The Review Of Lattimore’s Investigation And Research In Sinkiang

As an American representative figure of the Frontier School in 20th century, Owen Lattimore, whose unique research results that based on field work provide a new perspective for our research study, whose academic writings have become a classic of frontier research. Frontier research can be described as the most important part of Lattimore’s study, and research that related to Sinkiang region has been regarded as an important part of his frontier research. This paper attempts to sort out his investigation experience in Sinkiang and sum up the paradigm of his Sinkiang study, showing the impact and defect of his Sinkiang research to bring out a relatively complete and comprehensive understanding of his academic achievement.This paper can be divided into three parts:Part one is an introduction, which gives an in-depth description on Lattimore, then then analyzes the research status at home and abroad of his frontier school, especially the Sinkiang region, and at the same time points out the shortcomings of his Sinkiang research theory, and emphasizes the significance of this paper, content and methods, finally expounds the innovation and the deficiency of the thesis.The second part is the main body of the thesis, which is consisted of five chapters. The first chapter will let reader understanding the outline of Sinkiang research. This chapter tries to explain how Lattimore do the research in practice in Sinkiang. The second chapter is about internal form of inquiry in Sinkiang. The author mainly analyses and discusses this topic based on four perspectives, which are oasia plate, social structure, the development of trade and the relationship between oasis, grassland and China. It follows that Lattimore on Sinkiang research uses an internal doctrine perspective to show its own unique history of Sinkiang for us. The third chapter elaborates the geopolitical role of Sinkiang. Lattimore makes a brief analysis from Chinese and International perspective on the geopolitical role of Sinkiang, stressing the importance of the Sinkiang region as the " pivot of Asia". The fourth chapter discusses the ethnic issue in Sinkiang, which is a hot topic in academic. As a scholar, Lattimore concerns the importance of this issue,analyses its causes and gives some suggestions. It is very useful for today’s policy-making in Sinkiang. The final chapter is an assessment in Sinkiang research. The main analysis of this chapter is innovation and shortage in this research area.The third part is the epilogue, which serves as a comment and summary of Lattimore’s Sinkiang theoretical research, which stresses the importance and significance of the study of Lattimore’s frontier theory.