New Books in East Asian Studies Di Wu et. al, eds., "China As Context: Anthropology, Post-globalisation and the Neglect of China" (Manchester UP, 2025)
Jan 16, 2026
Di Wu, an anthropologist at Zhejiang University, and Ed Pulford, a senior lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of Manchester, delve into their collaborative work, China as Context. They discuss how the Russia-Ukraine war has reignited interest in China as a significant context for understanding global issues. Di shares his unexpected journey into anthropology through China-Africa fieldwork, while Ed emphasizes the importance of bridging linguistic and scholarly traditions. They argue against the neglect of Chinese perspectives in academia, highlighting the need for a nuanced understanding of China's global role.
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Think With China, Not Just About It
- China should be treated as part of the context researchers think with, not only as a distant field site.
- This reframes anthropological questions and prevents marginalizing Chinese-grounded ideas.
Neglect Means Missing Theory, Not Only Data
- 'Neglect' names two gaps: China supplies data but not enough theory to shape general anthropology.
- The editors aim to build bridges between China specialists and other anthropologists.
Context As Background And Heuristic
- 'Context' blends Mandarin notions yijing (situational) and huanjing (background) and functions as both grounding and heuristic.
- The book links contextualization with affect and the Chinese concept shi to explain tendencies rather than fixed structures.
