Chang Chung-fu’s Experience Of Studying Abroad And His Academic Practice In 1923-1937 From The Perspective Of Global History

In 1923,Chang Chung-fu went to the United States to study abroad until the autumn of 1929.During this period,he studied at the University of Missouri,the University of Chicago,the University of Michigan,Harvard University,Johns Hopkins University.The life of studying abroad is not always smooth,and the cultivation of knowledge system and the establishment of academic interest are not achieved overnight.Relying on Chang Chung-fu’s overseas study files collected by the above universities,we can clarify the reasons for his frequent enrollment and transfer,student status/semester registration,what classes he has taken,how to establish his academic ambition,what mentors he follows,the content of the academic thesis he wrote and the comments of the reviewers,the communication with foreign scholars,teacher-student relationship and other issues,These problems and the events related to them have paved the basic map of Chang Chung-fu’s studying abroad life in the United States.For Chang Chung-fu,studying abroad is the starting point of his academic path.His doctoral thesis,The Anglo-Japanese Alliance,opened the "first window" of Chang Chung-fu’s academic research.Benefiting from the teachings of Westel Woodbury Willoughby(1867-1945),Raymond Leslie Buell(1896-1946),the theory of unitary sovereignty of the Austin School of Analytical Law in politics,balance of power,alliance,war and peace in the field of political power and international relations,and other theories were applied to the issue of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance by Chang Chung-fu.Due to the important academic value of the book,Chang Chung-fu is considered to be an outstanding researcher of the first generation of Anglo-Japanese Alliance in the western academic circles,whose works have influenced for more than half a century.This book is one of the sequences in which Chang Chung-fu wrote the history of international relations in the Far East by taking the region as the unit.Together with Diplomatic History of the Republic of China(1911-1921),they shows his basic about the Far East.The academic influence of studying abroad in Chang Chung-fu mainly includes two aspects:one is the field of political philosophy,the other is the field of international relations in the Far East,which corresponds to Chang Chung-fu’s identity as a political scholar and an international relations scholar respectively.At the beginning of 1930,Chang Chung-fu published a paper entitled "Research on Sovereignty",discussing Chang Tso-Shuen’s behavior in criticizing the theory of unitary sovereignty and the theory of pluralistic sovereignty he advocated.Chang Tso-Shuen studied at the University of Iowa in 1912-17,and was also deeply influenced by Willoughby’s monism of sovereignty.In a word,Chang Chung-fu’s argumentation is actually a discussion about "the most important topic in political science research" based on the continuation of the same Western political tradition.Therefore,the key to their differences is not the right or wrong of political theory,but the different understanding of the way to solve China’s political problems.In the field of international relations in the Far East,Willoughby’s theories still turned into the underlying logic of Chang Chung-fu’s research,affecting the judgment of the current situation and future trend of the latter’s Far East pattern:the main tone of the Far East is "war" rather than "peace";The variables that dominated the situation before the September 18th Incident were Britain and the United States,and the variables after the Incident were Japan and China.At the end of 1934,Chang Chung-fu became a new member of the Independent Society and entered the "power network" centered on Hu Shih that could reach the highest authorities of the Nanjing National Government.In his contacts with Hu Shih,Chang Chung-fu’s conclusions on the Far East issue influenced Hu Shih’s views on Sino-Japanese relations.From May to June in 1936,they launched a debate on the role of the League of Nations,and put forward "the rise of the League of Nations"(Hu Shih)and "the decline of the League of Nations"(Chang Chung-fu)respectively.The essence of the debate is whether real peace can be achieved between China and Japan under the premise of the intervention of the League of Nations.Chang Chung-fu was appreciated by Hu Shih because of his experience and knowledge in the United States.He went with Hu Shih to the United States to participate in the sixth Pacific International Academic Conference and carry out national diplomacy,which eventually prompted Chang Chung-fu to "abandon studies and enter politics".