1 Helen Foster Snow – Work Together
Though unknown to most Americans, in China journalist Helen Foster Snow, is considered one of the 10 greatest women of the 20th century. Helen lived and worked in China from 1931 to 1940 and was witness to the Cultural Revolution there. In 1937 she interviewed Mao Zedong and also got his support for what would become the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives movement.
Born in Cedar City in 1907, she grew up learning about farming and camping and was immersed in the spirit of communal cooperation prevalent among Mormon communities in southern Utah. These skills and experiences would later prove invaluable in China when she played a key role in creating a movement of successful industrial cooperatives known as Gung-Ho, which translates into English as, “work together.”
2 Helen Foster Snow – Bridging
As a proud daughter of Cedar City, an independent thinker, writer, journalist and activist, Helen Foster Snow devoted her life to “bridging”. All of her writing and thinking provides a “bridge to the future”. It is a body of writing that bridges over, not between extremes of any kind, to find the valid thesis for building the best future.
Former U.S. senator Orrin Hatch affirmed Helen Foster Snow’s contributions at her funeral in 1997 saying, “Mrs. Snow built a bridge of goodwill between the hearts of the Americans to the hearts of the Chinese people. Let her life stand as a reminder that what lies behind the very different political systems of the world are real people whose hearts and minds are not so far
apart.”
Minna Gao
3 Helen Foster Snow – Artists: Yushan Liu & Meng Fudan
This statue titled, “Heroine of China” was codesigned and created by Mr. Liu Yushan and Mr. Meng Fudan from China. Liu is a contemporary artist and board member of the China Artists Association (中国美术家协会.) Meng is a sculptor and president of the Guangzhou Sculpture Academy, where the statue was cast. Works of both artists can be found in many public places such as museums, libraries, and parks throughout China.
Speaking of the cultural importance of this work, the former mayor of Cedar City Gerald R Sherratt said, “It is being financed by the Cedar City Redevelopment Agency, by Chinese Merchants, and a donation from the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. The donation is thus a joint gift to the community from the people of the City and from their counterparts in China.”