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Alice Langley Hsieh Papers,

 Collection
Identifier: Ms-1979-004

Scope and Content

The Alice Langley Hsieh collection consists of three parts: (1) the personal papers and publications of Alice Langley Hsieh (1922-1979), a U.S. State Department, RAND corporation, and Institute for the Defense Analyses specialist on the military of the People's Republic of China; (2) the manuscripts of books written by her spouse, C. Kien Hsieh, himself an authority on Communist China; and (3) collateral publications from A. L. Hsieh's library on the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), the Maoist Cultural Revolution, Chinese nuclear capability, Japanese security fources, and other Far Eastern topics and issues.

Dates

  • Creation: 1943 - 1978

Creator

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from Alice Langley Hsieh Papers must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Biographical Note

Born Alice Edith Langley, Hsieh graduated from Queens College (Flushing, New York) in 1943 and did graduate work at Clark University (history and international relations), Stanford University (history and U.S. Foreign Policy), George Washington University (law), and the University of California at Berkeley (Chinese). She became an International Relations Officer and Foreign Service Officer for the Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs of the U.S. State Department (1945-1955) and was a member of the U.S. Delegation to the Far Eastern Commission (1946-1952). In 1951, she served as Special Assistant to the U.S. Political Advisor to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, Tokyo, Japan.

From 1955 to 1958, Hsieh served as a consultant to the RAND Corporation and became a member of the RAND Senior Staff (1958-1969), specializing in Communist China's foreign policy, military doctrine and developments (including nuclear), internal Army-Party relations, Sino-Japanese relations, and general security matters in the Far East.

In 1969, she joined the International and Social Studies Division of the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) as a research staff member, continuing to specialize in the same areas. From 1971 to 1973, she was incapacitated be a serious illness, regaining a limited level of activity in the latter year. She continued to write, do research, and accumulate reference materials through 1978, but her active publication period is confined to the earlier years. Hsieh served as a consultant to the U.S. State Department throughout her later career, and appeared several times before Congressional committees, testifying on Communist China's nuclear capability and intentions, and on the development of a U.S. Anti-China anti-ballistic missile system.

Hsieh died in November 1979.

Full Extent

8 Cubic Feet (8 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Alice Langley Hsieh collection consists of three parts: (1) the personal papers and publications of Alice Langley Hsieh (1922-1979), a U.S. State Department, RAND corporation, and Institute for the Defense Analyses specialist on the military of the People's Republic of China; (2) the manuscripts of books written by her spouse, C. Kien Hsieh, himself an authority on Communist China; and (3) collateral publications from A. L. Hsieh's library on the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), the Maoist Cultural Revolution, Chinese nuclear capability, Japanese security fources, and other Far Eastern topics and issues.

Arrangement

The Hsieh collection consists of 8 boxes. The collection contains three series: Series I: Alice Langley Hsieh Papers; Series II: C. Kien Hsieh Papers; and Series III: Subject Files.

Series I: Alice Langley Hsieh Papers contains biographical information, correspondence, manuscript materials, publications, work files, and presentation notes. This series is arranged by material type. Within each material type, items are arranged chronologically, whenever possible.

Series II: C. Kien Hsieh Papers contains manuscript chapters from publications, as well as research notes. This series is in its orignal order.

Series III: Subject Files contains reference materials collected by Hsieh throughout her career. Topics generally related to China and other parts of Asia. Please note: Many items or files in this series are cross-referenced with previous series. Notes regarding cross-references are included in the item/file description. This series is arranged alphabetically by subject file title. Within each subject file, items are arranged chronologically.

Location

Collection is in off-site storage and requires 2-3 days notice for retrieval. Please contact Special Collections for further information.

Acquisition Information

The Alice Langley Hsieh Papers were donated to Special Collections in 1979.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Alice Langley Hsieh Papers was completed prior to 2006. The exisiting paper finding aid was converted to an electronic finding aid in 2010.

Title
A Guide to the Alice Langley Hsieh Papers, 1943-1978
Status
Completed
Subtitle
A Collection in Special Collections
Date
© 2010 By Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. All rights reserved.
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections, Virginia Tech Repository

Contact:
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308