American Images Of China, 1931-1949; Author: Jespersen, T. Christopher; Author: Jespersen, Christopher T.; Hardback; Book

Author: Jespersen, T. Christopher; Author: Jespersen, Christopher T.
Hardback; Book; 13 Illustrations, Halftones, Notes, Bibliography,
297 pages
Published: April 1999
Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804725969
This item non-returnable. Order may not be canceled.

In the 1930's and 1940's, the prevalent American view of China was that of a friendly, democratic, and increasingly Christian state, in many ways akin to the United States. This view was fostered by a wide range of literary, political, and business leaders, including Pearl S. Buck, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Wendell Willkie, Joseph Stillwell, Claire Chennault, and most notably, the powerfulpublisher of Life and Time, Henry R. Luce.This book shows how the notion of the Chinese as aspiring Americans helped shape American opinions and policies toward Asia for almost twenty years. This notion derived less from the reality of Chinese historical or cultural similarities than from a projection of American values and culture; in the American view, fueled by various political, economic, aIn the 1930s and 1940s, the prevalent American view of China was that of a friendly, democratic, and increasingly Christian state, in many ways akin to the United States. This is an analysis of how seeing the Chinese as aspiring Americans shaped American attitudes toward Asia.