The International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation and Chinese Cultural Diplomacy during the Interwar Period

Abstract

In the Interwar period, the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation (ICIC) of the League of Nations promoted international understanding and functioned as a cultural center for international communication. Chinese scholars and diplomats actively participated in the activities organized by the ICIC and utilized these as vehicles to establish broader international acknowledgment of China. The article argues that, in its role as a cultural center, the ICIC was not apolitical but shaped by different levels of political considerations. One important aim for Chinese scholars and diplomats had been to reconstitute the image of China in order to enhance its international status. Simultaneously, this reconstitution effort was also targeted towards domestic society. This article first focuses on Chinese diplomats’ attempts to fight for Chinese membership on the Committee of the ICIC. It then probes the negative aspect of this articulation, namely countering prejudices against China. The article considers how Chinese scholars had felt insulted by cultural prejudices and stereotypes and hence called for a new image of China. Finally, the article investigates the positive aspect of this articulation, namely the attempt to reconstitute a more favourable image of China, examining this reconstituted image and how it was disseminated within China.

Keywords:

• International committee on intellectual cooperation
• Chinese international image
• cultural diplomacy
• international cultural order
• Sino-Western cultural relation

Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the two reviewers for their careful and critical review of the article. We also appreciate the valuable input provided by Dr. Chen Yarong and Dr. Tan Hao during the revision process.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

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15 Ibid.

16 League of Nations Committee on Intellectual Cooperation Minutes of the Third Session, 01. Jan. 1924 [ League of Nations Archive], C-3-M-3-1924-XII.

17 Grandjean Martin, ‘A Representative Organization? Ibero-American Networks in the Committee on Intellectual Cooperation of the League of Nations (1922-1939)’ in Diana Roig-Sanz and Jaume Subiranan (ed), Cultural Organizations and Networks and Mediators in Contemporary Ibero-America (New York and London: Routledge), 65–89.

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24 Provisional Minutes of the 13th Meeting, 22. Sept. 1923 [League of Nations Archive], R1379/26/30753/30631/Jacket2.

25 Ibid.

26 League of Nations Committee on Intellectual Cooperation Minutes of the Third Session, 01. Jan. 1924, [League of Nations Archive], C-3-M-3-1924-XII, pp. 30.

27 Jonathan Sudo, ‘The Limits of Internationalism: Cosmopolitanism and Patriotism in the Work of Nitobe Inazō’ (Master’s dissertation, Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges, 2021), 28.

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33 Minutes of Fourth Session of the Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, 25 Aug. 1924, [League of Nations Archive], R1034-13C-37560-14297, pp.22.

34 League of Nations Committee on Intellectual Cooperation Minutes of the Sixth Session, 20 Agu.1925, [League of Nations Archive], R2211/5B/32085/651.

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41 Oprescu to Gilbert Murray, 20 Jan. 1927, [League of Nations Archive], R1037-13C-56895-14297.

42 League of Nations International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation Minutes of Ninth Session, 24 Sept. 1927, [League of Nations Archive], C.424.M.157.1927.XII.

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53 Note Du 17 Fevrier 1930, 17 Feb. 1930 ; Note Du 21 Fevrier 1930, 21 Feb. 1930, [LoNA], R2219-5B-5744-1397.

54 League of Nations Committee on Intellectual Cooperation Minutes of Twelfth Session, 13 August. 1930, [LoNA], C.428.M.192.1930.XII.

55 ‘Wu Zhihui Ren Shijie Wenhua Hezuo Weiyuanhui Weiyuan’, Zhongyang Ribao, 5 May. 1930.

56 To Dr. Rajchma, 10 Feb. 1932, [LoNA], R2219-5B-5744-1397.

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60 Volz, China.

61 Editor, ‘Bali Huaqiao Fandui Ruhua Dianying Gao Quanguo Tongbao Shu’, Gan (Nanjing), 3 (1934), 24–26.

62 League of Nations International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation Minutes of the Thirteenth Session, 15 Aug. 1931, [LoNA], C-471-M-201-1931-XII.

63 Suoqiao Qian, Lin Yutang and China’s Search for Modern Rebirth (Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan 2017), 88.

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Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the International Joint Research Project of Huiyan International College, Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University. Grant Number [ICER2202102].

Notes on contributors

Kaiyi Li

Dr. Kaiyi Li is a Postdoctoral researcher at Leibniz Institute for Educational Media|Georg Eckert Institute in Germany. Her research focuses on the history of the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, the transnational history of education in China, education and social transformation in contemporary China.

Huimei Zhou

Prof. Dr. Huimei Zhou is a professor at Institute of Education History and Culture, Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University in China. Her research focuses on the history of adult and mass education in China, the history of educational media, the Sino-western educational exchange.