China Through American Eyes: Early Depictions Of The Chinese People And Culture In The US Print Media
Cultural understanding between the United States and China has been a long and complex process. The period from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century is not only a critical era in modern Chinese history, but also the peak time of illustrated news reporting in the United States. This presentation will highlight images about China and the Chinese published in books, newspapers, magazines, brochures, commercial advertisements, campaign posters, postcards, etc. Together, they have documented colorful portrayals of the Chinese and their culture by the U.S. print media and their evolution from ethnic curiosity, stereotyping, and racial prejudice to social awareness, reluctant understanding, and eventual acceptance. The goal of this research project is to help people develop a more comprehensive awareness of major events in modern American and Chinese histories, and enhance the mutual understanding between American and Chinese peoples in the 21st century.
Prof. Wenxian ZHANG has been a member of Rollins College faculty since 1995. He is a recipient of the Cornell Distinguished Faculty Service Award, Arthur Vining Davis Fellow, a member of the Asian Studies Program, and a full Professor in the College of Liberal Arts in Winter Park, Florida, USA. His recent academic books related to China include: · Huawei Goes Global: Made in China for the World (Palgrave Macmillan); · Huawei Goes Global: Regional, Geopolitical Perspectives and Crisis Management (Palgrave Macmillan); · China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Changing the Rule of Globalization (Palgrave Macmillan); · 美国画报里的中国 1840-1911 (Peking University Press); · The Entrepreneurial and Business Elites of China: The Chinese Returnees Who Have Shaped Modern China (Emerald); · A Guide to the Top 100 Companies in China (World Scientific); · The Biographical Dictionary of New Chinese Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders (Edward Elgar). Wenxian Zhang is also a recipient of the Dorothy Dodd Outstanding Archivist Award and Patrick D. Smith Award from the Florida Historical Society, the Award of Excellence from the Society of Florida Archivists, and the Community Service Award from the Greater Orlando Chinese Professionals Association. His 2018 book China Through American Eyes: Early Depictions of the Chinese People and Culture in the US Print Media (World Scientific), has also received the Jing Liao Award for the Best Research from the Chinese American Librarians Association in 2019.