Chapter 3 foreword

Recently, China has come alive and reappeared before us.What does this mean for our future?The China experts, who graduated from the business school, praised backward China's transformation into markets and the pursuit of the economic benefits they say keep America alive.Looking ahead, other experts predict that a modern China will soon surpass us in technology and compete with us in the world market with cheap goods, as Japan has done in recent years.Think of it this way, they end up supplying us with clothing and household goods, and we just sell them produce.But can China really become another Japan?This idea may still be an American dream, that China is a sleeping giant with which huge amounts of trade can be expected.But that dream never became a reality.Perhaps the same difficulties that delayed China's entry into the present era will continue to slow China's progress.

China's trade with great potential has been, for us in the West, a fantasy world for 200 years.China leaves us with the impression that it has a long history.We came to realize that we have gradually formed our perception of China through reality, stereotypes and exposure.It is these two that make up the report content of experts on China issues. This book is a collection of essays by one historical observer on China and Sino-American relations over the past 15 years.Apparently, I'm just one of those opinion-makers who've been fading into oblivion.When the authors mentioned in the book wrote books, articles and comments, they all reflected their different understandings of historical figures and events that happened in China or related to China; they passed on their impressions or comments to others people.Soon, reality and imagination merge.

This book is about other people's reactions to China. What does this double infiltration mean?We know that the first consideration of publishers and review editors of journals and newspapers is whether the book being written is worth publishing or reviewing.Of course, the content of this book may tell us what attracts Americans who care about China.Those who enjoy the content of this book will feel that these comments reflect public opinion.We assume that these comments may be biased, incomplete and ambiguous, but still competitive with official public opinion. The introduction, taken in part from a speech given at the centennial meeting of the American Historical Association in December 1985, reflects my interest in how diverse American views of China have developed.The book is divided into five parts, each of which begins with a historical event, and some chapters even begin with a note that is commonly used today; most of the content in the book is published for the first time.