assume that the terms are self-contradictory, that the only role for an intellectual is outside of--and in tension with--the political establish- ment.Anti-establishment intellectuals in China have less to gain and more to lose than their American counterparts. Though an American Marxist may be denied the chairmanship of a political science department in the suburbs of the nation's capital, professional competence offers a cer- tain degree of protection in a pluralistic society. In China, intellectuals become political critics at their own risk. Establishment intellectuals, on the other hand, enjoy protection and privileges available in China only through powerful bureaucratic allies. By playing assigned roles as supporters of the establishment and servants of the state, they gain patriotic self-esteem, outlets for their publications, power over their peers, and opportunities for scarce commodities such as housing and travel abroad.Since all Chinese intellectuals are state employees, critics as well as supporters of the status quo must operate within a well-defined institu- tional framework and circulate their opinions only through authorized channels in which one's status and personal connections play a deter- mining role. For expressing critical ideas, Wang Ruoshui lost his job as deputy editor of the People's Daily, but Democracy Wall activist Wei Jingsheng was sentenced to fifteen years in jail. The differential treat- ment derives not only from the content of the ideas and means of dissemination but also from the status of the two men. Newspaper editors express themselves with more impunity than zoo electricians. Wang may take satisfaction in the post-Mao reforms that have saved him from the fate of Deng Tuo; for Wei there is no such consolation. In contemporary China, if you are not some kind of establishment intellec- tual, you are not a legitimate intellectual at all.In spite of historical precedents and tenacious patterns of behavior, contemporary establishment intellectuals did not evolve in linear fash- ion from China's imperial past. The transition from the independent critics of the May Fourth period to the bureaucratic-intellectual syncre- tism of the past quarter century occurred in stages and reflects the increasingly dependent status of intellectuals as centralized power be- came more pervasive:
1.
1917-1927: Weak, diffused authority in the hands of an ever- changing cast of rulers allowed intellectuals maximum independence. Supports for the role of culturally autonomous, independent critics, however, were inherently unstable: geographically, the foreign-con-
-x-
Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication Information: Book Title: China's Establishment Intellectuals. Contributors: Carol Lee Hamrin - editor, Timothy Cheek - editor. Publisher: M. E. Sharpe, Inc.. Place of Publication: Armonk, NY. Publication Year: 1986. Page Number: x.
Add a Shared Note
Shared Notes are comments made by Questia users on books,
book pages, or articles that inform other users and enhance
the Questia research community.
This feature allows you to create and manage separate folders for your different research projects. To view markups for a different project, make that project your current project.
This feature allows you to save a link to the publication you are reading or view all the publications you have put on your bookshelf.
This feature allows you to save a link to the page you are reading, which you can later return to from Projects.
This feature allows you to highlight words or phrases on the publication page you are reading.
This feature allows you to save a note you write on the publication page you are reading.
This feature allows you to create a citation to the page you are reading that you can paste into your paper. Highlight a passage to include that passage as a quotation.
This feature allows you to save a reference to a publication you are reading for your bibliography or generate a bibliography you can paste into your paper.
This feature allows you to print the page you are reading,
including your notes or highlights (IE users must have "print background colors and image" setting selected.)
This feature allows you to look up words in encyclopedia.
Questia's powerful research tools allow you to highlight, take notes, bookmark and even create instant citations and bibliographies. To use these features and save hours of work, you must create a Questia account.
Need a Questia account? Sign up for a FREE trial now. Save time, stress and hassle, and get better grades with trusted, online research.
