Southeast Asian Studies in China

4. The State of Southeast Asian Studies in China: An Institutional Interpretation

54 Tang Shiping and Zhang Jie 4 4 The State of Southeast Asian Studies in China: An Institutional Interpretation Tang Shiping and Zhang Jie INTRODUCTION As a region that is historically deeply intertwined with China, Southeast Asia is a natural focus of the Chinese state and its scholarly community. Rather than a comprehensive historical survey of Southeast Asian Studies (hereafter SEAS) in China,1 our survey will seek to advance an institutional interpretation of it.2 By an institutional perspective, we mean that we view the pursuit of knowledge as being profoundly influenced by the institutional setting of a scholarly community and the society at large. Thus, our survey does not intend to provide a comprehensive survey of the history and present status of SEAS in China. Rather, we are more interested in understanding how and why China’s SEAS has been shaped by the overall institutional environment, and how its future will continue to be shaped by this institutional environment. More specifically, we seek to underscore that the evolution of Southeast Asian Studies in China has been profoundly shaped by three factors: The changing but steadily increasing demand of the Chinese state, the ever deepening inter-dependence between ０４ ＳＥＡＳｔｕｄｉｅｓ ｉｎ Ｃｈｉｎａ Ｃｈ ４ 10/20/06, 10:02 AM 54 The State of Southeast Asian Studies in China 55 China and Southeast Asia (which partly and indirectly influences SEAS in China through influencing the demand from the state), and the rise of the mass media.3 The chapter starts with a brief organizational overview of SEAS in China. Next, it briefly reviews the evolution of Southeast Asian Studies after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, highlighting several important developments in its evolutionary path. It then connect these shifts with the three institutional factors. Finally, it explores the future of SEAS in China and what can be done to improve its prospect through institutional changes. SEAS IN CHINA TODAY: THE ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING The institutional setting of Southeast Asian Studies in China today can be first understood organizationally. It contains three explicit and implicit dimensions of division of labour. The first explicit division of labour is between institutions affiliated with universities and institutions affiliated with central or local Academy of Social Sciences (ASS) (for a brief introduction to these institutions, see Table 4.1). Institutions affiliated with universities have more responsibility for training new generations of scholars, and they usually maintain a graduate programme but also play a role in training undergraduates. In contrast, institutions affiliated with ASS are more-or-less fully dedicated think-tanks and have less responsibility for training new generations of scholars, and these institutions normally maintain only a small graduate programme. Consequently, for a very long time, the flow of graduates has largely been uni-directional from universities to research institutions, although more recently universities have begun to recruit more established scholars from think-tanks now that they can offer a more attractive employment package for scholars. This has been especially obvious in Beijing and Shanghai. The first explicit division of labour also leads to a second implicit division of labour. Institutions affiliated with central or local ASS are more responsible for advancing policy proposals for central and local governments, while institutions affiliated with universities usually play only a supporting role in these activities. Despite the fact that scholars within institutions affiliated with central or local ASS will usually solicit inputs from scholars who are affiliated with universities when formulating major policy proposals, the final product is usually drafted by scholars from think-tanks. The third explicit division of labour is between the institutions located at the centre of policy-making (Beijing and Shanghai) and those located in provinces. Those institutions at the centre of policy-making almost exclusively serve the central government, while those in provinces also exclusively serve ０４ ＳＥＡＳｔｕｄｉｅｓ ｉｎ Ｃｈｉｎａ Ｃｈ ４ 10/20/06, 10:02 AM 55 56 Tang Shiping and Zhang Jie Table 4.1 Major Institutions of SEAS in China4 Institution Founding Number of Research Journals Regular Staff Xiamen University 1956/ 20 Nanyang wenti yanjiu SEA Research Institute 2000 [Southeast Asian Affairs], (Xiamen)5 quarterly Nanyang wenti yicong [Southeast Asian Studies], quarterly Fujian CAS 1983 7 Huaqiao huaren yu Institute of Oversea qiaowu, quarterly Chinese Studies (IOCS/Fuzhou) Jinan University 1960 25 Dongnanya yanjiu ISEAS (Guangzhou) [Southeast Asian Studies], bi-monthly Jinan University 1981 9 IOCS (Guangzhou) Zhongsan University 1959 27 ISEAS (Guangzhou) Guanxi CAS 1979/ 21 Dongnanya zongheng ISEAS (Nanning)6 1989 [Around...