MCLC: Western China experts stealing China's voice

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Wendy Larson <walarson at uoregon.edu>
Subject: Western China experts stealing China's voice
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MCLC readers might be interested in an article by Wang Wen 王文:
http://www.guancha.cn/wang-wen/2012_11_06_108011.shtml
 
Wang, a senior reporter for 《环球时报》who publishes often at 《观察者》
(www.guancha.cn <http://www.guancha.cn/>), reports that when discussing
Chinese media and reporting with Westerners, his audience invariably fails
to understand the 30-year improvement in media freedom in China,
especially during the age of micro-blogging. He also criticizes
Harvard—both the Fairbanks Center and the Department of Government—for not
inviting mainland scholars to give talks. And finally, Wang argues that
even more alarming is that the way of interpreting China, or the entire
China discourse, is being fed to Chinese students by Western professors,
as he discovered over a dinner conversation with a few Chinese students.
While not directing criticism toward anyone in particular, and commenting
favorably on the knowledge of the “foreign” China experts, Wang laments
the abandonment of the discourse on China to “foreigners,” that is,
“European and American scholars.”

 
Considering the influx of mainland scholars into the US China studies over
the last thirty years, I find these remarks, as well as the uncritical 中国人
vs. 外国人 mentality, astonishing and anachronistic. Perhaps someone who
heard Wang’s talk at Harvard, or who spoke with him privately, may wish to
comment? Please see a few sections of the article below; the rest can be
read at the website.

 
我在布告栏里数了一下，11月初哈佛费正清中国研究中心将举办6场关于中国内容的讲
座，有历史、电影、文学、政治甚至还有达赖喇嘛，但是没有一场讲座的主讲人是
中国大陆的，从主讲人的姓名看，讲孔子、老子、乾隆的竟都是纯欧美学者。在哈佛政治
系走廊墙上，挂着过往重大讲演的旧海报，我一个一个寻过去，主讲亚洲问题包括
中国问题的，有新加坡高官、韩国前大使、印度大使等，却没有任何一位中国高官。

 
我并不是说，到哈佛讲演就有多么了不起，但在这个世界闻名的学府，中国是什么、发生了
怎样的变化、未来又会如何等问题，中国人似乎是失语的，至少话语权在外国人
那里。这恐怕不是被垄断，而更多的是咱们主动地放弃。

 
晚餐，我约了在哈佛就读的两位中国博士生。两位青年人在美国多年，英文很棒，很有学
问，也很优秀，但唯一遗憾的是，每当谈到中国问题，他们或者说不太了解现在的
情况，或者一开口，就是过去常看到的欧美学者论述中国的那一套话语体系。天哪，我们不
仅有放弃自我阐述的话语权的危机，还正在送我们最优秀的那批学生继承他们阐
述中国的话语权衣钵，这是多么恐怖的事情啊。

 
原谅我的惊诧。我只是觉得，中国发展太快，快的有点让人看不清、看不懂、看不全，我近
年来常于朋友讲，自己越来越不明白中国的复杂了。但令我震惊的是，往往是一
些欧美媒体、学者似乎很懂，而且在帮中国人懂中国。更令人震惊的是，许多时候，一些中
国学者还特崇拜那些好为人师、帮中国人懂中国的欧美学者。啊，这是何等颠狂
的事啊！