{"id":27186,"date":"2022-01-05T11:37:02","date_gmt":"2022-01-05T00:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/?page_id=27186"},"modified":"2026-04-19T01:09:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T15:09:41","slug":"readings-in-new-sinology","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/readings-in-new-sinology\/","title":{"rendered":"Readings in New Sinology"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Celebrating New Sinology in 2025<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>I first proposed the idea of a New Sinology in May 2005. In the series below, published as <em>China Heritage Annual 2025<\/em>, we celebrate the twentieth anniversary of that idea and of the publication of <a href=\"http:\/\/chinaheritagequarterly.org\/\"><em>China Heritage Quarterly<\/em><\/a>, the precursor to <em>China Heritage<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>We are also marking three decades since <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tsquare.tv\/\"><em>The Gate of Heavenly Peace<\/em><\/a>, a website that I designed with Richard Gordon and colleagues at the Long Bow Group in 1995. That site \u2014 my first foray into digital publication \u2014 accompanied the screening of our documentary film <em>The Gate of Heavenly Peace<\/em>, for which I was the main writer and senior academic adviser, at the New York Film Festival in October 1995. Other anniversaries include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The invasion of East Timor by Indonesia in December 1975 \u2014 one encouraged by the avowedly anti-colonial \u2018leftist\u2019 Australian government of Gough Whitlam \u2014 which had a profound impact on my view of Australian politics;<\/li>\n<li>The 1965 Indonesian coup and the mass killings that resulted from it \u2014 both events that were abetted by Canberra and Washington, something of which I only became more aware of following East Time;<\/li>\n<li>Editorial and translation work from late 1985 which resulted in <em>Seeds of Fire: Chinese Voices of Conscience<\/em>, a book that was published in 1986;<\/li>\n<li>This year, 2025, also marks\u00a0a decade since I quit institutional academia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Thus, in <em>Celebrating New Sinology<\/em> we also mark half a century of anniversaries.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">***<\/p>\n<p>New Sinology encourages a holistic approach to the study of China. We emphasise the tradition of \u6587\u53f2\u54f2 <em>w\u011bn sh\u01d0 zh\u00e9<\/em>, one that embraces the \u2018literary, historical and intellectual\u2019. To accommodate this old formula to the realities of China\u2019s post-1949 party-state, we could translate \u6587\u53f2\u54f2 as \u2018propaganda\/ PR, mytho-poetic historiography and Stalino-Maoist based ideology\u2019.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">\u2014 Geremie R. Barm\u00e9<br \/>\n29 January 2025<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">First Day of the First Month of<br \/>\nThe <em>Yisi<\/em> Year of the Snake<br \/>\n\u4e59\u5df3\u86c7\u5e74\u6b63\u6708\u521d\u4e00<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">***<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/about\/on-new-sinology\/\">New Sinology<\/a> is a Sinology that combines fluency in the practices of the &#8216;China Studies&#8217; that developed during the Cold War and the academic disciplines that have flourished in academic institutions world wide. <a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/about\/on-new-sinology\/\">New Sinology<\/a> engages equally with Official China via its bureaucracy, ideology, propaganda and culture, as well as with Other Chinas \u2014 those vibrant and often disheveled worlds of alterity, be they in the People&#8217;s Republic, Hong Kong, Taiwan, or around the globe.<\/p>\n<p>My advocacy of the study and reading of literary Chinese and attention to modern Chinese culture is not merely a way of justifying support for underfunded academic programs. As I have repeatedly argued, when things with China &#8216;went south&#8217; \u2014 that is as the systemic inertia of party-state autocracy continued to cast a pall over contemporary Chinese life, as I had no doubt that it would following the events of 1989 \u2014 students and scholars would always have recourse to the vast world of literature, history and thought that made a study of China also a study of human greatness, genius and potential.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/about\/on-new-sinology\/\">New Sinology<\/a> is nothing less than a laissez-passer into the <a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/the-invisible-republic-of-the-spirit-preface-to-spectres-souls\/\">Invisible Republic of the Spirit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">***<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"box\"><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Celebrating New Sinology<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>China Heritage Annual 2025<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Background Reading<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/new-sinology-in-1964-and-2022\/\">New Sinology in 1964 and 2022<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/and-teachers-then-they-just-do-their-thing\/\">And Teachers, Then? They Just Do Their Thing!<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/sinology-vs-the-disciplines-then-now\/\">Sinology vs. the Disciplines, Then &amp; Now<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Prelude<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/the-dragon-gives-way-to-the-snake\/\">The Dragon Gives Way to the Snake<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Contents<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/lofty-aspirations-modest-wishes-for-the-year-of-the-snake\/\">Lofty Aspirations &amp; Modest Wishes for the Year of the Snake<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/when-the-anaconda-is-the-chandelier\/\">When the Anaconda <em>is<\/em> the Chandelier<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/the-general-secretarys-new-clothes-five-years-of-viral-alarm\/\">The General Secretary\u2019s New Clothes &amp; Five Years of Viral Alarm<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/q-a-on-xi-jinping-from-2015\/\">Q. &amp; A. on Xi Jinping, from 2015<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/a-new-yorker-centenary\/\">A <em>New Yorker<\/em> Centenary<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Jeremy Goldkorn in conversation with Geremie Barm\u00e9, <a href=\"https:\/\/goldkorn.substack.com\/p\/how-to-commit-a-self-coup-in-the\">How to commit a self-coup, in the U.S. and in China<\/a> \u2014 What recent Chinese history can teach us about the Musk-Trump power grab, <em>Rhyming Chaos<\/em>, 21 February 2025; and, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rhymingchaos.com\/p\/a-constant-bombardment-of-noise-and\">A constant bombardment of noise and information<\/a> \u2014 China, 1974 to America, 2025, <i>Rhyming Chaos<\/i>, 5 October 2025<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/tds-down-under-drongology-and-the-conga-line-of-suck-holes\/\">TDS Down Under \u2014 Drongology and the Conga Line of Suck-holes<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/a-glum-convergence-donald-j-trump-xi-jinping\/\">A Glum Convergence \u2014 Donald J. Trump &amp; Xi Jinping<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/the-third-day-of-the-third-month-a-chastening-reflection\/\">The Third Day of the Third Month \u2014 a chastening reflection<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/this-fleeting-year\/\">This Fleeting Year<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/sympathy-for-the-devil-in-china-america-and-russia\/\">Sympathy for the Devil in China, America and Russia<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/tell-me-the-tale-of-a-man-in-search-of-a-destination-that-may-no-longer-even-exist\/\">\u2018Tell me the tale of a man \u2026\u2019 \u2014 in search of a destination that may no longer even exist<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/misplaced-faith-in-the-social-sciences-the-abiding-lessons-of-new-sinology\/\">Misplaced Faith in the Social Sciences &amp; the Abiding Lessons of New Sinology<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/broken-engagement-us-china-experts-in-recovery\/\">Broken Engagement \u2014 US-China Experts in Recovery<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/even-now-its-still-pays-to-look-back\/\">Even Now, It\u2019s Still Pays to Look Back<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/turd-blossoms-on-west-lake\/\">Turd Blossoms on West Lake<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/the-strange-tales-of-aladdin-dogballs\/\">The Strange Tales of Aladdin Dogballs<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/70-20-10-and-the-parading-of-lies-in-beijing-on-3-september-2025\/\">70-20-10 and the Parading of Lies in Beijing on 3 September 2025<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/still-dissenting-from-ba-jin\/\">Still Dissenting from Ba Jin<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/double-brightness-and-the-fag-end-of-autumn-with-lao-shu\/\">Double Brightness and the Fag-end of Autumn with Lao Shu<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/going-off-the-rails-with-jianying-zha\/\">Going off the Rails with Jianying Zha<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/the-ji-clan-at-mar-a-lago\/\">The Ji Clan at Mar-a-Lago<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/and-still-i-rise-xu-zhangrun-writes-of-surprise-and-awe\/\">And Still I Rise \u2014 Xu Zhangrun writes of Surprise and Awe<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/whats-in-a-word-geremie-r-barme-discusses-new-sinology\/\">What\u2019s in a Word? \u2014 Geremie R. Barm\u00e9 discusses New Sinology<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/the-tea-master-of-zibos-kung-fu-hustle\/\">The Tea Master of Zibo\u2019s Kung Fu Hustle<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/bring-on-the-wine-xi-jinpings-lessons-for-a-tang-dynasty-poet\/\">Bring on the Wine! \u2014 Xi Jinping\u2019s Lessons for a Tang-dynasty Poet<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/silence-silence-unless-we-burst-out-we-shall-perish-in-this-silence\/\">\u2018Silence, silence! Unless we burst out, we shall perish in this silence!\u2019<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>On Australia-China:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/australias-unfinished-twentieth-century\/\">Australia\u2019s Unfinished Twentieth Century<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/archive\/shared-values-a-sino-australian-conundrum\/\">Shared Values: a Sino-Australian Conundrum<\/a>, a keynote address presented to the Oriental Society of Australia, December 2006, the text of which was published in\u00a0<i>The Journal of the Oriental Society of Australia<\/i>, vol.38, 2006: 60-67, re-produced in digital form in\u00a0<em>The China Story Journal<\/em>, 20 October 2015<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/contentious-friendship\/\">Contentious Friendship<\/a>,\u00a0<em>China Heritage<\/em>, 29 April 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/ciw.anu.edu.au\/lectures_seminars\/inaugural_lecture.php\">Australia and China in the World: Whose Literacy?<\/a>, Australian Centre on China in the World Inaugural Annual Lecture, 15 July 2011<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Permalink to The Australia-China Story\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.thechinastory.org\/the-australia-china-story\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">The Australia-China Story<\/a>, <em>The China Story Journal<\/em>, 23 July 2012<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/archive.thechinastory.org\/2012\/12\/doubtless-at-forty-%E5%9B%9B%E5%8D%81%E4%B8%8D%E6%83%91\/\">Doubtless at Forty \u56db\u5341\u4e0d\u60d1<\/a>, <em>The China Story Journal<\/em>, 1 December 2012<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Permalink to Australia\u2019s China in 1976: an ambassador\u2019s advice\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.thechinastory.org\/2015\/09\/australias-china-in-1976-an-ambassadors-advice\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Australia\u2019s China in 1976: an ambassador\u2019s advice<\/a>, <em>The China Story Journal<\/em>,\u00a018 September 2015<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.thechinastory.org\/2015\/09\/welcome-comrade-ambassador\/\">Welcome, Comrade Ambassador<\/a>, <em>The China Story Journal<\/em>, 19 September 2015<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/n2ST6nFF0bM\">New Sinology in the Xi Jinping Era<\/a>, Australian Centre on China in the World Annual Lecture and farewell address to The Australian National University, 26 October 2015<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/supping-with-a-long-spoon-dinner-with-premier-li-november-1988\/\">Supping with a Long Spoon \u2014 dinner with Premier Li, November 1988<\/a>, <em>China Heritage<\/em>, 10 December 2018<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><\/div>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">***<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/lessons-in-new-sinology\/\">Lessons in New Sinology<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/on-new-china-newspeak\/\">New China Newspeak<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/new-sinology-jottings\/\">New Sinology Jottings<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/the-other-china\/\">The Other China<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/reader\/what-is-new-sinology\/\">A New Sinology Reader<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/duncan-campbell-archive\/\">Duncan Campbell Archive<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/xi-jinpings-empire-of-tedium\/\">Xi Jinping&#8217;s Empire of Tedium<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/journal\/going-off-the-rails-with-jianying-zha\/\">Jianying Zha Archive<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/heritage-glossary\/\">A Heritage Glossary<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/projects\/wairarapa-readings\/\">Nouvelle Chinoiserie<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/about\/on-new-sinology\/\">A New Sinology Bibliography<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/watching-china-watching\/\">Watching China Watching<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">***<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31880\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31880\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31880\" src=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/943949D3-C235-4CC8-99D3-874092527E8C.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/943949D3-C235-4CC8-99D3-874092527E8C.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/943949D3-C235-4CC8-99D3-874092527E8C-300x154.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/943949D3-C235-4CC8-99D3-874092527E8C-768x395.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31880\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yuan Ming Yuan, 1999. Photograph by Lois Conner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Celebrating New Sinology in 2025 I first proposed the idea of a New Sinology in May 2005. In the series below, published as China Heritage Annual 2025, we celebrate the twentieth anniversary of that idea and of the publication of China Heritage Quarterly, the precursor to China Heritage. We are also marking three decades since [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27186","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-projects"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9gcZ6-74u","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27186"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27186"}],"version-history":[{"count":60,"href":"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55077,"href":"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27186\/revisions\/55077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaheritage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}