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Snow, Helen Foster, 1907-1997

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1907 - 1997

Biography

Helen Foster Snow (1907-1997) was an American journalist, photographer, and activist in China.

Helen Foster Snow was born on September 21, 1907 in Cedar City, Utah. She attended West High School. After graduating, she attended the University of Utah. She took the civil service exam, gained a position in China, and moved to Shanghai in August 1931. After arriving in China Helen met Edgar Snow, a reporter also from the U.S. The two were married on December 25, 1933 in Tokyo, Japan. The couple moved to Peking where Helen Foster Snow attended and Edgar taught at Yanjing University. From there they published information regarding the Manchurian incident. Helen Foster and Edgar Snow sympathized with the students who protested the government and its complacency toward Japanese invasion. They helped plan the December movements, and covered events censored in Chinese papers.

Helen published an interview with Zhang Xueliang, a general, who expressed support for communists, contradicting Chiang Kai-shek. In 1937 Edgar and Helen published the magazine Democracy. She worked on the editorial board to editor, and then the editor while Edgar wrote Red Star over China.

Snow entered the communist camp in April 1937, where she interviewed leaders, women, and children of the camp. She would publish her findings in her book Inside Red China in 1938. Helen later toured the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives and wrote to raise support of the initiatives. Helen returned to the United States, living in Madison, Connecticut and travelling the world. Helen died on January 11, 1997.

Citation:
OCLC 17967705: Stanley, M. Foreigners in areas of China ... 1987 (hdg.: Snow, Helen Foster, 1907- ; usage: Helen Foster Snow)

LC data base, 11/19/90 (hdg.: Wales, Nym, 1907- ; usage: Helen Foster Snow; Helen Foster Snow (Nym Wales); Hai-lun Fu-ssu-tʻe Ssu-no; Nym Wales; Nym Wales (Helen Foster Snow))

Pseuds. and nicknames dict., c1987 (Snow, Helen Foster, 1907- ; American author and poet; pseud.: Wales, Nym)

Bridging, 1997: t.p. (Helen Foster Snow) p. xxxvii (died 1/11/97)

Women in modern China, 2004: t.p. (Helen Foster Snow) colophon (海伦斯诺 = Hailun Sinuo = Snow, H.)

Familysearch.org, Dec. 6, 2011 (Helen Foster; b. Sept. 21, 1907 in Cedar City, Utah; d. Jan. 11, 1997 in Guilford, Conn.; m. Dec. 25, 1932 in Tokyo, Japan to Edgar Parks Snow)

Wikipedia, Dec. 6, 2011 (taught at Yenching University)

Helen Foster Snow, 2006: p. 13 (b. Cedar City, Utah; b. September 21, 1907); p. 15 (Hannah and John Foster); p. 16 (parents civically engaged); p. 18 (frequent moves in childhood); p. 19 (move to Salt Lake City, UT, West High School, yearbook, student gov't); p. 20 (graduated West High, University of Utah); p. 23 (secretary w/ A.G Mackenzie of American Silver Mining Commission in Utah; wanted Europe; decided on China); p. 24 (to China in August 1931); p. 25 (secretary to an American company in China); p. 31 (secretary for bankers); p. 34 (wrote on Manchurian incident); p. 36 (Shanghai refuge for leftist intellectuals and reformists); p. 38 (developed left leaning political opinions; social secretary at U.S. consulate; p. 39 (m. 1933 Edgar Snow); p. 42 (m. Dec. 25, Tokyo); p. 41 (honeymoon in Formosa, the Philippines, Borneo, the Dutch Indies, and Bali); p. 45 (move to Peking); p. 47 (modelling in Peking); p.50 (student of philosophy, religion, and esthetics at Yanjing University); p. 52 (student movement December 1935); p. 55 (rose awareness of fascist threat in China; helped plan December 1935 movement); p. 58 (home as anti-Japanese salon); p. 61 (poem calling students to action; planned Dec. 9 movement in home); p. 62 (press coverage of events censored by Chinese papers; pen names Nym Wales and Hsueh Hai-lun); p. 64 (December 16th movement); p. 69 (foreign correspondence); p. 70 (worked with artists); p. 71 (Chinese short stories published for West); p. 73 (published Living China); p.74 (poetry); p. 76 (Korea trip alone); p. 77 (Communist territory invitation, returned to Peking; interviewed Zhang Xueliang, support for communists against Japan); p. 80 (editorial board, Democracy); p. 81 (editor, democracy); p. 86 (Xian April 23, 1937); p. 87 (journals in the camp, women and children, leaders); p. 94 (observed visitors, GMD reps); p. 97 (Ding Ling); p. 99 (Kang Keqing; wife of Zhu De); p. 100 (divorce and marriage among communists); p. 107 ("The Passing of the Chinese Soviets."); p. 109 (Inside Red China, 1939); p. 117 (Shanghai); p. 125 (children in labor organizations); p. 126 (women in cooperatives); p. 132 (U.S. policy towards China); p. 135 (photographs); p. 136 (Song of Ariran, Korea and Japan interactions); p. 137 (Indusco inspection tour, Chinese Industrial cooperatives campaign); p. 140 (China Builds for Democracy); p. 144 (Dec. 1940 United States); p. 144 (vc American Committee in Aid of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives; China, Indusco II, 1979, founder of I)

UPB files, July 25, 2018 (1931, American consulate; Living China, short stories, 1935; photojournalism; Song of Ariran)

Found in 6 Collections and/or Records:

L. Tom Perry Special Collections chair records, 1986-2011

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 5589 Series 2
Scope and Contents Contains materials produced by the chair of Special Collections, including employee lists, correspondence, Charles Redd Center for Western Studies information, newspaper clippings, and information about the American Association of University Professors, fieldwork information, policies, a master list of registers, inventory lists, missing documents from Special Collections, minutes from the Special Collections Security Committee, infomation on the Smoot Endowment project, and reports and...
Dates: 1986-2011

L. Tom Perry Special Collections exhibit records, 1998-2018

 Series
Identifier: UA 5589 Series 3
Scope and Contents

Contains photographs of the Helen Foster Snow exhibit and presentation held in Special Collections, photographs and guest book used in the Helen Foster Snow exhibit, programs, fliers, posters, and other material for or related to the Helen Foster Snow exhibit. Dated 1998 to 2001. Also contains email printouts, notes, a compact disc, and fliers related to the BYU and the Great War exhibit, dated 2017 to 2018.

Dates: 1998-2018

L. Tom Perry Special Collections project records, 2002-2019

 Series
Identifier: UA 5589 Series 1
Scope and Contents Contains project records from the L. Tom Perry Special Collections at Brigham Young University. Included are materials documenting the department's use of archival content management systems and digital projects such as e-Workflows and the Integrated Digital Special Collections project, websites, video tutorials for the various projects, and audio-visual materials for the Motion Picture Archives Film Series of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections. Also includes conference planning files and...
Dates: 2002-2019

L. Tom Perry Special Collections project records on INDI, 2005-2008

 Sub-Series
Identifier: UA 5589 Series 1 Sub-Series 1
Scope and Contents

Contains development and design documents, correspondence, and presentations related to the INDI (Integrated Digital Special Collections) project to develop automated archival management software. Also includes the design documentation for the proposed INDI-lite project. Materials date from 2005 to 2008.

Dates: 2005-2008

L. Tom Perry Special Collections project records on Motion Picture Archives Film Series, 2002-2015

 Sub-Series — Box 6: Series 1 [Barcode: 31197232590072]
Identifier: UA 5589 Series 1 Sub-Series 2
Scope and Contents

Includes a collection of CDs and DVDs containing files pertaining to the L. Tom Perry Special Collections's Motion Picture Film Series. On these disks are movie poster backdrops, and recordings on discussions of important individuals pertaining to the series, including James Stewart, Cecil B. DeMille, and others. Materials dated 2002-2015.

Dates: 2002-2015

L. Tom Perry Special Collections records

 Collection
Identifier: UA 5589
Scope and Contents

Contains project, chair and exhibit records from the L. Tom Perry Special Collections. Included are materials documenting the department's use of archival content management systems, digital projects, websites, video tutorials, and conferences. Also includes the Helen Foster exhibit records from 2000 to 2001, and the BYU and the Great War exhibit from 2017 to 2018. Materials date from 1986 to 2019.

Dates: 1986-2019

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