An Oral History of the Jinggangshan Struggle

From 1968 to 1982, the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Museum sent several interview teams to locations across the country. They interviewed more than 140 veterans of the Red Army and other people who had taken part in the struggle at Jinggangshan. The interviewees recounted their personal experiences and what they had witnessed and heard during that struggle. The topics included the August 7 Conference; the Autumn Harvest Uprising in eastern Hunan and western Jiangxi; the struggle at Jinggangshan; the Red Army clothing factory and mint; Wang Zuo's family background; the Red Army's 32nd Regiment; Zhu De; and the Fifth Red Army, among others. The interviewers made detailed records of these oral accounts, totaling about 1.2 million Chinese characters. With their exceptionally credible details, these transcripts bring many historical events from the Jinggangshan period vividly to life and enrich our understanding of them. They are witnesses to these major events and are of immense historical value. As the interviewees have passed away one by one, these materials have become all the more precious.