Robert Lawrence Kuhn | |
|---|---|
 Kuhn in 2020 | |
| Born | (1944-11-06)November 6, 1944 (age 81) New York, U.S. |
| Education | Johns Hopkins University (B.A.) University of California at Los Angeles (Ph.D.) MIT Sloan School of Management (M.S.) |
| Occupations | Investment banker, writer |
| Notable work | The Man Who Changed China |
| Spouse | Dora Serviarian Kuhn |
| Awards | China Reform Friendship Medal |
| Website | rlkuhn.com |
Robert Lawrence Kuhn[1] (born November 6, 1944) is an Americanpublic intellectual andinvestment banker. He is also an author, television producer, columnist and commentator, especially on topics related to China. Kuhn is the creator of thePBS seriesCloser to Truth. He has been called "one of the Western world's most prolific interpreters of Beijing's policies".[2] Some of his work has been criticized as pro-China propaganda.[3][4]
Kuhn received a bachelor's degree in human biology fromJohns Hopkins University (Phi Beta Kappa) in 1964, a PhD inanatomy and brain research from theUniversity of California, Los Angeles' Brain Research Institute in 1968 and aMaster of Science inmanagement as aSloan fellow from theMIT Sloan School of Management in 1980.[5]
From 1991 to 2001, Kuhn was president and co-owner of the Geneva Companies, amergers and acquisitions (M&A) firm representing privately owned,middle-market companies. In 2000 Kuhn sold the Geneva Companies toCitigroup.[6]
Closer to Truth is a continuing television series onPBS and public television stations, created, executive-produced, written and hosted by Kuhn, and produced and directed by Peter Getzels.[7] The series premiered in 2000 and is in its 19th season (Closer to Truth: Cosmos. Consciousness. Meaning/God). It offers conversations with leading scientists, philosophers, theologians and scholars on topics such as cosmology, physics, philosophy of science, consciousness (brain/mind), and philosophy of religion. Kuhn's presentation, "Asking Ultimate Questions", serves as the foundation ofCloser To Truth.[8]
In 2024, Kuhn published a paper titledA Landscape of Consciousness: Toward a Taxonomy of Explanations and Implications in the journalProgress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology.[9] According to an article written by theoretical physicist and neuroscientist Àlex Gómez-Marín, “Kuhn articulates a taxonomy of about 225 theories of consciousness.”[10] In 2025, Kuhn expanded this work in a feature article forNew Scientist titledWhat 350 different theories of consciousness reveal about reality, presenting an accessible overview of more than 350 theories organized across ten categories ranging from materialism to idealism.[11] In 2026, Kuhn further discussed theLandscape of Consciousness framework in a review article published inCurrent Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, examining its relevance for neurology and neuroscience and suggesting that the diversity of theories may inform research and clinical perspectives on disorders of consciousness.[12]
In 1989, Kuhn was invited to China by its director of theState Science and Technology Commission,Song Jian, whom Kuhn considers his mentor.[13]
Kuhn wroteThe Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin.[14] It was the firstbiography of a living Chinese leader and was a best-seller in China in 2005.[4][3]
Kuhn is the author of the 2011 bookHow China's Leaders Think: The Inside Story of China's Past, Current and Future Leaders.[13] He has also written about Xi Jinping as the latest core leader of theChinese Communist Party and theChinese government response to COVID-19.[15][16][17][18]
Kuhn has created or hosted TV and web series such asChina's Challenges (with Peter Getzels as director),Closer To China with R.L. Kuhn (withAdam Zhu as co-producer), andThe Watcher.[19][20]
Kuhn provided live commentary onCNN duringXi Jinping's policy address inSeattle on September 2, 2015, during a state visit to the US.[21] He had spoken at the launch ceremony of Xi's book, entitledThe Governance of China, at theFrankfurt Book Fair on October 8, 2014.[22]
In 2017, during the19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Kuhn was interviewed extensively, including multiple times on CNN,BBC World News andBBC World Service,CGTN, andChina Central Television (CCTV).[23][24] In 2018 Xi Jinping awarded Kuhn theChina Reform Friendship Medal for his contributions to thereform and opening up over the past four decades.[25]
After Jiang Zemin died on November 30, 2022, Kuhn published his personal reflections, concluding that "history will be kind to Jiang Zemin."[26]
In a book review essay published inForeign Affairs,Bruce Gilley said Kuhn'sThe Man Who Changed China was actually better understood as an officially sanctioned autobiography, presenting an image that China's leaders want the world to see. Additionally, he said the writing of the book was, beginning in 2001, overseen by a secret state propaganda team.[4] John Walsh, an assistant Professor atShinawatra University, presumed that as a result of interviewing people who had favorable views of Jiang Zemin, he said that the first part of this book was "close tohagiography".[27] Gilley stated that the official government of China hadcensored as much as 10 percent of the content from the book in the Chinese language version, whereas the English language version was also modified to suit what the Chinese government deemed appropriate for Chinese and non-Chinese audiences to see. Gilley is quoted as saying,[4]
Beginning in 2001, a secret state propaganda team oversaw the writing of the book. Ten percent of the English version was censored for the Chinese edition, but 90 percent remained the same: the book's main intended market was China itself (where it appeared simultaneously in Chinese and quickly sold a million copies). This is the image that Jiang and China's new leaders want their people to see. How then do they style themselves, and what does this mean for China's future?
Kuhn responded in 2006 inForeign Affairs, saying,[28]
My intention (as stated in the book itself, on pages 691-92) was to move beyond all the hype and bias about China so as to understand how Chinese leaders think.... Jiang didn't choose me; I chose Jiang. The book was my idea; I planned it, financed it, and wrote it to trace China's story through eight tumultuous decades of trauma and transformation. I had help -- translators, researchers, editors -- but I maintained absolute editorial control and made every editorial decision, and no one in China ever thought otherwise….
My rendition of events, such as the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia in 1999, differs markedly from that of the official Chinese media. In a publisher's note, Chinese readers are advised: "Certain viewpoints and opinions of the author, as a Westerner, bear a definite distance from those of our own. Hopefully the reader will understand."
My book is unprecedented -- the first biography of a living leader published on the mainland. Furthermore, there is inside information in it that Chinese media and officials aver that they never knew. One reporter complained publicly about the fact that this breakthrough was made by a foreigner.[28]
According toThe Wire China, in the 17 years since his book's publication, "Kuhn has regularly deflected accusations that he is a propagandist for the Chinese government." He has carved out a niche as "one of the Western world’s most prolific interpreters of Beijing’s policies," "currying favor with China’s leadership and gaining remarkable access."[2] Kuhn says that he has spent the past few decades 'helping the world understand China and China understand the world' — efforts he hopes are in the best interest of the U.S. and China.”[2]
At a recent party plenum, President Xi Jinping was designated as core of the Communist Party's Central Committee. It was Deng Xiaoping who introduced the concept when he designated Jiang Zemin as core of the third generation of central leaders.
