Chinese Studies Commons^™

Self-Promotion Saturday: Upcoming Events

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

There will be three China Beat contributors participating in an upcoming conference at the University of Southern California. On January 30, Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Susan Brownell, and Kate Merkel-Hess will all be speaking at the USC Center for Public Diplomacy’s conference, “The 2008 Beijing Olympics: Public Diplomacy Triumph or Public Relations Spectacle?” In part, our participation at USC is an outgrowth of the things we have been writing at China Beat this year, as well as the content of our forthcoming volume, China in 2008: A Year of Great Significance.

There are a lot of China-related events in Southern California these …

In Case You Missed It: Capitalism With Chinese Characteristics, Eric Setzekorn

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A Review of Yasheng Huang’s Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics: Entrepreneurship and the State (Cambridge University Press, 2008)

With China’s export-centered economy looking increasingly unbalanced and unsustainable, there has been growing public support for state involvement in the interests of rural development.Yasheng Huang, of MIT’s Sloan School of Management, provides a powerful economic rationale to this emerging movement with his new book Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics. Huang argues that urban biased government policies over the past fifteen years are the cause of skewed proportions of China’s economy and have tremendously hindered stable private sector growth. Huang debunks the consensus view that …

China At The World’S Fairs, Susan Fernsebner

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The city of Shanghai will be the official host to Expo 2010, an international event celebrating the theme “A Better City, A Better Life,” with an opening celebration next May. As the event’s website and preview videos below reveal, Expo 2010 is intended as an example of a new and shared urban modernity. Visitors will have the opportunity to tour the site personally and, if lacking an opportunity to visit Shanghai next summer, also to take a virtual tour of its grounds online.

As the videos note, Expo 2010 is intended as an event that will fulfill and expand upon …

A Few Readings Around The Web This Week…

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

1. Rebecca MacKinnon yesterday posted a marvelous wrap-up of Charter 08, with many links included. We usually use a rather light touch with these recommendations, but this time…head on over. If you read one thing on China today, it should be this.

2. To follow up, there are a few related readings that are worth a jump, early writings by some of the figures MacKinnon mentions in her piece: “That Holy Word, ‘Revolution’” by Liu Xiaobo, and “Thirsty Dragon at the Olympics” by Dai Qing. For another take on Charter 08, check out the piece we ran at China Beat …

Remembering John Defrancis, David Moser

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Legendary sinologist, linguist and educator John DeFrancis passed away on January 2, 2009 at the age of 97.

For any student of the Chinese language and writing system working in the latter part of the twentieth century, DeFrancis was simply a titan. Prior to his arrival on the scene, major China scholars researching the Chinese script, such as Bernard Karlgren, Arthur Waley and Herbert Giles, tended to communicate mainly with other experts, while the popular press, under the spell of figures such as Ezra Pound and Ernest Fenollosa, reinforced notions of the Chinese script as exotic, ineffable, mystical or even …

Presidential Reading Recommendations, Kate Merkel-Hess

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

There are many people just now wondering what Barack Obama’s China policy will look like, and many eager to advise him. For instance, the National Bureau of Asian Research’s journal, Asia Policy, has published a lengthy roundtable that does just that. I was curious too—what would a learned group of distinguished China watchers, including academics, journalists, and public intellectuals, propose as the new President’s information sources? Here was the note I sent out:

The United States has a new President who seems intellectually curious, will definitely have to deal with many issues relating to China, and is likely to take …

China Beat: A Reintroduction

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

China Beat has just celebrated its one-year anniversary, and while a few of you have been with us since the beginning, the majority of our readers have tuned in somewhere along the way. For that reason, we thought it might be worth a little recap of who China Beat is and what we are about. In the spirit of brevity (of sorts), let’s do it as a top-five list…

1. China Beat is based in the U.S. (in Irvine, California, specifically) and while many of our contributors also hail from the United States, we also regularly publish pieces by writers …

In Case You Missed It: Cape No. 7, Peter Zarrow

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

“Cape No. 7” (海角七號) is an energetic bon-bon of a film that is Taiwan’s official entry for the Oscars this year, in the “best foreign film” category. Who was it who first compared a certain type of movie to the bon-bon? The Taiwanese film sensation “Cape No. 7” fits the description perfectly. Light romantic comedy with an edge of tragic love lost. And above all, let’s all rock together—Hoklo, aborigines, young and old, Japanese—even an energetic Hakka!—invited into the mix. Not a corrupt politician or political judge in sight. The film even had, now that I’m thinking of confectionary, an …

The Sky Is Not All Grey, Xujun Eberlein

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

1. A proprietary approach I use to help assess English journalism books about China is to measure how much they tell me, a Chinese, that I don’t already know. This, needless to say, lacks objectivity, and it can easily undervalue an otherwise excellent book. As an example, Out of Mao’s Shadow by Philip Pan consists essentially of stories I had already read from the Chinese media or the internet. Not new to me, but that doesn’t mean the book is not worth reading for Western readers (in fact, it is).

On the other hand, this approach raises a high bar …

China Beat Turns 1!

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

China Beat has been in operation now for a full year. And what a year! We started this blog with the inkling that 2008 might be eventful, if only because of the Olympic Games. But the past year turned out to be one of China’s most eventful and traumatic in modern history.

It’s been an honor for us to be able to add our thoughts and ideas into the mix. We’re enormously grateful to our many contributors, as well as you, our readers, for stopping by regularly and letting us know your thoughts and sharing your own knowledge.

Here are …

Magic Lanterns

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

In the midst of this year’s bitter winter, a glimmer of hope shines through: the Lunar New Year is rapidly approaching: New Year’s Eve (除夕) is on January 25, followed by New Year’s Day (初一) on the 26th. In Taiwan, one of the main events marking this holiday is the annual Taiwan Lantern Festival (台灣燈會), which is now entering its twentieth season. This year’s Festival is timed to start on February 9, which also happens to be the date of the traditionalLantern Festival (元宵節, also known as 上元節 or the more popular 小過年), celebrated on the fifteen day of the …

The 10 Best Books About Chinese Women In 2008

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Note: these books appear in no particular order since all are excellent.

1. Joan Judge, The Precious Raft of History: The Past, the West, and the Woman Question in China. Stanford University Press. Focusing on the so-called “woman question” (funü wenti) of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Judge re-examines China’s turn-of-the-century pursuit of modernity through analysis of biographies of notable women that illustrate Chinese approaches to their own history and to the Western world as mediated through Japan.

2. Susan Mann, The Talented Women of the Zhang Family. University of California Press (2007). Mann cleverly reconstructs the lives …

Looking Back, Looking Forward

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The last year is gone, and 2009 predictions are rolling in. Here are a few of our favorite 2008 wrap-ups and 2009 predictions from the past few weeks. Looking back…

1. China Beat’s Jeffrey Wasserstrom has posted a few of his own reflections on 2009. At the Christian Science Monitor, Wasserstrom wrote about “the two big China stories you missed this year” (though regular China Beat readers likely won’t have…!). The subheading should tip you off to these two stories: “The brief yet radical shift of patriotic fervor into criticism of the government after the Sichuan earthquake and the official …

Ying Ruocheng, Claire Conceison

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

During the final three years of his life, I collaborated with Ying Ruocheng on his autobiography in English. Sitting by his bedside, he captivated me with stories from his imprisonment, education, childhood, and his careers on stage and screen as well as in political and cultural diplomacy. His resulting autobiography, entitledVoices Carry, is an unusually witty narrative that includes vivid accounts of the events listed below and many more…

1. He was chosen by Bernardo Bertolucci to star in his film The Last Emperor after Bertolucci saw him play the role of Kublai Khan in the 1982 NBC miniseries Marco …

In Case You Missed It: Big White Lie, Peter Zarrow

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

I want to share some impressions of a book that the sinologically inclined (like me) might otherwise ignore. Big White Lie, by John Fitzgerald, is most importantly a polemic about Australian history—subtitled “Chinese Australians in White Australia”—but it also has a lot to say about modern Chinese culture, politics, and business. What follows is not a systematic review but a few xinde: somewhat random and incomplete notes on what I got out of the book.

The study of overseas Chinese has always seemed to me like an orphan field—an interesting and important area of research that has long produced major …

China Beat At The Aha

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Several China Beat contributors have just returned from the annual meeting of the American Historical Association, held this year in New York City from January 2-5. While there was normal association business aplenty (including presenting historical research, catching up with colleagues from other institutions, and for some of us hearing Eugenia Lean give a stimulating talk after the Conference on Asian History’s luncheon, in which she explored the interplay between science and gender in the Republican period), the meeting also gave the editors of China in 2008: A Year of Great Significance a chance to sit down with Rowman & …

More China Writing In Surprising Places: Japan Focus

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

For quite some time, the online journal Japan Focus has been moving toward covering Asia more generally, and recently it made that shift official with its new name, The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. In our series of lists of “surprising places to find great writing on China,” this is perhaps not the most shocking as it is coordinated by Mark Selden, whose first book, The Yenan Way, is on every China specialist’s exam reading list (and who has published widely in the last thirty years on China, Japan, and Asia).

So here is a list of five sample pieces from …

Global Shanghai’S Futuristic Side

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

I’m writing this in 2008, but when you read it, the calendar will tell you it is 2009. That wouldn’t ordinarily be particularly noteworthy, since many blogs, including this one, alternate between running things just as they are written and scheduling them to appear a few days hence. It just seemed relevant to mention because two pieces I’ve recently had go up online that are linked to and provide teasers for Global Shanghai, 1850-2010 deal with time and forward-looking issues.

One is the concluding segment of a Danwei.org two-parter on Shanghai and visions of the future. This installment focuses on …

2008 Retrospective: Olympics In Taiwan, Jennifer Liu

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

China Beat will be running a series of 2008 retrospectives over the coming weeks–pieces that both look back at events of the year (some well-trod ground, others largely unnoticed) as well as tying those earlier events into on-going trends and situations. In this piece, Jennifer Liu reflects on Taiwan’s 2008 Olympic experience, memories of which take on a different hue in light of Taiwan’s tumultuous autumn.

Olympic fever still hasn’t waned in China (especially in Beijing), but when I was living in Taiwan this summer, it seemed Olympic excitement had already run its course or maybe it never even took …

Human Rights And China’S Public Diplomacy, Hongmei Li

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

While the Tournament of Roses is busy preparing for the Pasadena Rose Parade on Jan. 1, 2009, it is interesting to revisit a controversy over a Beijing Olympic float for the 2008 parade for at least three reasons: (1) the controversy, largely provoked by FLG practitioners and other human rights groups, attracted huge media attention and the Pasadena city government and its human relations commission held several meetings to consider its position; (2) some analogies can be drawn between the controversy and the protests against the overseas leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay; (3) the controversy also indicates the …

Red Detachment Of Women And The Enterprise Of Making ‘Model’ Music During The Chinese Cultural Revolution, Clare Sher Ling Eng

Faculty Scholarship

Artworks produced with official sanction during periods marked by turmoil and human suffering are challenging subjects for scholars who would like to discuss them in a fair and responsible manner. If they aestheticize the works’ form and political affiliation, how would they be doing justice to these works whose creation and content are so meshed with the politics of their time? On the other hand, can an approach that takes ideology into account be developed that does not appear to ignore, condone or support the odious acts of violence associated with those periods? This article explores the latter question with …

蜚語 (第一期), 嶺南文社

嶺南文社 : 蜚語

No abstract provided.

Chinese Harmony Theory, Guo-Ming Chen

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Based on Chen’s harmony theory of Chinese communication, this entry explicated that the ability to reach a harmonious state of human relationship is the main criterion the Chinese use to evaluate communication competence. In order to achieve harmony interactants are required to follow three principles: (1) intrinsically to internalize jen (humanism), yi (righteousness), and li (rite); (2) extrinsically to accommodate shih (temporal contingencies), wei (spatial contingencies), and ji (the first imperceptible beginning of movement); and (3) strategically to exercise guanxi (inter-relation), mientz (face), and power in the behavioral level.

At The Crossroads Of Empires: Middlemen, Social Networks, And State-Building In Republican Shanghai, Thomas D. Curran Ph.D.

History Faculty Publications

Book review by Thomas D. Curran.

Dillon, Nara and Jean C. Oi, eds. At the Crossroads of Empires: Middlemen, Social Networks, and State-Building in Republican Shanghai. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2008.

The Jacquinot Safe Zone: Wartime Refugees In Shanghai, Thomas D. Curran

History Faculty Publications

Book review by Thomas D. Curran.

Ristaino, M. R. (2008). The Jacquinot safe zone: Wartime refugees in Shanghai. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804757935

Provincial Patriots: The Hunanese And Modern China, Thomas D. Curran Ph.D.

History Faculty Publications

Book review by Thomas D. Curran.

Platt, Stephen R. Provincial Patriots: The Hunanese and Modern China. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007. ISBN 9780674026650

No Man An Island: The Cinema Of Hou Hsiao-Hsien, James N. Udden

Gettysburg College Faculty Books

Hou Hsiao-hsien is arguably the most celebrated Chinese-language film director in the international film festival realm. However, this is not due to an inert cultural tradition so much as to numerous historical/contextual factors – most of all his being from Taiwan -- which together explain the accomplishments of Hou.

從香港想像中國 : 香港南來作家研究 (1937-1949), Guixin Hou

Lingnan Theses

二十世紀三四十年代的香港南來作家在中國現代文學史和香港新文學史上都產生了深遠影響，本文以之為研究對象，所要研究的核心問題是：在這一時間段（1937－1949）， 南來作家在其香港書寫中展現了怎樣的現代民族國家想像？與此相關的問題則是：中國現代文學在香港發生了什麼？它為香港文學帶來了什麼？

論文第一章為〈緒論〉，簡述研究動機、研究目的，討論現有研究概況，提出本文的研究思路及架構。第二至第八章分為上下兩篇，上篇為「文學生產」，包括第二至第三章，重點分析當時香港的文化空間及文學生產。其中，第二章簡述作家因戰爭 幾度南下香港、將香港建成為一個全國性「臨時文化中心」的史實，分析作家們如何利用當時殖民統治下的公共空間，進行多元言說。第三章討論作家們如何利用現代傳媒進行文學生產，塑造現代民族國家這一「想像的共同體」。

下篇為「話語實踐」，包括第四至第八章，重點討論南來作家在文學創作和批評活動中如何實踐民族主義話語與階級／革命話語。第四章討論南來作家現代民族國家想像與土地的關係。第五章分析南來作家作品中對革命的敘述，這種敘述以階級鬥爭為中心，目的在於尋求革命的合法性。第六章集中討論南來作家在香港進行的两次大規模文學論爭，包括「民族形式」論爭與「方言文學」討論，這些論爭都以大眾化為目標，但也存在誤區。第七章專門論述戴望舒、徐遲等幾位現代詩人如何通過寫作向人民和革命靠近，在此過程中逐漸失去「自我」，將「小我」融入「大我」之中。第八章闡釋1948－1949 年間南來作家在香港展開的文藝批判運動，通過批判對文藝界進行意識形態清理，使得「中國現代文學」轉向「中國當代文學」。

最後，本文第九章〈結論〉部分在以上論述的基礎上，總結香港南來作家的現代民族國家想像的基本特點，嘗試對南來作家在文學史上的地位提出個人見解。

三蘇小說研究（1950 年代）, Ka Chun Cheung

Lingnan Theses

本研究會從兩個方向進行討論︰一、）作為報人、知識份子、文化人的高雄與五十 年代報章與文壇（通俗文化及嚴肅文學兩個場域）的關係。二、）以經紀拉、旦仃、石 狗公、史得等筆名寫連載小說的三蘇，其作品與社會、時代的關係。在第一部分的討論 中，除了探討作家與媒體、文化場域的關係外，也會個別討論到作品所涉及的特有問題， 如「三及第」文體於小說創作，及時代文化的意涵。而第二部分的討論，則集中對五十 年代兩類連載小說進行分析，透過文本細讀的方法，結合時代、社會背景進行比對，從 而探討作品在通俗文學的類別中所跨越及達到了的意義和貢獻。最後，就現存有關三蘇 作品資料整理的部分，進行必要的修正及補充。

三蘇（1918-1981），原名高德雄（或名高德熊），香港五、六十年代知名作家，先 後為多家報紙寫社論及連載小說，有筆名三蘇、經紀拉、石狗公、小生姓高、旦仃、周 弓、史得、許德、吳起、凌侶、區品器、禹伯等。對五、六年代的香港社會而言，報張 除了作為一種資訊傳播的媒介，更是流行文化的載體。於一定程度上，更是當時社會東 西文化交流、漸趨國際化的具體表徵。報紙連載便是這個時期特殊的文化產物，深受普 羅大眾歡迎。通俗文學作家中，作品題材之廣、產量之多、語言風格之奇尤以三蘇為箇 中佼佼者。他的創作由四十年代末一直持續到八十年代初，見證香港報業的黃金時代， 同時也是作家本人創作的高峰期。

《說文》籀文與商周古文字關係之研究, Wing Kin Lee

Lingnan Theses

籀文，一般認為出自童蒙識字課本《史籀篇》，故其文字稱為「籀」。然《史籀篇》早亡，迄今能確證為籀文者，僅餘東漢許慎（68－148）《說文解字》（下 稱《說文》）所錄的227 形籀文。

過往，學者對《史籀篇》的作者及成書年代多有研究，但看法並不一致。傳統觀點根據東漢班固（32－92）和許慎的說法，以《史籀篇》為周宣王時太史籀 所作。然而近代王國維（1877－1927）提出新說，他認為史籀並非人名，懷疑《史籀篇》並非作於西周，而是「春秋戰國之間」秦人所作，並進而提出「所謂秦文， 即籀文也」的觀點，以籀文為戰國時秦國通行之文字。此後，學者對此說多有評 述，但至今未有定論。本文旨在結合商、周的甲骨金文和戰國古文字材料，與《說文》籀文作比較分析，重新審視班、許舊說與王國維說，以確定籀文的時代，並 以此為基礎，進而考察《說文》籀文與殷商、西周、春秋、戰國文字所存在的關係。

通過《說文》籀文與古文字材料的逐字系聯和對比，本文發現籀文與西周金文的相合程度最高，二者應為同時期的文字。換言之，傳統以《史籀篇》為西周宣王時作的觀點並不容輕易推翻，王國維把《史籀篇》成書時代推遲的說法似乎未能成立。此外，針對籀文的流傳範圍，本文系聯了籀文與戰國各系古文字材料， 發現籀文在春秋戰國時期固然行用於秦國，但東土六國使用籀文的情況亦甚普 遍，故此，王氏的「秦用籀文」之說並不符合出土古文字材料所反映的實際情況。