China Reconstructs was a magazine published out of Beijing and Shanghai by the China Welfare Institute, which was founded in 1938 by Soong Ching-ling, Honorary President of the People's Republic of China and wife of Sun Yat-sen. Its remit was to "present the work and achievements of the Chinese people to people abroad who believe that all nations should cooperate for peace and mutual benefit." As such, it was to "concentrate on reporting reconstruction and new construction in our country and the changes that have come into the lives of our citizens."
The magazine was established in 1952 by Soong, with the help of the naturalized Chinese citizen Israel Epstein, and was directed by her until her death in 1981. Originally, it was issued six times per year but became a monthly in 1955. It was eventually published in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Russian.
In 1990 the magazine's name was changed China Today. It seems to have ceased publication at the end of 2007.
(The following scans are sourced from https://archive.org and from https://bannedthought.net)
Index of Available Volumes
1952 — Volume I:
# 1 — January-February, 56 pages, PDF format [14,028 KB]
# 2 — March-April, 54 pages, PDF format [13,438 KB]
# 4 — July-August, 57 pages, PDF format [24,649 KB]
1953 — Volume II:
# 6 — November-December. [Issue itself not yet available.]
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Supplement: “Between Husband and Wife: A Play in One Act”, by the Peking People’s Art Theatre, 23 pages. PDF format [2,752 KB]
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Supplement: “Index for 1953 issues”, 2 pages, PDF format [1,793 KB]
1954 — Volume III:
# 1 — January-February, 56 pages, PDF format [25,556 KB]
# 2 — March-April, 55 pages, PDF format [25,494 KB]
# 3 — May-June. [Issue itself not yet available.]
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Supplement: “Mistress Clever: A Chinese Folk Tale”, 26 pages. PDF format [3,532 KB]
# 6 — November-December. [Issue itself not yet available.]
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Supplement: “Index for 1954 issues”, 2 pages. PDF format [2,967 KB]
1956 — Volume V:
# 1 — January, 36 pages, PDF format [15,085 KB]
#10 — October, 36 pages, plus 2-page subscription leaflet. PDF format [19,205 KB]
#12 — December, 36 pages. PDF format [18,292 KB]
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Supplement: “Index for 1956 issues”, 2 pages. PDF format [3,947 KB]
1957 — Volume VI:
# 1 — January. [Complete issue not yet available.]
-
Cover image: PDF format [415 KB]
#12 — December. [Issue itself not yet available.]
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Supplement: “Index for 1957 issues”, 2 pages. PDF format [3,417 KB]
1966 — Volume XV:
# 1 — January, 48 pages, PDF format [19,263 KB]
# 2 — February, 48 pages, PDF format [16,438 KB]
# 3 — March, 48 pages, PDF format [19,769 KB]
# 5 — May, 46 pages, (missing pages 24-25), PDF format [14,457 KB]
# 6 — June, 44 pages, (missing pages 4-5 and 12-13), PDF format [13,270 KB]
# 9 — September, 68 pages, PDF format [23,546 KB]
#10 — October, 62 pages, including 2-page press communiqué announcing China’s first guided missile nuclear test. PDF format [20,848 KB]
1967 — Volume XVI:
# 1 — January, 50 pages, PDF format [19,923 KB]
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Supplement: 1967 Calendar, featuring photos of clay figurines, 11 pages. [Missing first page.] PDF format [1,136 KB]
# 5 — May [Issue itself not yet available.]
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Supplement: “Patriotism or National Betrayal? — On the Reactionary Film Inside Story of the Ching Court”, by Chi Pen-yu, 12 pages. PDF format [5,207 KB]
# 8 — August, Special Issue on the 25th Anniversary of Chairman Mao Tse-tung’s ‘Talks at the Yenan Forum on Literature and Art’, 72 pages, PDF format [27,970 KB]
#11 — November [Complete issue not yet available.]
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Supplement: “Along the Socialist Road or the Capitalist Road?”, by the editorial departments of Hongqi and Renmin Ribao; and “Comments on Tao Chu’s Two Books”, by Yao Wen-yuan, 20 pages. PDF format [9,331 KB]
1968 — Volume XVII:
# 1 — January, 48 pages, PDF format [20,462 KB]
# 2 — February, 48 pages, PDF format [20,094 KB]
#10 — October, 52 pages, PDF format [26,962 KB]
1969 — Volume XVIII:
# 5 — May, 52 pages, PDF format [25,344 KB]
#12 — December, 52 pages, PDF format [41,291 KB]
1970 — Volume XIX:
# 1 — January, 52 pages, PDF format [28,501 KB]
# 2 — February, Special Issue on the revolutionary opera “Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy”, 46 pages, PDF format [15,499 KB]
# 4 — April [Issue itself not yet available.]
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Supplement: “Commemorating the Centenary of the Birth of the Great Lenin”, 24 pages, PDF format [7,455 KB]
# 5 — May, including supplement: “Premier Chou En-lai Pays Friendship Visit to Korea”, 80 pages, PDF format [25,500 KB]
Extra Issue — May, “People of the World, Unite and Defeat the U.S. Aggressors and All their Running Dogs!”, 30 pages, PDF format [9,733 KB]
1971 — Volume XX:
# 6 — June, 52 pages, PDF format [25,939 KB]# 8 — August, 52 pages, PDF format [25,236 KB]
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Supplement: “Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Communist Party of China”, 20 pages, PDF format [2,047 KB]
#10 — October [Issue itself not yet available.]
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Supplement: “Table Tennis and Friendship”, 48 pages. [Note: Although dated October, this supplement may have been mailed with the December 1971 issue.], PDF format [13,610 KB]
#12 — December, 52 pages, PDF format [19,393 KB]
1972 — Volume XXI:
# 1 — January, 52 pages, PDF format [17,767 KB]
# 2 — February, 60 pages, PDF format [30,204 KB]
# 3 — March, 52 pages, PDF format [26,390 KB]
# 4 — April, 52 pages, PDF format [20,184 KB]
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Supplement: “Joint Communique”, of President Nixon’s visit to China, 8 pages, PDF format [3,533 KB]
# 5 — May, 52 pages, PDF format [16,960 KB]
# 6 — June, 52 pages, PDF format [19,098 KB]
# 7 — July, 48 pages, PDF format [15,550 KB] Includes “Gateway to Chinese”, beginning a new series of lessons in the Chinese language.
# 9 — September, 52 pages, PDF format [20,492 KB]
#10 — October, 48 pages, PDF format [19,350 KB]
#11 — November, 52 pages, PDF format [20,991 KB]
#12 — December, 52 pages, PDF format [26,875 KB]
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Supplement: “New Page in Annals of Sino-Japanese Relations”, 12 pages, PDF format [6,738 KB]
1973 — Volume XXII:
# 1 — January, 52 pages, PDF format [27,294 KB]
# 2 — February, 48 pages, PDF format [25,513 KB]
# 3 — March, 48 pages, PDF format [22,463 KB]
# 4 — April, 48 pages, PDF format [23,252 KB]
# 5 — May, 52 pages, plus subscription insert, PDF format [25,768 KB]
# 6 — June, 48 pages, scanned from bound volume with some slight distortions of images, PDF format [25,116 KB]
# 7 — July, 52 pages, scanned from bound volume with some slight distortions of images, PDF format [27,757 KB]
# 8 — August, 52 pages, scanned from bound volume with some slight distortions of images, PDF format [30,547 KB]
# 9 — September, 48 pages, scanned from bound volume with some slight distortions of images, PDF format [22,768 KB]
#10 — October, 48 pages, PDF format [25,345 KB]
#11 — November, 52 pages, PDF format [26,492 KB]
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Supplement: “The Tenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China (Documents)”, 36 pages, PDF format [4,500 KB]
#12 — December, 52 pages, PDF format [28,615 KB]
1974 — Volume XXIII:
# 1 — January, 52 pages, PDF format [24,386 KB]
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Supplement: “Some Basic Facts About China: Ten Questions and Answers”, 95 pages. Includes sections on People’s Communes, Neighborhood Life, the General Line for Socialist Construction, National Economic Development, the Policy of ‘Walking on Two Legs’, Women, Minorities, Education and Health. PDF Format [12,842 KB]
# 2 — February, 52 pages, PDF format [24,670 KB]
# 3 — March, 48 pages, PDF format [26,000 KB]
# 4 — April, 52 pages, PDF format [24,872 KB]
# 5 — May, 52 pages, PDF format [23,407 KB]
# 6 — June, 52 pages, PDF format [27,476 KB]
# 7 — July, 52 pages, PDF format [26,251 KB]
# 8 — August, 52 pages, PDF format [26,186 KB]
# 9 — September, 52 pages, PDF format [24,961 KB]
#10 — October, 52 pages, PDF format [27,534 KB]
#11 — November, 52 pages, PDF format [25,916 KB]
#12 — December, 52 pages, PDF format [27,486 KB]
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Supplement: “At the U.N.: Chairman of Chinese Delegation Chiao Kuan-hua’s Speech”, Oct. 2, 1974, 8 pages. PDF format [1,160 KB]
1975 — Volume XXIV:
# 1 — January, 52 pages (plus 6 page insert: “Basics of the Chinese Language”), PDF format [27,142 KB]
# 2 — February, 52 pages, PDF format [26,929 KB]
# 3 — March, 52 pages, PDF format [22,052 KB]
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Supplement: “Communique of the Second Plenary Session of the Tenth Central Committee of the CPC”, 28 pages. PDF format [3,645 KB]
# 4 — April, 52 pages, PDF format [27,943 KB]
# 5 — May, 52 pages, PDF format [26,532 KB]
# 6 — June, 52 pages, scanned quite well from a bound volume, PDF format [25,399 KB]
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Supplement: “The Chinese People Warmly Congratulate the Great Victories of the Cambodian and the Vietnamese Peoples”, 24 pages, PDF format [5,356 KB]
# 7 — July, 52 pages, PDF format [27,144 KB]
# 8 — August, 52 pages, PDF format [26,851 KB]
# 9 — September, 52 pages, PDF format [26,104 KB]
#10 — October, 52 pages, PDF format [19,042 KB]
#11 — November, 52 pages, PDF format [24,947 KB]
#12 — December, 60 pages, PDF format [31,645 KB]
1976 — Volume XXV:
# 1 — January, 52 pages, scanned moderately well from a bound volume, PDF format [25,969 KB]
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Supplement: “More Basic Facts About China”, 105 pages, PDF Format [17,390 KB]
# 2 — February, 52 pages, scanned moderately well from a bound volume, PDF format [27,107 KB]
# 3 — March, 52 pages, scanned moderately well from a bound volume, PDF format [31,859 KB]
# 4 — April, 56 pages, PDF format [13,477 KB]
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Supplement: “Eternal Glory to Comrade Chou En-lai, Great Proletarian Revolutionary of the Chinese and Outstanding Communist Fighter!”, 28 pages, PDF format [4,397 KB]
# 5 — May, 52 pages, PDF format [27,758 KB]
# 7 — July, 52 pages, PDF format [24,775 KB]
# 8 — August, 52 pages, scanned moderately well from a bound volume, PDF format [27,455 KB]
1977 — Volume XXVI:
# 1 — January [Issue itself not yet available.]
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Supplement: “Chairman Hua Kuo-feng’s Speech at the Second National Conference on Learning from Tachai in Agriculture”, 16 pages, PDF format [1,372 KB]
1978 — Volume XXVII:
# 1 — January, 56 pages, PDF format [28,634 KB]
# 2 — February, 56 pages, PDF format [26,900 KB]
# 3 — March, 56 pages, PDF format [27,298 KB]
# 4 — April, 56 pages, PDF format [30,843 KB]
# 5 — May, 56 pages, PDF format [26,764 KB]
# 6 — June, 56 pages, PDF format [29,371 KB]
# 7 — July, 56 pages, PDF format [27,604 KB]
# 8 — August, 56 pages, PDF format [27,792 KB]
# 9 — September, 56 pages, PDF format [27,256 KB]
#10 — October, 60 pages, PDF format [26,171 KB]
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Supplement: “Medical Care for China’s Millions”, 80 pages. PDF format [7,521 KB]
#11 — November, 60 pages, PDF format [29,200 KB]
#12 — December, 60 pages, PDF format [30,030 KB]
1979 — Volume XXVIII:
# 1 — January, 76 pages, PDF format [12,228 KB]
# 2 — February, 84 pages, PDF format [13,673 KB]
# 3 — March, 84 pages, PDF format [12,528 KB]
# 4 — April, 84 pages, PDF format [13,342 KB]
# 5 — May, 84 pages, PDF format [13,381 KB]
# 6 — June, 76 pages, PDF format [12,003 KB]
# 7 — July, 84 pages, PDF format [14,009 KB]
# 8 — August, 84 pages, PDF format [14,197 KB]
# 9 — September, 76 pages, PDF format [12,408 KB]
#10— October, 84 pages, PDF format [13,485 KB]
#11— November, 76 pages, PDF format [12,006 KB]
#12— December, 76 pages, PDF format [12,381 KB]
1980 — Volume XXIX:
# 1 — January, 76 pages, PDF format [18,583 KB]
# 2 — February, 76 pages, PDF format [18,666 KB]
# 3 — March, 84 pages. [Includes index of 1979 issues.] PDF format [20,938 KB]
# 4 — April, 76 pages, PDF format [31,736 KB]
# 5 — May, 76 pages, PDF format [31,674 KB]
# 6 — June, 84 pages, PDF format [35,133 KB]
# 7 — July, 84 pages, PDF format [36,355 KB]
# 8 — August, 76 pages, PDF format [13,106 KB]
# 9 — September, 76 pages, PDF format [12,142 KB]
#10 — October, 72 pages. [Missing pages 25-26 and 47-48, which may have been pages of color photos. This appears to have been a printing error.] PDF format [12,389 KB]
#11 — November, 76 pages, PDF format [13,172 KB]
#12 — December, 84 pages including 1980 index, PDF format [12,424 KB]
1981 — Volume XXX:
# 1 — January, 76 pages. PDF format [12,476 KB]
# 2 — February, 76 pages. PDF format [12,303 KB]
# 3 — March, 76 pages. PDF format [12,535 KB]
# 4 — April, 76 pages. PDF format [12,752 KB]
# 5 — May, 76 pages. PDF format [12,920 KB]
# 6 — June, 76 pages. PDF format [12,790 KB]
# 7 — July, 76 pages. PDF format [12,879 KB]
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Supplement: Announcing the death of Soong Ching Ling (Mme. Sun Yat-sen), 16 pages. PDF format [2,570 KB]
# 8 — August, 76 pages. PDF format [12,963 KB]# 9 — September, 76 pages. PDF format [13,446 KB]
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Supplement: “In Memory of Soong Ching Ling: 1893-1981”, 76 pages. PDF format [11,936 KB]
#10 — October, 76 pages, PDF format [13,192 KB] Includes:
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Subscription leaflet insert, 4 pages: PDF format [179 KB]
#11 — November, 76 pages. PDF format [12,335 KB]
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Supplement: “Chairman Ye Jianying’s Elaborations on Policy Concerning Return of Taiwan to Motherland and Peaceful Reunification in an Interview with Xinhua Correspondent”, September 30, 1981, 4 pages. PDF format [208 KB]
#12 — December, 86 pages, including 8-page 1981 index and 2-page subscription leaflet. PDF format
1982 — Volume XXXI:
# 1 — January, 86 pages, including a 2-page subscription leaflet. PDF format [13,983 KB]
# 2 — February, 78 pages, including a 2-page subscription leaflet. PDF format [12,867 KB]
# 3 — March, 78 pages, including a 2-page subscription leaflet. PDF format [13,706 KB]
# 4 — April, 78 pages, including a 2-page subscription leaflet. PDF format [13,780 KB]
# 5 — May, 78 pages, including a 2-page subscription leaflet. PDF format [13,602 KB]
# 6 — June, 78 pages, including a 2-page subscription leaflet. PDF format [13,134 KB]
# 7 — July, 78 pages, including a 2-page subscription leaflet. PDF format [12,519 KB]
# 8 — August, 78 pages, including a 2-page subscription leaflet. PDF format [12,383 KB]
# 9 — September, 78 pages, including a 2-page subscription leaflet. PDF format [13,903 KB]
#10 — October, 78 pages, including a 2-page subscription leaflet. PDF format [12,358 KB]
#11 — November, 78 pages, including a 2-page subscription leaflet. PDF format [13,106 KB]
#12 — December, 84 pages including 1982 index, PDF format [11,919 KB]
1998 — Volume XXXI:
# 6 — June, 78 pages. [Note: This copy is missing 2 pages of color photographs, possibly pp. 5-6.] PDF format [11,817 KB]
2007 — Volume LVI:
#12 — December, 93 pages including 2007 index, PDF format [24,663 KB]