Who watches the watchers?

A curious look at the cult of the China watcher

This peculiar creature has many names: the Pekingologist, the (Old) China Hand, the Sinologist, and, that most modern incarnation, the China watcher.

Though each of these types has a distinct definition, they all have an obsession and, occasionally, a professional duty to not only decipher and understand the complex puzzle that is China, but also a desire to communicate their workings, learning, and insight to the world, be it through the memoir, column, epistolary novel, Twitter, or whatever the faddish medium of the day happens to be. If you fancy your hand at becoming a China watcher, don't worry, there's endless room.

Of course, every region in the world has its experts, armchair or otherwise, who attempt to understand its culture, history and language, but none of them, with the possible exception of the Middle East, has so many voraciously, assiduously, and often hilariously attempting to understand a place.

Almost anybody that has any passing attachment to China at all (even if it is simple as ordering a Chinese meal) has a go at a bit of China watching at some point. People can't so much as look at a map of China (which, incidentally, is chicken-shaped) without offering a pearl of wisdom as to what it all means.

The reasons behind the sheer scale of all this febrile musing are unclear, but a lot of it comes down to the nation being a "special case". Just a few undisputed facts that make the nation interesting, specifically that make it interesting to read (and write) books about, include: It has a really long history; learning the language is damn hard; it has a unique political system; it's vast; it's hugely populous; it's historically isolationist, so not many people know too much about it; it is mysterious; and, most importantly, it is a nation of contradictions.

This joyous (and unique) soup all make China a fertile nation for people to find their inner voyeur and do a bit of "watching", and this watching has spawned an industry in itself: China watching. These China experts have long fascinated me, and I have become that most rare of things: a China watcher watcher.

Now, the hierarchy isn't necessarily informed by anything as simple as "knowledge and understanding of China" (though it certainly helps), but instead where you fall in a series of criteria. One quite critical factor in this hierarchy is the "ability to speak Chinese". At the minimum you ought to speak Chinese fluently to be a good China watcher, ideally read it, too. The really good ones can write Chinese characters, which as even the Chinese will tell you, is very tricky indeed. There are plenty of good China watchers who can't speak a jot, of course, but, well, it doesn't look good.

What job you do will affect your ranking, too. The most popular careers seem to be academics, journalists (domestic and foreign, though the latter is hierarchically higher), business executives, diplomats, think tankers, policy wonkers, translators, military brass and historians (keep it quiet, but these guys are generally the best). For a good ranking your career needs gravitas: Put simply, if you are an English teacher with your own China blog, you are going to be a lot lower on the scale than if you work for a think tank that specializes in China foreign policy and have written 20 serious-sounding books.

Actually living in China is also important in the criteria. At the lower end you will have people who have never visited China ever, then you have people who visit often (traveling scholars score higher than those who just holiday there); living in China full time is best, the longer the better.

If you live in China for more than 10 years, you have a good chance of getting into Old China Hand territory, that's what the young kids call "beast-mode". However, it doesn't necessarily matter too much. Take Arthur Waley, for instance. He was one of the most prominent Sinologists of the early 20th century, translating (in abridged form) the classic novel Journey to the West, as well as the Tao Te Ching, an ancient Taoist document, and all manner of then-obscure classic works of Chinese literature. Incredibly prolific, in 1952 he received a CBE, or Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, a high honor. Historian Jonathan Spence wrote of Waley: "There are many Westerners whose knowledge of Chinese or Japanese is greater than his, and there are perhaps a few who can handle both languages as well. But they are not poets. Those who are better poets than Waley do know Chinese or Japanese." Impressive stuff, remarkable when considering that not once did Waley actually visit China and he couldn't actually speak Mandarin. There is hope for all of us.

It's a truth universally acknowledged, that any China watcher worth his salt wants to or has written a book - lots and lots of books is preferable, but just one is a good start. It doesn't particularly matter what genre the book is. But vanity published ones are usually frowned upon.

It is important for China watchers to have a handle on a whole range of areas. The more learned will be able to give you fascinating information on all sorts of intriguing events including anything from how much of the Shang Dynasty (c. 16th century-11th century BC) is actually a myth, right through to the extraordinary bloodshed of the Taiping Rebellion - there's enough material for everyone.

However, the more amateur among them prefer to drone on about a very small selection of 20th century events and ideas that the Chinese, by and large, either don't care much about or don't know much about. In the end, it's all quite simple: Develop some half-considered opinions on the "cultural revolution" (1976-76); get a vaguely decent job (ideally one that lets you write occasionally); passably learn the language (or at least a few interesting phrases); mindlessly post a few thought-pieces on Twitter and/or Facebook; live in China for 10 years or more (or a few weeks); bore a few Chinese people, who don't know what you are on about, to tears; and, hey presto, you are well on your way to being a China watcher!

Courtesy of The World of Chinese, www.theworldofchinese.com

The World of Chinese

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/12/2016 page23)