The Snows and China
An Wei:
Edgar Snow was late in their first meeting, but he fell in love with Helen immediately.
Sharon Crane:
To see this young beautiful and enthusiastic woman was a breath of fresh air for him.
Affection was being exchanged in the eyes of Ed and Helen. Edgar said Helen was just like a girl next door. In 1932, the young couple married on a simple wedding.
Sharon Crane:
Helen Snow was the one that loved to share ideas. So they were just immediately, head to head, talking about ideas, about what happened in China. And once they were married, they constantly shared ideas. (It was )not just what you would see, but what can be done. Let's do it. They were both doers.
An Wei:
Their marriage helped both to succeed. Without this marriage, Edgar Snow could have not achieved much or written Red Star over China.
Sharon Crane:
Their marriage was magical, absolutely magical. She had no idea, when she came to China, that she would meet someone in China to marry.
An Wei:
He stayed in China and in the East simply for Helen. Otherwise, he would have left China in 1931. Red Star over China was published in 1937, It was based on his visit and interviews in northern Shaanxi in 1936. So if it were not for this marriage, it would have been impossible for Ed to make his name in reporting the Chinese revolution.
Following their wedding, Edgar and Helen Snow left boisterous Shanghai and settled in Beijing, the ancient capital of China. Employed by Yenching University as a lecturer in journalism, Edgar converted their courtyard in suburban Peking into a club for foreign journalists and progressive Chinese students. Many of these students later became the cornerstone of the revolution in China. In the process of helping Chinese students to organize events, Edgar and Helen were greatly inspired. They were driven to participate in their cause out of sympathy. Since 1935, they had been writing on the Japanese invasion for the foreign press. They also helped to have works of patriotic students delivered overseas by foreign journalists.
