Sinica venetiana

Giuseppe Regis, Diario cinese 1957-1961

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open access | peer reviewed

Abstract
In 1957, Giuseppe Regis moved to Beijing with his wife, Maria Arena, and their son, Vittorio, where they lived until 1961. During this period, he played a pivotal role in fostering commercial relations with the People’s Republic of China on behalf of the Italian Communist Party. This position brought him into direct contact with major Chinese economic and trade institutions, allowing him to witness both Mao’s China during the Great Leap Forward and one of the most complex stages of the Cold War: the years of the Sino-Soviet split. Upon returning to Italy, Regis and Arena established Edizioni Oriente, the leading Italian publishing house dedicated to introducing and discussing Maoism. Regis’s journal from his four years in China is accompanied by an introductory essay by Laura De Giorgi and a biographical profile by Gilda Zazzara. A selection of original photographs of the family’s life in China and a bibliographical appendix of Regis’s works further enrich the volume.

Keywords Sino‑Italian relations • Edizioni Oriente • Italian Communism • Italy‑China relations • Maoism • Maria Arena • Vento dell’Est Journal • Italy-China relations • Giuseppe Regis • Cold War • Cold War China • Cultural diplomacy

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-958-0 | e-ISBN 978-88-6969-958-0 | ISBN (PRINT) 978-88-6969-959-7 | Published Nov. 17, 2025 | Language it

Copyright © 2025 Laura De Giorgi, Gilda Zazzara. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.