Qin Hui (historian)
Encyclopedia
Qin Hui is a Chinese historian and public intellectual. He holds the position of Professor of History, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tsinghua University
, Beijing.
In terms of political ideology, Qin Hui defends a left-liberal position. He favors privatization under strict conditions of democratic openness. However he opposes market fundamentalism
in its Chinese forms, and seeks to introduce institutions of social democracy
, including some aspects of the welfare state
. He strongly defends liberty as a political value, and often allies with other Chinese intellectuals labeled "liberal." (Note that this term is used in a different sense from the currently popular usage in the United States of America. Qin's liberalism is the "traditional" sense associated with classical texts, e.g. the Federalist Papers
). He has engaged in polemics with the Chinese New Left, particularly its more populist and nationalist forms. He has for example signed petitions protesting chauvinistic responses to the 9.11 attacks in New York.
His major contribution as a public intellectual has been to initiate wide debates on social justice
. Having himself been sent down to work as a peasant
in a poor mountainous region of Southwest China in the Cultural Revolution
, he has identified China's peasantry as suffering from grave lack of social justice up to the present day. At the same time, his historical research has shown strong tendencies of the peasantry to enhance their citizen status whenever possible (whereas the urban working class has often tended to demand restitution of the dependent client status it enjoyed under the Maoist planned economy).
A skilled writer able to provide incisive arguments and encapsulations of complex issues, Qin Hui has introduced a host of influential themes to the Chinese-speaking world, and in the so-called "Sinosphere" (or Chinese language Internet), collections of his works can be found on literally scores of websites. An important case in point is his doctrine of "issues versus isms" (wenti yu zhuyi).
Qin has drawn on the work of Chayanov, Eric Wolf
and other writers on agrarian society to attack cultural essentialism
in studies of the Chinese peasantry, which often takes the form of portraying the peasantry as permanently imbued with Confucianism and the collectivist ethics of the feudal patriarchal lineage. Qin has been concerned to show that history rather than culture provides a solid explanatory framework for the empirical phenomena.
Qin's formal research has largely been concerned with China's agrarian history in the broad. Contrary to the received Maoist view which emphasized peasant wars as expressions of class struggle, Qin concludes that the most significant fault-line in the countryside was not between peasant and landlord, but between peasant and official. This has obvious consequences for interpreting contemporary rural China.
Qin Hui is married with one daughter. His wife, Jin Yan (金雁） is an eminent scholar of Eastern European and Russian affairs in her own right, often collaborating with Qin under the nom-de-plume Su Wen (苏文).
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University , colloquially known in Chinese as Qinghua, is a university in Beijing, China. The school is one of the nine universities of the C9 League. It was established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua Xuetang" or "Tsinghua College" and was renamed the "Tsinghua School" one year later...
, Beijing.
Biography
His primary field is economic history, but since 1992 he has emerged as a prominent public intellectual, taking a stand on a range of issues, often in conflict with the official doctrines of the Chinese government.In terms of political ideology, Qin Hui defends a left-liberal position. He favors privatization under strict conditions of democratic openness. However he opposes market fundamentalism
Market fundamentalism
Market fundamentalism is a pejorative term applied to a strong belief in the ability of laissez-faire or free market economic views or policies to solve economic and social problems....
in its Chinese forms, and seeks to introduce institutions of social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
, including some aspects of the welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
. He strongly defends liberty as a political value, and often allies with other Chinese intellectuals labeled "liberal." (Note that this term is used in a different sense from the currently popular usage in the United States of America. Qin's liberalism is the "traditional" sense associated with classical texts, e.g. the Federalist Papers
Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles or essays promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution. Seventy-seven of the essays were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788...
). He has engaged in polemics with the Chinese New Left, particularly its more populist and nationalist forms. He has for example signed petitions protesting chauvinistic responses to the 9.11 attacks in New York.
His major contribution as a public intellectual has been to initiate wide debates on social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
. Having himself been sent down to work as a peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
in a poor mountainous region of Southwest China in the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, he has identified China's peasantry as suffering from grave lack of social justice up to the present day. At the same time, his historical research has shown strong tendencies of the peasantry to enhance their citizen status whenever possible (whereas the urban working class has often tended to demand restitution of the dependent client status it enjoyed under the Maoist planned economy).
A skilled writer able to provide incisive arguments and encapsulations of complex issues, Qin Hui has introduced a host of influential themes to the Chinese-speaking world, and in the so-called "Sinosphere" (or Chinese language Internet), collections of his works can be found on literally scores of websites. An important case in point is his doctrine of "issues versus isms" (wenti yu zhuyi).
Qin has drawn on the work of Chayanov, Eric Wolf
Eric Wolf
Eric Robert Wolf was an anthropologist, best known for his studies of peasants, Latin America, and his advocacy of Marxian perspectives within anthropology.-Early life:...
and other writers on agrarian society to attack cultural essentialism
Essentialism
In philosophy, essentialism is the view that, for any specific kind of entity, there is a set of characteristics or properties all of which any entity of that kind must possess. Therefore all things can be precisely defined or described...
in studies of the Chinese peasantry, which often takes the form of portraying the peasantry as permanently imbued with Confucianism and the collectivist ethics of the feudal patriarchal lineage. Qin has been concerned to show that history rather than culture provides a solid explanatory framework for the empirical phenomena.
Qin's formal research has largely been concerned with China's agrarian history in the broad. Contrary to the received Maoist view which emphasized peasant wars as expressions of class struggle, Qin concludes that the most significant fault-line in the countryside was not between peasant and landlord, but between peasant and official. This has obvious consequences for interpreting contemporary rural China.
Qin Hui is married with one daughter. His wife, Jin Yan (金雁） is an eminent scholar of Eastern European and Russian affairs in her own right, often collaborating with Qin under the nom-de-plume Su Wen (苏文).