In marking the 1000th anniversary of the Treaty of Shanyuan between the Song dynasty and the Khitan Liao dynasty in January 1005, the author surveies Western scholarship on the treaty and how it reflects the overall development of Chinese studies in the West, especially in North America. After using the work of John K. Fairbank as a backdrop for mid-twentieth century views of Imperial China`s world order, the author discusses the research findings of Karl A. Wittfogel, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, Morris Rossabi, Wang Gengwu, Tao Jinshen, Herbert Franke, Denis Twitchett, Klaus-Peter Tietz, and Frederick Mote. Professors Wang and Tao are Chinese, but they earned their graduate degrees in the West, and their publications in English have exercised considerable influence in the West. Thus, this is a case study of changing Western perspectives on China`s foreign relations.