The China Quarterly`s Creation of Communal Identity-Lessons for Defining the China Studies Field

Abstract

This article seeks to highlight the methods by which The China Quarterly (CQ)-the founding journal of the modern China studies field-has helped create a larger communal identity among researchers interested in China. The argument is that CQ has used a variety of tools at its disposal-including choices regarding articles, book reviews, research notes, obituaries, cover design, editorial staff advisory board, editorial notes, advertisements, and extra-journal activities and publications. (1) to create an editor-readership connection that creates a more intimate ”community of like-minded scholars”; (2) to maintain an informal yet quite public ”China studies field membership list”; (3) to act as community newsletter noting events, institutes, and publications of interest to the field; (4) to present a ”living textual history” of the development of the field; and (5) to define or debate the topics, methodologies, and broad research directions that constitute China studies research. These five functions have allowed CQ to shape a communal identity among China watchers that extends far beyond the journal itself The article closes by drawing implications for attempts to define the China studies field today.