1949-1972: China Study In The United States Of America During The Sino-US Confrontation

Due to the Korean War, Vietnam War and other issues, China and the United States of America were in confrontations with one another in terms of ideology, politics and military affairs from 1949 to 1972. Under such circumstances, the U.S. established numerous well-known institutions focusing on China study in the international China study field. The current pattern of the China study in the U.S., the style of attaching importance to modern China, and the "Social science-oriented" trends were also formed during that period. There is no doubt that 1949 to 1972 are the cornerstone-laying years for the development of the China study in the United States. To have a good understanding of the evolution of the China study in today' s U. S., it is imperative to learn about the China study during the period of Sino-US confrontation. As a tentative study, this dissertation integrates macroscopic description with case study, textual study of intellectual history with causal analysis of social history, and makes an overall survey of the development, inherent characteristics, paradigm and the major trends of thoughts of the China study in the U. S. during the Sino-US confrontation.The dissertation is divided into six chapters, with introduction and conclusion.Chapter One gives a broad account of the basic characteristics of the China study in the U.S. before the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, i. e., ignoring the education on China, focusing on the study of traditional China, and stressing the pragmatic goals of research.Chapter Two conducts a survey of the China study in the United States under the influence of McCarthyism. Under the McCarthyism, the scholars, institutions and foundations concerned with the studies on contemporary and modern China went under different kinds of attacks. The studies on contemporary and modern Sinology became an academic minefield in the United States. Influenced by the theory of "Comintern Conspiracy" in the mainstream society, some American scholars on China study expounded and proved academically that the communist movements in China were influenced and controlled by the Soviet Russia from the very beginning, while other scholars refuted the conspiracy theory. Both opposing views were the direct reflections of the real disputes. When the China study lapsed into silence, the study of traditional Confucian thoughts became active. Due to the real political environments and the understanding of the contemporary Chinese society, the research quality of Confucian thoughts was very good during that period, and the main research methodology was "external research lines" .Chapter Three describes the enactment of the National Defense Education Act in 1958 and its influence on the development of the China study in the United States. In the late 1950s, based on the actual needs for cold war and through violent discussions, the National Defense Education Act was promulgated in 1958, which aimed at enhancing the non-western area study. With this Act, the development of the China study in the U. S. entered its "prime time" , and tremendous progresses had been made in the education on China, education of Chinese language, talents training, and the constructions of China-Study institutions and related facilities, etc..Chapter Four expounds on the activities of the China-Study experts in the development of the China study in the United States. Those experts played active roles in various kinds of activities, i. e., focusing on the study on China issues, giving suggestions to the authorities on Sino-US relations, and striving to promote people' s understanding of China.Chapter Five analyses the characteristics of the China study in the United States during the confrontation period. During that time, social sciences got involved in the study on China, and the modernization theory became the sole solution to the interpretation of the issues concerning modern China. The main reason lies in the actual needs for Sino-US confrontation and the scholars' strong wishes to administer the state affairs.Chapter Six explores the new opportunities and trends for the development of the China study in the United States. In the late 1960s, anti-war campaigns flourished in the United States, the Sino-US relations was becoming more relaxed, and the tides of financial aid receded rapidly. All these brought new opportunities for the development of China study in the United States. With these and under the influence of academic research of Chinese-born scholars, the China study in the United States gradually abandoned confrontation, and new orientations appeared such as the trends of criticism, shift of ideas, defining research field and focusing on the folk history.