7 Southeast Asian Studies in Yunnan: Achievements, Challenges and Outlook

Abstract

Yunnan, a frontier province, shares border with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam with a total boundary line of 4,060 kilometres, of which 1,997 km is with Myanmar, 710 km with Laos and another 1,353 km with Vietnam. It is adjacent to Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore with the linkage of routes. There are sixteen ethnic groups living across the border line where there are eleven national first-grade border ports with more than eighty passages leading to neighbouring countries. With its special geographic position and historical relations with Southeast Asian countries, Yunnan Province provides positive external conditions for its scholars to conduct Southeast Asian Studies. Therefore, since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the government departments concerned have attached growing attention to Southeast Asian Studies in Yunnan. As a result, the academic circle has gradually turned to systematic research on Southeast Asia compared with the past spontaneous studies. Since the establishment of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies of Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Southeast Asian Studies in Yunnan have been raised to a higher level. The further acceleration of reform and opening up has brought unprecedented opportunities to the development of Southeast Asian Studies in Yunnan in the form of increasing new academic achievements and expanding research groups. This chapter, based on the research results made by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies of Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, attempts to give a general evaluation on the history, status and outlook of Southeast Asian Studies. A BRIEF HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES IN YUNNAN Yunnan initiated its Southeast Asian Studies long ago. Even before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the academic institutions there had produced the odd publication. Fang Guoyu, professor at the Department of History in Yunnan University, and Zhang Fengqi were senior researchers conducting Southeast Asian Studies. They conducted thorough studies on the history of China-Southeast Asia relations and border issues with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. Systematic studies began in the early 1950s when the Yunnan Institute of Southeast Asian Studies initiated research on China-Myanmar boundary and Myanmar issues. Since the establishment of the Yunnan Institute of Social and Historical Studies of Minority Nationalities in 1956, some researchers at the institute began to conduct specialized researches on Southeast Asia.