Early People’s Republic of China

The People’s Republic of China was proclaimed in October 1949 after Communist victory on the mainland. The new government unified administration, redistributed land, reorganised industry and extended party institutions through villages, workplaces and schools. Campaigns against alleged counter-revolutionaries and political opponents accompanied rapid social and economic change.

Relations with the United States deteriorated sharply, especially during the Korean War, and ordinary travel and correspondence across the new political divide became difficult. Collectivisation and the Great Leap Forward later imposed further disruption and hardship before the Cultural Revolution opened a distinct phase in 1966.

This context supports fiction about foreign residents, mixed families and Chinese citizens whose private relationships are transformed by revolution and closed borders. Pearl S. Buck’s Letter from Peking centres on a marriage divided when Communist rule prevents normal communication between Beijing and the United States.