Questions of perspective

Liu Dong, director of the Sino-West Academy of Zhejiang University, introduces US research on China in the first chapter of the course, and he focuses on American historian John King Fairbank's Chinese studies.

According to Liu, during Fairbank's rise at Harvard University in the 1930s, he adopted a regional study method of researching China. Different from the traditional Sinology research in Europe, which focused on ancient Chinese classics, Fairbank's group conducted a comprehensive interdisciplinary study on modern China. This involved economics, politics, psychology and many other social and human sciences, which became the mainstream of Sinology study.

Fairbank's studies on China tend to be "general", and it is related to his leading role in this area, according to Liu. He liked and often accepted new ideas, so that his works kept progressing. He had the ability to organize scholars to do research with the funds he applied. And although his research was in the interest of the United States, he didn't sacrifice objectiveness.

"Even when the US and China had a close relationship, Fairbank and his colleagues didn't conceal their critiques of China, but when McCarthyism came, they refused to speak against their academic conscience and condemn China," says Liu.

In the fourth chapter, Jiang also talks about Needham's research on Chinese technological history. He believes Needham's research focused on the relationship between technology and the society, which is different from another group of Sinologists who focused on the history of technology, but without caring about its link with the environment.

China's research on the studies of Sinologists is a work in progress, represented by Chinese Studies Overseas, a collection of research on China, which has been published by Jiangsu People's Publishing since the 1980s. The collection has more than 200 books, and it is the basis for the audio course.

"Our research has proved that these studies cannot be ignored. The study of our own country by domestic scholars offers an internal view, while they offer an outside perspective. Together, they help us enhance our understanding of China," says Liu.

Contact the writer at wangru1@chinadaily.com.cn