Marianne Bastid-Bruguière, a famous French Sinologist and member of Académie Française

Represented by Bastid and her mentor Chesneaux, more and more French Sinologists are focusing on modern Chinese history and its connection to all social phenomena in history. The picture shows merchants selling goods on a fair in Hangzhou in 1906, and each individual’s destiny was closely connected with the historical environment of the late Qing Dynasty. 
 

Professor Marianne Bastid-Bruguière (1940- ) is a member of Académie Française. She has served as the vice-president of école normale supérieure, rue d’Ulm à Paris and an honorary researcher at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. She is a famous French Sinologist and member of the Association Européenne d’Etudes Chinoises. Her representative works include L’Evolution de la Société Chinoise à la Fin de la Dynastie des Qing, 1873-1911.

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In 1964, when diplomatic relations between France and China were established, Bastid, who was 24 at the time, came to China and began her career in Sinology. Half a century later, the famous French scholar sat down with CSST to tell the story of her lifelong passion for China studies.
 

CSST: Why did you select the history of education as the starting point of your study on China?

 

Bastid: To be frank, I was not that interested in the history of education. What motivated me to work on it was the influence of Shao Xunzheng (1909-1972), the Chinese historian. For me, the direct link between knowledge and politics is one of the main features of Chinese history. Unlike many other countries, Chinese systems are strongly affected by the country’s intellectuals, and its ruling tradition is characterized by humanism. So it was the interrelation between humanism and politics that aroused my particular interest. Education is part of humanistic instruction, which involves a great many factors, including curriculum theory, teaching methodology, student selection and teacher recruitment.

CSST: Traditional French Sinology usually focuses on ancient Chinese culture, but why do you prefer modern history as your specialization? Besides, what do you think of the interdisciplinary research that is in vogue within the academia?

 

Bastid: It is true that in the past, the study of the ancient Chinese culture was more popular in France, which was perhaps due to the influence of traditional Sinologists, such as Pelliot and Chavannes. For modern Chinese history, my tutor Chesneaux can be regarded as the authority. His doctoral dissertation focuses on the labor movement in modern China, particularly on the internal transformation that the Chinese working class underwent in the economic and political struggle from 1919 to 1927.
 

The popularity of different branches of historical science varies in each era. The early 21st century also has its distinctive historical science, which is noteworthy as to its historical significance. As far as I am concerned, the interdisciplinary study you mentioned just now has been the most fundamental research method for historical science since ancient times. This was also the methodology that the European historian Herodotus, the “Father of History,” adopted in his research. The same is true for Sima Qian, a Chinese historian of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220).
 

History is about everything in life. It is historians’ responsibility to explore the interconnectivity of all social phenomena in human history.

CSST: It seems that your study on the social history of China’s late Qing Dynasty in particular emphasizes the historical environment of individuals. It is the social background that determines the role of individuals in history.

 

Bastid: The study of social history reveals that each social group plays their own role in society. I could say that I myself am greatly influenced by the research methodology of French history.

From the 1820s and 1830s on, research method of social change analysis appeared in the field of French social sciences. It is a method that examines the relationship between the individual and the group despite the fact that the individual alone is important. Like we often stress the word “network” today, interpersonal relationships in social history are quite important.
 

This is one of the traditions of French history—a tradition not only for the Annales School, which utilizes instead of creates it, but also for other historians. When compiling the book The Cambridge History of China, John King Fairbank invited French scholars to write about the Chinese social history part. Personally, I think the scholarly tradition of French social history has its merits.
 

CSST: What you mentioned previously are the principles you have been adhering to throughout your research. Are there any unique experiences that you have gained from historical research?

 

Bastid: Strict methodology should be adopted. For example, when using a concept, the connotation of the concept should first be expounded upon. History is made up of many social frameworks, and all things in the universe are extensively connected with each other. These connections vary in different historical times, and it is historians’ responsibility to examine how they evolve.
 

In addition, “intersectional history” is a very good approach proposed by Justin Winsor. Recently, I read an article of Winsor. In it, he paid much attention to the background that breeds a country’s culture, the trait of the culture itself and its relevance to other cultures, which was quite insightful. I myself am very interested in the relations between French and German culture. Many studies about German-French relations have adopted such cross-cultural perspectives. And I am also trying to apply such a methodology to China study. For example, some theories or paradigms about China-Japan relations can take cues from research on German-French relations.
 

The American sociologists sometimes prefer to use some frameworks or formulas indiscriminately, which, from my perspective, should be further adapted. What scholars need is methodological instruction or guidance rather than mechanical formulas. My mentor, Pierre Renouvin, believed that the point of historical research is how to raise good questions. He also valued archives and other first-hand materials, which are based on verification, comparison and analysis. All these ideas will continue to have a marked impact on my researches in days to come.
 

CSST: How do you view today’s Chinese works on the history of China-France relations? The emergence of realism, structuralism and deconstructivism seems to have overshadowed the old theoretical analysis framework. Do you agree with this?

 

Bastid: I do not agree with the ideas of some Chinese works, mainly because they are based on insufficient materials, sometimes merely on a single piece of material. As a result, either the historical environment in specific context or the psychological activity of the figures and the situation they are in would be neglected. For me, such research is lopsided with imagined theory, which can be hardly regarded as rigorous study.
 

Therefore, I propose to draw conclusions through scientific data accumulation and analysis in a rigorous way. The newly emerged “isms,” such as realism, structuralism and deconstructivism, which could provide new perspectives, will be conducive to the current historical science and conform with the new research interests of human beings. But to this day, some historians still prefer the old theoretical analysis framework as they did before.
 

CSST: Could you please introduce the academic trends and schools of the current French historical research? In regards to your own research, which academic paradigms or methods influence you most?

 

Bastid: Current French historical research is varied and rich. For example, in terms of material utilization, researchers have started to make use of some materials that were overlooked before, such as photos, portrayals, films, personal information and online resources.
 

With regard to research fields, scholars are exploring comparative social history, economic history, academic history, the evolution of artistic groups, concepts about daily life, power, social policy and trends of globalization as well as the structural evolution of knowledge, science and art. In terms of research methods, new information technology are being introduced and adopted. Influenced by Pierre Renouvin and other professors, I continue to read history books that are beyond my expertise, especially those works authored by historians from Germany, Britain, India and Japan as well as those young ones from France.