About the Project
People's Letters is a digital archive that houses grassroots sources alongside governmental policies and documents related to letters written by ordinary people in the PRC especially during the Mao era. The archive is intended to support academic research and scholarly exchange. Its materials are drawn from the personal collections of researchers working in PRC history. We welcome collaboration with scholars who are interested in making their sources more widely accessible through this platform.
Architecture and Access
The project adopts a two-tiered access structure as both a methodological and ethical intervention. A public-facing site hosts non-sensitive materials, including redacted letters, published government documents, and other sources suitable for broad scholarly and pedagogical use. All personal names appearing in document titles are anonymized. Given names are replaced with pseudonyms, while surnames are retained only when they are common and cannot reasonably be linked to specific individuals. Locations and other identifying details are redacted to further protect privacy while preserving the historical value of the documents. The public site was initiated with support from the Michigan State University CHI Fellowship and is built using Omeka S. Ongoing development is supported by funding from the Michigan State University Digital Humanities Seed Grant program. Materials are accompanied by structured metadata, contextual information, and ethical-use guidance to facilitate responsible engagement with the archive.
A restricted-access repository, the People's Letters Repository, will provide vetted academic researchers with access to a wider range of primary materials under clearly defined ethical use protocols. This repository will include documents containing sensitive personal narratives that are not appropriate for full public release. Together, these two components are designed to balance accessibility with the protection of the individuals represented in the archive.
Repository Access
The People's Letters Repository is currently under construction, and a launch date has not yet been determined. Once access becomes available, researchers will be required to submit an application outlining their research interests and intended use of the materials. Access will be granted on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the archive’s ethical principles and access policies. Approved users must adhere to the archive's Community Guidelines for Ethical Use when working with these materials. Upholding ethical responsibility is central to this project; by applying for access, researchers are understood to agree to comply with all terms of use.
Transcription Policy
The archive does not provide full transcriptions of historical documents. This decision is guided by both scholarly and practical considerations. First, we believe that direct engagement with original documents, including their handwriting, formatting, and material characteristics, is an important part of historical research. Whenever possible, researchers should consult and interpret the original sources themselves rather than rely solely on transcriptions. Second, many documents in the collection are handwritten and can be difficult to decipher. Producing accurate transcriptions would require substantial time and labor, and even careful transcription may contain errors or uncertain readings. Rather than provide transcriptions that may inadvertently introduce inaccuracies, the archive prioritizes access to high-quality digital images of the original documents. Researchers are encouraged to make their own readings and interpretations of the sources.
Contact Us
We welcome inquiries and potential collaborations. If you have questions about the project or would like to contribute materials, please contact us.
Please fill out our contact form. In your message, please include your name, institutional affiliation, and a brief description of your inquiry.