A Passion for Facts: Social Surveys and the Construction of the Chinese Nation-State, 1900–1949 (Volume 9) (Asia Pacific Modern)

In this path-breaking book, Tong Lam examines the emergence of the “culture of fact” in modern China, showing how elites and intellectuals sought to transform the dynastic empire into a nation-state, thereby ensuring its survival. Lam argues that an epistemological break away from traditional modes of understanding the observable world began around the turn of the twentieth century. Tracing the Neo-Confucian school of evidentiary research and the modern departure from it, Lam shows how, through the rise of the social survey, “the fact” became a basic conceptual medium and source of truth. In focusing on China’s social survey movement, __A Passion for Facts__ analyzes how information generated by a range of research practices—census, sociological investigation, and ethnography—was mobilized by competing political factions to imagine, manage, and remake the nation. “this Fascinating Book Is A Fundamental Contribution To The Global History Of Social Science. Tong Lam Demonstrates How Chinese Reformers Struggled To Build A Modern Society On A Foundation Of Facts And Statistics. Their Ambitions Were No Mere Dream, But Were Made Real In A Prodigious Social Survey Movement Which Aimed As Much To Enlighten Peasants As To Inform Administrators.” —theodore Porter, Author Of Trust In Numbers “lam’s Approach Is Highly Original. A Passion For Facts Presents An Impressive Host Of New Material From Chinese And American Archives That Challenges Interpretations Of China And Chinese Exceptionalism Or Independent Development. Lam Makes A Compelling Argument That The Techniques Developed In The Early Twentieth Century And Refined Over Several Decades Have Been Critical To State-building In China.” —james L. Hevia, Author Of English Lessons: The Pedagogy Of Imperialism In Nineteenth Century China “lam Supersedes The Current ‘china-centered Approach’ And The Earlier Framework That Explained ‘modern China’ In Light Of Global Colonialism. He Illuminates How The Search For ‘facts’ Empowered Modern Chinese To Reimagine Their Social And Political Realities In A Global Colonial Context.” —benjamin A. Elman, Chair, East Asian Studies Department, Princeton University In this path-breaking book, Tong Lam examines the emergence of the "culture of fact" in modern China, showing how elites and intellectuals sought to transform the dynastic empire into a nation-state, thereby ensuring its survival. Lam argues that an epistemological break away from traditional modes of understanding the observable world began around the turn of the twentieth century. Tracing the Neo-Confucian school of evidentiary research and the modern departure from it, Lam shows how, through the rise of the social survey, "the fact" became a basic conceptual medium and source of truth. In focusing on China's social survey movement, A Passion for Facts analyzes how information generated by a range of research practices--census, sociological investigation, and ethnography--was mobilized by competing political factions to imagine, manage, and remake the nation. Show More Show Less This book examines the emergence of the “culture of fact” in modern China, showing how elites and intellectuals sought to transform the dynastic empire into a nation-state, thereby ensuring its survival. The author argues that an epistemological break away from traditional modes of understanding the observable world began around the turn of the twentieth century. Tracing the Neo-Confucian school of evidentiary research and the modern departure from it, he shows how, through the rise of the social survey, “the fact” became a basic conceptual medium and source of truth. In focusing on China's social-survey movement, the book analyzes how information generated by a range of research practices—census, sociological investigation, and ethnography—was mobilized by competing political factions to imagine, manage, and remake the nation In focusing on China's social survey movement, this title analyzes how information generated by a range of research practices - census, sociological investigation, and ethnography - was mobilized by competing political factions to imagine, manage, and remake the nation. The rise of the fact and the re-imagining of China From divide and count to combine and count Foolish people versus soulstealers The nationalization of facts and the affective state Time, space, and state effect China as a social laboratory.