Books and Manuscripts

(Wuhan, Hubei Province): Revolutionary Committee of the Foreign Languages Department for the Revolutionary Committee of Central China Normal University, 1968. First and only edition. 8vo. (vi), viii, 607 pp. Illustrated with color portrait frontispiece of Mao, and black and white photographic reproduction of Chairman Mao with Vice-Chairman Lin Biao, with Biao's endorsement printed in red facsimile manuscript below. In original rare blue-green vinyl, printed in silver, over linen-backed paper-boards; all edges trimmed; Lin Biao's face and signature crossed out in blue ink; small ink stain in upper fore-edge of a few leaves at front; scattered spotting and toning to text leaves; some words and phrases crossed out in contemporary black ink, including Biao's name on p. 565.

First and only edition of this very rare Chinese-English dictionary. One of only a small number produced to train high-ranking Chinese officers of the People's Liberation Army and Red Guards when dealing with foreign diplomats and newsmen, using terms, expressions, catch-phrases and slogans in the language from the Cultural Revolution. The title was taken from a speech made by Chairman Mao on May 7, 1966, in which he declared that all intellectuals should be re-educated by the peasantry. Sections include "Chairman Mao's Poems," "Chairman Mao's Eight Important Documents," "Collection of Terms and Expressions in Current Use," "Revolutionary Slogans in Constant Use," and more.

Vice-Chairman Lin Biao, one of Mao's closest confidants and his chosen successor, features prominently in this volume, from the portrait of him and Mao together at front to the section of "Quotations from Vice-Chairman Lin Piao [Biao]" on pp. 203-230. Following the "Lin Biao Incident" in 1971, when Biao died in a plane crash after he was accused of plotting to assassinate Mao as part of a political coup, a decree was issued that Biao's name was to be eradicated from history. Following this, most copies of this work were mutilated to remove reference to Biao, and as seen in this copy, the portrait of Lin, part of his facsimile manuscript, and other portions featuring his name are defaced, although the section of his "Quotations" remains unadulterated.

According to Justin Schiller, "The blue color vinyl binding was generally put on copies of all books during this time which were not yet officially published but, one may imply, prior to official publication. This copy is the only blue color binding I have ever seen on this book."