The Western Representation of Modern China: Orientalism, Culturalism and Historiographical Criticism

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
the humanities in the digital age
http://digithum.uoc.edu
“Orientalism” Dossier
The Western Representation
of Modern China: Orientalism, Culturalism
and Historiographical Criticism*
David Martínez-Robles
Lecturer, Department of Languages and Cultures (UOC) and Department of Humanities (Pompeu Fabra)
dmartinezrob@uoc.edu
Submission date: November 2007
Accepted in: December 2007
Published in: May 2008
RecoMMenDeD citAtion:
MARTÍNEZ-ROBLES, David (2008). “The Western Representation of Modern China: Orientalism, Culturalism and
Historiographical Criticism”. In: Carles PRADO-FONTS (coord.). “Orientalism” [online dossier]. Digithum. No. 10. UOC.
[Retrieved on: dd/mm/yy].
<http://www.uoc.edu/digithum/10/dt/eng/martinez.pdf>
ISSN 1575-2275
Abstract
The West’s perception of China as a historical entity has evolved over the centuries. China has gone from a country of miracles and
marvels in the medieval world and a refined and erudite culture in early modern Europe, to become a nation without history or progress
since the Enlightenment of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The first historians of China were, in fact, representatives of the
great Western empires at the end of the 19th century and their work perceives China from epistemological positions that clearly form
part of the Orientalist and colonial thought that was characteristic of the period. History written throughout the 20th century, despite
the efforts made to overcome the prejudices of the past, was unable to distance itself completely from some of the resources used
in representation or the stereotypes that the Western world had come to accept about China and East Asia since the Enlightenment.
Only in recent decades has a critical historiography appeared to denounce the problems inherent in the discourse produced on China,
and even this has failed to address them fully.
Keywords
historiography, Orientalism, paradigms, representation, China
Resum
La percepció que des d’Occident s’ha tingut de la Xina com a ens històric ha evolucionat al llarg dels segles. La Xina va passar
de ser un país de prodigis i meravelles en el món medieval i una cultura refinada i erudita al començament de la modernitat
* I would like to thank Manel Ollé Rodríguez for revising a previous version of this article, for the comments by Séan Golden and the general contributions of the
participants at the “East Asia: Orientalisms, Approaches and Disciplines” Seminar organised by the Inter-Asia Research Group of the Autonomous University
of Barcelona, at which a number of the ideas subsequently established over these pages were presented. Obviously, any shortcomings and inaccuracies of the
ideas expressed here can only be attributed to the author.
Iss. 10 | May 2008 iSSn 1575-2275
Journal of the UOC’s Humanities Department and Languages and Cultures Department

Els estudis que impulsen la revista només s’indiquen a la primera pàgina.
David Martínez-Robles
Federico
Original Borges
title: La Sáiz
representació occidental de la Xina moderna:
orientalisme, culturalisme i crítica historiogràfica

---

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
the humanities in the digital age
http://digithum.uoc.edu
Western Representation of Modern China: Orientalism…
europea, a convertir-se en una nació sense història ni progrés amb el pensament il·lustrat del final del segle xviii i començament
del xix. Els primers historiadors de la Xina són, de fet, representants dels grans imperis occidentals del final del segle xix, i la seva
obra percep la Xina des de posicionaments epistemològics que s’inscriuen molt clarament en el pensament colonial i orientalista
característic d’aquel període. La història escrita durant tot el segle xx, malgrat que s’ha esforçat a superar els prejudicis del passat,
no s’ha desl iurat completament d’alguns dels recursos representacionals i els estereotips que el món occidental ha assumit sobre
la Xina i l’Àsia oriental des de la Il·lustració. Només en les últimes dècades ha aparegut una historiografia crítica que ha denunciat
les problemàtiques inherents del discurs elaborat sobre la Xina, tot i que no ha aconseguit resoldre-les completament.
Paraules clau
historiografia, orientalisme, paradigma, representació, Xina
which he described as having a conscious desire to distance
In 1922, in a work entitled The Problem of China, after having
themselves from early 20th-century stereotypes about China
lived in Beijing for about a year and having visited other Chinese
and East Asia in general. Russel is particularly critical of some
cities, philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell wrote:
of the more fundamental principles of Western modernity, such
as the idea of progress, which is viewed from the prism of the
China, like every other civilised country, has a tradition
disastrous events that had gripped Europe in the preceding years.
which stands in the way of progress. The Chinese have
In 1916, this critical attitude towards the West had led him to
excelled in stability rather than in progress; therefore Young
be imprisoned for six months; the result of his anti-war stance.
China, […] perceives that the advent of industrial civilisation
Despite this effort, however, Russell was a man of his time and,
has made progress essential to continued national existence.
as such, persists in some of the stereotypes, which, for almost
(Russell, 1922, p. 26)
two centuries, have defined and driven the historical discussion
about the Chinese world, as we see in the citation at the start. In
As with other leading intel ectuals of the 1920s (J. Dewey,
fact, some of the ideas referred to by Russell (tradition, a lack of
H. Driesch, R. Tagore), Russell was invited to Peking University
progress, the stability of the Chinese world) became –by taking
to give a series of courses about what in China was perceived
them on, justifying them or reinterpreting them– the intellectual
as “Western knowledge”, at a time when this institution had
scaffold with which the majority of Western analysts and historians
already become one of the leading exponents of the New Culture
from the late 18th century to the 20th century have tackled the
Movement which crystal ised around the time of the 1919
Chinese world.
Versailles Conference, when at the end of the First World War,
One of the most significant and authoritative examples is that
German concessions on the Chinese coast were handed over to
of John K. Fairbank (1907-1991), probably the most eminent
the Japanese in one of the most visible gestures of disrespect
historian on China of the 20th century, who in 1989 reissued a
observed in Western imperialism for decades in China and one
revised version of his work, China. Tradition and Transformation,
of the most transparent displays of the weakness of the Chinese
originally published eleven years previously (in collaboration with
republican government. It was in this context, during the academic
E. Reischauer). When it refers to the significance of the First Opium
year 1921-1922, that Russell lectured on philosophy, logic and
War (1839-42), which represented the defeat of China by the
sociology at the renovated university and came into contact with
British Navy and the start of the semi-colonial European dominance
many of the new Chinese intellectuals of the age: Liang Qichao,
of important areas of Chinese sovereignty, Fairbank says:
Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, etc. (Ogden, 1982, pp. 533-539). Even
Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, who would decades later become
In demanding diplomatic equality and commercial
the most important leaders of the People’s Republic of China,
opportunity, Britain represented all the Western states, which
attended some of his lectures. (Clark, 1976, p. 639).
would sooner or later have demanded the same things if Britain
In The Problem of China, Russell offers a very critical look at
had not. It was an accident of history that the dynamic British
the actions of the Western powers in China and tries to distance
commercial interests in the China trade was centered not only
himself from the ethnocentric perspective which at the time
on tea but also on opium. If the main Chinese demand had
characterised the majority of publications about Asian countries
continued to be for Indian raw cotton, or at any rate if there
reaching the European public. At the same time, he showed his
had been no market for opium in late-Ch’ing China, as there
sympathies and admiration for the Chinese culture and people,
had been none earlier, then there would have been no “opium
Iss. 10 | May 2008 iSSn 1575-2275

David Martínez-Robles

---

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
the humanities in the digital age
http://digithum.uoc.edu
Western Representation of Modern China: Orientalism…
war”. Yet probably some kind of Sino-foreign war would
Catholic missions acted as the utmost exponent of the relations
have come, given the irresistible vigor of Western expansion
between the Chinese Empire and Europe. The missionaries,
and immovable inertia of Chinese institutions. (Fairbank,
especially those of the Society of Jesus, became high-level
Reischauer, 1989, p. 277)1
cross-cultural agents, to the point where some of them attained
a position of privilege and entered the court of the emperor as
Even though this text was written half a century later,
astronomers, engineers or painters.3 Thus, they offered China
Fairbank goes much further than Russel in the assumption of
the friendlier face of the European world, that of the arts and
some principles (such as the immobility and inertia of the Chinese
sciences, which they used as an advertisement to spread Christian
world compared with the vigour of the West, the impossibility of
doctrine among Chinese intel ectuals, at the same time conveying
avoiding conflict, the communion of Western interests, China’s
to the West a benevolent and friendly view of the Chinese world,
inability to respond), which, as we wil see over the coming pages,
interested in justifying their mission and their method. The Jesuits
are the result of an intellectual tradition that has its roots in the
believed that the most effective way of entering the Chinese world
Enlightenment thought and expansionism of the great European
meant first converting its governors to the Christian cause; the
empires. A tradition which, though with different nuances and
people then converting should only be a question of time. To do
perspectives, is based on the same sources as Orientalist thought,
this, they had to adapt to an elaborate and complex culture like
as described by Edward Said in Orientalism (1978), and, indeed,
that of the Chinese. Consequently, they abandoned their religious
is one of the most obvious examples of such in academic study.
habits to adopt the ceremonial robes of the Chinese officials,
they learned cultured language, they studied Chinese history and
they analysed and translated the Confucian classics. We should
The formation of a historical
not be surprised, then, that the treatises that they wrote about
discourse on China
the Chinese world were extremely wel documented and that,
moreover, they often portrayed the reality of East Asia in sincerely
Ever since the mediaeval period, China has been an empire of
laudatory terms. Confucianism, for example, reached Europe as a
mythical characteristics in the European imagination: the utmost
moral philosophy that predated the values of Christianity, an idea
representation of the so-called Far East. Marco Polo had defined
that was very wel received among some 17th-century intel ectuals
a number of traits that would remain unaltered for centuries in
who began to preach the need for a natural religion outside the
the European portrayal of the Chinese world: the luxury and
domain of the Church and who saw in Chinese thought a source
refinement, the culture of exoticism, the mysterious nature of
of inspiration. (Zhang, 1988, p. 118).
the women, the unheard-of ingenuity and invention, etc. make
This perception gave birth to the Sinophile thought of the
China an unknown, distant and mysterious world, yet one that
17th and early 18th centuries, which boasted representatives of
is admired and attractive, as suggested by one of the titles of
the intellectual stature of Leibniz, Wolff, Rousseau and Voltaire,
the work by the Venetian, The Book of Wonders.2 The lack of
who, in their works, praised very diverse aspects of the Chinese
direct contact between the two ends of the Eurasian continent,
world, such as the language, the political system and education. In
as a consequence of the fall of the Mongol Empire, which had
their works, China became a country governed by a philosopher
managed to unify this vast area, contributed to the reification of
king with the assistance of literati who are selected by taking
these ideas, which were applied to everything that extended from
into consideration nothing more than their intellectual and moral
the east of the Mediterranean, beyond the known world.
standing. The respect for laws, the tolerance in ideas and the
The 16th century represented a point of inflection in this trend.
political excel ence are virtues that eclipse the shortcomings –which,
The Portuguese route that had led Vasco da Gama to the coast of
nevertheless, did not go unnoticed by some of these thinkers.
India skirting the African continent and which continued as far as
However, circumstances changed radical y in the second half of the
the ports of Japan and China brought Europe and East Asia into
18th century, in both Europe and China, and the Western portrayal
contact once again. And it was by this route, which was completed
of the Chinese world underwent a radical volte-face.
by the one that the Spaniards opened up through America and the
On the one hand, the method of the Jesuits of fitting in with
Philippines, that not just goods but cultural products and ideas,
Chinese culture was strongly criticised by the other orders, giving
including religious ones, circulated. For almost two centuries, the
rise to the so-cal ed Rites Controversy: the Society of Jesus ended
1. My italics.
My italics.
2. Polo’

s
Polo’ work
s
has
work
been
has
published
been
under
published
a
under number
a
of
number titles.
of
The
titles.
most
The
usual,
most usual, Il Milione (1298), probably refers to the author’s tendency to state that everything
in China has a grandeur and occurs with an extraordinary abundance –there is “a million” of
everything–
of
a
everything– topic
a
that
topic
many
that
of
many his
of
successors
his
would
successors
pick
would
up
pick up
and which lasts until today.
3. For the role
For the r
of the Jesuit missionaries as intercultural
ole of the Jesuit missionaries as inter
mediators, see Golden (2000).
cultural mediators, see Golden (2000).
Iss. 10 | May 2008 iSSn 1575-2275

David Martínez-Robles

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Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
the humanities in the digital age
http://digithum.uoc.edu
Western Representation of Modern China: Orientalism…
up being dissolved by the Papacy, and the less tolerant Catholic
processes, with neither evolution nor progress, inert, passive
orders expelled by the Chinese emperor. Meanwhile, in Europe
and unable to assume Western modernity by itself. And it is the
the ideas of rationalism gave way to the crystal isation of the
West that can make the Chinese emerge from this lethargy. The
enlightened thought of modernity, with its faith in progress.
Western world, therefore, becomes a factor –a necessary and
Leibniz and Voltaire were concerned with showing the universality
sufficient factor– in the transformation of East Asian countries,
of reason and China was an ideal example of their proposals. Yet,
which becomes the intel ectual justification for the colonial actions
from this point on, enlightened Europeans submitted China to
of the great Euro-American powers in the Pacific and Asia. Al the
their ideas on historical progress: the stability that had previously
texts which, from the second half of the 19th century, attempt to
been interpreted as an example of the virtues of its political system
analyse the modern history of China share this epistemological
would become regarded from the mid-18th century onwards as
paradigm, which turned China into an apprentice of the civilising
a sign of its lack of evolution and modernity.4
lessons of Western countries.6 China –and East Asia in general– is
One of the most classic formulations of this Sinophobic thought
always described as the passive and feminine part in the relationship
is seen in J. G. Herder, who in his Ideas for the Philosophy of the
it has with the civilised and masculine West (Guarné, 2005).
History of Humanity (1787) said: “The [Chinese] empire is an
And it is from this perspective that, in the colonial context of
embalmed mummy painted with hieroglyphics and wrapped in
the nineteenth century, the Chinese are described as inferior and
silk; its internal life is like that of animals in hibernation” (XIV,
barbarous, narrow-minded and xenophobic. This is how one of
p. 13).5 For Herder, Chinese culture is one that has not evolved
the few texts of the time published in Spain about China describes
for centuries, the vestiges of a distant past, a country without
them, introducing the Fu Manchu stereotype that first literature
a present, like Egyptian hieroglyphics, which belong to a dead
and then cinema would feed off for decades:
culture. And it was this stereotyped vision that, reproduced and
amended, resonated throughout the work of most European
El carácter [of
o t h
t e
h C
h
C i
h ne
n s
e e
s ]
e e
n
e l a a
p
a a
p r
a iren
e c
n i
c a e
s
e m
u
m y
u a
f
a a
f b
a l
b e,
e,
intel ectuals at the end of the 18th century and throughout the 19th
humano y modesto; en realidad son vengativos y crueles. Son
century, from Adam Smith to Marx. However, the one who best
muy ceremoniosos y corteses, y sobre todo observadores exactos
defined it was Hegel in his Lectures on the Philosophy of World
de sus leyes, sobre lo cual se vela con mucha severidad; su
History (1840), in which he dedicated an entire section to China.
genio y talento son vivos, espirituosos, animados y penetrantes,
Hegel feels that China represents the starting point of the
y poseen más que ninguna otra nación el arte de disimular
history of humanity, in a formulation that we can consider one
sus sentimientos y deseo de venganza, guardando tan bien
of the intellectual bases of the Orientalist representation of Asia:
todas las apariencias de humildad que se los cree insensibles
“The History of the World travels from East to West; for Europe
a todo género de ultrajes; pero si se les presenta la ocasión
is absolutely the end of History, Asia is the beginning” (Hegel,
de destruir a su enemigo, se aprovechan de ella con ahínco
2004, p. 13). And he adds:
y precipitación hasta lo sumo. (Álvarez, 1857, pp. 93-94)7
Early do we see China advancing to the condition in which
Despite everything, critical voices could be heard regarding the
it is found at this day; for […] every change is excluded, and
colonial actions in East Asia, which attempted to overcome this
the fixedness of a character which recurs perpetual y takes the
strongly Eurocentric, even racist, view and during the last decades
place of what we should cal the truly historical. China and
of the 19th century and first decades of the 20th an effort was
India lie, as it were, stil outside the World’s History, as the
made to transform China into an object of academic study. Oxford
mere presupposition of elements whose combination must be
University, to offer a distinguished example, was the first to offer
waited for to constitute vital progress. (Hegel, 2004, p. 29)
Chinese classes in 1876.8 The first lecturer was James Legge, a
Protestant missionary who led an ambitious translation project of
Hegel clearly defines the mechanisms of representation of
the great Chinese classics and is the embodiment of the erudite
the Chinese world and East Asia, which remained in force for
Western figure who approaches Chinese culture with honesty
many decades: China is an empire that remains outside historical
and passion.9 These first Sinologists, despite the fact that they do
4. For the change in European
For the change in Eur
thought from
opean thought fr
Sinophilia to Sinophobia, see Zhang (1988, pp. 116-123).
om Sinophilia to Sinophobia, see Zhang (1988, pp. 116-123).
5. For an analysis of Herder’
For an analysis of Her
s
der’ repr
s r
esentation
epr
of the Chinese world, see Goebel (1995).
esentation of the Chinese world, see Goebel (1995).
6 For an analysis of the history of Euro-American
For an analysis of the history of Eur
aggressions
o-American aggr
in China in the 19th century,
essions in China in the 19th century under the banner of educating and civilising, see Hevia (2004).
, under the banner of educating and civilising, see Hevia (2004).
7. See translation at the end of the article, cit 1. (Editor’s
See translation at the end of the article, cit 1. (Editor’ note).
s note).
8. In
fact,
In
the
fact,
first
the
Chair
first
in
Chair Chinese
in
Studies
Chinese
in
Studies London
in
was
London
significantly
was
earlier
significantly
and
earlier
dates
and
fr
dates om
fr
1837,
om
and
1837,
held
and
by
held
Samuel
by
Kidd.
Samuel
In
Kidd. Cambridge,
In
in
Cambridge, 1888,
in
former
1888, former
diplomat and interpreter Tomas Wade became the first to teach Chinese. In France, courses in Chinese had begun much earlier, in 1815 at the Collège de
France run by Jean-Pierre-Abel Rémusat. For the origins of Sinology in the West, see Honey (2001).
9. Legge’

s
Legge’s translations,
translations, over
over 77 volumes,
volumes, were
were published
published in
in 1861
1861 under
under the
the title
title The Chinese Classics: with a translation, critical and exegetical notes, pro-
Iss. 10 | May 2008 iSSn 1575-2275
10
David Martínez-Robles

---

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
the humanities in the digital age
http://digithum.uoc.edu
Western Representation of Modern China: Orientalism…
not actively participate in the colonial intellectualism defined by
Said, do unconsciously assume the epistemological categories that
The sociocultural approach
drive the colonial discussion of the age in which they lived. It is
significant, for example, that the renowned translation by Legge
After the Second World War, a new generation of completely
of the Chinese classics should be financed by Joseph Jardine, a
professional historians began to emerge, who had studied at the
member of one of the most important British merchant clans
modern universities of the United States and Europe, with a much
working in China in the 19th century, whose fortune was linked
more solid and attentive training in the discipline, and this led
directly to the lucrative opium trade.10
to the modern development of the history of China and East
These experts in the Chinese world, of which Legge is only
Asia. However –despite the systematic study of Chinese archives,
an example, take on a dual function of representation: on the
the application of scientific text analysis and less Eurocentric
one hand, they become the authorised ambassadors in the West
comparative research methodologies– emphasis continued on
of Chinese civilisation, spokespersons and often defenders of the
the role of Western aggressions in China. The whole of Chinese
cultural principals that they take from the Chinese world, even
history was interpreted on the basis of the significance of these
though, on the other hand, they do so always clinging to their own
agressions by studying the impact of modernisation imposed by
almost pedagogical stance as standards of Western enlightened
Euro-American countries –viewed as a necessary phenomenon for
ideals. This is how a figure still around today was born: that of
the activation of Chinese history– in traditional East Asian societies,
the expert in the Chinese world, which constitutes a discipline
despite certain aspects of Western imperialism being explicitly
different form –apart from– the other academic disciplines, which
criticised. In fact, concepts such as change and transformation,
general y left the Chinese and the non-Western world beyond
true emblems of enlightened modernity, took on an extraordinary
their sphere of research.
cultural value for the historians of the time, forming the basis for
The study of Chinese history in the early decades of the
their entire research and the interpretation of Chinese history. This
20th century was in the hands of these Sinologists, missionaries,
had a perverse effect, as numerous aspects of the history of Chinese
diplomats and functionaries who knew the Chinese world
society that have nothing to do with the colonial aggressions
in person, in the hands of more or less well intentioned
of Western nations disappear from historical contemplation
representatives of the imperial powers in Asia. It is a history
and, therefore, are implicitly denied. Required reading for this
that is clearly centred on the actions of the Western countries in
historiographical context is the text quoted above by John K.
the Chinese world, which are interpreted, albeit often critical y,
Fairbank, the leading Chinese historian from the mid-1940s to the
as the unleashing that al owed the Chinese to enter modernity,
late 1980s, a long period during which modern Chinese history
admitting the technological and scientific superiority of the West,
took on meaning on the basis of the question of its response to
which emerges as a civilising model and pedagogue. The same
Western aggressions.
historical processes are sought in Chinese history that affected
This perspective throws up a number of quite obvious problems.
the Western countries: for this reason, these historians reflect
On the one hand, it takes on an active role for the West compared
on the non-development in China of a European-style industrial
with a solely reactive China. In other words, despite the fact that
revolution or on the reasons for the lack of capitalist-oriented
it was no longer a question of the passive reality as discussed by
forms of economic organisation. The West, then, is the norm
the enlightened figures of the 19th century, China continued to be
and yardstick of historical progress, and in this comparative
denied the possibility of acting for itself, without stimulation from
perspective, Chinese history shows a series of shortcomings and
the West. In addition, as we saw in the text cited above, the West
anomalies in its development.11 In spite of everything, however,
was seen as a reified entity, a block with very few differences, that
this paradigm that we could call imperialist makes China a
shares unique aims and the same colonial enterprise and whose
historical object in its own right and, therefore, overcomes the
spatial and temporal complexity is often overlooked. Likewise,
Sinophobic thought that we can stil find in some writers at the
China was, in the work of the historians of the time, a construct,
start of the 20th century.
a simplifying abstraction that sidelines the exceptional diversity
of the Chinese world, which puts the validity of a large part of
the generalisations made about it in doubt. This explains the fact
4. Sobr

e
Sobr el pas del pensament eur
legomena and copious indexesopeu
e el pas del pensament eur
de la sinofilia a la sinofòbia, vegeu Zhang (1988, pàgs. 116-123).
opeu de la sinofilia a la sinofòbia, vegeu Zhang (1988, pàgs. 116-123).
. Despite one and a half centuries having passed since its publication, Legge’s translation still enjoys a renowned reputation
5. Per

a una anàlisi de la repr
Per a una anàlisi de la r
esentació
epr
de Herder
esentació de Her
del món xinès, vegeu Goebel (1995).
der del món xinès, vegeu Goebel (1995).
for its accuracy among specialists. For information about Legge, see the extensive biography by Girardot (2002).
6.
10. P e
P
Wr
e a
u
n
u
illiam a
n
illiam a
n
a
Jar à
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s
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firm, e xix e
whichn
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stillv
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of ivil
the i
the tzatò
mostr
most ia, vege
high-pru He
ofile v
ofile ia (2004).
companies
companies
7. V
eg.
V
la traducció al final de l’article,
in Hong Kong, was the driving for cit. 1 (N. de l’ed.).
eg. la traducció al final de l’article, cit. 1 (N. de l’ed.).
ce behind the Sino-British war of 1839-42.

11. A
mor
A
e
mor extensive
e
analysis
extensive
of
analysis the
of
r
the ole
r
that
ole
the
that
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the est
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as benchmark
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for
benchmark
modern
for
Chinese
modern
history
Chinese
and
history
of
and how
of
this
how
has
this
been
has
per
been
ceived
per
as
ceived a
as pr
a oblem
problem
can be found in Cohen (1984, 3 et seg.).
Iss. 10 | May 2008 iSSn 1575-2275
11
David Martínez-Robles

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Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
the humanities in the digital age
http://digithum.uoc.edu
Western Representation of Modern China: Orientalism…
that in the historical discourse maintained during these decades,
a relevance that had not been made explicit until then: facts are
a significant number of the historical processes that affect modern
not objective, unquestionable and transcendent, but something
Chinese history go unnoticed and are not studied by historians,
problematic and subject to the interpretation of whoever analyses
simply because they have nothing to do with the presence of
them. As a result of this evolution, after 1980 historiography
foreign countries on the Chinese coast. Some events are even
followed very different paths that were much less clearly defined
interpreted as a reaction to Western actions that were in fact an
and secure.
evolution of internal forces and processes with their origins in a
The history of China has currently moved –a great deal– away
period long before the arrival of foreign powers in China.
from the (meta)narratives of just a few decades ago, if only at
With this approach, the cultural, intellectual and even
a theoretical level. Historians are obliged to act with the caution
psychological aspects of the Chinese world are of such specific
required by the historical and regional diversity of the Chinese
importance that, al too often, they sideline the political or
world. Methodological y, many problems are posed in extrapolating
economic factors (which are the foundations of historical research
what the research shows about one Chinese region for the others.
with regards to Western countries). It is assumed that traditional
And this regionalisation of history, which is no longer based
Chinese culture –which at this time was almost synonymous
on the traditional administrative divisions, also has a temporal
with Confucianism– was not simply the brake that impeded the
dimension: what is stated of a specific period of history cannot
modernisation of China from the inside, but in fact the reason
be stated per se of other moments in history, as had unfailingly
for the supposed attitude of closure, denial, rejection, or, at least,
been done by a great many historians until a few decades ago.14
resistance to the influence and modernisation arriving from the
This represents a much broader recognition of the dynamism of
West. Political or economic questions, therefore, are relegated
the intellectual, social, political and economic life of China in all
to the background. This sociocultural approach, as it is often
periods. An example will allow us to grasp this: when historians
cal ed, does not cease to be an academic and sublimated form
had posed the reasons that explained the outbreak of the opium
of the Orientalisation of the Asian cultures discussed by Said:
wars, the Chinese intellectual and functionary class had always
China is different per se, an ontologically different entity, by non-
been seen as a homogeneous group of representatives of the most
Western definition, and therefore the categories with which the
orthodox Confucian or neo-Confucian thought, supposedly hostile
Chinese world should be analysed and understood are specific
to any change to the Chinese political and administrative system.
and inherent to it, radically different from those applied to other
Research in recent years, however, has shown that among the
historical realities. This explains for these historians that contact
Chinese intellectuals of the period there were highly contrasting
with the West has inevitably been antagonistic and not due to
factions and parties which show that what we call Confucianism
political differences; it is rather a cultural shock between European
is a political, philosophical and intellectual project that cannot be
universalism and that which in this representation of the Chinese
shoehorned into the categories that Western analysts –on the
world is understood as Sino-centrism. Armed confrontation was
basis of the characterisation made by the Jesuit missionaries who
inevitable, as we see above in the citation by Fairbank, which
first presented it to the European world in the 16th and 17th
in turn acts as justification for the actions of imperialism in the
centuries– have tried to apply to it.15
Western Pacific.
Nonetheless, some of the most basic formulae of the
The 1970s represented a chal enge to these ideas with the
sociocultural approach have survived this criticism, both within
appearance of a new generation of historians, especial y in America,
and beyond the work of historians. One of the most visible and
who brought into doubt some of the assumptions of the dominant
wel -known examples is the so-cal ed Asian Values Debate, which
historiography regarding China. The first critical voices focused
attempts to recognise and, indeed, demand the validity of cultural
on denouncing the “apologetics of imperialism”,12 in the context
values common to the countries of the Asian continent that can
of the protests against the war in Vietnam and the appearance
be compared with “Western values”. These Asian values have
of a critical conscience that was not only concerned with the
often been identified as supposedly Confucian values despite the
historical facts, but also with how these are read, interpreted
evident contradiction represented by attributing to a continent of
and articulated.13 The historian as a questioning figure takes on
the human and geographical extent of Asia, or to a significant part

12. Most

notable
Most
among
notable
the
among
first
the
criticisms
first
of
criticisms the
of
imperialist
the
appr
imperialist
oach
appr
wer
oach
e
wer the
e
contributions
the
of
contributions Nathan
of
(1972),
Nathan
Esherick
(1972),
(1973)
Esherick
and
(1973)
Lassek
and
(1983),
Lassek
who
(1983),
pub-
who pub-
lished a number of articles in the Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, which was founded precisely as a reaction to the major North American research
institutions that focused on East Asian countries.

13. It

It should
should be
be remember
r
ed
emembered that
that leading
leading figures
figures of
of 20th-century
20th-century intelligentsia
intelligentsia who
who had
had aa huge
huge influence
influence over
over their
their peers,
peers, such
such as
as Michel
Michel Foucault,
Foucault, Haydn
Haydn
White, Jacques Derrida, Edward S. Said, Jean-Françoise Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard, etc., published some of their most fundamental and referenced works in
the 1970s.

14. For the regional
For the r
analysis of Chinese historical reality
egional analysis of Chinese historical r
,
eality see Skinner (1977 and 1985).
, see Skinner (1977 and 1985).

15. For the differ
For the dif ent
fer
factions of Chinese intellectuals at the Imperial Court in the context of the First Opium War
ent factions of Chinese intellectuals at the Imperial Court in the context of the First Opium W ,
ar see Polachek (1992).
, see Polachek (1992).
Iss. 10 | May 2008 iSSn 1575-2275
12
David Martínez-Robles

---

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
the humanities in the digital age
http://digithum.uoc.edu
Western Representation of Modern China: Orientalism…
of it, a unity based on cultural values that originate, in fact, from
resolve. Cohen explicitly rejects external visions of Chinese history,
a specific region and very specific period of the past. We will not
and in fact establishes a somewhat inaccurate distinction of what
enter here into evaluating the bases of this debate, which despite
external and internal focuses are. This is an approach, which, as
the political manipulation to which it is subjected, would allow us
with the Asian Values Debate, stil has Orientalist echoes: China has
to reflect on a number of fundamental issues regarding how we
remained isolated in universal history, clearly following different
understand alterity and project our epistemological categories on
historical development guidelines, which need to be known from
to other realities without having first evaluated their suitability. In
the inside, starting with the Chinese language and culture. In other
any event, it is important to understand how far, in the majority
words, despite explicitly rejecting the sociocultural approach, he
of formulations that have been made, it is based on culturalist
reaches a series of similar conclusions, which, in short, do not help
reasonings that contradict the historical and social reality of the
break away from the historical alienation of China.17
countries to which it refers.16
Another trend in the historiography that has been developed
in recent years points in the opposite direction to the one outlined
by Cohen and consists of integrating Chinese history into world
Criticism and post-paradigmatisation
history, not so as to enhance the latter, but as an essential part
thereof. It is a question of understanding Chinese history from a
However, criticism of imperialist apologetics and the sociocultural
broad perspective. China, particularly over the last five centuries,
approach, or recognition of the diversity of China, geographical y
has not only participated in, but has also contributed to the
and historical y, is one thing and it is quite another to overcome the
development of some of humanity’s great historical processes. The
problematicity of the historical discussion about the Chinese world.
work of historian and sociologist Andre Gunder Frank, ReOrient:
Therefore, far beyond the revisionist tendency of the 1970s and
Global Economy in the Asian Age (1998), is probably the best
1980s, the last two decades have seen a whole range of proposals,
known in this inclusive understanding of history. For Frank, our
some more successful than others, which have attempted to
representation of the Asian world has to overcome the Eurocentrism
replace the old paradigms that had marked the development of
that has characterised it for centuries to accept the important role
the historiography for almost two centuries with new formulae
that the continent of Asia has played in world history: in his own
more suitable to getting to grips with the history of China.
words, history has to “reorient”.18 Despite the fact that Frank’s
One of the first was drawn up by US historian Paul A. Cohen.
work is unable to overcome some of the most basic premises with
He proposed changing the focus of the history of China, which
which enlightened thought had approached the Chinese world
until then had been centred on the activity of foreign countries
(progress, development),19 it has had an important influence on
in China, for what he cal ed a China-centred history of China.
other authors who from both Chinese history and a more global
This was a history that took China, not the West, as its starting
approach have attempted to carry out this integrating project.20
point, and –on an epistemological level– has to be deployed
These are works which, general y speaking from an economic
using Chinese criteria, not those imported from the West (Cohen,
history perspective, try to show the “Oriental” roots of Western
1984). Cohen’s proposal is a coherent response to the situation of
civilisation, or at least show the influence that the Asian world
historical Chinese studies, which coincided with the extraordinary
has had, so as to chal enge the ethnocentric approaches that have
rise of local studies in the 1970s and 1980s, and which recognises
always dominated our perception of history.
the dynamism and diversity of the Chinese world. Proposing a
However, this comparative perspective is not free from
series of criteria derived from the Chinese world means, among
methodological risks. In spite of the fact that some of these writers
many other things, assessing the validity and legitimacy of some
are aware of it, others fall into the trap of attempting to establish
of the categories applied to the analysis of Chinese history, which,
correlations in an insufficiently critical manner. That is, there is the
in fact, have their origins in certain historical processes exclusive
danger of looking, a priori, in Chinese history for processes and
to Western countries, such as modernity or contemporaneity.
problems that are alien to it, or of which it is at least pertinent to
However, using these “China-centred history” approaches also
question their legitimacy as a basis for comparison. In other words,
lead to certain doubts about the methodology which are hard to
the danger of fal ing into the same ethnocentrism –now more

16. The

value
The
of
value the
of
Asian
the
V
Asian alues
V
Debate
alues
lies
Debate
mor
lies
e
mor in
e its
in criticism
its
of
criticism the
of
supposed
the
universality
supposed
of
universality the
of
enlightened
the
values
enlightened
than
values
in
than the
in
definition
the
or
definition justification
or
of
justification of
values applicable to the Asian continent.

17. For a critical analysis of Cohen’s
For a critical analysis of Cohen’ approach,
s appr
see Dirlik (1996b, pp. 262-268).
oach, see Dirlik (1996b, pp. 262-268).

18. Beltrán

Beltrán (2006,
(2006, esp.
esp. �27-35)
27-35) analyses
analyses the
the contributions
contributions of
of Frank’s
Frank’s work
work and
and contextualises
contextualises itit within
within the
the production
production of
of knowledge
knowledge about
about East
East Asia
Asia in
in the
the
academic world, in both the West and Asia.

19. For a critique of the Eurocentrism
For a critique of the Eur
implicit in the critique of Eurocentrism
ocentrism implicit in the critique of Eur
by Frank, see Dirlik (2000, 73
ocentrism by Frank, see Dirlik (2000, 73 et seg.)

20. Highlights

Highlights include
include the
the work
work of
of aa number
number of
of specialists
specialists in
in Chinese
Chinese history,
history, such
such as
as Pomeranz
Pomeranz (2000),
(2000), Wong
Wong (1997)
(1997) or
or Waley-Cohen
Waley-Cohen (1999),
(1999), or
or that
that of
of his-
his-
torians with a more global perspective, such as Bayly (2004) or Hobson (2004).
Iss. 10 | May 2008 iSSn 1575-2275
13
David Martínez-Robles

---

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
the humanities in the digital age
http://digithum.uoc.edu
Western Representation of Modern China: Orientalism…
furtive– to be found in the historians of the first half of the 20th
be considered, and therefore does not exist, is not historical,
century. Nevertheless, the recovery of China and Asia in general
as we have seen with part of the Chinese reality for centuries.
for the construction of a truly universal history represents a step
Nonetheless, the strength of a paradigm is not limited to a culture
forward in the creation of a non-exclusive and integrating history.
or borders. It sets what is true and scientific, has a universal
This rejection of the forms of Eurocentric thought, in which the
nature, such that everything with pretensions of science must
work of experts in subaltern studies such as Dipesh Chakrabarty
meet its specifications if it does not want to be excluded. The
and Ranajit Guha have had a notable influence, has led to another
history of China is no exception. The historical paradigms that
of the shifts seen in recent decades. That is, some historians
have dominated the Western intel ectual tradition have ended
paying greater attention to the methodological contributions of
up being imposed on China as though it were another form of
other disciplines, such as sociology, anthropology, literary studies,
imperialism. Despite the fact that in this article we have limited
political science, etc. Without a doubt, the development of the
ourselves exclusively to the Western representation of Chinese
ideas of postcolonialism, postmodernity and cultural studies
history, it should be taken into account that, to give a clear enough
has been a key factor in this trend, which has not always been
example, Chinese Marxist thought has ended up assuming some
sufficiently balanced.21 Indeed, some of the most chal enging
of the more basic principles of the imperialist approach of which it
historiographical proposals have seen the light in this setting,
is the sworn enemy: according to Marxist historiography, only the
which reflects on the articulation of such concepts as power and
Chinese Communist Party managed to end the backwardness and
domination, imagination, culture and representation. One of the
lack of modernisation of China, a backwardness and a need for
leading names in this field is that of Turkish historian Arif Dirlik,
modernisation that are the same starting point of the imperialist
concerned with questions of an epistemological nature that are
approach that we have analysed. When al is said and done,
not usual y part of the agenda of the majority of historians. A
Marxism is deeply rooted in the teleological thought of European
large part of Dirlik’s reflections revolve around the concepts of
enlightened modernity.
progress and modernity: according to this historian, despite the
Indeed, it is Arif Dirlik, aware of the strength of the
critical evolution in recent decades of part of the historiography, a
historiographical paradigms, among other proposals, who rejects
radical challenge to the teleological representation of the history
any attempt to establish new paradigms that set out and demarcate
inherited from the European Enlightenment has not been seen.
our approach to Chinese history (and non-Euro-American history
For Dirlik, “it is necessary to repudiate this historical teleology in
in general), as this would mean repeating the same mistakes and
all its manifestations” and to identify “alternative modernities”,
vices of historians throughout the 20th century. In fact, since the
not to fal into a return to the reifying impetus of the sociocultural
development of the critical historiography that began at the end
approach (as Cohen did), an approach that must final y be
of the 1970s, no great new paradigm has appeared to replace
overcome, but to recover “historical trajectories that have been
the previous ones.
suppressed by the hegemony of capitalist modernity” (Dirlik,
However, the fact that after the appearance of a critical
1997, p. 127). In fact, according to Dirlik, the disturbing influence
historiography no new paradigm has imposed itself does not
of Eurocentrism cannot ever be completely overcome unless the
mean that the old paradigms have been completely overcome.
very idea of “development” is chal enged at root. It is not a
We have already seen that some of the attempts to reposition
question of rejecting modernity per se, an attitude that would
Chinese history in world history have not been able to avoid
lead us to a certain self-Orientalisation, but, while recognising
the ethnocentric approaches despite their aim of constructing
it, creating alternative modernities that overcome the narratives
a markedly non-Eurocentric discourse. Likewise, many of the
of the Enlightenment that still dominate historians daily activities
theoretical reflections mentioned in the preceding pages have
(Dirlik, 1996, pp. 277-278).
gone unnoticed by a significant number of historians, which helps
us understand why so many books stil being published today
on the history of China continue to be rooted in the premises of
Conclusions
the old, theoretically, superseded paradigms; or why that which
students learn in our universities unfortunately often maintains a
A paradigm is not a simple theoretical proposal, instead it has
marked Orientalist tone.
an epistemological dimension that affords it all of its regulatory
In fact, China historians have an educational responsibility
capacity. It is a sieve that sets the possibilities for knowledge:
with a social aspect that reaches far beyond their research tasks.
whatever does not meet the rules set by the paradigm cannot
In a society such as ours, in which Asian studies have just begun

21. For

For aa critical
critical reading
reading of
of the
the influence
influence of
of cultural
cultural studies
studies on
on the
the historiography
historiography of
of modern
modern and
and contemporary
contemporary China
China in
in 1980s
1980s and
and 1990s,
1990s, see
see Huang
Huang
(1998).
Iss. 10 | May 2008 iSSn 1575-2275
14
David Martínez-Robles

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Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
the humanities in the digital age
http://digithum.uoc.edu
Western Representation of Modern China: Orientalism…
and where the interest of public opinion in East Asian countries
Apologetics of imperialism”. Bulletin of Concerned Asian
is very recent, this pedagogical task takes on greater relevance.
Scholars. Vol. 4, no. 4.
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David Martínez-Robles

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Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
the humanities in the digital age
http://digithum.uoc.edu
Western Representation of Modern China: Orien