This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
China by Hand The Mao era social engineering experiment
A first hand account reports on rural China where Mao era policies mobilize 800-900 million people in massive hand labor projects. Builders raise a 400 foot dam and a long aqueduct, while peasants plant, harvest, and endure strict ideological control. The piece contrasts Chinese mass loyalty with Western individualism, noting improved food, shelter, and clothes but limited freedom. It highlights state planning, reforestation, and widespread discipline amid harsh living conditions and continued reliance on manual labor and abacus computing.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Eugene Patterson
Tai Hang
Honan
Shansi
Huihsien
China
Age of
Mao Tsetung
Chairman Mao
Liu Shaochi
Lin Piao
Confucius
Mao
Lin
Harbin
Communist Party
Old South
Franklin Roosevelt
America
Chiang Kai-shek
Yellow River