The field of Sinology has been dealt a couple of hard knocks in recent years. First, academic institutions from London to Leiden to Los Angeles have been hit by economic recession and research funding has dwindled. Second, in the foreign studies departments of many U.S. and European universities, interest—and funding—has shifted toward Eastern Europe and Japan and away from China. The result is that Chinese studies is on somewhat shaky ground in many academic institutions worldwide.
"At the end of the nineteenth century, Sinology began to boom in Europe and after the second world war, Chinese studies in the U.S. were also becoming more developed," says Li Yih-yuan, president of the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation in Taipei. "But in 1972, the government of Japan set up the Japan Foundation with US$770 million. They gave out huge grants to encourage studies in Japanese culture and language. As a result, Japanese studies has replaced Chinese studies as the dominant area of research in East Asian studies departments in the U.S. and Europe."
Noting the weakened state of Sinology among international academic circles, in 1987 a number of Chinese professors based in North America submitted a written statement to then President Chiang Ching-kuo proposing the establishment of a foundation to promote Chinese studies. The time was right for such a venture, they stressed; the ROC was in a good financial position and such an undertaking would help upgrade its international image by establishing friendships between local and foreign academics and by promoting the field of Sinology worldwide. Says Li, "The goal of such a foundation is to support overseas study so as not to allow Japanese studies to overshadow Chinese studies just because Japan gives out more money than we do."
To Norway with books—the University of Oslo received a US$12,000 library enhancement grant from CCKF.
The foundation was approved by President Chiang shortly before his death in 1988 and formally established as the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange (CCKF) in January 1989. Its mission was simple: to provide research funding for institutes, individual scholars, conferences, and publications in Sinology.
During its three-year history, the foundation has grown quickly in both scope and funding. In its first year, CCKF secured an initial endowment of US$86 million from the ROC Ministry of Education and from private sponsors. By the time the 1989-90 academic year began, the foundation had secured US$3.3 million in endowment interest money plus US$1.9 million from private sponsors. The money funded CCKF's first grant recipients.
CCKF offered its first round of grants to applicants in North America, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The foundation established a North American regional office in Washington, D.C., in 1989 and received 270 proposals through that office for the 1989-90 academic year. In addition, CCKF received thirty-four applications through its Taipei headquarters. The foundation's board of directors, made up of government officials and professors from local and overseas universities, made the final decision, awarding forty overseas and fourteen domestic proposals with grants totalling US$5.2 million.
In its second academic year, 1990-91, the foundation extended its scope to include grant applications from Europe. CCKF has had a good response, with some assistance from the European Association of Chinese Studies at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. The total number of grant applicants jumped to 558 proposals from institutions and individuals in North America, Europe, and Taiwan. Last year, CCKF awarded US$7.1 million in grants to eighty-one institutions and thirty-six individual scholars.
This year, the foundation expects to receive even more applications by its November 1, 1992, deadline. Grants are awarded for institutional enhancement, individual research projects, conferences and seminars, publications, library improvement, and Ph.D. dissertation fellowships. Topics range from Chinese history and literature to language, politics, archaeology, law, and Taiwan studies.
"Our goal is to support overseas academic institutions in the area of Chinese studies by strengthening their educational programs, improving their libraries, or increasing research funding," says Li. "That's what we've been doing for the past two years." Li has been pleased with the results so far. Of the grants approved by the foundation, eleven projects have been completed to date; nine conferences and seminars have been held, and two works published by the Chinese University of Hong Kong: volume 35/36 of Renditions, A Chinese-English Translation Magazine and Contemporary Women Writers: Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In England, Sinologists are feeling the ill effects of economic recession and a shifting of academic attention toward Japan and Eastern Europe.
Current CCKF-funded research includes a three-year project approved last year entitled "Chinese Regional Theater in its Social and Ritual Contexts." The project, which will receive US$276,000 for the first year, was launched by Professor Wang Chiu-kuei of the Graduate Institute of Chinese Literature, National Tsing Hwa University. Several other professors from other local universities will contribute along with overseas collaborators Piet van der Loon, an emeritus professor from Oxford University's Chinese department, and David Johnson, professor of history at the University of California, Berkeley.
Wang's goal is to compile international research on this topic and to collect original data on regional theater in various locations in mainland China. The project is especially important because little research has been done on the topic in mainland China, he explains. Also, Wang wants to take advantage of mainland China's current open policy toward scholars.
Another CCKF-funded project is underway at the University of Leiden, under the direction of Dr. Erik Zürcher, director of the Sinology institute. Zürcher is developing a computerized databank of images of Chinese culture. The project, "A Visual Presentation of Chinese Culture," began by collecting photographs and slides pertaining to various areas of Chinese study—art, history, architecture, geography—from international museums and academic institutions. Begun as a pilot project six years ago, Zürcher had collected 25,000 images by 1989 and had created several visual presentations including "Survey of Chinese History," and "Buddhism in China."
After receiving CCKF funding in 1990, Zürcher's project sped up considerably and took a high-tech turn. Using a three-year CCKF grant of nearly US$300,000, Zürcher now hopes to collect a total of 100,000 images which will then be entered into a computer system. Using a high-quality computer graphics program, the computer will recreate the images, allowing students and the general public to call up these "pictures" according to their research needs.
To ensure that the grant recipients proceed well with their projects, the foundation requires each to submit semi-annual reports. In addition, the foundation subsidizes a network of thirty-two scholars in North America and Taiwan to act as consultants. They visit academic institutions to oversee projects and to promote the foundation.
Though CCKF'S awards generally cover projects that last between one and three years, the grants have long-lasting results, Li stresses. For instance, Duke University was awarded US$109,500 in 1991 to help enhance its Chinese studies department. Li points out that the CCKF grant has led to additional funding. "Duke University started its Chinese studies only recently," says Li. "Because of our funding, the Henry Luce Foundation and our Ministry of Education also decided to offer them financial support. Hopefully with three funding sources, a new Chinese studies center will be established in the southern United States."
Much of CCKF's current focus is on Europe. "Funding in Europe for Sinology is getting difficult and so the field is suffering," says Li. "In addition, after the Tienanmen incident, many European Sinologists no longer want to go to the mainland."
Funding injection—Last year, CCKF awarded Cambridge University US$107,000 for a three-year project on the anthropology of China.
One development in Europe is striking a positive note for the future of Sinology however. Since many Eastern European countries have broken away from communism, the region offers a new territory in which CCKF can extend grant offerings. Says Li, "We should use this opportunity to strengthen and to develop Sinology there."
European institutes face a somewhat tougher time finding research funding than those of the United States, according to Liang Chao-ping, professor of Sinology at University of Leiden and a member of the foundation's review committee. He explains that European academic institutes receive most of their research funding from government funded associations and these grants are generally offered in conjunction with the official interests and policies of the country. This makes it difficult to secure funding for Sinology research, Liang explains.
Dr. Ho Peng Yoke, director general of the Needham Research Institute in Cambridge, England, explains why funding is tight for Sinology projects in the U.K. "Britain is suffering from an economic recession," he says. "Colleges and universities here are greatly affected, especially in the field of Sinology, as it was not taken to be as important as other academic subjects." Ho has witnessed the benefits of CCKF at the Needham Institute. In 1990, the institute's founder, Sinologist Joseph Needham, received a three-year grant of US$61,000 to complete The Shorter Science and Civilization in China. In addition, Ho has seen the institute's library collection improve with CCKF funding. Says Ho, "In the past, most of the books in the library were from Needham's own collection."
To promote Sinology in Europe, CCKF will hold an international conference on the history of European Sinology in Taipei this April. The forty senior European Sinologists and forty local scholars attending will review the research of past years and discuss ways to promote future development.
In its three years of operation the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation has made substantial strides toward bolstering Sinology in academic institutions worldwide. Li stresses that this is only the beginning; the true achievements of the foundation cannot be seen in just two or three years. "It may take eight or ten years to achieve something tangible," says Li, "This is how academics differs from politics: success cannot be seen through one or two cases. But at least a lot of institutions and people involved in Chinese studies around the world are now recognizing the foundation."
Currently mid-way through its third academic year, the foundation intends eventually to expand grant offerings throughout the Pacific region to include Australia, New Zealand, and possibly regions of Asia. "It's probable that our grants will be offered to academic institutions in Asian countries in three years or so," says Li. "Our long-term goal is to subsidize Chinese studies around the globe."