User:CWH

Welcome to my Userpage.
I am a long time student, teacher, and scholar of China who joined Wikipedia in 2006. I have published books, reviews, and articles in the field, as well as articles in some half dozen encyclopedias, including Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopedia of Asian-American History, Encyclopedia of Modern China (Scribners), and Berkshire Encyclopedia of China. I have lived in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan and traveled widely in mainland China and Asia. My graduate school training was in Modern China, but I have taught at universities in the United States and East Asia on topics covering the range of East Asian history, including Chinese and Japanese film.

The experiences which inspire me the most, however, are teaching undergraduates, working with secondary school teachers, and giving talks to the public. When I work on a Wikipedia article, I try to make it accessible to people like these rather than impressive to other professionals, who can look at the deeper references themselves. In any case, one great feature of Wikipedia is the nested or branched structure which encourages more and more detailed information in linked articles.

Many academic colleagues do not respect or trust Wikipedia, and I have to sympathize with them. Too many articles are rambling, unbalanced, unruly, or sourced with strange items.

The excitement is the smart and dedicated editors who spend care and vast energy. I enthusiastically support the Wikipedia spirit that gives no preference to "authorities." On the Internet, Nobody Knows That I'm a Dog -- or a senior in high school or a PhD. You have to prove your case. Often there is a challenging discussion in which I try to make my views known and convince people. If I can't, it's probably because: 1) I'm wrong. 2) I haven't thought through my points clearly enough to explain them convincingly, or 3) I need to give my fellow editors a little more time.

Although I have started well over one-hundred articles, most of my work has been to edit and develop existing articles One set of articles and edits deals with Americans who lived in China, scholars who wrote about China , and books about China. Another interest is Chinese literature, which intrigues me more and more.

Some observations:


 * 1)  No Original Research is neglected when we use online resources such as Google Search to find newspaper or magazine articles from the time of the original event rather than using up-to-date and verifiable English language secondary sources. I have the impression that too often an editor finds a striking piece of information or an out of the way source, and then looks for a home for it rather than looking at an article and trying to see what it needs. On the other hand, the Internet has rich resources which we would be foolish to neglect. We do not want to limit our pool of editors to people who can use university libraries.
 * 2) Why We Can't Use Primary Sources:  No original research is a policy article which says rely mainly on published reliable secondary sources and, to a lesser extent, on tertiary sources.  The article on identifying reliable source is an excellent short explanation. I wish I had written it. I especially admire the section Reliable source, which says "Articles should rely on secondary sources whenever possible ... All interpretive claims, analyses, or synthetic claims about primary sources must be referenced to a secondary source, rather than original analysis of the primary-source material by Wikipedia editors." Identifying reliable sources explains the differences, but in a nutshell, a Primary Source is an eye-witness account or document from the time. It is frustrating but entirely justifiable that Wikipedia policy does not allow us to use eye-witness missionaries or diplomats.
 * 3) Why is this a good policy? Some will say that using eye-witnesses or Primary Sources is common sense -- isn't an eyewitness or a report from the time the event took place more reliable than something written years or even centuries later? Well, no, or at least not reliably. Eye witnesses often conflict, have a built in bias, misrepresent what they saw, or are recorded after the fact. Primary sources often are incomplete, scattered, hidden, or difficult to interpret.
 * 4) Why It's a Good Policy to Avoid Relying on Tertiary Sources: "Tertiary Sources" means general textbooks, encyclopedias, and books which synthesize secondary sources. Tertiary sources can be good if the author is familiar with the primary sources and research in the field. The aim is to get sources based on an expert's evaluation and synthesis of primary sources. A reliable source will also be one which is published in a place where it is aimed at specialists who will tear it to pieces if it's wrong. No source is infallible, but some are less fallible than others.
 * 5) How do we find good secondary sources? In a a field like Chinese history or culture, as opposed to science or popular music, for instance, it's going to be some work. Identifying_reliable_sources talks about what they are. I'm afraid the bad news is that we can't just search Google Books, though this is a terrific resource which we should all take advantage of. But the place to begin is a good public or college library. Locate solid works from reputable academic or scholarly presses. Another wonderful tool is WorldCat, which often will give a link to a Google book. The best source may not have a Preview, and in that case it might be possible to get the book from a local library, perhaps through inter-library loan. In many cases if you are going to work on a particular set of topics, you can buy good sources in paperback. They may be available second hand from a local store or online at AbeBooks, Alibris, or Bookfinder.
 * 6) A trickier challenge is to preserve NPOV, proportion, and balance. Our writing does not need to be bland or evasive: NPOV means "Neutral Point of View," not "No Point of View." The state of the field must be represented, including minority and dissenting views, but we do not have to give equal representation to Flat Earthers or outliers.

Statistics

 * 170+ Main pages created


 * Edit count = 30,000+ (but who's counting?)


 * Pages created

Selected contributions
Top ten contributors or ten or more substantive edits

* = articles created

History, religion, and culture of China
Anarchism in China

Boxer Rebellion

Burning of books and burying of scholars

Canton System

Chinese folk religion

Chinese Maritime Customs Service

Chinese Industrial Cooperatives*

Chinese Labor Corps

Chinese spoon

Cultural Revolution

Democracy in China

Diligent Work-Frugal Study Movement*

History of China

History of the Chinese Communist Party

History of the Republic of China

Hoppo

Imperial Examination

Military history of China before 1911

New Culture Movement

New Rural Reconstruction Movement *

Official Communications of the Chinese Empire*

Old Summer Palace

Opium Wars

Photography in China

Qing Dynasty

Red Lanterns (Boxer Uprising)*

Religion in China

Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan

Rural Reconstruction Movement*

Sacred Edict of the Kangxi Emperor

Salt in Chinese history*

Scarlet Memorial: Tales of Cannibalism in Modern China*

Taiping Rebellion

Taiyuan Massacre

Yenching University}

Biography (Chinese)
Chen Chonggui *

Eugene Chen (Chen Youren)*

Cheng Jingyi*

Empress Dowager Cixi

Fu Bingchang*

Fu Shanxiang*

Gong Peng *

He Zhen (anarchist)*

Hou Bo

Hu Zhengzhi *

Ji Chaoding *

Kiang Kanghu

V. K. Wellington Koo

Lang Jingshan*

Li Hongzao

Li Shizeng*

Liang Sicheng

Lin Huiyin

Lin Yutang

Liu Shipei

Liu Xucang *

Liu Yazi*

C.T. Loo*

Mao Zedong

Mao Zonggang*

Sha Fei*

Tao Zhu (Qing dynasty)*

Tchan Fou-li *

Tsai Tingkan*

Tsiang Tingfu

Wang Chi-chen *

Wang Ruofei *

Wang Zaoshi *

Eugene Wen-chin Wu *

Wu Zhihui

Xu Xiaobing *

C.K. Yang (sociologist)*

Soo Yong*

Yu Ying-shih

David Z. T. Yui *

Zhang Ji (Republic of China)*

Zhang Renjie*

Zhou Enlai

Zuo Zongtang

Zhu Zhixin (1885–1920)*

Culture, Books, & Literature
Qingming Shanghe Tu

Walter E. Bezanson *

Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War *

Bible translations into Chinese

Bianwen (transformation texts) *

A Brief History of Chinese Fiction *

Bulkington *

Chinese Culture

The Call (novel) *

The Carnal Prayer Mat

Chuanqi

Dream of the Red Chamber

Dongjing Meng Hua Lu *

Ernü Yingxiong Zhuan *

Father Mapple *

Farewell My Concubine (film)

Four Great Classical Novels

G. Thomas Tanselle *

Gansu Flying Horse *

Harrison M. Hayford *

Herman Melville

Han shi waizhuan *

How to Cook and Eat in Chinese *

Huaben*

Illustrious Words to Instruct the World

Jin Ping Mei

Journey to the West

The Kraken *

Li Yu (author)

Li Bai

Liu Xucang*

Moby-Dick

Monkey

"Hawthorne and His Mosses"

Mulian Rescues His Mother *

Napoleon's "China is a sleeping giant" quote*

Redology

Revolutionary opera

Wen fu *

Charles F. Wishart *

Wu Cheng'en

Zhang Zhupo *

Zhiguai xiaoshuo

Missions and missionaries
John Birch (missionary)

Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal*

The Christian Occupation of China*

Gustav Ecke*

John Calvin Ferguson*

Edward H. Hume*

Student Volunteer Movement

Frank J. Rawlinson *

Arthur H. Smith

Elwood Gardner Tewksbury *

Western China scholars and writers
Geremie Barmé

A. Doak Barnett *

Carl Whiting Bishop

Charles Henry Brewitt-Taylor*

Howard L. Boorman *

Edward Charles Bowra *

John_Lossing_Buck

Pearl S. Buck

Meribeth E. Cameron *

David Crook

Gustav Ecke *

Clement Egerton *

Benjamin A. Elman *

John Espey *

John K. Fairbank

John Calvin Ferguson *

Albert Feuerwerker *

Frederick Vanderbilt Field

Peter Fleming (writer)

Joshua A. Fogel *

Sidney D. Gamble

Merle Goldman *

Jacques Guillermaz *

Robert B. Hall (Japanologist)*

Patrick Hanan *

Harry Harootunian *

Robert E. Hegel *

William L. Holland

William Hung (sinologist) *

Wilt L. Idema *

Akira Iriye

Felix Keesing*

Owen Lattimore

Kenneth Scott Latourette

Colin Mackerras *

Harley Farnsworth MacNair *

Susan L. Mann*

Daniel L. Overmyer *

Marco Polo

Franz H. Michael *

Hosea Ballou Morse *

Rhoads Murphey *

Paul G. Pickowicz

William T. Rowe *

Preston Schoyer

Edgar Snow

David Spindler

Nancy Lee Swann *

George E. Taylor (historian) *

Têng Ssu-yü *

Stephen F. Teiser *

Tsien Tsuen-hsuin *

Ezra Vogel

Frederick E. Wakeman, Jr.

James L. Watson (anthropologist)*

Paul Wheatley (geographer) *

Allen S. Whiting *

Kären Wigen *

C. Martin Wilbur *

Karl August Wittfogel

Marilyn B. Young *

Sinology
Étienne Balázs

Biographical Dictionary of Republican China *

The China Review*

Chinese History: A New Manual*

Francis Woodman Cleaves*

Homer H. Dubs*

East Asian Library and Gest Collection Princeton University *

Benjamin A. Elman*

Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period*

Luther Carrington Goodrich

Patrick Dewes Hanan*

History of Chinese Literature

Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch*

Wilt Idema*

Stephen Owen (academic)

Andrew H. Plaks*

David Tod Roy*

Endymion Porter Wilkinson*

Léopold de Saussure*

Yang Lien-sheng*

Western Study and Writing on China
Fanshen

John K. Fairbank Prize*

Joseph Levenson Book Prize*

Ideology and Organization in Communist China (book) *

Journal of American-East Asian Relations*

Mao: The Unknown Story (book)

Oriental Despotism: A Comparative Study of Total Power (book)*

Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars

Red Star Over China (book)

Sino-Babylonianism*

The Immobile Empire (book) *

United States China relations
China White Paper *

Chinese Educational Mission*

Oberlin Shansi Memorial Association

US–China Peoples Friendship Association*

Sino-American Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction*

Yale-China Association

Words and concepts
Gung ho

Invented traditions

May you live in interesting times

Napoleon's "China is a sleeping giant" quote*

Food & Cookery
Chinese cuisine

Chop suey

History of Chinese cuisine

History of pizza

General Tso's Chicken

Stir-fry

Western history, culture, and biography

 * Jack Scott (sports activist)
 * Gail Thain Parker *
 * Robert Devore Leigh *
 * Bennington College
 * Howard Paton Vincent *