Last night, my friend sent me a leaf of her presentation, reading very touching, with the consent of her consent, made on my blog. Ye are my 1963mm1968 the junior high school students, we have long sat at the same table, but also the same year was born the same day, a life-long friends. leaves many seniors in college who is very accomplished, a great scientist, for example, last year 500 million science-winning atmospheric physicist Professor Ye Duzheng. Her parents are to follow early revolutionary intellectuals, for *** during the war. leaves a teenager, is a mind clearly than their peers, many people often question the social problems, let us surprise. leaves early to go to the United States so far has been fast 30 years, is a Yale Ph.D., Harvard University postdoctoral, now a Boston University professor of history for life.
the right one for the leaves, the main Bo
right is a lot of years ago when I first arrived in the United States, all of a sudden were some of the words in English are attracted, like ambivalence, ambiguity, dilemma, paradox, and shades of gray. For me such a highly regular people, an experience a decade during the Cultural Revolution, the total is forced to use black and white life and death of people who see the world, these words and concepts behind them to help me moving away from the fixed, conceit of the narrow position, expanding my observe the view of the world, so I learned to analyze and understand the perspective changes things. I remember the first year I worked in the United States to write a paper interviewed a small town pastor. He is a , can be considered my contemporaries. He told me that if the surface of the world than doing more than one diamond, and that religion is just one side (in fact, many religions have their own side), a person should be from different aspects to look at and feel the world. I like this attitude, he did not take yourself too as a matter of religion to settle down children, did not consider it as the embodiment of truth, but on the life of the other ; have the same respect. with such an attitude to observe things, let me see a complex, changing, contradictory, multidimensional, ambiguous and even some of the world. I'm thinking of going abroad when the country's liberation movement in full swing, and after I came to the United States near vision and experienced changes in the angle can be considered a little on my own emancipation of it.
twenty years later, I had become a student at the university from the teaching faculty. Although there is no access to the U.S. society's species of black and white overweening cognitive way of thinking on the world, but called in a free, pluralistic, open country it is the big brokerages, I thought it just a specialty of the information it closed country. slowly I realized that United States also has Some friends mentioned that the American-style Once these word stick with what the edge, has become unreasonably reasonable, most people no longer to doubt. and then say comparable, although the vast majority of Americans what is even the basic concept of communism has not. If China has in the eighties during the deconstruction of the many revolutionary values, then the United States as the winner of the Cold War, not only without any reflection, but to the contrary among some black and white enhanced, the tendency of the embodiment of truth. This way of thinking in the United States who is the highest representative of the reader naturally a pretty good idea.
be fair, American universities is the most liberal in American society where diversity, tolerance and the idea of the university campus has been fairly reflected. But the university, after all, part of American society, and elite universities more power with the United States has thousands of national policies and contact wire Wanlv the final analysis, is the academic and political inseparable.
I teach civilians is a very public universities, teachers are the backbone of the idealists over the sixties, and many students from working class families (working class context in the United States can not simply appear to be translated into . campus from time to time some people distribute promotional materials advocating socialism, and Marxism and other left-wing thought is often the students themselves organized club discussion of philosophical topics. But even in such places mentioned above that level of thinking is still ranging impact on many of my colleagues and students around. in class I always have to face is more or less his mind filled with all kinds of American students hackneyed remarks. If I teach statistics or computer, so be it, but why I teach the history of the humanities are, but also modern Chinese history, things are a bit complicated.
honest, things are complicated not only because the status of the students, but also because of this when teachers face the untold number of modern Chinese history are confusing. If all history is contemporary history a sense, then I went to country for many years, the rapid changes on the domestic sense of dizziness, not sure in the end is the primary stage of socialism in China , or the state monopoly capitalism. uncertain judgments of contemporary China, has affected my grasp of historical events of the past. coupled with recent years, new historical data disclosed, various events of the past into said to challenge and subversion, overturn the wind, historians views on the materials and their quality also reflects the restlessness of the era. in this case to teach Chinese in the United States is really a reluctance.
Fortunately, a few of my students did not eat the future Chinese food, and most of the candidates in my class is to complete the requirements for humanities credit. there is such a requirement is indeed a great American university strengths. I generally do is explain to them the past is the history of China profile, no one could get to the bottom subtle, multifaceted, contradictory and complex place, at this point is and I analysis, contrary to the attitude of looking at things. To the thirteenth, four weeks, less than three hours per week the class, and bring over a hundred years of Chinese history, again, do not say the. individual students have interest in continuing down the school, serious or even applying to graduate school, reading doctorate in Chinese history (teaching such students is a great pleasure, the feeling of both teaching and learning a bit much), but very few such students, after all, . most if completely ignorant of Chinese history from the leaks of one, two, enough for me. U.S. private schools will also talk about what the Chinese history, the history of public secondary education is biased against the United States and Europe rarely involved outside the country. Most of my students from public secondary schools, their ignorance of history often makes my head spin. American elite education and mass education itself is a huge difference between an interesting topic, here refrain from that.
but even to teach such students, but also still have the same question: how in the end they talk about modern Chinese history?
I do not have a set of teaching programs. I am still constantly learning about Chinese history, constantly thinking, perception continually, constantly updating the course concepts, while learning to teach, to learn while teaching, a little In the course of these years of teaching, but also sort out some basic ideas, but also feel some perplexing problems. in and student contacts, also noted some interesting phenomena, and how many can be regarded as ideology materials help students through this article on the old ethics, the old institution of marriage and an understanding of the status of women, helping them to understand the new culture movement, but also to introduce them to one of the great twentieth century writer. Almost every student is the first time to read the Chinese translation of the novel, no one before even heard of Lu Xun's name. in the students read the work before I did not in class all about the New Culture Movement, but to draw them in advance Note that the novel of social criticism, which also explains the . mm is often some students of Asian students, put a the same as the novel, cleaning halls, worship their ancestors. homesickness in a foreign country, the mood is certainly understandable, but this is too far away from the subject of Lu Xun. I used a few years a have students read it into Chinese customs, so I laugh and cry.
other students, often white Americans, in the years old, with wood instead of real sin and so on. they should be said that the vision is sharp, it can be seen some stereotypes that society at that time. but some students report between the lines, I read about a kind of the mysterious East, Some of the film in the guidance in this direction. But I also understand that in the United States has the meet. novel Lu has been the town's dislike sympathy that society is unfair, Xianglinsao fate is tragic. but then they quickly said that she did not want to use to measure the values of Western China. subtext behind this is that about This is done in China can be, she just do not know much of the strange place. This attitude in the United States has considerable representation of the public. This attitude is often a bit intention is not willing to find fault with other cultures, to respect other people's customs, even the bad habits of oppression is obvious. It is a treat inside World values reasonable inhuman, Xianglinsao it really can endure it? Lu Xun's novels is the complaint that the destruction of human life do?
have students write down a passage that moved me. She said Xiang-lin Sao story like a small town where she was a woman. this woman after the tragic death of a child in a trance, with a total milling in the city on bicycles, in the trunk stood a doll, people avoided her like the plague . read the , feel the earth's cold and desolate. In the eyes of her students, the story of Xianglinsao neither mysterious nor distant, now staged in her town.
students encounter is on the Xianglinsao sympathetic, but often see it as a personal misfortune, and social system, not many stakeholders of power relations. This is reflected in the typical American individualism. Some students even psychological analysis Xianglinsao obtained her psychology had abnormal findings.
but I used a system of injustice, the unequal power relations, low status of women, ritual and , and to some extent, to help students understand why the Chinese revolution. To see them is to go beyond the American-style individualism.
Speaking of the Chinese revolution, which is present very fashionable topic. in the United States annual meeting of the relevant academic, has largely not hear the report on the revolutionary paper. For the first half of the twentieth century in China studies, and now the attention points in the revolution. neglected the last Republican history, and now should be to strengthen research entirely, but one-sided tilt, but also a great problem. American academic session of the Herd fashion, is obvious. This has a profound reason behind it, of course, and after which Since the Cold War, There are a lot of reflection revolution, recently disclosed that the historical data also so that people oppressed by years of official history is not conducive to the dark side of the orthodox view of the many. It just helps to open the Chinese revolution, multi-level, multi-angle research, not the past that the two lines, black and white, to Conceal De lays down the law preaching, it is encouraging situation, I also have a lot of the Chinese revolution of new thinking, my current Research is in this aspect. but limited time in the classroom, in the face of the little knowledge of Chinese history, often biased against students of the revolution, I can not fully express their ideas out of the complex, they can only simplistic Some, trying to help students on the Chinese revolution in the social, economic, political, cultural and international background some basic, sympathetic understanding.
about China's recent history, not around the past, basic understanding of these issues, many of the problems of modern Chinese history can not be down about. But in today's ; of American friends, speaking of nationalism to frown, quite objectionable. In fact, to do detailed analysis of nationalism, for the latter half of the nineteenth century, since the Chinese people suffered bitterly from imperialist oppression, the and I will talk about the Nanjing Massacre. a friend about this set of house, those of us who teach overseas, and sometimes there are some ambiguities in the identity, whether we are Chinese scholar or a China scholar? China, whether it is for us China is , I will not go to lectures from those brutal details of rendering. A student from Taiwan who sent me a video of Nanjing massacre documentary, I still can not afford the courage to see the drum, let alone put to the students. But I Be sure to tell Americans the end of 1937 what happened in Nanjing, China, Japan and other Asian countries in the crimes committed, it is my responsibility as a historian. over the years talked about this subject all the students had encountered in response, I talk about in here.
I started several years ago when teaching in the United States, can not find a college textbook about the Nanjing Massacre, and I know some Chinese in the United States is a library of books and photos can be found However, I was in a remote town, and sometimes can not get pictures. no photos and the backing of English teaching, I had talking to itself. Many students do not believe that the initial reaction was: if you say so serious, that how could we not a bit heard? I mentioned the atrocities of Nazi Germany's infamous Jews, and the Japanese in China and Asia but little known elsewhere in the misdeeds, the more than one student said, it is because the Germans behavior is the policy is implemented from top to bottom, and the behavior of Japanese soldiers is personal, is the result of upper management out of control, the two are not comparable. until Iris Chang (Iris Chang) of of Nanking part of World War II, is controversial in the academic community has a lot of people think that the outbreak of World War II, Germany invaded Poland from 1939 counting. what is happening in Asia, How many people, how deep the suffering of war.
about the Nanjing Massacre a few years ago, I met an individual student protests in Japan. They found my department chair, said that my lecture is not objective, there is bias. under the sun seems like a purely objective history, and I as a teacher should be like a history lesson about silent, and some head buried too deep. Looking at these young students, and my feelings are complex. I did not, Soon a Japanese soldier wrote the letter to his family, to illustrate the ordinary Japanese soldiers were also victims of Japanese militarism. In fact, I very much hope that the Japanese students in the classroom to talk about how the Japanese mainstream society viewed the war, many factors behind this nothing. but so far no student is willing to talk about it. I feel very sorry. Whether as a history teacher, or Chinese, and I were eager to learn the Japanese experience of that war, the idea of young people want to hear But apparently the topic of ordinary Japanese do not want to touch .. just tell me in private Japanese students, they are not totally ignorant of the Nanjing Massacre, the Japanese history books UNESCO is very briefly mentioned the incident, in passing.
publication of Iris Chang book helped me a great favor. I do not have to Chunjiao mouth, even tearful in class mentioned above, the following people still skeptical. with great difficulty with an English monograph, which under the Nanjing Massacre and finally entered the American perspective, has finally been recognized as even think that she is not precise enough), but that she was writing in English. that's all. This is the hegemonic power of English. But the Chinese are so grateful to her, her death was so sorry. She deserves to be grateful, be remembered , as a second generation Chinese, the parents of the state over the past period of history to hold such a painfully earnest attitude is commendable. But having said that, even with these English books, but also how many Americans do not read, or noticed Her near death. her influence is mainly in Chinese circles.
some students asked why the Americans Nanjing Massacre and Japan atrocities in other Asian countries such ignorance? Iris Chang, in her foreword to the book is explained However, I feel a little stressed enough, and that is the responsibility of the United States. after the start of the Cold War geopolitical situation in East Asia has undergone tremendous changes, the U.S. policy toward Japan has also been a fundamental adjustment, from the punishment, to support the transformation of Japan crimes in the war do not want to get to the bottom. which I must point out to students. Many Americans have strong moral superiority, that the United States on behalf of justice and human justice, to let students know what the actual situation.
Anyway, I am of the 20th century Chinese history is not the most difficult to talk about war and revolution, but the fifties and sixties, also known as appalling persecution and famine, and gave the Chinese society from the economy to positive changes in all aspects of society, including the foundation of industrialization and greatly improve the status of women in the era of complex multi-faceted. in the end how to evaluate that age? how to evaluate China's socialist legacy? in the country because of a hit TV series on the era of and the characteristics of the age is full of contradictions.
popular in the West about China, some of which caused a sensation, has a considerable impact. Some American readers if only read a book about China, it often is one to see a copy. These books help the formation of American public opinion against China. In general , either the author of previous direct victims of China's political movement, or the victim's relatives, they write mainly inhuman political movement. I was labeled a rightist because of the experiences of friends and relatives and their own experiences in the Cultural Revolution, of these elements have considerable experience, the author of the book is very sympathetic. I understand they want to grief in the hearts of long-term suppression of a spit out of mind. tell the truth, but they describe the brutal political persecution of the iceberg that year only both the individual and history, written down is a confessed and witnessed.
but I still feel that the era of one-sided account of the complexity is a problem. This is not only because of The basic position of the world, but also because it was too close to overcome the party's history of cold (cold war victorrs version of history). Dahon its capitalist globalization is today, with this view of history is quite profound meaning, which subtext is: human to this day, in addition to taking Western-style capitalist road, past experience and explore the other is a complete failure, there is no value. The world seems to have no sense of any real critique of capitalism ; alternative religious conflict, the revival of a face-lift of imperialism, rampant global capital, rapidly expanding gap between rich and poor, and serious environmental crisis. This is a disturbing, very uncertain world. people of this seems to do nothing.
I note that Mr. Qian Liqun recently called the legacy of socialism in China concluded his twenty years of Chinese thought that a major mistake, China's socialist thought is not a serious clean-up and study, neither study it carefully problems, but also long-term neglect of its rationality. He believes that the socialist legacy is the Chinese people to face the grim reality of the current domestic and international complex inheritance and reference can be a resource. And the resources are not careful summary and study, is caused by people today One of the many reasons for confusion.
Mr. Qian's proposal in the country many people did not seem to be echoed, and I quite agree with it overseas. I am a fallacy of their own personal feelings, but they can not agree on the total negation of that era. If so, I can even talk about how he is going on is not clear. More importantly, the kind of approach to meet the victors of the cold history, while the year there have been millions of people participate in social practice is unjust, and also clean up serious review of a complex era no help. I noticed in the personal memoirs of Chinese popular in the West, five, six years on behalf of the political history is just history, and economic, social, cultural, daily life is almost non-existent, How about this history of American students is really a problem. my classes are introductory rather than research purposes, in just a few hours of that time really can not be revealed complex multi-faceted. fifties and sixties flooded China shocking to the people with great events, like the Great Famine, the Cultural Revolution, etc., the students first heard of these events are a great psychological shock, feeling overwhelmed by their impression of other events. that history too much like effects have a strong impact on drama, ups and downs, great compassion grief. I once heard a Chinese musician living in America writing a symphony about the Chinese Cultural Revolution, from start to finish the whole is a hoarse noise.
but five or six ten generations of Chinese history is not only political history, there are other aspects of the history of research on those who, whether at home or abroad, are very inadequate. This is a great challenge for teaching. Over the years I keep wondering, how can the number of students of that era understand the complex multi-faceted. This material first encountered a problem. For example, I would like to find a style that reflects the era of women's literary works will be very laborious. translated into English literature on the Chinese women prior to 1949 based, which is often the image of women being insulted and being damaged. fifties and sixties appeared in China's cities, a number of weapons does not love love the red makeup makeup, not to the new young women excelling in their profession, it seems, these women really possible for a long period of time, enormous changes. Unfortunately, almost in the English translations do not see their shadow. Recently, a group from China, now the United States to teach women scholars wrote a book about women in the growth experience. I think their purpose is to go back and look a their own in the fifties and sixties the growth process. look, then said to himself, especially on their personal experience of the times.
have The book written by American scholars used to teach me also, is the scholar spent a decade or so, a visit to the oral history of Henan peasants. I chose this book is intended to let students know from the farmer's point of view Changes in Modern China. At present a large number of memoirs by Chinese intellectuals from the city who write, but after all, the vast majority of China's population are farmers, their history, we do not know too much experience, but too little. The farmer is extreme poverty, when land reform became activists, land reform has been done after the village cadres. This book is a farmer and *** from the perspective of grassroots cadres in China from the twenties of the twentieth century to the eighties Recalling the history of doing, including the early years of the famine, warlordism, Sino-Japanese War, land reform, co-operative movement, the Great Leap Forward, communes, the Great Famine, the Cultural Revolution and the reform and opening up of the household responsibility system, beyond the differences between the 1949 . The village cadres Although illiterate, spoke, but clearly and logically, quite frankly, not only readable, but also historical value, in which the co-operative movement, people's communes and the remarkable memory of the Great Famine. I One student told me that he saw the grassroots in rural China after the book careful analysis, not to general denials.
made to make the problem still unknown, these are the next class as I thought and research topics. all these years I tried to learn about this world, whether of history or reality mm, have an open, tolerant and analysis of the attitude. But even known as that those holding the number of black and white,
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