Building a Bridge of Knowledge and Understanding: The New Chinese Immigrants and Their Contributions

This paper is a preliminary study on the contributions made by Chinese émigrés, both students and scholars, to the establishment and development of the field of Chinese studies in the United States. Through a brief survey of a number of dissertation guides, journals, and monograph series in the field of Chinese studies, this author attempts to show that Chinese students and scholars, who sought extended or permanent stay in the United States after World War II, not only constituted a large portion of the community of Chinese experts in this country but also have stood as important contributors to journals and book series in the field. Their presence and publications have helped end the history in which the knowledge of China was made with little involvement of Chinese in the United States and drastically enhanced the American knowledge and understanding of China and Chinese people.