Politics gets personal for China scholar

Historian Peidong Sunbegan her new book "Unfiltered Regard for China: French Perspectives from Mao to Xi" amid profound personal upheaval. Facing an exit ban from the Chinese government in February 2020, she resigned from her tenured position in the Department of History at Fudan University in Shanghai and fled to France, where she was granted a visiting professorship at her alma mater, Paris Institute of Political Studies.

"There, I reflected not just as a researcher, but as someone caught inside the very political dynamics I had long studied," said Sun, Distinguished Associate Professor of Arts & Sciences in China and Asia-Pacific Studies and associate professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). "My past experiences with academic censorship in China - the sudden and brutal uprooting - and the reorientation of my research have all deeply informed the perspective and analytical framework of this book."

"Unfiltered Regard for China" collects six interviews Sun conducted in 2020 and 2021 with French academics who have explored China's history, politics and society. The interviews tell the story of Sino-French engagements since the 1960s through their research, fieldwork and lived experiences.

"As China's global role grows, strategic rivalries sharpen, and debates over democracy and authoritarianism redefine international discourse, my work has increasingly turned toward interpreting the nature of the CCP regime, China's political evolution, societal transformations and global ambitions from Mao to Xi," Sun said. "Meanwhile, as access to China becomes more limited and academic freedom faces mounting constraints, the imperative to study China has become both more complex and more urgent."

The College of Arts and Sciences spoke with Sun about the book.

Question: How are your work and your personal history wrapped up in this book?

Answer: I had known most of my interviewees for over two decades, having first met many of them when I was still an undergraduate. These were not just formal in-depth interviews, but conversations across generations - shaped by long-standing relationships, mutual respect and trust built over time.

Undertaking this project was not only personal, but also civic and pedagogical, emerging in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and unfolding against the backdrop of China's communist revolution and successive political campaigns from Mao to Xi. Its civic motivation lies in a quiet urgency: How do we recognize the unseen sacrifices and unspoken contributions that hold a society together in times of crisis?

The pedagogical impulse came from reflecting on how to teach China today - how to bring historical complexity into the classroom without flattening it, and how to connect lived experience with larger structures of power. Rather than offering conclusions, the book invites careful reading, listening and questioning.

Q: What led you to address, as a central theme, three different types of conceptual gaps - factual, perceptional and credibility?

A: This conceptual focus developed from observing how academic, political and civic responses to China often talk past one another. The analytical lens of factual, perceptional and credibility gaps helps reveal the deeply rooted complexities that shape Western economic, political, diplomatic, military and cultural approaches to China. These gaps offer insight into how divergent narratives and assumptions influence policymaking and vice versa. Current debates over engagement and disengagement are informed by intellectual histories, geopolitical realities and evolving views of China's role in the global order.

Q: How do the perspectives and insights of these French scholars differ from the Anglo-American discourse?

A: Each model brings its own strengths. French academic research tends to be more academically driven and less interest-oriented, in part because its influence on national policymaking is relatively limited compared to the American context. The perspective is shaped not only by intellectual legacies but also by France's historical position in the international order - a former imperial power and enduring global actor, but neither a superpower nor a primary rival in global strategic competitions.

In this context, French scholarship often brings a distinct sensitivity to questions of ideology, statecraft and civilizational continuity, areas where parallels with China's own bureaucratic heritage and historical consciousness can open alternative lines of inquiry. Rather than opposing Anglo-American discourse, this perspective complements its more event-driven and security-centered emphases, offering valuable analytical diversity in understanding China's global role.

Q: Why are these scholars' testimonies, built through long careers, especially important at the current moment?

A: In a world of shifting power, the principle of "know your enemy" remains relevant - but so does understanding one's allies, especially for those who seek to lead. In such conditions, it is crucial to proceed with intellectual humility, ethical responsibility and a commitment to rigorous scholarly inquiry.

Kate Blackwood is a writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.