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.