on how she and her
colleagues were feeling at the time. One of the quotes we used explained their feelings about the war
surrounding them.
Hansen, Gary B. "The Contribution of Helen Foster Snow and INDUSCO to Job and Enterprise Creation, Income
Generation and Economic Democracy." Utah State University, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
We used this to better understand what the INDUSCO was and how she set it up. It goes into a lot of detail
and we wrote more about the INDUSCO in our exchange section because of it.
Havnes, Mark. "Chinese Honor Cedar City Native with Bronze Statue." The Salt Lake Tribune. The Salt Lake Tribune,
16 Nov. 2009. Web. 06 Jan. 2016.
The Website, http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/ci_13801780, is of an article written in The Salt Lake
Tribune describing the dedication of a bronze statue in honor of Helen Foster Snow. It also included a small
collection of photos of her life in China. We used a quote from this website to emphasize the importance of
Helen Foster Snow’s contributions to the Chinese.
Helen Foster Snow: Witness to Revolution. Prod. Eric Hyer. Brigham Young University and Combat Films and Research
Inc., 2001. DVD.
We received a personal copy of this documentary from Dr. Eric Hyer, producer. He gave us some background
about how and why it was made and how he teamed up with Combat Films cinematographer, Dodge
Billingsley. They traveled to China to interview people and create the setting for the film. It gave us an
appreciation for how many people have been influenced by her in China. We learned a lot about the history and
information we did not encounter in any of our other research.
Hyer, Karen E. "Helen Foster Snow's Mother and Role Model." Shaanxi Translation Association. Women's Research
Institute, Brigham Young University, 3 Nov. 2010. Web. 11 May 2016. <http://www.chsta.org/news_detail.asp?
id=367>.
This article was sent to us by Sheril Foster Bishoff. This talk was part of Sheril's book "Bridging." Karen was
associated with Women Studies at BYU, and her husband Paul developed and headed the Asian Studies
department. Her article is about what made Helen the strong, compassionate, able, resourceful person she was.
The author tied these characteristics to Helen's mother, Hannah Foster. She elaborates on how Hannah's
pioneer ancestry used a communal-type model in taming the West, and these ideals guided Helen as she created
the Gung-Ho Cooperatives. Karen Hyer asserts that both Helen and her mother were women ahead of their
time. She said, "Helen received a legacy of good character and service to others. She continued to build on
that legacy with her commitment and efforts to improving the lot of the common man."
"Interview with Dr. Eric Hyer." Personal interview. 4 May 2016.
Helen Snow's niece and biographer, Sheril Bischoff, referred us to Eric Hyer. He is a professor of Political Science
at Brigham Young University and coordinator of Asian Studies. He produced the movie "Helen Foster Snow:
Witness to Revolution" and traveled to China to film it. He also attended the dedication of the museum in Xi'an.
He is an expert on Helen Foster Snow's work and sat down with us in his office for an interview. He gave us
tremendous insight into the historical context of the times and cultures Helen traveled between. We learned that
communism prior to 1940 was different than after 1950 and Helen supported it because its intentions were
noble in helping the poor and advocating for opportunities for all Chinese. It was not corrupted until later, when
Helen and Edgar returned to American and communism was cast in a negative light. Helen was not targeted
under McCarthyism as much as her husband because she was a woman and less known. After their divorce,
Edgar had to flee to Switzerland and lived there until he died. Helen lived an isolated life in Connecticut, cut off
from friends and family in the U.S. and China.
Long, Kelly Ann. Helen Foster Snow: An American Woman in Revolutionary China. Boulder: U of Colorado, 2006.
Print.
This biography of Helen Foster Snow gives greater detail of what Helen Foster Snow did to help the
Chinese people. It gives insight on her perspectives and emotions at the time. It also encompasses photos of
Helen immersing herself in the Chinese culture.
Lynden Pioneer Museum. "Invasion of Manchuria and Japanese Aggression." The Pacific Theater. N.p., 10 Apr.
2014. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.
This website, https://lyndenpacifictheater.wordpress.com/china-invasion/, was based on the Japanese military
and its interaction against China. We used a picture from this website in the timeline section of our project.
Lyons, Lisa Ann. Helen Foster Snow: Witness to Revolution. Provo: Brigham Young U, 2000. Print.
This book gave an overview of the most important times in Helen’s life. It included information on Chinese
Industrial Cooperatives, the student act, and Helen’s encounters with communist leaders. It also included a
photo gallery of the Helen Foster Snow: Witness to Revolution exhibit located at Brigham Young University.
From this book we were able to extract insightful quotes about Helen and her encounters.
Mahony, Edmund. "Helen Foster Snow Dies." Tribunedigital-thecourant. Hartford Courant, 14 Jan. 1997. Web. 05
Jan. 2016.
The following website: http://articles.courant.com/1997-01-14/news/9701140244_1_edgar-snow-chinese-
people-yenan-years is of an article published in the Hartford Courant, an online newspaper. It was written in
dedication to Helen Foster Snow right after her death. We used this source to find the date and place of her
death.
McCardle, Carl W. "Edgar Snow, Back from the Orient, Thinks We'll Fight Japan Soon" [Philadelphia] 4 June 1941: n. pag. Print.
This newspaper article from the Philadelphia Bulletin was emailed to us from Sheril Bischoff. We used it for the,
"After China" page as evidence for Helen's prediction of an impending war with Japan. Although the headline
credits it to Edgar, the caption over the photo states, "They Foresee a War with Japan." We assume the media
was following a preference for a man's ideas but it was both their idea that the U.S. would have to face
Japan's aggression.
Needham, Joseph. "Photographs - Wartime China, 1942-1946." Gungho. Needham Research Institute, n.d. Web. 30
Jan. 2016.
The website, http://www.nri.org.uk/JN_wartime_photos/gungho.htm, was a big help in trying to find primary
source photos about the industrial cooperatives. Many of these photos show up in the INDUSCO part of our
website.
"On the Life of Helen Foster Snow." SUU News. Southern Utah University, 2016. Web. 1 Feb. 2016.
Using the following website, http://www.suunews.com/photos/galleries/2011/apr/07/life-helen-foster-snow/,
we were able to obtain multiple pictures related to our topic. Some of them including her house in Cedar City,
an INDUSCO reunion, and some others.
Panda, Ankit. "Reflecting on China's Five Principles, 60 Years Later." The Diplomat. N.p., 26 June 2014. Web. 09 May
2016.
This website, http://thediplomat.com/2014/06/reflecting-on-chinas-five-principles-60-years-later/, gave us a
picture for the communist leaders page.
"Photos." Photos. The Orchestra of Southern Utah, 2009. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
This website, http://www.orchestraofsouthernutah.org/about-osu/photos?page=2, helped us by showing
pictures of the statue that was dedicated for Helen. We used several of these photos in our website.
Rand, Peter. China Hands: The Adventures and Ordeals of the American Journalists Who Joined Forces with the Great
Chinese Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. Print.
This book was recommend to us by Sheril Bischoff and we ended up using a quote from it on the student
movement page.
Ren, James. "Chinese Revolution Timeline." Timetoast. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2016.
This website, https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/chinese-revolution-timeline, had a timeline of the history of
China. We used a picture from this on the encounter page.
Saxon, Wolfgang. "Helen Foster Snow, 89, a Founder Of Industrial Co-ops in China." The New York Times. The
New York Times, 14 Jan. 1997. Web. 05 Jan. 2016.
The website, http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/14/world/helen-foster-snow-89-a-founder-of-industrial-co-
ops-in-china.html, is of an article published in the New York Times, online version. This detailed obituary of
Helen included key details of her personal life as well as important dates. We used this source to better
describe her death on our website.
Simons, J. Lee. "Helen Foster Snow: Enigmatic Heroine." Kennedy Center, BYU, 2016. Web. 6 May 2016.
<http://kennedy.byu.edu/helen-foster-snow/>.
Eric Hyer, coordinator of the BYU Asian Studies Program, is interviewed and highlighted in this editorial about
Helen. He was the producer of the documentary about her life and traveled to China for the museum dedication.
We interviewed Dr. Hyer for this project. Other experts are also interviewed for this article with their unique
perspectives.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Zhu De | Chinese Military Leader." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
Using this website, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Zhu-De, we found information about Zhu De and
his interactions with Helen.
The Scientologists. "Gung-Ho." The Scientologist. Association of Professional Independent Scientologists, 2007.
Web. 30 Jan. 2016.
The following website, http://the-scientologist.com/Gung-Ho.shtml, we used to get a picture of the words,
“Gung-Ho” in English and Chinese. We used this picture in the INDUSCO section of our website.
Thomas, S. Bernard. Season of High Adventure: Edgar Snow in China. Berkeley: University of California Press,
c1996 1996. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft9p30098q/
This e-book is written mostly about Edgar Snow but also includes many important contributions of his wife
Helen. One thing that really stood out was the Gung-Ho Industrial Cooperative section which told about how the
idea came to be and how much they had to work together. It also tells about how the Marines used the term
"gung-ho" as a slogan and it spread to all Americans using it as a "can do" attitude.
Zhong, Rui. "Red Star, Blue Eyes: Reexamining American Journalists in Yan’an." (n.d.): n. pag. Department of
History. Emory College of Arts and Sciences. Web. 12 Dec. 15.
This website, http://history.emory.edu/home/documents/endeavors/volume4/Zhong.pdf, is a pdf on what
other foreign travelers were doing in China at the time. This included Edgar Snow, Helen’s husband, Agnes
Smedley and some of their accounts.
Ziggy Elman & Orchestra. I'm Through With Love. 1939. 1930s Music. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
We used part of this music, from the 1930s, on the front page of our website to try and give a feel for the era when Helen went to China.