From The People’s Daily Online:
The State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) bought the rare manuscripts of Hu Shi’s letters at the price of 5,544,000 yuan in China Guardian’s 2009 Spring Auction Saturday. It is the first time the State decided to use the preemptive right to buy a cultural relic.
Dozens of letters between New Culture Movement leader Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu, Liang Qichao and Xu Zhimo during 1920-30s, totaling 13 letters and 27 pages, are the precious collections of these rare historical documents.
Chen Duxiu’s letter to Hu Shi.
The letters concern the establishment of independent newspaper “New Youth” in 1920, the breakdown of “New Youth” editorial colleagues in 1920, demonstrations and strikes of students in Shanghai in 1920, the participation of Hu Shi in the ‘Aftermath Solution Meeting’ of Duan Qirui’s government, and the publication of Chen Duxiu’s drafts written in prison.
There is no word on where the letters will be stored or what kind of access researchers will have to the documents. Hu Shi is a fascinating figure in modern Chinese history.
Hu was a key figure in the May Fourth Movement but grew disenchanted with revolution as a force for social change