Mastering · Tutoring · Academic Research

Author: Fei Xiaotong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-07-01
Features: The book is divided into three parts: 1. Recollections of scholars whom the author studied under, such as Wu Wenzao, Shi Lugu, Malinowski, and Pan Guangdan; 2. Supplementary Notes—Rediscovering Park's Sociology; 3. A review of the author's own journey in rebuilding sociology and anthropology. Through the author's narration of these contents, profound reflections and insights of an elderly scholar who participated in the entire process of sociology and anthropology in China—from its inception, development, setbacks, to its rebirth—are presented, showcasing the different developmental experiences of this discipline in China and the United States. Excerpt:
Recollections of Studying in the UK I went to the UK as a government scholarship student from Tsinghua University in 1936. I enrolled at the London School of Economics and Political Science to study anthropology. I graduated in 1938 and returned to China. What I want to recall here is this period of studying in the UK. However, following the train of thought, many things related to this period of life came to mind, and I wrote them down without being constrained by the title. First, let me tell you how I got the opportunity to study abroad. In the 1930s, when I was studying in university, almost all the young people around me considered studying abroad as the ideal path. This mindset reflected the anxieties of young people in the old China, which was semi-feudal and semi-colonial. The threat of unemployment after graduation was becoming increasingly severe, and relying solely on a university diploma to enter society offered no guarantee of a livelihood or career. To climb up to the more affluent and stable stratum of society, one had to go a step further after leaving university—study abroad. No matter how many foolish things you might have done in foreign countries, returning after a trip would make others look at you differently, and your value would increase tenfold. Studying abroad had become something akin to an alternative imperial examination. Some university students became obsessed with it, losing their sense of direction. These images are perhaps familiar to those who have read The Story of the Stone. However, there was a difference between studying abroad and the imperial examination: in the feudal era, the range of people who could dream of "making it big" with the imperial examination seemed broader. At least, traditional plays reflected that the top scholar was not so unreachable in the public imagination; enduring ten years of hard study could transform a scholar's plain blue robe into a dazzling purple one. Studying abroad, however, was far from easy. It was a capitalist venture, focused on investment and cost. Studying in Japan was relatively cheaper, costing at least 500 to 600 white yuan per year, while studying in the West required 5,000 to 6,000. If you wanted to earn a foreign doctorate, it would take at least two or three years, and without a few hundred thousand white yuan, you could only sigh in despair.
Where could the money for studying abroad come from? There were different categories such as "government-funded," "self-funded," and "public-funded." In the early days, the Qing government sent students abroad to cultivate talent in Western affairs, but many people of status were reluctant to leave their homeland or venture into foreign lands. Even fewer were willing to spend their own money to send their children abroad. As a result, the expenses of students abroad were entirely covered by the government, making them "government-funded students." Upon returning, these students often found success in their careers, with foreign scholars being more prestigious than local ones. "Excellence leads to officialdom" was the code of the intellectuals at the time, and returning from studying abroad meant having a government position to hold, which attracted a rush of people. Over time, opportunities for government-funded study were gradually monopolized by high-ranking officials, who used them to educate their own children and consolidate their power. Those with no connection to the powerful officials who selected students for government funding were left out in the cold. Those who had money but no access to government funding had no choice but to pay for their children's education themselves, making them "self-funded students."