Mao's works among 'Red Relics' unsold at auction

A series of early editions of Selected Works of Mao Zedong failed to receive any bids over the weekend after they were put up for auction at 3.5 million yuan ($571,868) in Beijing, an employee from the China Guardian, the auction company that was in charge of the sale, confirmed to the Global Times on Monday.

The books included the earliest edition of Mao Zedong's essays and speeches that were systematically compiled. The edition was printed in 1944 by the Jinchaji Daily Press.

Some analysts believe that the 1944 edition is of important academic value as it sheds light on Mao's thoughts and the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC). It included five volumes of Mao's works and a total of over 400,000 Chinese characters.

The Jinchaji Daily later became the People's Daily, the Party's official newspaper, in 1948.

Other editions included print versions between 1945 and 1948.

Another copy of the 1944 edition of Selected Works of Mao Zedong was sold for 212,800 yuan at an auction held in 2010 in Beijing, drawing wide attention, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

"The price of the books was overestimated at the auction on Saturday, which was probably why no one bid for them," a source close to the auction told the Global Times.

Since 2009, the price of the "Red Relics," manuscripts or other collectables related to the history of the CPC, has been increasing in the market, the Hangzhou-based Youth Times reported.

A map of China during the period of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) and several other documents related to the CPC in the 1930s and '40s were also posted for auction on Saturday by the China Guardian.

The map was estimated at a price of 120,000 yuan and the documents 1.2 million yuan.

None of these items were sold.