Abstract: After the emergence of oral history, it has gradually developed a certain trend towards democratization, calling more attention to common people. This is a great breakthrough in comparison with traditional history and biography, for common people may play the roles of narrator and interviewer in oral history and preserve their own footprint in history. This footprint, however, is affected by the narrator’s own cognition and experiences or the interviewer’s control. Correspondingly, oral history has yet achieved the greatness of the presentation as history or biography.

Key words: oral history; democratization; biography; history; great personage

Dr. Wang Jun is Lecturer in College of Humanities at University of Overseas Chinese. His research interest is contemporary autobiography. His recent publications include “Sharing the Authority on the Basis of the Interview: The Nature of Oral History” (2012) and “Oral History in the Anglosphere: Practice and Research” (2011). He directs a State-Sponsored Project “Examining Contemporary Chinese Autobiography: A Survey” (IN: 14BZW127). Also he is on the team of the State-Sponsored Major Project “Compilation and Research of Overseas Life writing on Modern Chinese People ”(IN:11&ZD138) .