Macfarquhar. Analysis Of The Chinese Communists History Of Views And Methods

Roderick MacFarquhar (hereafter MacFarquhar), one of the most influential historians and politics professors studying Chinese Communist Party (CCP) history, occupied several significant positions including: Professor of history and politics at Harvard University, dean of Government Department at Harvard University, dean of John King Fairbank Center for East Asian Studies, Member of British Parliament from 1974 to 1979, and founder-member and the first editor in chief of China Quarterly.MacFarquhar's research on CCP history has had a great influence on academic circles related to CCP history research. It's generally believed that MacFarquhar is a representative scholar on Western Cultural Revolution research in domestic academia. There is much of interest in MacFarquhar's research in domestic academia. While criticizing the views of CCP history held by MacFarquhar, many scholars are borrowing methods of CCP history research from MacFarquhar.This paper is designed to evaluate his research on CCP history, identify its characteristics and rules, and position and evaluate his academic status by analyzing the viewpoints and methods of his research. This research consulted and analyzed materials including books, recordings, and video tapes relating to MacFarquhar's research on CCP history, interviewed MacFarquhar himself and other related scholars, and analyzed view points and methods of his research on CCP history using history research methods such as comparison, induction and synthesis.Domestic academic circles have had some research on view points and methods of MacFarquhar research on CCP history, but are not systemic and specialized enough, nor sufficiently comprehensive and detailed. The analysis of this topic took Mao's Last Revolution as a case, which is a representative work of MacFarquhar. This book was published by Harvard University Press in August 2006, and has no Chinese version in the Chinese mainland. By reading the original edition in English intensively, analyzing the view points and methods of MacFarquhar, some points are concluded as follows.The view points of MacFarquhar's research on CCP history include:1) The key individual is the leading role of CCP history.2) It's Mao's Cultural Revolution and Mao was rational during the Cultural Revolution.3) The Cultural Revolution was a watershed in CCP history.4) The Cultural Revolution is the foundation of reform.5) CCP inherited the spirit of science, yet not democracy.6) CCP has achieved great economic success, and China will be a global superpower in the future.The methods applied by MacFarquhar in his research on CCP history include1) Dialectics, which analyzes events and figures of CCP history with the views of movement, contradiction and development, etc.2) Subjectivism, which stresses careful analysis on historical figures'individual psychology.3) personality analysis which emphasizes the importance of personalities of historical figures.4) Kremlinology which emphasizes reasoning.5) Triangle mode which emphasizes structural analysis.6) Historical empirical approach which emphasizes investigation.7) Cliometrics which emphasizes precise analysis.8) On expression, MacFarquhar's research often uses visualized mode of expression, like vivid language, character and diagram, etc.9) Emphasis to synthesize concrete methods of CCP history research. 10) Skilled collection of and analysis on materialsIn summary, the creativity of the topic includes points as following:1) Made a specialized, systematic analysis of CCP history research by a typical Western scholar.2) MacFarquhar's research on CCP history had a unique prospective, yet his basic critical attitude of CCP history having individual feeling, which is biased sometimes. His views of research on CCP history reflected western individual heroism on history; the view of Mao's Cultural Revolution reflects Western political values.3) Kremlinology, Triangle analysis, mental analysis, empirical approach, and figure research method, etc. originated from traditional positivism and rationalism, have some referential meanings, yet are short of scientific value and objectivity in some casesWe should regard MacFarquhar's research on CCP history dialectically. On the one hand, we should learn from good aspects of his research methods. On the other hand, we should differentiate and analyze his viewpoint carefully.