Zi Zhongyun (; born June 1930) is a Chinese translator and historian who is an expert on US studies with the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese research institute and think tank. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the People's Republic of China for the study in the fields of ...
. She is proficient in English and French.
Biography
Zi was born into a scholarly family in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
in June 1930, with her
ancestral home
An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...
in
Leiyang
Leiyang () is a county-level city and the third most populous county-level division in Hunan Province, China. Leiyang is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hengyang. Located on the south of the province, the city is bordered ...
,
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...
, the daughter of Tong Yijun (), a Chinese officer, and Zi Yaohua (), a
banker
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Becaus ...
and
financier
An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...
who was a graduate of
Kyoto University,
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
and
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
.
She has two sister, Zi Huayun () and Zi Minyun (). Zi Huayuan, a
dancer and
actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
, was born in 1936. Zi Minyun, a
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
, was born in 1938.
Zi secondary studied at the
Yaohua High School
Yaohua High School () is a key school directly under the Tianjin Municipal Committee of Education, in the People's Republic of China.
Introduction
The school is located on 106, Nanjing Road, Heping District, Tianjin. The first four building ...
(). She entered
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University (; abbr. THU) is a national public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
The university is a member of the C9 League, Double First Class University Plan, Projec ...
in 1948, majoring in English language and French language in the Department of Western Languages and Literature, where she graduated in 1951.
After graduation, she was assigned to
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China () is the first-ranked executive department of the State Council of the Chinese government, responsible for the foreign relations of the People's Republic of China. It is led ...
.
From 1956 to 1959, she worked as a translator in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
.
In 1971, she started to work at the US department affiliated with
Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC).
In 1979, she was diagnosed with cancer. However, she recovered fast due to imminent treatments.
After her recovery, she visited the US and Canada for the first time as a member of the Friendly Representative led by Bingnan Wang.
In 1980, she worked at
China Institute of International Studies
CIIS, or the China Institute of International Studies () is a professional research institute directly administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. The Institute primarily focuses on issues associated with g ...
(), then she worked at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
as a researcher in 1982.
From 1985 to 1992, she worked at
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese research institute and think tank. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the People's Republic of China for the study in the fields of ...
. In 1988, she accepted the promotion as the primary administrator of the US studies at
Chinese Academy of Social Science
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese research institute and think tank. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the People's Republic of China for the study in the fields of ...
.
In 1991, she resigned from the position of administrator.
From the end of 1991 to October 1992, she was a scholar at the
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Wash ...
, specializing in China studies.
She retired in 1996.
Viewpoints
Comments on Her Career
Zi categorized her career into three phases in an interview. From the 1950s to the 1970s, she worked at the
World Congress of Advocates of Peace and the
Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC). From the end of 1970 to the mid-1980, she primarily studied international affairs and politics, focusing on the US. She first worked at the
China Institute of International Studies
CIIS, or the China Institute of International Studies () is a professional research institute directly administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. The Institute primarily focuses on issues associated with g ...
(CIIS), and then after 1985, she transferred to the
Chinese Academy of Social Science
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese research institute and think tank. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the People's Republic of China for the study in the fields of ...
. After she retired from CASS, she dedicated herself to more profound US studies and critical writing related to China’s temporary social issues. She considered the last phase the most meaningful and contributed.
Civil Education
Zi claims that it is necessary to integrate civic education into regular classes. She emphasized in the interview that civic education enabled individuals to be aware of their rights and duties as citizens, including how to treat people properly when they are underaged and how to protect their autonomy and freedom by respecting others’ rights. A good citizen is a person who knows how to be accountable to their social obligations and advocate their rights.
She claimed that China had entered the first stage of enlightenment of civic awareness through her observation of the
2008 Sichuan earthquake. She enumerated three pillars. First, non-governmental donation campaigns were happening nationwide. She looked forward to more charity campaigns even under governmental restrictions and regulations. Second, regional governments hindered volunteers from being helpful because the authorities would not distribute their authority and power. Third, the development of
NGOs
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...
faced many obstacles and challenges under governmental scrutiny.
The Ends of Education
Zi believes education enables citizens to access knowledge and facilitates the development of civilization and society. Furthermore, education cultivates qualified citizens, while the definition of citizenship varies from the era and social context. She emphasized the difference between citizens and subjects: citizens have fundamental rights, such as
freedom of speech, the possession of the
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
, etc. However, citizens are also obligated to respect other citizens’ rights and should not violate them for self-interests.
In 2019, her essay, "Mourning Tsinghua", first criticized university administrators' neglect of historic buildings on campus, some of which were destroyed by fire in 2010. She then went on to protest the treatment of professor
Xu Zhangrun, who discovered that a student had been paid to report on the content of his lectures. She regarded this as the "latest round of '
book burning and burying scholars'", a suppression of free thought that started with
Qin Shi Huangdi.
Cold War Study
Zi stated six pillars about how to study the
Cold War as qualified scholars.
# First, scholars should consider historical archives as primary sources to avoid subjectivity and biased narratives.
# Second, scholars should be more patient and meticulous about discourses’ formation: coming up with research topics and thesis after reading abundant sources and documents. In this way, scholars can genuinely sense the amusement of academia.
# Third, historical details matter. Sometimes, nuances can overturn previous prevalent theories or conclusions; however, contextualization is also crucial to correctly grasp the nuances and details.
# Fourth, since there have been plenty of studies related to the
Cold War, innovations and new ideologies are essential to effectively and meaningfully contribute to the Cold War studies.
# Fifth, scholars should contain broader mindsets. They should realize what states rulers and leaders deem as national interests do not necessarily represent the true interests of the public and citizens. Therefore, scholars should be relatively independent of the national interests claimed by governments and political figures.
# Finally, the goal of
Cold War studies should be to maintain war peace. Therefore, scholars should authentically possess a sense of caring for peace and ethics while researching and publishing articles.
Recent
Zi commented on
China-United States relations at the 2020
Tsinghua
Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...
Global Development Forum. She underscored that the future
China-United States relations depended on internal development. China should insist on
economic reform
Microeconomic reform (or often just economic reform) comprises policies directed to achieve improvements in economic efficiency, either by eliminating or reducing distortions in individual sectors of the economy or by reforming economy-wide polici ...
, integrate with the world, and value the role of technology advancement and talents. China should also make the experience of Europe a reference to prosper and thrive.
Works
* ''In the 20th Century America'' ()
* ''Xuehai'anbian'' ()
* ''American Diplomatic History'' ()
* ''American Research'' ()
Translations
* ''Civil Servant'' (
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...
) ()
* ''Oh, the Pioneer'' (
Willa Cather
Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including '' O Pioneers!'', '' The Song of the Lark'', and '' My Ántonia''. In 192 ...
) ()
* ''The Bohemia Girl'' (Willa Cather) ()
* ''
The Bridges of Madison County'' (
Robert James Waller
Robert James Waller (August 1, 1939 – March 10, 2017) was an American author best known for '' The Bridges of Madison County'', an enormously successful book in 1993. He was also a photographer and musician.
Life
Robert James Waller Jr. was ...
) ()
* ''Philosophy'' (
Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton (; born 20 December 1969) is a Swiss-born British author and philosopher. His books discuss various contemporary subjects and themes, emphasizing philosophy's relevance to everyday life. He published ''Essays in Love'' (1993) ...
) ()
Awards
*
Chinese Translation Association – Competent Translator (2004)
Personal life
Zi was married to a Chinese historian, scholar and European expert, Chen Lemin (), he was born in 1930 and died in 2008.
References
External links
*
爱思想-资中筠专栏*
资中筠:中国发展模式不可持续 美再差也远超任何老二on ''YouTube''
*
資中筠的講演-20111105世紀大講堂:中國的文化復興與啟蒙
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zi, Zhongyun
1930 births
People from Leiyang
Historians from Shanghai
Yaohua High School alumni
Tsinghua University alumni
Yenching University alumni
English–Chinese translators
Living people
People's Republic of China essayists
People's Republic of China historians
20th-century Chinese translators
21st-century Chinese translators
20th-century essayists
21st-century essayists