Episode Overview

Podcast: New Books Network – East Asian Studies
Host: Sarah Bramau Ramos
Guest: Yanqiu Zheng, author of In Search of Admiration and Respect: Chinese Cultural Diplomacy in the United States, 1875–1974 (University of Michigan Press, 2024)
Date: November 21, 2025

Main Theme:
This episode explores the evolution and institutionalization of Chinese cultural diplomacy in the United States, focusing on the period from 1875 to 1974. Yanqiu Zheng discusses how Chinese individuals, organizations, and governments navigated global perceptions, developed platforms for cultural exchange, sought legitimacy, and grappled with practical challenges such as funding and access—culminating in the complex terrain of contemporary Chinese soft power.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Yanqiu Zheng’s Path to History and Book Development

[03:30–11:16]

• Zheng describes a non-linear academic trajectory: from philosophy at Peking University, to education in the U.S., before finding intellectual fulfillment in history—a field combining rigorous research with societal impact.
• Initially intended for practical fields like business, but gravitated toward understanding how education and historical context shaped societies globally.
• The process of writing the book involved negotiating infrastructure challenges, particularly the loss of archival access after leaving major research institutions.
  • Quote [06:21]: “My book is literally sitting on a pile of cash... Without all the fellowships, without all the grants you have been given throughout your career, how could you justify spending your own money, going halfway across the globe to spend month and month in archives? No, you cannot justify spending your own money that way.”

Notable Advice [11:16]:

• Both Zheng and Ramos underscore the importance of preserving scholarly resources: “You don't realize what you need until you don't have it anymore.”

2. Challenges in China Studies

[11:16–21:08]

• Increased restrictions and uncertainties for foreign-born scholars, especially regarding border-crossing, visa/permit issues, and differing treatment in archives (anecdote about access problems in Taiwan's Presidential Office Archives at [12:37]).
• Career insecurity for early-career scholars post-pandemic due to financial cuts and shifting university priorities.
  • Quote [18:57]: “The challenge for higher education, of course is structural. It long predated the pandemic and it's continuing in 2025... Junior scholar graduate students, they need to be very, very realistic about the job prospect and what they could do outside the narrow confine of university teaching.”

3. Book Opening—The "Good Earth" Debate

[21:08–26:21]

• Zheng elucidates why the book opens with a debate between Pearl S. Buck and Chinese reviewer Zhang Kanghu in the New York Times. This episode signifies layered power dynamics: gender, linguistic/cultural authority, and media control.
  • Quote [22:16]: “They were debating not on the platform of a Chinese newspaper, but rather New York Times...a particular kind of platform that has also a structural...advantage for the United States.”
• Resonates with ongoing questions: who gets to define China’s image, and on what terms?

4. Defining Cultural Diplomacy

[26:21–29:53]

• Zheng rejects “laundry list” definitions (simple catalogs of cultural events) in favor of a power-centered, analytical definition.
  • Focuses on both production (content, message) and projection (who controls dissemination platforms).
  • Quote [26:21]: “I pay special attention to the projection of how the content is being disseminated on what platform, who has control over that platform, because it often gets shortchanged in the discussion...”

Infrastructure Over Institution [29:53–31:32]:

• Emphasizes material and financial underpinnings of diplomacy—not just polite intellectual exchange, but pragmatic questions of funding and access.
  • Quote: “Without money there will be no Harvard. Without money there will be no projects...”

5. Periodization: 1875–1974

[31:32–37:39]

• 1875: Marks the Qing government’s first posting of diplomats abroad—the beginning of sustained overseas Chinese representation.
• 1974: Ended with Taiwan’s last major cultural ‘offensive’ in the US and the PRC’s high-profile National Gallery exhibition—symbolizing the PRC’s growing dominance in representing "China."
• This period signifies a “century of fractured, contested international representation of China,” after which the PRC consolidates its status.

6. The China Institute: Rise of Infrastructure

[37:39–43:19]

• Founded in New York (1926) with Boxer Indemnity money, China Institute became a hub for Chinese cultural promotion, educational exchange, and soft diplomacy.
• It illustrated a shift from individual to institutional approaches in Chinese outreach, leveraging sustained resources and elite networks.
  • Quote [38:52]: “More than 50 years after 1875... China Institute...was already...the culmination of at least two, if not three generations of educated Chinese...doing things on their own.”

7. State Involvement and The “Philanthropic Cold War”

[43:19–50:39]

• As the Chinese state (especially the Nationalist government) became more involved post-1940s, cultural diplomacy became both more ambitious and more entangled with funding/politics.
• After WWII, changes in treaties led the China Institute to scramble for survival. Support from American philanthropists (notably Henry Luce, Rockefeller) became both lifeline and point of political suspicion.
  • Quote [45:15]: “...that really triggered their frantic search for the next, if you will, patron saint. And they happened to found Henry Luce...”
  • “Philanthropic Cold War”: Describes Rockefeller vs. Luce, and the way donors’ private quarrels and politics shaped Chinese cultural outreach.

8. 1950s–1970s: Competing Visions, Territorialization, and ROC’s Shifting Strategies

[50:39–57:07]

• Chapter Four focuses on the ROC/Taiwan’s efforts to maintain legitimacy through art exhibitions and global events (e.g., 1964 New York World’s Fair), often in competition with other “Chinese” representatives (like Hong Kong or US Chinatowns).

• Over the 1950s–60s, the symbolism and purposes of exhibits shifted: from demonstrating ancient legitimacy to promoting tourism in Taiwan.

  • Quote [52:23]: “...these objects were no longer just a symbol of legitimacy from ancient China, but rather they are increasingly rooted in territorial Taiwan itself...I call the Taiwan-ization of this whole endeavor...”

• Ramos points out the limits of narrative control (the ROC’s desired messages didn't always reach or resonate with American audiences):

  • Quote [57:07]: “What seemed to stick in popular memory...was the kitschy rickshaw replica at the Hong Kong Pavilion and cheap American Chinese food at the Chungking Inn.”

9. 1970s Onward: The PRC’s Global Turn and Ongoing Quest

[57:07–64:31]

• The PRC’s 1974 blockbuster archaeological exhibits marked a new era, drawing immense crowds and overshadowing previous ROC/China Institute efforts.
• The balance of power tipped: The PRC, with greater resources and sovereign legitimacy, took the lead in global Chinese soft power.
• Contemporary Confucius Institutes and PRC endeavors reflect this state-driven approach, sparking both expansion and backlash (especially in the West).
  • Quote [59:48]: “The People's Republic of China today has a lot more control over the platform itself...Yet exactly because of that, it actually caused quite a lot of backlash in the United States and...in Western European countries...”
  • On relevance: “If I can go back to some of the phrases the other Chinese still use today, such as make China's voice heard. Right. Tell China's story well...the subtext there? Maybe they think the voice hasn't been heard, the story hasn't been told. Well, right to their liking.”

10. Reflections and Future Directions

[64:31–69:21]

• Zheng positions “admiration and respect” as a twin goal to China’s long-standing quest for “wealth and power,” suggesting a new lens for both historians and policy analysts.
• Post-book, Zheng is exploring the cultural politics of Chinese food (e.g., tofu), reflecting how gustatory histories intersect with migration, adaptation, and identity.
• He is also involved in innovative teaching—such as team-taught courses on tea and spices in Asia—demonstrating the pedagogical connections from his earlier interests to present endeavors.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On scholarly precarity:
  18:57, Yanqiu Zheng: “Junior scholar graduate students, they need to be very, very realistic about the job prospect and what they could do outside the narrow confine of university teaching.”

• On periodization:
  32:39, Yanqiu Zheng: “1875 was the year when the Qing government first sent regular diplomats...1974...that was...the last highlight of the Nationalist government's major...cultural outreach programs in the US during the Cold War...By the mid-1970s, that was coming to settle.”

• On projecting soft power:
  26:21, Yanqiu Zheng: “I'm not satisfied with...a laundry list of things. I try to do in this book...not just looking at the production...but also...how the content is being disseminated on what platform, who has control over that platform...Production and projection.”

• On infrastructure over institutions:
  30:26, Yanqiu Zheng: “The reason why I chose the word, let's see, infrastructure rather than just institution is I want to emphasize that kind of material side of things...Without money There will be no Harvard...”

• On PRC’s expanded influence and backlash:
  59:48, Yanqiu Zheng: “The People's Republic of China today has a lot more control over the platform itself...Yet exactly because of that, it actually caused quite a lot of backlash in the United States and...in Western European countries...”

• On soft power’s shifting effectiveness:
  59:48, Yanqiu Zheng: “In the time I study, [state involvement] is often too weak, and then that's affecting the effectiveness. And nowadays it's almost the opposite, but the result isn't optimal either.”

Engaging & Memorable Moments

• The “spicy” archival reality behind philanthropic rivalries (Rockefeller vs. Luce) gives the story unexpected human drama. [50:39]
• Moments of ironic reversal: policies meant to promote national pride actually undermined funding for cultural diplomacy. [45:15]
• The persistence—and malleability—of questions about “who gets to speak for China” from the Good Earth to Confucius Institutes. [22:16–29:53]
• Zheng’s honest discussion of career precarity and the “pile of cash” required for historical research grounds the book’s subject matter in lived academic reality. [06:21]

Timeline of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Focus | |:--------------:|:----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:30–11:16 | Zheng’s academic background and journey to history/research hurdles | | 11:16–21:08 | Structural and personal challenges in China Studies | | 21:08–26:21 | The “Good Earth” debate—power, platforms, and representation | | 26:21–31:32 | Defining cultural diplomacy; projection vs. production; funding realities | | 31:32–37:39 | Book’s periodization and key historical transitions | | 37:39–43:19 | The founding and significance of the China Institute | | 43:19–50:39 | Rise of state involvement and the “philanthropic Cold War” | | 50:39–57:07 | Art exhibitions, territorialization, and shifting strategies in the ROC era | | 57:07–64:31 | PRC’s ascendancy in the 1970s, contemporary soft power debates | | 64:31–69:21 | Future projects: from soft power to food diplomacy and global teaching |

Conclusion

Yanqiu Zheng’s In Search of Admiration and Respect is a detailed, critical, yet accessible examination of China’s century-long efforts to shape its image abroad through cultural diplomacy—probing not just what was said, but how, by whom, and on whose terms. Drawing on personal experiences, institutional histories, and material realities, Zheng’s narrative is a relevant reflection both on the past’s complexity and on the evolving dilemmas of soft power.

For listeners interested in international relations, history, and the workings of “soft power,” this episode offers both granular detail and big-picture insight—grounded in candid scholarly experience and thoughtful historical investigation.