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MSS 718
MSS 718
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Title: Geng Xiufeng Diaries
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 718
Contributing Institution:
Mandeville Special Collections Library
La Jolla, California 92093-0175
Language of Material:
Chinese
Physical Description:
3.4 Linear feet
9 archives boxes
Date (inclusive): 1944-1992
Abstract: Writings of Geng Xiufeng, peasant activist and leader from the village of Wugong, China. The collection contains 55 bound,
handwritten diaries and one folder of loose pages written by Geng from 1944 to 1992, documenting his reactions to agricultural
reforms directed by the state.
Creator:
Geng, Xiufeng
Geng Xiufeng was born in the village of Wugong, China, in 1913. Geng received seven years of primary education and worked
in education and publishing. In the 1940s his interest in agrarian socialism led him to organize several small agricultural
cooperatives. He later particiated in the formation of one of the first large co-ops in his home village of Wugong and continued
to promote co-op formation for many years.
In the 1980s Geng met American historian Paul Pickowicz who was interviewing North China peasants for oral history research
projects. Geng shared with him volumes of his writings, which included a record of events in his life, his thoughts on state
directed agricultural reforms, and letters written to powerful officials. Pickowicz used these writings as key sources for
two books and several articles including:
Chinese Village, Socialist State (Yale 1991) and
Revolution, Resistance, and Reform in Village China (Yale, 2005).
Geng had a stroke in 1995, which forced him to stop writing. He died in 1999.
Scope and Contents of Collection
The Geng Xiufeng Diaries, comprised of 55 bound, handwritten diaries and one folder of loose pages, were written by Geng Xiufeng
from 1944 to 1992. The diaries, written in Chinese, document Geng's life in the village of Wugong, China, as well as his thoughts
on the government and agricultural reforms directed by the state.
Volumes were numbered by Paul Pickowicz and are arranged in numerical order by those numbers. Several of the volumes have
dates in English on the cover or first page. These are noted when they occur, but may not represent the entire date range
within.
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Not Available
Geng Xiufeng Diaries, MSS 718. Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Geng, Xiufeng -- Archives
Agricultural laborers
Agriculture and state--China
Agriculture--China