ABSTRACT
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the 70+ years have witnessed a robust rise of the interdisciplinary area and country studies. This chapter reviews the three major developmental stages that this discipline has undergone, in alignment with the periods of national rejuvenation identified in the official discourse. By analysing the dynamics, achievements, and characteristics of each stage, it reveals a symbiotic relationship between the rise of the discipline and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. These two narratives seem to signify a sort of ‘community of common destiny’, where national rejuvenation propels disciplinary rise which, in turn, facilitates national rejuvenation, with diplomacy serving as the intermediary. The rise of area and country studies, particularly in achieving the status of a tier-one discipline in the latest Catalogue of Disciplines and Specialties for Graduate Education in 2022, will inject new momentum into the development of Australian studies in China.
