The U.S. Cultural Relations Program towards China and the Emergence of Transpacific Intellectual Networks (1942-1947)

Co-sponsored with the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies

Between 1942 and 1947, the U.S. Department of State launched a cultural relations program to provide “cultural assistance” to wartime China and promote democratic values. It originated from America’s wartime needs and a long-standing ambition to “change China,” yet its outcome was that in the process of aiding China, it also changed the United States itself. This talk adopts a transnational perspective and, drawing on official and private archives from both countries, examines the cultural interactions and cross-border experiences of Chinese and American technical experts, visiting scholars, and students in the 1940s. It argues that the China Program underwent a notable transformation during its implementation. Shaped by its organizers—most prominently John and Wilma Fairbank—and by key participants, the Program shifted from a unilateral project of culture assistance to a more dynamic and reciprocal process of cultural exchange. The talk further explores the transnational intellectual networks that emerged from these interactions, networks operating on personal, academic, and organizational levels with enduring impact in both countries.