Jonathan Spence and My Introduction to Chinese History
I just learned that eminent Chinese historian (or more accurately, historian of China) Jonathan Spence died on December 25. My world feels a little smaller.
I should make it clear that I never took a class with Dr. Spence and never met him personally. Nonetheless, he played a role in my introduction to Chinese history at the hands of fellow graduate student Rob LaFleur* over the course of several years.
For five years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Rob and I team-taught three of the four units in a course for the University of Chicago’s continuing education program. The continuing education program was (and is) whimsically called the Compleat Gargoyle; our course was grandly titled Asia and the Middle East. Rob was responsible for material dealing with China, Japan, and Korea. I was responsible for South and Southeast Asia and the Islamic world. It was a survey class writ large: 30 weeks in which to introduce our students, and each other, to boiled down versions of complex cultures and thousands of years of history. (As I remember it, Korea and Southeast Asia got short shrift.)
It was also a graduate seminar of two. On the ride home after each class we had intense discussions about not only the material we had covered in class, but about how to teach, and about questions of historiography, epistemology, R.G. Collingswood’s The Idea of History,* and post-modern theory in various forms.** It was, quite frankly, what graduate school should have been and so often was not.
I don’t know about our students, but I learned a lot. In fact, I would argue that Rob’s intellectual fingerprints are all over anything I have written about China in subsequent years.
Which brings me to three books by Jonathan Spence that Rob assigned at various times and that earned a permanent place on my shelves.**** All three are brilliant, not only in their treatment of specific subjects but as master classes in how to write history that is more than just one dang thing after another.*****
May I suggest for your reading pleasure: The Death of Woman Wang, Emperor of China: Self-Portrait of Kang-hsi, and The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci.
I’m tempted to re-read them myself.
* Now Dr. Robert LaFleur, professor of history and anthropology at Beloit College, and a great teacher. You don’t have to take my word for it. Check out his work on Confucius’s Analects in The Great Courses.
**A formative book for both of us
*** Unavoidable at the University of Chicago at the time
**** I do not say this lightly. I am currently making hard decisions about what books to keep and what books to pitch. This is not procrastination. This is self preservation. My study shelves runneth over, and the piles on the floor are daunting.
*****At first I typed “one dang think after another. “ That is, in fact, what I aspire to as a writer.
Same Song, New Verse–Another Year of History Nerdery
It’s become a tradition. I devote my first post of the year to writing about the historical topics that I expect will occupy my time in the coming year. It’s a way to put my thoughts in order about the projects ahead. You all are kind to indulge me.
This year I could simply refer you to last year’s post. Nothing much has changed, except that a major archive reopened in October. (And will hopefully stay open. Keep your fingers crossed for me.)
I spent 2021 deep in research on Sigrid Schultz, the realities of being a foreign correspondent,* the rise of Nazi Germany, and related topics. As the blog posts of the last year will attest, I went down lots of rabbit holes in the process. (I love a good rabbit hole!)
As we move into 2022, I am still deep in research mode. It is exhausting and thrilling. I am finding some fabulous stuff, and I am wandering down lots of rabbit holes. Which means lots of stories to share. In fact, there are so many stories to share that I can’t keep up. My growing list includes some kick-ass women you probably haven’t heard of, an unlikely German social organization (think a cross between Boy Scouts and hippies), robots, and rocket science.
My hope is to finish my archival work by the end of January** and then fling myself into the writing. I’ll keep you posted.
What historical rabbit holes are on your list for 2020?
*At some level, the real challenge is not finding the story, it’s getting the story to the editors at home. Sigrid Schultz and her colleagues/competitors spent a lot of time looking for the optimum balance between speed, cost, and reliability.
**I’m not sure this is even possible. But a lady can dream, right?
Home for Christmas, the 2021 Edition
Last year, like much of the world, My Own True Love and I stayed home for Christmas. This year, we’re heading out to visit my family. I’m pretty excited. It’s been more than two years since I’ve seen them. (Also like much of the world, alas.)
As I have done over the last several years, I’m giving myself a holiday from blogging.* I’ll be back in January with some stories from the margins of history (I have a list!), some books you ought to read, and some glimpses of things I’m thinking about related to the new book.
In the meantime, have a merry/jolly/happy/blessed time as you celebrate the victory of light over the darkness in the tradition of your choice.
*I must admit that it feels a bit like cheating this year since I shared old posts from the archives for all of October and part of November.