Ross Terrill’s China Story

By+LUAN+XIAOHUI

HE met China Premier Zhou Enlai， chatted with prestigious Chinese writer Guo Moruo and sat in Beijing with Norodom Sihanouk， the late king of Cambodia. He witnessed the re-establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the United States and between China and Australia.

He studied with Henry Kissinger and John King Fairbank and is committed to studying the stability and harmony of East and West.

He was a research associate at Harvards Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies and taught government and international affairs at Harvard. However， he is most well-known for his works on China， including Mao： A Biography.

He is Ross Terrill， and has devoted his whole life to the study of China.

Revisiting Shandong Province

Before me was Ross Terrill， author of Mao： A Biography. Now 76， his hair is grey. Wearing a pink shirt with a blue and green tartan tie， Ross appeared energetic and spry.

I saw Ross during the third Nishan Forum on World Civilizations in Jinan， where he presented his paper The Tension Between Confucianism and Legalism in Chinese History： Are There Echoes in the PRC Years？ It was Ross second trip to Jinan. He said the city has experienced huge changes since his first visit in 1973， with the growth of high-speed railways， tower blocks and traffic.

Ross carefully answered my questions. Contrary to the light and humorous image of the stereotypical American， Ross was very serious and thought thoroughly about every question before answering. He spoke slowly， but with simplicity and clarity. Most of the time he spoke Chinese and sought help from his interpreter when explaining difficult ideas.

Ross is active in academic research， news writing and public life. Some scholars consider him a prolific journalist while others think him a rigid scholar. His real intellectual home lies somewhere between. He has devoted decades to research on China. He came to China when he was very young and befriended many Chinese people， from high-ranking officials to common folk. The book Mao： A Biography comprehensively presents his interest in China as he chose a character who could define a whole era.

In recent years Ross has visited China almost every year. The 76-yearold man， who has dual Australian and American citizenship， is lively in every setting. “I do hope to know what is going on in China，” he said.

Form Ties with China

Ross was born in rural Australia. His father was an elementary school teacher. Ross had a Chinese girlfriend during elementary school， which he calls his earliest romance with China. After graduating from University of Melbourne， Ross received a scholarship to Harvard University， where he earned a Ph.D. in political science. He stayed on and became Harvards first Australian lecturer on Political Science. Later he became an Associate in research at the Fairbank Center for East Asian Research and studied with John King Fairbank， the centers founder， and Henry Kissinger， U.S. Secretary of State.endprint

In 1971 Ross visited Beijing with Gough Whitlam， leader of Australias Labour Party， where he met Premier Zhou Enlai. “Where did you study Chinese？”Zhou asked. “In the United States，” Ross replied.“Thats a fine thing， an Australian learning Chinese in the United States！” said Zhou， beaming. Gough Whitlams Beijing visit drew criticism at home， but soon his diplomatic wisdom was recognized. Eight months later， Richard Nixon paid an icebreaking visit to China， starting a “China craze.”

Back in the U.S.， Ross book 800，000，000： The Real China， became an instant hit. Ross income from the book was enough to buy a house in Boston and the book remained popular until the 1980s.

When Ross first visited in 1964， he did not realize it was the beginning of a long China career. Today he still enjoys reading what he wrote about his trips to China over 40 years ago. “All around the world， from Singapore to San Francisco， there are pockets of Chinese society， but only in China is it possible to grasp the formidable civilization in its antique setting. Only by visiting China can you realize Chinas growing importance in future decades.”

Researching Chairman Mao

“If I had the opportunity I would tell him that I revere him， because he was such a complicated person with a multi-faceted personality，” Ross said. In his eyes， Chairman Mao brought China into the world spotlight and is the first Chinese politician to be known in global society.

Ross gave a vivid example. “When foreign magazines run feature stories about China and need a cover picture， they choose Chairman Mao. However， when they write about Russia， they never choose Stalin or Lenin as cover person. In fact， Mao is not only ‘Mr. China， but also ‘Mr. Asia，” said Ross.

For Ross the year 1976 means a lot because Mao passed away that year. At that time he was in Morocco with a Thai friend. A Moroccan came up to the latter and said： “We feel very sorry for the loss of your chairman.” He mistook the Thai for Chinese.

A foreigner wrote the biography of Chairman Mao and didnt avoid the “cultural revolution.”Such work was both appealing and mysterious to the Chinese in the 1980s. Mao had died only a decade earlier and people still had fresh memories of the 1970s.

In the long run the Mao topic will not fade and the name of Ross Terrill will be remembered by Chinese people.

Continuing to Write the China Story

When Ross biography of the chairman was published in 1988， sales reached 1.2 million copies， even dwarfing todays bestsellers.endprint

The book raised Ross reputation as a China hand. In his memoirs， Myself and China， Ross said that it was as if he had married China. Every year Ross is invited to China for speeches， promotions and interviews. Most of his books are about China.

Ross believes that China is a great laboratory for human evolution. At first he knew nothing about China， but through years of study and exploration， he gradually came to understand the country. In Ross mind， the Chinese are an ancient people while the Australians are young. The former value family and collectivity while the latter are individualists. He compares it to learning a foreign language， the learning of which will greatly promote your understanding about your own language.

Ross used to teach at Harvard University. Now he serves as visiting professor at University of Texas and Monash University， but prefers writing to lecturing. “I dont like doing the same thing repeatedly，” said Ross. He finds it tiresome to parrot the same information to his students.

He plans to continue book writing. “Every time I write， I feel like I launched a brand new adventure. I feel that I can reach more people through my books than teaching，” said Ross.

Ross experiences are the subject of Myself and China， in which he reflects on his feelings about China over the decades since his first visit to the country in 1964. Featuring a style similar to Mao： A Biography， the book elaborates on and analyzes the transformation over the decades in China from an American perspective.

Ross says that after his first several books， he declared that he might be losing interest in Chinese topics. He worried that he was losing control over his own life. However， China always seems to push him ahead. During the interview， the 76-year-old said that his next book is about the Sino-U.S. relationship. He expects more people to learn about the evolution of the two countries relations and he hopes the peoples of the two countries will understand and judge each other from a more objective perspective.

Dialogue with Ross Terrill

Luan Xiaohui： What is China like in your eyes？

Ross： Many foreigners are starting to understand Chinese culture， especially history. China is situated between several powerful neighbors and has experienced many wars. I expect that the U.S. will view China from a relatively objective perspective.

Luan Xiaohui： Is China still a mysterious country in the eyes of Westerners？endprint

Ross： I dont think China remains mysterious. In 1971 when Zhou Enlai met with Henry Kissinger， Mr. Kissinger said China was called a mysterious land and yet he came to this country.

In 1964 I came to China for the first time. You wont believe it was half a century ago. In 1971， China was still closed to Americans. However， China is not mysterious anymore. Every U.S. organization is involved in China， a very important change. Today everyone is able to learn about China and study Chinese philosophy. This is quite different from the situation in the 1970s. Abundant exchanges and cooperation are beneficial to both the U.S. and China. During the Korean and Vietnam wars， Americans knew nothing about China and the Chinese people， but now they have come very far.

Luan Xiaohui： Why are you interested in Mao Zedong？

Ross： Chairman Mao was very influential in China and around the world in the 20th century. He has achieved a lot， establishing the Peoples Republic of China and fighting against Japanese invasion. Mao has his own characteristics and a complicated character. It was very interesting to write his biography. I described Mao as a “half-intellectual.” He paid close attention to history and philosophy， but he was also a very active politician. He had a distinct view of Chinese traditions： some traditions he completely opposed， others he found valuable.

Luan Xiaohui： What are the impacts of your two teachers – Henry Kissinger and John King Fairbank？ Are there any differences between you and Mr. Kissinger in terms of how you two view China？

Ross： John is nice and easy-going while Henry is strict. Henry is more “Washington DC-style”while John has more interest in education than in politics. Johns impact on me is to encourage me to understand China. Henry exerts more impact on me in terms of international relations.

When I met Henry for the first time， he knew nothing about China and little about Asia. However， after analyzing the world situation， he believed that the U.S. and China could join together to confront the Soviet Union， which was close to Maos analysis to the world situation. I disagreed with Henrys view of China. Henry didnt understand two things about China： first， the history between China and its neighboring countries； second， the nature of China. In Henrys latest book， he mentioned that China and the U.S. can work together to dominate the Asia-Pacific. It is difficult for China to do so if we analyze Chinese history， for example， the history between China and Vietnam and North Korea. Moreover， China is very skillful when dealing with issues related to its interests.

Luan Xiaohui： Your book Mao： A Biography turned out to be a great hit. Will you continue to write books about China？

Ross： I am currently working on a book about Sino-American relations. The two countries have tried different ways to improve their relations in different eras， from the antagonism in the 1950s to the opening up of the 1980s. My new book analyzes the transformation of bilateral relations over history.endprint