当代美国中国学研究述论

Review of Chinese Studies in Modern America

美国对中国的研究,从时间上讲曾落后于日本和欧洲国家。但进入20世纪,美国后来居上。70年代后美国的中国学研究取得令世人瞩目的成就。尤其是对现代中国的研究,出现前所未有的发展。研究的重点从传统中国转向现当代中国,研究特点是跨学科、跨专业,将历史学研究方法与社会科学、自然科学研究方法结合起来,内容涉及中国社会政治、经济、军事、外交和文化等各个方面。而且将儒学研究与中国现代化研究结合起来,这是美国中国学与欧洲汉学研究的主要区别所在。

America lagged behind Japan and Europe in Chinese studies in terms of time. But America has caught up with them since the 20th century. It has scored remarkable achievements in Chinese studies since the 1970s, especially in studies of modern China. The focus has shifted from traditional China to modern China, taking on inter-disciplinary and cross-specialty characteristics, combining historical research methods with research methods of social sciences and natural sciences, and covering such areas as China＇ s society, politics, economy, military affairs, diplomacy, culture, etc. Besides, it has combined Confucian studies and China＇ s modernization, which is the major difference between American studies of China and European sinology.