On September 23, Paul G. Pickowicz, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at the University of California, San Diego, delivered a lecture titled “I Was in China Before Nixon” at the Yenching Academy. This lecture was the second in the China Studies Lecture Series for the 2026‒27 academic year and was hosted by YCA Associate Dean Brent Haas.
Interview Notes
In a pre-lecture interview, Professor Pickowicz pointed out that “the scene on the screen and scene in the field are both good. One is not better than the other.” The screen scene’s historical subject matter allows the audience to understand the 1920s, 1930s or 1940s through the films of those times. As researchers no longer have access to the “field” of the past, they can only figure out motives and goals through the scene on the screen, with the caveat that the audience cannot talk with the screen characters face to face. Prof. Pickowicz noted that the scene in the field is better for understanding the present day or recent times, and that the major challenge is to build up trust in face-to-face encounters with people. Oral history is an important method of conducting fieldwork; researchers conduct historical research by talking to people, going into the field, and meeting living people. The professor observed that “you can’t go back any further than the lives of the eldest people living,” so we must talk with them as soon as possible.
Prof. Paul Pickowicz found that new sources such as big data, social media, and short videos are valuable tools to explore grassroots history, noting that the more new sources there are, the better. The key to this research is its agenda; that is, the goal of grassroots history is “to see China from the bottom up, instead of from the top down.” He emphasized that we need to see the impact the top-down policy has on the grassroots level, i.e. “the street level of society.” The professor himself “has no problem with” databases, social media and other types of new sources, but he personally still likes face-to-face interactions because of their uniqueness. Upon speaking with the same person four or five times, he found that this person would say different things each time and expand with each succeeding interview.
Prof. Pickowicz noted that students today know much more about China than he did when he first came to China in 1971. Back then, even his mentors had never been to China due to lack of access. He found that the advantage of learning at Yenching Academy or in other programs in China that accept international students lies in understanding the diversities and differences; when one comes to China, one will discover that there is no single, knowable China. The professor urges his students in the West to come to China and acquire firsthand experience, saying that even though they know much more than he did when he first came to the country, it’s still necessary to come to China. Moreover, Prof. Pickowicz often reminds his students that China’s landmass is the size of Europe; as in Europe, there are different languages, cultures, food and histories across China. When students from different cultural backgrounds come to China, they have the opportunity to learn more about this diversity, as well as experience the simultaneously complicated and universal nature of China.
Review of the Lecture
Professor Paul Pickowicz first reflected on his journey to a doctoral degree in modern and contemporary Chinese history in the late 1960 and early 1970s and introduced the academic environment for China Studies in the United States at the time. As the United States and China had not yet established diplomatic relations in 1971, the research on modern and contemporary Chinese history in the United States primarily relied on the sources held in libraries in the U.S. and overseas. The China Studies scholars at the time generally went to Japan, Chinese Taiwan, and Hong Kong SAR for overseas research. During his time as a visiting student at the Universities Service Center at Hong Kong, Paul Pickowicz established close ties with fellow postgraduates in China studies from universities across the United States.
Back then, young American scholars generally had a strong interest in the Vietnam War and the U.S.-China relations. They began to conceive of a people-to-people diplomatic model that would enable contact between the Americans and Chinese. A seemingly impossible idea occurred to a few young scholars—they would write to the Chinese authorities, requesting an academic visit to China. Uncertain as they were, these young scholars still managed to send the letter to the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. Unexpectedly, the young American scholars received a reply in 1971, saying that China would welcome their visit. This group of young Americans, who were willing to give it a try with curiosity and eagerness, became the first team of American postgraduates permitted to visit China’s mainland after 1949.
In his lecture, Paul Pickowicz gave Yenching Scholars a guided photo tour of his 1971 visit to China. They traveled to Guangzhou, Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing, Beijing, Xi’an, and Yan’an, capturing the scenes of urban life, rural development, schools, hospitals, people’s communes, paramilitary training, and artistic practice. Prof. Pickowicz stressed the importance of labor in the Chinese society at the time. It is evident through his photos that both urban construction and agricultural production heavily relied on manual labor. Pickowicz and his fellow students were encouraged to join in; Pickowicz remembered that he once picked up a tool and joined in the labor at a people’s commune near Shanghai, regarding it as a practice of people-to-people diplomacy through direct contact with Chinese people.
Prof. Pickowicz noted that despite a prearranged schedule, they still had a few evenings to themselves and had chances to meet ordinary Chinese people on the street. In 1971, foreigners were hardly seen on the street in China. Pickowicz and his fellow classmates thus naturally drew a crowd—the concept of people-to-people diplomacy was thereby translated into genuine face-to-face interactions through these random encounters.
During the visit of Pickowicz and his fellow students, a watershed moment emerged in the China-U.S. relations. In July 1971, as the student delegation was staying in Beijing as scheduled, they were unexpectedly sent to Xi’an and Yan’an. The students were later informed that while they were away from Beijing, Henry Kissinger, Nixon’s National Security Advisor, made his now-famous secret trip to China to reach an agreement with China to arrange President Nixon’s visit to China in 1972. Pickowicz and his fellow delegation members were among the few Americans in China at the time; news of the China-U.S. relations came as a shock to them. Afterwards, they met with Premier Zhou Enlai at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The meeting lasted for hours; Premier Zhou allowed the American delegation to record the talks and gave his consent to a public release after their return to the United States.
Prof. Pickowicz highlighted that his 1971 visit to China was not only a personal study trip, but also a firsthand experience of the historical field of major transformations in Chinese society on the eve of the normalization of the China-U.S. relations. The professor urged young students to stay curious amidst today’s cross-cultural environment, especially given that communication is much better than that of his younger days. Professor Pickowicz contextualized the complicated changes in China and around the world through face-to-face interactions with real people.
Q&A Session
Q: You had firsthand experience with a historic moment in China-U.S. relations. How has this experience impacted your academic career?
A: That experience in 1971 was, of course, not what a few young scholars alone could bring about. Rather, it was an opportunity granted by the times. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, young Americans were concerned with issues of civil rights, the anti-war movement, women’s rights, and social reforms. In this historical context, young Americans were interested in China. I was on the 1971 delegation to China largely because I was living in that special historical context. Thus, I prefer calling this experience as being “in the right place at the right time.” This unexpected experience has left profound influence on my academic career, leading me to engage with a lifelong study of Chinese history and society.
Q: Through decades of teaching and research, what do you think about the development and changes to China Studies in American universities?
A: In the early 1970s, the American society had very limited knowledge about China, and the China Studies courses at the time more often covered just basic knowledge of China. As exchanges have grown between China and the United States, there are now more exchange programs to China and an increase of doctoral training and academic posts in China Studies. China Studies has become increasingly professionalized. However, I noticed a declining interest in Chinese language learning and China Studies across American universities and humanities in recent years. What’s more, China Studies has increasingly been affected by the external environment. In this context, person-to-person interactions and mutual understanding become even more important.
