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IALHI NewsChinese Cultural RevolutionThe Chinese Cultural Revolution Database Edited and Compiled by The Editorial Board of The Cultural Revolution CD-ROM Database in the US and Universities Service Centre for China Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong The largest database for the study of the Cultural Revolution with: Contents Preface The Cultural Revolution that took place in the sixties of the 20th century has left a highly significant and complex chapter in not only contemporary Chinese history, but world history as well. The late John Fairbank, a distinguished Sinologist, once observed that: "The Cultural Revolution was as full of surprises as the 1790s in France. In terms of scale, impact, and complexity, however, the Cultural Revolution was of course a much bigger event than the French Revolution. At any rate, it will be studied from many angles for a long time to come." ... The Cultural Revolution is first of all a historical tragedy. Initiated by Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) because of internal strife within the CCP, this so called "Revolution" claimed the lives of millions of innocent Chinese and inflicted excruciating pain on hundreds of millions of ordinary Chinese and their families. In addition, the Cultural Revolution caused disregard for and decline of education as well as the total collapse of all basic standards for decency and a civilized society. It also brought irreparable damage to China's age-old cultural heritage and civilization. ... The Cultural Revolution also surprisingly changed the entire political and economic landscape of contemporary China. When Mao Zedong and the CCP disastrously pushed their erroneous political philosophy and ideology to extremes, anyone with any common sense left must have easily noticed the madness and the absurdity of the official doctrines imposed upon them. This was one of the reasons why the post-Cultural Revolution CCP leaders were compelled to adopt reform policies and open up China. It is also an established fact that the widespread skepticism of Marxism and Mao Zedong Thought that started during the Cultural Revolution provided an important impetus for democratic movements during the post-Cultural Revolution era. In light of this, the role of the Cultural Revolution in contemporary Chinese history over the past half a century merits serious study. It has been over 30 years since the end of the Cultural Revolution. An interesting situation has emerged surrounding the study of the Cultural Revolution as a research subject both inside and outside China. ...Yet, Cultural Revolution researchers both inside and outside China are faced with many challenges. Chief among them is the lack of original historical materials as well as the absence of a mechanism systematically to collect, organize, and archive vast amounts of original historical materials. There was an abundance of publications, both official and unofficial, during the Cultural Revolution, but there is no free access to such materials in any Chinese library in post-Cultural Revolution China. On the other hand, a great many valuable Cultural Revolution resources in the hands of private collectors and researchers both in and outside of China cannot reach their full research potential for the lack of a resource-sharing mechanism. ... It is with a view to summing up historical lessons, disclosing historical truth, and pushing forward the study of this important historical subject that some ten Mainland China scholars now living in North America formed in 1998 the Editorial Department of the Cultural Revolution CD-ROM Database, inaugurating this monumental compilation and archival project for Cultural Revolution related historical materials. Soon, their work won strong support from many scholars in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China. The Universities Service Centre for China Studies of The Hong Kong Chinese University has even become one of the partners of this project. Over the past three years, members of the Editorial Department visited Asian libraries throughout the world, collected a great many materials from private collectors, and salvaged untold amounts of original written materials. After professional editing and proofreading of millions of official and unofficial documents, the editors collectively produced this CD-ROM database with nearly ten thousand documents. ... Comments from Scholars "The Cultural Revolution Database CD-ROM is an extraordinary achievement. It contains a nearly-comprehensive compilation of thousands of Central Party documents, Central leaders' speeches, official newspaper articles from the early 1960s to the late 1970s, and a selection of some of the key Red Guard texts. All are arranged in chronological order and, best of all, the user can search automatically according to names, dates, titles, and keywords. This is an essential addition to any serious research library." Andrew Walder Director of Asia/Pacific Research Center Stanford University, USA System Requirements List Price: US$1,000 (US$800 if ordered before 30 September 2002). For all deliveries outside Hong Kong, please add US$11 by surface post and US$20 by airmail. 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