Austrian Studies with Chinese Characteristics? Some Observations

1“Austrian Studies” is an unfamiliar term in the Chinese-speaking world. Though Austria had long entered the consciousness of the Chinese, not the least since it was identified as one of the “eight imperialist invaders” in the wake of the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, there is no clear evidence that Austrian Studies was or is a banner under which research, teaching, and other intellectual activities have been pursued. German Studies (or more narrowly, Germanistik ), on the other hand, has long been institutionalized in the Chinese academic establishment. As early as 1918, the great educational reformer Cai Yuanpei, himself having spent several years at the University of Leipzig, set up a Germanistik unit (later department) in the Peking University.1 More often than not, scholarly or cultural interests in things Austrian or Habsburg have been considered part of the more global “German Studies” or “German culture.” It is the impression of this report’s authors that most in the Chinese