To curtail the expansion of the “Communist Bloc” led by the USSR, the United States of America carried out cultural diplomacy missions in the Sinophone world. The United States Information Service in Hong Kong and Taiwan worked closely publishing a number of works, of which the most popular and influential was none other than the World Today Journal.

This book first outlines the background of the cultural Cold War from a macro perspective to explain the rise and fall of the World Today Journal. It then adopts a micro perspective and conducts a couple of case studies, for instance examining the themes and significance of Yu Kwang-chung’s essays published in the journal’s column, as well as the representation of Eileen Chang as a diasporic Chinese writer and translator of American literature. Moreover, a number of famous writers, scholars, and intellectuals, such as Stephen Soong, Lucien Wu, Hsia Tsi-an, Frederick Tsai Chuo-tang, Wai-lim Yip, and Joseph S. M. Lau, were involved in promoting American literature in the Chinese-speaking world in various ways.

This book not only looks back on the author’s early reading experiences and the shared memories of his generation, but also examines the cultural Cold War, and Cold War culture, from the perspective of literary and cultural studies. In addition to detailed textual analyses, From the Cultural Cold War to the Cold War Culture offers several appendixes, listing relevant bibliographical data and textual history for readers’ reference. As a “New Cold War” seems to be emerging, it is fitting and proper to review cultural diplomacy and its manifestations during the Cold War era in order to understand the cultural politics involved and its significance in the world today.

【With a grant for publication from the Research Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Ministry of Science and Technology, 2021】