Exhibition shows power of the Communist Manifesto

How many versions of Communist Manifesto are there in the world?

That's hard to answer, but the staff members at the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau were able to display 300 at their recent exhibition: "Spread of the Communist Manifesto around the world".

The main function of the bureau, which was founded in 1942, is to collect and translate documents related to Communist Party of China's history, and the Communist Manifesto is an important part of their archive. Last year they decided to put all of them together for a show and it finally came earlier this month.

"The Communist Manifesto is an influential historical document," said Jia Gaojian, director of the bureau, "And we hope our collection can assist historical research."

In the exhibition center at the bureau, the various translations are displayed according to their languages, more than 100. The exhibits include some of the earliest versions in China.

Being bound in thread and with the type set vertically, they were among the first ones that influenced the earliest communists in China, mainly students and intellectuals. The copies differ in size – with the biggest being printed on octavo paper, and the smallest needing a magnifier to read.

One special copy was used by Mao Zedong to study English; he read the text in English and made remarks in Chinese with a pencil. These comments are still clear today.

Together with the manifestos, are some very valuable texts by Karl Marx, including two pieces from his notes while he was living in London, and two letters to comrades dated Feb 9 and Sept 25, 1872.