Margaret M Tillman
Purdue University, History, Faculty Member
- Late Imperial-Modern China, Modern and Contemporary China, Sociology of Children and Childhood, Educational history, East Asian History, China, and 30 moreTaiwan Studies, Modern Chinese History, Japanese History, Korean Studies, Caroline Walker Bynum, Sociology of Education, History, Comparative Education, Private Public Interfaces In Education, Vocationalisation of Education, Higher Education, Archaeology, Human Rights, Material Culture Studies, Colonialism, Academic Writing, Imperialism, Empire, Human Trafficking, Historiography, Education Policy, Childhood studies, Chinese history (History), Contemporary China, Children's Rights, East Asian Studies, Early China, Modern China (especially late Qing and Republican history), History of Civic and Private Charity, and Chinese Studiesedit
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A widespread conviction in the need to rescue China’s children took hold in the early twentieth century. Amid political upheaval and natural disasters, neglected or abandoned children became a humanitarian focal point for Sino-Western... more
A widespread conviction in the need to rescue China’s children took hold in the early twentieth century. Amid political upheaval and natural disasters, neglected or abandoned children became a humanitarian focal point for Sino-Western cooperation and intervention in family life. Chinese academics and officials sought new scientific measures, educational institutions, and social reforms to improve children’s welfare. Successive regimes encouraged teachers to shape children into Qing subjects, Nationalist citizens, or Communist comrades.
In Raising China’s Revolutionaries, Margaret Mih Tillman offers a novel perspective on the political and scientific dimensions of experiments with early childhood education from the early Republican period through the first decade of the People’s Republic. She traces transnational advocacy for child welfare and education, examining Christian missionaries, philanthropists, and the role of international relief during World War II. Tillman provides in-depth analysis of similarities and differences between Nationalist and Communist policy and cultural notions of childhood. While both Nationalist and Communist regimes drew on preschool institutions to mobilize the workforce and shape children’s political subjectivity, the Communist regime rejected the Nationalists’ commitment to the modern, bourgeois family. With new insights into the roles of experts, the cultural politics of fundraising, and child welfare as a form of international exchange, Raising China’s Revolutionaries is an important work of institutional and transnational history that illuminates the evolution of modern concepts of childhood in China.
In Raising China’s Revolutionaries, Margaret Mih Tillman offers a novel perspective on the political and scientific dimensions of experiments with early childhood education from the early Republican period through the first decade of the People’s Republic. She traces transnational advocacy for child welfare and education, examining Christian missionaries, philanthropists, and the role of international relief during World War II. Tillman provides in-depth analysis of similarities and differences between Nationalist and Communist policy and cultural notions of childhood. While both Nationalist and Communist regimes drew on preschool institutions to mobilize the workforce and shape children’s political subjectivity, the Communist regime rejected the Nationalists’ commitment to the modern, bourgeois family. With new insights into the roles of experts, the cultural politics of fundraising, and child welfare as a form of international exchange, Raising China’s Revolutionaries is an important work of institutional and transnational history that illuminates the evolution of modern concepts of childhood in China.
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This is an English translation of the Chinese document found at Melikian370 in this collection.
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This is an mp4 video highlighting the Chinese Immigrants in Cuba collection in the ASU Libraries Repository (11 mins)
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Excerpts from an overview of the Chinese Immigrants in Cuba Repository Collection, collected by James Melikian and curated by Arizona State University: https://repository.asu.edu/collections/170
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PUBLICATIONS REFEREED ARTICLES “Remodeling Confucian Wedding Rituals to Address China’s Youth Culture Today: A Case of Using the Classics to Respond to Recalcitrant Problems.” Second author with Hoyt Tillman. Taiwan Journal of East Asian... more
PUBLICATIONS REFEREED ARTICLES “Remodeling Confucian Wedding Rituals to Address China’s Youth Culture Today: A Case of Using the Classics to Respond to Recalcitrant Problems.” Second author with Hoyt Tillman. Taiwan Journal of East Asian Studies 10.2 (December 2013), 221-46. “The Authority of Age: Institutions for Childhood Development in China, 1903-1911.” New Frontiers in Chinese History 7.1 (January 2012), 32–60. “A Joyful Union: The Modernization of the Zhu Xi Family Wedding Ceremony.” First author with Hoyt Cleveland Tillman. Oriens Extremus, Germany 49 (2011), 115142.
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This article charts the Chinese indigenization of better baby contests, from Christian health services offered by the YWCA to positive models of nourishment organized by Chinese philanthropic organizations and local and central... more
This article charts the Chinese indigenization of better baby contests, from Christian health services offered by the YWCA to positive models of nourishment organized by Chinese philanthropic organizations and local and central governments. American missionaries and milk-powder companies played a large role in sponsoring the contests in China. Influenced by the rise of scientific measurement and ‘national rejuvenation’ as promoted by the New Culture Movement in 1915, Chinese organizers tended to focus on liveliness, gender equality, and statistics that pointed to the need for public reform. As in the United States of America, scientific criteria sometimes also challenged conventional notions of plump cuteness. These goals sometimes conflicted with the implicit aims of corporate sponsors. Contests thus celebrated new material conditions and public hygiene facilitated by modern industry, but was at the same time circumscribed by commercial advertisers, reticent evangelists, or other s...
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The mass incarceration of Chinese men in Cuba in 1871 drew international attention and illustrated global economic and political concerns about “coolie labor.” Upon release, free Chinese men (asiáticos libres) in Havana drew up bylaws,... more
The mass incarceration of Chinese men in Cuba in 1871 drew international attention and illustrated global economic and political concerns about “coolie labor.” Upon release, free Chinese men (asiáticos libres) in Havana drew up bylaws, studied here for the first time to establish a mutual-aid association (huiguan) in 1872 to help fellow Chinese process long-term residency permits (cédulas and cartas). By cross-referencing multiple types of historical materials, this microhistory documents that Chinese laborers exhibited solidarity in the face of exploitation. The resilient efforts of these law-abiding Chinese contract workers elucidate a documented case of the limitations of legal recourse and demonstrate the failure of the coolie system to provide a feasible transition to free wage labor.
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This article explores the range of stances within the revival of Confucian ritual in China today. Symbols are a touchstone for disagreement among non-state intellectuals who have constructed new Confucian wedding ceremonies. Intellectuals... more
This article explores the range of stances within the revival of Confucian ritual in China today. Symbols are a touchstone for disagreement among non-state intellectuals who have constructed new Confucian wedding ceremonies. Intellectuals contest each other’s selection of historical sources, especially as indicators of the importance of the family and/or interpretations of Confucianism. Zhang Xianglong and Zhu Jieren or chestrated these rituals as a way to impart their visions of Chinese family values onto their children, whereas Lei Bo and his bride constructed their own wedding based on their Ph.D. studies and activism as new Confucians. Peking University Professor Zhang’s ritual draws upon naturalistic Daoist geomancy and openly invites the sanction of Confucian dignitaries to endorse his formulation of ancient Chinese culture. Lei Bo looks especially to 11th-century philosopher Zhang Zai in his formulation of “Heideggerian Confucianism,” which recognizes the importance of cosmology to achieve true personhood. East China Normal University Press editor Zhu Jieren subordinates aesthetics to ancient text, and only reconstructs an ancient cupping ritual because it is based on ancient texts; his elimination of non-textual elements has the overall effect of recognizing contemporary gender equality in Shanghai in ways that tend to offend other new Confucians. These contemporary intellectuals disagree regarding not only the semiotics of imminent naturalistic elements to reconstruct the historical contexts of wedding ceremonies, but also the degree to which contemporary Confucianism should be a cosmological or social construction.
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ABSTRACT
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This article charts the Chinese indigenization of better baby contests, from Christian health services offered by the YWCA to positive models of nourishment organized by Chinese philanthropic organizations and local and central... more
This article charts the Chinese indigenization of better baby contests, from Christian health services offered by the YWCA to positive models of nourishment organized by Chinese philanthropic organizations and local and central governments. American missionaries and milk-powder companies played a large role in sponsoring the contests in China. Influenced by the rise of scientific measurement and ‘national rejuvenation’ as promoted by the New Culture Movement in 1915, Chinese organizers tended to focus on liveliness, gender equality, and statistics that pointed to the need for public reform. As in the United States of America, scientific criteria sometimes also challenged conventional notions of plump cuteness. These goals sometimes conflicted with the implicit aims of corporate sponsors. Contests thus celebrated new material conditions and public hygiene facilitated by modern industry, but was at the same time circumscribed by commercial advertisers, reticent evangelists, or other sponsors.
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The custody battle over Anna Mae He, a Chinese child placed in foster care with an American family, is currently the longest-running custody dispute between two families in the United States. Capturing US and Chinese media attention, the... more
The custody battle over Anna Mae He, a Chinese child placed in foster care with an American family, is currently the longest-running custody dispute between two families in the United States. Capturing US and Chinese media attention, the celebrated dispute resonated with different sets of larger social problems, especially in the United States, but also concerning Chinese students in America. Rather than present new evidence about the case, this paper examines how the information was interpreted and understood, and argues that historical context is necessary for understanding cross-cultural conflict. Note: author's draft.
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This is the author's draft copy of a paper published in a conference volume in China: “Hongxing zhaoyao de haizi.” 红星照耀的孩子 [Red Star over Babies]. In Wang Siming et. al, eds., Zhongguo Jindai Jingji yu Shehui Zhuanxing Yanjiu... more
This is the author's draft copy of a paper published in a conference volume in China: “Hongxing zhaoyao de haizi.” 红星照耀的孩子 [Red Star over Babies]. In Wang Siming et. al, eds., Zhongguo Jindai Jingji yu Shehui Zhuanxing Yanjiu 中国近现代经济与社会转型研究 Research on Modern Chinese Economic and Social Transformations]. China Agricultural Science and Technology Press, 2016. Pp. 69-78.
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Excerpts from an overview of the Chinese Immigrants in Cuba Repository Collection, collected by James Melikian and curated by Arizona State University: https://repository.asu.edu/collections/170
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The mass incarceration of Chinese men in Cuba in 1871 drew international attention and illustrated global economic and political concerns about “coolie labor.” Upon release, free Chinese men (asiáticos libres) in Havana drew up bylaws,... more
The mass incarceration of Chinese men in Cuba in 1871 drew international attention and illustrated global economic and political concerns about “coolie labor.” Upon release, free Chinese men (asiáticos libres) in Havana drew up bylaws, studied here for the first time to establish a mutual-aid association (huiguan) in 1872 to help fellow Chinese process long-term residency permits (cédulas and cartas). By cross-referencing multiple types of historical materials, this microhistory documents that Chinese laborers exhibited solidarity in the face of exploitation. The resilient efforts of these law-abiding Chinese contract workers elucidate a documented case of the limitations of legal recourse and demonstrate the failure of the coolie system to provide a feasible transition to free wage labor.
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This article explores the range of stances within the revival of Confucian ritual in China today. Symbols are a touchstone for disagreement among non-state intellectuals who have constructed new Confucian wedding ceremonies. Intellectuals... more
This article explores the range of stances within the revival of Confucian ritual in China today. Symbols are a touchstone for disagreement among non-state intellectuals who have constructed new Confucian wedding ceremonies. Intellectuals contest each other’s selection of historical sources, especially as indicators of the importance of the family and/or interpretations of Confucianism. Zhang Xianglong and Zhu Jieren or chestrated these rituals as a way to impart their visions of Chinese family values onto their children, whereas Lei Bo and his bride constructed their own wedding based on their Ph.D. studies and activism as new Confucians. Peking University Professor Zhang’s ritual draws upon naturalistic Daoist geomancy and openly invites the sanction of Confucian dignitaries to endorse his formulation of ancient Chinese culture. Lei Bo looks especially to 11th-century philosopher Zhang Zai in his formulation of “Heideggerian Confucianism,” which recognizes the importance of cosmology to achieve true personhood. East China Normal University Press editor Zhu Jieren subordinates aesthetics to ancient text, and only reconstructs an ancient cupping ritual because it is based on ancient texts; his elimination of non-textual elements has the overall effect of recognizing contemporary gender equality in Shanghai in ways that tend to offend other new Confucians. These contemporary intellectuals disagree regarding not only the semiotics of imminent naturalistic elements to reconstruct the historical contexts of wedding ceremonies, but also the degree to which contemporary Confucianism should be a cosmological or social construction.
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The dissertation traces the sentimental value of childhood and the economic, social, and political impact of preschool education from 1903 to 1953. According to state theorists and social reformers, by abolishing child labor and... more
The dissertation traces the sentimental value of childhood and the economic, social, and political impact of preschool education from 1903 to 1953. According to state theorists and social reformers, by abolishing child labor and separating childhood from work, preschool education would facilitate the transition from a household to an industrial economy and would allow women to join the workforce. Long-term structural continuities undergird conflicts over the political indoctrination of children and their relationships to family hierarchies. Institutionally separated from their families, kindergartners could be trained as loyal Qing subjects, or Nationalist citizens, or Communist comrades. Each regime criticized alternative or older versions of early childhood socialization in order to shape future generations.
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This lecture is intended to provide a forum for discussing issues regarding the need to cite sources.
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These are some of my notes from the 2016 MCAA Roundtable “Waking the Ghosts of War: From Rancor to Recognition in East Asia,” held in U. Illinois Urbana-Champaign. There may be some mistakes in these notes and places where I have... more
These are some of my notes from the 2016 MCAA Roundtable “Waking the Ghosts of War: From Rancor to Recognition in East Asia,” held in U. Illinois Urbana-Champaign. There may be some mistakes in these notes and places where I have misrepresented the speakers, and for that I apologize and welcome correction.
The film, directed and edited by David Plath, is really remarkable and moving. The participants had all obviously thought very deeply about the issues involved, and responded so considerately and thoughtfully to all questions. They are truly engaged in real dialogue. The East Asian Citizens Network a truly amazing project, one that has brought people across East Asia together to commemorate the dead. At least for me, it inspires hope that citizens can find a voice, despite governmental silencing, to build bridges across divides. I very much look forward to teaching this film when it is available.
The film, directed and edited by David Plath, is really remarkable and moving. The participants had all obviously thought very deeply about the issues involved, and responded so considerately and thoughtfully to all questions. They are truly engaged in real dialogue. The East Asian Citizens Network a truly amazing project, one that has brought people across East Asia together to commemorate the dead. At least for me, it inspires hope that citizens can find a voice, despite governmental silencing, to build bridges across divides. I very much look forward to teaching this film when it is available.
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In Spring 2017, students should write two visual essays in History 340. In the first visual essay, students select no less than one and no more than three images from the Virtual Shanghai website:... more
In Spring 2017, students should write two visual essays in History 340. In the first visual essay, students select no less than one and no more than three images from the Virtual Shanghai website: http://www.virtualshanghai.net/Photos/Images. After carefully considering the images, they should contextualize the images and relate them to one of the scholarly articles, on Shanghai, that they have read for class. For the second visual essay, they should select an image from the Everyday Life in Maoist China website: https://everydaylifeinmaoistchina.org/.
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Students may select from a range of scholarly articles, and they write a reflection on how scholars construct arguments. This rubric is intended to communicate to students what I look for when I evaluate their assignments.
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I've assigned each step of this project in a seminar, and I've also offered it as extra credit in a large lecture course.
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Review of Miriam Gross. Farewell to the God of Plague: Chairman Mao’s Campaign to Deworm China. Stanford: University of California Press, 2016. Asian Review of World Histories 5, no. 2 (2017): 166-168: 10.1163/22879811-12340011
Review of Revolution as Restoration: Guocui Xuebao and China’s Path to
Modernity, 1905–1911. By Tze-ki Hon. (Leiden: Brill, 2013. 135 Pp.
ISBN-10: 9004247807, ISBN-13: 978-9004247802. In the Journal of Chinese Philosophy.
Modernity, 1905–1911. By Tze-ki Hon. (Leiden: Brill, 2013. 135 Pp.
ISBN-10: 9004247807, ISBN-13: 978-9004247802. In the Journal of Chinese Philosophy.
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Review of Shakhar Rahav, The Rise of Political Intellectuals in Modern China: May Fourth Societies and the Roots of Mass-Party Politics. Journal for Asian Studies, volume 75, issue 02, pp. 512-513.