East China Normal University China In The Eyes Of A Wester

Paul A. Cohen (1934-) is a famous expert on Chinese studies in USA. He has achieved great success on Chinese history and historiography study, being commended as historians’ historian. Paul Cohen learned from John Fairbank King and Benjamin Schwartz, since set foot in the Chinese history study era in1950s’, he kept up with the academia trend of thought, explored the new way of understanding china in his Nearly sixty years academic career. Until now, Paul Cohen has published five monographs, each one of them caused a widely discussion in that time, especially its critic to the three kind of models in west-centered theory, and the proposal of china-centered thought, indicated the forward direction for the American Chinese study in dilemma, and had important impact on world Chinese study. These achievements were precious wealth for the USA, PRC, and international Chinese academia’s. Therefore, the study to the Paul Cohen’s academic work, especially its academic thought and method, could made us walk into Paul Cohen’s inner world, to understand the develop trend, historical context, research perspective, theoretical frontiers and recent news of American Chinese study.As for this American Chinese researchers having important academic impact, there was no monograph which carried full study on him, most of the academic papers focus on the theory discuss on china-centered thought or history in three keys, but lack due analyses on Paul Cohen’s academic develop factor, location and other monographs, most were the book review, the writer tried to break through.This paper takes historiography and academic history as the theory and method foundation, combining social science theory exploration background, takes time for the order, takes individual work as the focus, investigated Paul Cohen’s academic development basic theory, research thought, academic contribution, academic factor and the problems fully. The whole paper divided into five chapters except the preface and epilogue.The preface part mainly introduced Paul Cohen’s Chinese study meaning, current domestic condition and problems, the research method, the train thought of the paper and Paul Cohen’s academic courses etc.The first chapter started from China and Christianity:The Missionary Movement and the Grown of Chinese Antiforeignism1860-1870(1963), mainly discuss Paul Cohen’s Chinese anti Christianity research, this book broke the constraint of the preach paradigm of regarding the preaching history in china as the whole preaching career part, became the only one until the1980s. By the investigation into the anti Christianity tradition and activity, Paul Cohen thought the Confucian culture had the stagnant, conservative and exclude the foreigners character. He thought even in the good period both in domestic and outside which named the tongzhi upside period, the intellectuals and common people which affected by the Confucian culture deeply, being hostile to the western, the priests which represents the developing power. He thought the Confucian scholars behavior, witnessed the incompatible between tradition and modern.The second chapter takes Between Tradition and Modernity:Wang T’AO and Reform in Late Ch’ing China (1974) as the main clue, to show the complex social reformation in Late Ch’ing. In Paul cohen’s discussion, wangtao stand at the edge of Chinese and western culture crossing, he propose the China should contact with the west, he has a broad thought, his many reform projects all reflected the impact of west thought. But wangtao’s thought was the basic reflection of the human in inner trouble, can not attribute to tradition-modern frame, it made this book’s basic theory frame be nervous. Paul Cohen mainly showed the social reform power in Late Ch’ing comes from the west, and rethought the tradition-modern theory by this book.The third chapter started from Discovering History in China:American Historical Writing on the Recent Chinese Past (1984), mainly discuss Paul Cohen’s summary to the China-centered view, and the re-study to international academia. The publishment of this book caused great impact in international Chinese research academia. The academia mainly carried discussion and research on the China-center view’s criticize on impact-reflect theory, tradition-modern theory, imperialism theory, but still not deep enough in some aspects. This paper wanted to critically explore Cohen’s thinking and summary course to the China-centered view from the academic development, sino-America situation, international situation etc.The forth chapter analyses History in Three Keys:The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth (1997). This book achieved the American historical Association Fairbank prize in1997. Facing the impact from the postmodern, Cohen as the practical historian proposed three ways of understanding the past. In some meaning, Cohen’s theory discussion restrained by the practice caused his theory exploration’s faultiness. Besides this, on the Boxers research, Cohen surpassed the traditional narrative history writing method, trying to show the true boxers image.The fifth chapter mainly analyzed Speaking to History:The Story of King Goujian in Twentieth-century China (2009). The author tried to take an ancient story which the Chinese very familiar, the story of Goujian as the main clue, to investigate the story and history unusual experience in20th Chinese history, tried to deepen the new way of understanding China. This paper tried to take a breakthrough research on his historical view, historiography connotation.The epilogue mainly discussed the clue of Cohen’s historiography study, his Chinese history thought and historiography study these three part of context.