It is getting even harder for Western scholars to do research in China
Access to databases of vital materials is dwindling
For much of the past century, foreign academics have had a tough time learning about China. Few could visit the country when it was ruled by Mao Zedong. Some instead tracked newspapers like the People’s Daily, a Communist Party mouthpiece. These offered plenty of ideological hectoring but few believable details about people’s lives. Reading dry party documents, an art known as Pekingology, was like “swallowing sawdust by the bucketful”, as one renowned China-watcher put it.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Great academic walls”
From the April 8th 2023 edition
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