Author: Cheng T. H. [Zheng, Z.]
Title: Distributional list of Chinese birds (revised edition).
Description: Peking, Chinese Academy of Sciences, "1976" [1978]. Thick 8vo (20.1 x 13.9 cm). xvii, 1218 pp.; 829 distribution maps. Original green buckram with gilt title on the spine and front board. = An important, already rare work on Chinese birds by the Chinese ornithologist Tso-hsin Cheng [also spelled Zheng Zuoxin] (1906-1998), including a large (50 pp.) bibliography and with index of species recorded (Chinese and Latin names). During Mao's Cultural Revolution "...[s]cientific work came to a halt and a slogan was that 'the more knowledge you possess, the more you are a revolutionary'. Cheng was declared as a criminal as he had opposed Chairman Mao's campaign against sparrows. He was told that "birds are public animals of capitalism". He had to wear a badge saying 'reactionary' and was made to undergo an examination and made to sweep the corridors and clean toilets. He was given a bird made up of parts from multiple species to identify. After failing the "test" his salary was reduced to a bare minimum. In August 1966 he was kept in isolation in a cowshed for six months and his house was searched by Red Guards who confiscated all his belongings including a typewriter that he valued the most. The Academia Sinica was occupied by the Red Guards from 1967 to 1968 when Mao ordered their removal. Peace returned only in the 1970s and his major work on the birds of China was again sent for publication after being rejected once earlier. It was published in 1978 but dated as 1976 and he was made to include a long quotation from Mao even though Mao had since died. " (Wikipedia). The checklist includes all the birds recorded up to 1976 (1165 species, belonging to 21 orders and 81 families). In Chinese with Latin and English bird names, and with a short summary in English, outlining the scope of this work. Small former owner's stamp in the title page top margin, a few light pencil markings in the reference list, otherwise very good, clean.

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