2015年CRI The Trumpeter on the Book Cover-Bond between Two Families

 

The later generations of Edgar Snow, author of the book Red Star Over China, have met the son of Xie Liquan, the trumpet¹ playing figure on the cover of the book in Beijing.

Red Star Over China, a 1937 book by American journalist Edgar Snow, is an account of the Communist Party of China written while it was still obscure² to Westerners.

The book is considered as one of the most influential³ books on western understanding of the Chinese revolution in the 1930s.

Blake Anthony, who came to Beijing with his grandmother Sheril Bischoff, the niece of Edgar Snow's wife, says the book has had a great influence on him.

"It is because of this book that I eventually began to study Chinese, and it's why my grandmother is able to come and make new friends with the relatives of the people who fought in World War II and Chinese revolution as well."

Blake also says the message the book conveys to the world is still valid⁴ now.

"I think it is still valid now because it gives route to modern China. The Chinese Communist Party gained strength and finally was able to fight back Japanese invasion, which eventually led to CPC leading China and also China's success today. For political scientists and people who study history, when studying modern China, one of the required readings is Red Star Over China."

After the book was published, the cover picture in which a Chinese soldier posed⁵ with a trumpet became very popular.

For decades people had no idea who the figure on the cover was.

Xie Xiaopeng, son of Xie Liquan, the figure on the cover of the book, explains the reasons.

"For a long time, my father didn't talk much of the episode⁶. He saw the picture in 1972 and wrote his experience in a letter. He gave the letter to us before he died of cancer in 1973. He did not consider himself a war hero. Instead, he says his life was saved by many people."

Xie Xiaopeng expressed his appreciation⁷ to Edgar Snow for his professional ethics⁸.

"We bear great appreciation to Snow. I've liked collecting his books since I was young. I admire his sense of righteousness and his courage of reporting facts. He dares to seek the truth. Besides, I like his writing style and his choice of words. They are vivid and expressive⁹. "

At the ceremony initiated¹⁰ by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of Zhongshan in south China's Guangdong Province, the members of the two families exchanged gifts with each other.

The book Red Star Over China is written based on Snow's observations and findings after he visited then CPC revolutionary bases in northwest China where he interviewed top leaders including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Peng Dehuai.

It has been translated into over twenty different languages after it was first published in 1937.

1 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

2 obscure   

adj.微暗的，难解的，不著名的，（语音学）轻音的；vt.使...阴暗，隐藏，使...含糊，成为含糊的元音；n.暗淡，模糊

参考例句：

• The point of his speech is obscure.他发言的要点模糊不清。
• The joke did not obscure the underlying seriousness of his point.玩笑并没有掩盖他的观点隐含的严肃性。

3 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

4 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

5 posed   

使摆姿势( pose的过去式和过去分词 )； 以…身份出现； 招摇； 炫耀

参考例句：

• The players strutted and posed for the cameras. 运动员昂首阔步，摆好姿势让记者拍照。
• After the wedding we all posed for a photograph. 婚礼之后，我们全体排好拍了一张照片。

6 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。

7 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

8 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

9 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

10 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。