Toward a History of Interwar Sino-Hungarian Cultural Relations - Three Advocates of Kuomintang Soft Power, Hungarian Irredentism and Pan-Danubianism

Aug 23, 2026

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A scholarly analysis traces interwar Sino-Hungarian cultural relations and their roots in Hungarian Sinology and earlier bilateral approaches, offering a fresh perspective on Chinese propaganda beyond a purely Atlanto-centric frame. The study examines how three individuals with different political agendas used cultural diplomacy as a soft-power tool to mobilize international sympathy for their homelands. It outlines cultural-diplomatic stimuli in Hungary and Republican-era China before focusing on pre-1949 Sino-Hungarian initiatives without formal diplomatic ties, highlighting thematic parallels to present-day exchanges.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Research Goals and Perspective

Cultural Diplomacy in Interwar Hungary and Republican-Era China

Three Advocates and Their Cultural Diplomatic Agendas

Case Studies: Diaspora Actors and Kuomintang Propagandists

Toward a History of Interwar Sino-Hungarian Cultural Relations: Three Advocates of Kuomintang Soft Power, Hungarian Irredentism and Pan-Danubianism Mátyás Mervay Abstract: This paper aims to achieve two goals: the first is to bring a fresh perspective to the Atlanto-centric history of Chinese propaganda while tracing the roots of SinoHungarian bilateral approaches and Hungarian Sinology to a time dating some fifteen years earlier than the mutual recognition of the two People’s Republics. This analysis also introduces three actors of different political agendas who applied a similar PR tool of cultural diplomacy to elicit international sympathy for their homeland. After briefly surveying the primary stimuli of cultural diplomacy in interwar Hungary and RepublicanEra China, I turn to pre-1949 Sino-Hungarian cultural approaches in the era of no formal diplomatic relations. Such initiatives offer valuable insights into the history of cultural diplomacy while also highlighting significant parallels with the present. Specifically, I introduce the political and cultural agenda of three individuals acting as cultural ambassadors to their homelands. The Shanghai Jewish refugee aid organizer, Paul Komor, and the women’s association president, Theresia Moll, were members of the Hungarian diaspora in China. They introduced the post-Habsburg Central European region to a cosmopolitan community while exhibiting two different foci: Hungarian irredentism and pan-Danubianism. Meanwhile, Zhenya He, a Kuomintang propagandist and the University of Budapest’s first Chinese language instructor during the 1930s, synthesized Hungarian pan-Asian Turanism with Sun Yat-sen’s Tridemism to further Sino-Hungarian exchanges. Keywords:China-CEE relations; Concepts of Interwar Central and Eastern Europe; Chinese cultural diplomacy; Hungarian Irredentism; Interwar Propaganda Biography: Mátyás Mervay is a Ph.D. Candidate at New York University’s History Department and while completing his research served as an Adjunct Professor of East Asian History at Adelphi University’s History Department. His dissertation focuses on the state administration and diaspora self-organization of post-Habsburg Central European refugees and expatriates in Republican Era-China. He earned his B.A. in History at the Eötvös Lóránd University (Budapest, Hungary) and his Master’s degree at Nankai University (Tianjin, China), majoring in Modern and Contemporary Chinese History. His M.A. thesis examined the internment of Austro–Hungarian prisoners of war in China during World War I. He has published his research in academic journals in both Chinese [and English. matyas.mervay@nyu.edu](and English. matyas.mervay@nyu.edu) New articles in this journal are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This journal is published by Pitt Open Library Publishing. ISSN 1936-8879 (online) “In speaking of Hungary today, it is quite impossible to avoid reference to the Treaty of Trianon….”(Komor, The Pagoda, September 2, 1930: 2) . “The Treaty of Trianon was the work ofpolitical sadists. It lacks fairness and justice….”(Komor, MNL, 1938-1940?) “It is quite evident, that they, the Japanese have not learnt from the example that the post-[World] war [One], peaceful, based on justice, Europe has set them, that political aims are not to be enforced at the point of the gun and the scrap iron is, under no circumstances whatsoever, to be removed”(Komor, September 2, 1938: 9) . These three quotes by Paul Komor, known after World War Two as the patron of Shanghai Jewish refugees, reveal a great deal about his sense of commitment to his fatherland while serving in the 1920s-1930s as the informal leader of the Shanghai Hungarian community. From a 1930 lecture addressing the Shanghai Rotary Club’s Chinese and international audience, the first quotation highlights the importance of the trauma that the Treaty of Trianon inflicted upon Hungary. An excellent examp

FAQs

What is the main aim of this paper on Sino-Hungarian cultural relations?

The paper seeks to reinterpret interwar Chinese propaganda through Sino-Hungarian cultural approaches, linking them to earlier roots in Hungarian Sinology and bilateral contacts before formal PRC recognition.

How does the paper define the role of cultural diplomacy in the interwar context?

Cultural diplomacy is treated as a soft-power tool used to elicit international sympathy, shaped by the political agendas of multiple actors in Hungary and Republican-era China.

Who are the three main cultural advocates discussed, and what distinguishes them?

Paul Komor and Theresia Moll represent Hungarian diaspora initiatives in China emphasizing Hungarian irredentism and pan-Danubianism, while Zhenya He, a Kuomintang propagandist, synthesizes Hungarian pan-Asian Turanism with Sun Yat-sen’s Tridemism to advance exchanges.

Aug 23, 2026

Upload by Jake