Abstract:

Since the 1990s, there has been a global shift in American China Studies. This academic turn has its origin, which is not only influenced by the historical trend in Europe and America, but also rooted in the inner logic of American China Studies. There is a strong spatial attribute in American China Studies. Influenced by the idea that global history transcends the notion of nation-state, American China Studies have also undergone further spatial transformation, initiating the study of China’s frontiers, maritime history and global microhistory from a global perspective. It is necessary to rethink the trajectory of the changing “centralism” and decentralization in American China Studies from the perspective of global history. Although the “impact-response” model belongs to the “Western centralism”, it considers external factors. The internal orientation of the “China-centered approach” is further away from global history, and cannot completely get rid of the “Western centralism”. Since the 1980s and 1990s, American China Studies have continuously promoted decentralization, constructing the relationship between China and the world through the integration path of global history such as synchronicity, economic history, science and technology history, religious history and ecological environment history. In the present era, the study of global history in American China Studies faces challenges such as the global game between China and the United States and the resurgence of nation-state narratives.

Key words: American China Studies, global history, space conversion, decentralization