US EditionStanford University Wins Battle to Keep Diaries of Mao Zedong's Secretary Li Rui
The court found Li Rui intended the papers for preservation at Hoover and said the Beijing judgment was not enforceable.
- On Tuesday, a district court in Oakland, California, ruled that the Hoover Institution Library & Archives at Stanford University may retain the personal archives of Li Rui, a former secretary to Mao Zedong, rejecting a conflicting Chinese court judgment.
- Li Rui's widow, Zhang Yuzhen, sued her stepdaughter, Li Nanyang, in China, seeking the return of the manuscripts after a Beijing court ordered the diaries handed over to her, prompting Stanford to initiate this U.S. quiet title action.
- During the trial, Stanford argued that Li feared the Chinese Communist Party would suppress his history, including his eyewitness diaries of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Lawyers maintained he intended for his documents to be preserved by Hoover.
- The court concluded the donation was "lawful and in accordance with Li's wishes," formally declining to enforce the Zhang Judgment. This ensures the collection remains at Stanford for scholarly research and public review.
- Condoleezza Rice, director of the Hoover Institution, stated the decision "ensures one of the most valuable firsthand accounts on the history of modern China will be freely available for study," preserving records that would likely be banned if returned.
19 Articles
19 Articles
Saudi Gazette
AlKhaleej TodayStanford wins battle to keep personal archives of Mao's secretary
A district court in California has ruled that Stanford University can keep the personal archives of a former secretary to Mao Zedong, the founder of modern China.
Diaries of Mao Zedong aide can stay at Stanford rather than return to China, U.S. court rules
The diaries of an aide to former Chinese leader Mao Zedong can stay at Stanford University, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, ending a yearslong legal battle that had raised concern they would no longer be accessible if returned to China.
The Union Democrat
Court Rules Li Rui Collection to Remain at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University
STANFORD, Calif., March 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A district court in Oakland, CA, has ruled to uphold the expressed wishes of Li Rui, a former secretary to Mao Zedong, to have his personal archives made publicly available for preservation and…
"There Is Evidence That This Particular Proceeding Before the Beijing Court Was Dominated by the" Chinese Communist Party,
A short excerpt from from today's long opinion by Judge John Tigar (N.D. Cal.) in Stanford Univ. v. Yuzhen; I am an employee of Hoover and Stanford, but I haven't been involved in the lawsuit, and wasn't prompted by anyone to write bout it: Plaintiff Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University seeks to quiet title in certain materials denominated the Li Materials, which consist of original materials written by Chinese political figure…
Stanford vs. Yuzhen: Court Declines to Enforce Chinese Judgment on Li Rui Materials
Archyde A U.S. Federal court has declined to enforce a judgment issued by a Beijing court in a dispute over the literary estate of Li Rui, a former secretary to Mao ... Read More The post Stanford vs. Yuzhen: Court Declines to Enforce Chinese Judgment on Li Rui Materials appeared first on Archyde.
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