Preface to the Collection of Scalapino’s Lectures

Abstract

It was in December of 1972 that Professor Robert Scalapino, as a member of the board of directors of the National Committee on Sino–US Relations, was invited to pay his first visit to China. It was in this capacity that he came, and it was he who was elected as the first chairman of the Committee. Later, when asked about the founding of this organization, he said that the aim of establishing such a committee was to “support policies that advance the conversation between the US and China, to support taking a reasonable attitude toward China, and to help America get past the shadow of the McCarthy era.” The “Ping-pong Diplomacy” of 1971 can be seen as the first icebreaker in Sino–US relations. And indeed it was this Committee that was responsible in the United States for receiving the Chinese delegation of athletes that year. In return, at the end of 1972, China invited members of the board of directors of the Committee to visit China. This was the first time that Professor Scalapino set foot on Chinese soil.

Preface to the Collection of Lectures given at Peking University by Robert Scalapino