Long Shadows over New Beginnings? Oral History in Contemporary China

Oral history has a long, complex, and at times troubled history in China. This article reviews a few aspects of the twentieth-century history of oral history in China and the more recent development of oral history in this broader context. I argue that oral historians may profit from learning more about the rich and difficult path oral history took in China in the twentieth century. I hope to stimulate a debate among oral historians in China and elsewhere about the meanings of China's long history of oral history for today's practitioners.