Li Kaihang
" The Three Kingdoms Intervention and Return to Liao " (1895), Japanese intellectuals had to criticize the increasingly rampant Huang Peru theory and its related racial discrimination remarks in Western society. But if the Yellow Peril theory is placed in the speech space within East Asia, it will be found that Japan is not really against eroticism, but uses it and reconstructs its own imperial erotic order.
order
The definition of Huang Peril theory is not very enumerated. For example, the "Encyclopedia of the Pian Fan Society" believes that "(Huang Perishi) is a remark that the yellow race will eventually bring disaster to the world. Its earliest advocate was the German emperor William II. After the signing of the Treaty on Xiaguan in 1895, he joined hands with Russian to oppose Japan's seizure of the Liaodong Peninsula and ordered the painter Herman Kunaks to draw the famous "Huang Perishi Picture",... The Yellow Perishi theory spread in Europe immediately."
Yellow Perishi Picture
From the above, it can be seen that in the interpretation of the encyclopedia, the Yellow Perishi theory is often defined as the foreign policy of the Western powers in order to suppress Japan's rise after the Three Kingdoms interfered in the return of Liao. However, such understanding overemphasizes the factors of international politics and ignores the long-standing background of racialist thought in Western society. Therefore, Fumizo Hashikawa (1922-1983) advocated: "(Yellow Peril Theory) is the feeling of fear, hatred, distrust and contempt of the yellow race by the white race,... it is the longest and most complex 'myth' of the race race ism in the complex psychology that has been formed by Western ethnology." The formation of the Yellow Peril theory is the result of "seeing the opposition between Europe and Asia as an opposition between the Yellow and White races" in history, and is closely related to "the psychological picture of oppressing the West with the East and attacking the West with the East."
Hashikawa Fumi-san "The Tale of the Yellow Peril"
Hashikawa believes that the historical memory of the confrontation between the East and West is of great significance to the formation of the Yellow Peril theory, but the relationship between the Yellow Peril theory and Western ethnology still needs more detailed argumentation. Regarding this, German German scholar Heinz Gollwitzer (1917-1999) has conducted in-depth research. He pointed out: "The Yellow Peril theory is a special product of modern imperialism" and is a political slogan that was born and developed from the 1870s to the World War I . During this period, the imperialist ideology ideology , composed of new knowledge such as economics, geopolitics, ethnology, demographic theory and statistics, had a catalytic effect on the formation and development of Huang Peru theory.
Golvezel's "Yellow Peril"
Although Golvezel criticized the Yellow Peril theory and concluded it as a "political slogan of imperialism", British historian Victor Kiernan (1914-2009) held a "sympathetic understanding" about the Yellow Peril theory. He believes: "For Europeans, the Yellow Perish theory means a huge threat. Whenever Europeans think of the huge population that already lives in China, coupled with the immigrants that are about to flock to the world, Europeans can't help but feel fear. In the eyes of Europeans, the flood of Asian population will bring disaster to the world. Europeans can only fight against Asians with their technological advantages." Therefore, "The Yellow Perish theory is not so much an economic or military threat, but rather a psychological fear brought to Europeans by the huge population base of aliens."
Kinan's insight is based on the historical development experience of Europeans, trying to find reasonable factors for the formation of the Yellow Peril theory. However, the problem here is that the uniqueness of Europeans' own historical experience cannot defend the racialism, aggressionism and imperialism that the Yellow Peril theory possesses. In fact, the more Keenan emphasizes the particularity of Europe, the more likely he is to fall into the rut of "Eurocentrism". In contrast, Edward Said (1935-2003) attributed the emergence of the Yellow Peril theory to Orientalism in the history of Western thought. As we all know, Said criticized Orientalists for epistemologically distinguishing the East from the West and forcibly stipulated that the East belongs to the West.Under the cultural hegemony of the West, the East is often described as stagnant, unreasonable, authoritarian; in sharp contrast with the progressive, reasonable, democratic West. Said believes that:
In the final analysis, the East either poses a threat to the West (yellow peril, Mongolian vagrants, brown danger) or is controlled by the West (appeasement, research and development, directly occupied when possible).
Here Said emphasized that in the thinking mode of Orientalism , Westerners a priori stipulated the East as "lower" and "terrifying", so on this basis there will be a vivid historical image of Huang Peril. Said's discourse has been resonated with Chinese scholars. For example, Luo Fuhui pointed out that "The Yellow Peril Theory" was one of the core discourses of inciting, slander and slander against China and Japan that appeared in major Western countries in the late 19th century." Zhou Ning also believes that "extreme racist ideas ultimately deduce the imagination of the 'barbaric Chinese' to the concept of the 'Yellow Peril'. The 'Yellow Peril' panic has many reasons, including political, economic, military, historical, cultural, and psychological. The most important of them is racist ideas." "The Yellow Peril panic is often an imagination of self-abuse in Western culture."
Zhou's research pointed out that the Western Yellow Peril theory was born in the soil of imperialism and racialism, and is one of the ideologies that justify the Western invasion of China. However, another scholar, Yang Ruisong, pointed out that the formation and development of the Yellow Peril theory was not a unilateral "contribution" of Westerners, but also included the Chinese's own misunderstanding of the Yellow Peril theory. After investigating the literature from the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, Yang believed that although Westerners maliciously used Huang Peru to insult the Chinese, the Chinese calmly accepted this title and even developed it into a "Yellow Peru hero statue." Just as the revolutionary slogan of the revolutionary Zou Rong (1885-1905) in the late Qing Dynasty, "There are signs of yellow peril, and there are racial forces" ("Revolutionary Army", 1905), the Chinese themselves took the initiative to choose the title of yellow peril.
is different from the above-mentioned Chinese scholars who are obsessed with the merits and demerits of imperialism and ethnism. Japanese scholar Akira Iikura's research focuses on the contradictions presented by imperialism and ethnism in the Yellow Peril Theory. That is, "If the Japanese and Chinese who are regarded as yellow perils are really inferior races and do not receive the blessing of modern civilization, they should not have any threatening ability. ... However, the Japanese who are defined as inferior in the racial hierarchy can develop into one of the imperialist powers, which itself shows the contradiction of racialism. In this way, Japan's appearance in modern world history can be said to be a major event to break through the racial hierarchy." Therefore, in the study of the Yellow Peril theory, Iikura believes that Japan is an "exceptionalist" country that cannot be explained by Western ethnology.
Iikura chapter "The Yellow Peril and the Japanese"
Iikura's research distinguishes China, which is also regarded as a yellow peril, from Japan, and emphasizes the particularity of Japan in the theoretical framework of ethnism, which is quite inspiring from this point of view. However, Iikura's conclusion, that "Japanese exceptionalism eventually evolved into Greater Asianism, leading to the Japanese who believed that they were guiding the nation and liberated Asia, resulting in a tragic result." The author does not agree with it. Because, when examining the Yellow Peril theory, if you use illustrations of the opposition between the Yellow and White races, Japan has indeed embarked on the path of aggression and expansion; however, from the perspective of the reconstruction of the internal order in East Asia, Japan's discrimination against the surrounding countries with the same yellow races was ignored by Japanese exceptionalism.
is different from Iikura's theoretical criticism of the Huang Peru theory. Hirobe Izumi's latest research focuses on the influence of the Huang Peru theory on modern Japanese diplomacy and international relations. However, he interpreted the Yellow Peril theory as "the Japanese united China, which has completed modernization, and led the Yellow race to invade European and American countries." Not only does it lack the internal logic of the formation of "Japanese ethnology", but it also cannot highlight the Japanese imperialist ambition for the reconstruction of the East Asian order.It is precisely this lack of perspective that makes people think that it was only after the intervention of the Three Kingdoms, and under the high pressure of the Yellow Peril theory that Japan had to move towards aggressive Asiaticism. However, before the Three Kingdoms interfered, Japan's race theory already implied its aggressive character against neighboring countries. Therefore, the analysis of the relationship between the Japanese and the Yellow Peril theory cannot be separated from the context of the Ethnology since Meiji.
-"Yellow Peril Theory" and Meiji Japan's "anti-ethnicism" test again
As mentioned above, the Yellow Peril Theory is an ideology based on ethnology and is a political slogan proposed by Western powers led by Germany in order to seize colonies in the Far East. Based on this understanding, Japan's leading research generally focuses on how Japan resists external pressure and maintains its national independence in the process of nation-state formation. For example, Fumizo Hashikawa analyzed intellectuals such as Mori Ouwai , Taguchi Utsuyoshi, and Takayama, believing that they "calmly criticize Western erotic philosophy", "has a tendency to become enlightened by capitalism", and their words are "original thoughts", "rather than narrow sense of national superiority", etc. In addition, Yamamuro Nobuichi Takes Taguchi Yukichi as an example, and believes that when he opposed the Yellow Peril theory, "No matter how strange the theory of the origin of the Japanese race is, the Japanese used to correspond to the 'Asian race' with the 'yellow race' and accepted it without any doubt, Taguchi Yukichi made a critical response." Yamamuro also believes that Mori Ouwa was the most representative "anti-ethnic" intellectual person during the Meiji period. Mori's "Overview of Ethnic Philosophy" and "Overview of Yellow Peril" thoroughly criticized ethnism with irony and indignant attitudes.
Gaoshan Leniu
However, the above research results are only one aspect of historical facts. Under the high pressure of the Yellow Peril Theory, we also see the Yomiuri Shimbun editor-in-chief Takada Saena (1860-1938) discussing the urgency of Japan's move towards imperialism. Takada believes that although the civilized theory of imperialism is deceptive, imperialism is not a question of good or evil. Nowadays, most countries are trying their best toward imperialism, so Japan should also follow this realist path. In addition, the Dongpan Association, centered on Konomiya Hoshi (1863-1904), called for the "Great Alliance of Ethnicity" and actively promoted Great Asianism, but its philosophy finally became an ideology of invading and enslaving Asian countries.
From this we can see that Japan's attitude towards the Yellow Peril theory after the intervention of the Three Kingdoms is actually complicated and cannot be summarized by the method of "ethnicism" and "anti-ethnicism". In fact, with the development of Hokkaido at home, the annexation of Ryukyu and the operation of Taiwan colonies; and internationally, the victory of the Qing and Russian wars and the establishment of the British-Japanese alliance , Japan has begun to transition from a "nation state" to "imperialism" since the Meiji Restoration. In this process, the imported concept of "ethnicism" has both internal and external significance in Meiji Japan.
On the one hand, in response to the requirements of the construction of a "nation state", anthropologists in Japan began to forcibly define the various races led by " Ainu ". Various hypotheses of "Japanese Ethnic Origin" were formed during this period. As Ichiro Toyama pointed out, "The Japanese ethnology, centered on Tokyo Imperial University anthropology during this period, was responsible for the historical task of recreating the "Japanese" like education, medical care, health, public security and other disciplines. In this violent empire 'knowledge' system, on the one hand, the inferiority of Westerners was transformed into the superiority of ethnic minorities such as the Ainu people from their own country, and on the other hand, they also began to work hard to improve the inferiority of the entire Japanese race." Only in this context can we understand the "Japanese Ethnology Improvement" (1884) written by Takahashi Yoshio (1861-1937) and prefaced by Fukuzawa Yukiyo (1835-1901).
On the other hand, on the international stage of the strong prey on the weak and survival of the fittest, the strength of national strength is often interpreted as the strengths and weaknesses of races. For example, the "white superiority theory" that justifies imperialism's domination of the world insists that whites must replace those ignorant inferior races, who have only the fate of being ruled, even if they use violence. In fact, in the competition between the Liaodong Peninsula and the Japanese, the Huang Peril theory proposed by the Germans is based on the above-mentioned "white superiority theory". The "White Superiority Theory" and the Yellow Peril theory, as the self-interest understanding of Westerners, are the embodiment of their ethnology's internal and external integration.
Similarly, in terms of the relationship between Meiji Japan and the Yellow Peril Theory, if it does not sort out its own historical context of ethnology, it cannot depict its true picture of its fight against the Yellow Peril Theory. "Anti-ethnicism" cannot be understood as a prerequisite for Japan to oppose the Yellow Peril theory, but should be critically examined from the historical context of Japanese ethnology. The use of the concept of race is not only related to Japan's external understanding, but also closely linked to the Japanese's self-knowledge. In the theory of the advantages and disadvantages of , white race is superior, and yellow race is barbaric, which simply directly corresponds to the degree of civilization and civilization, the Japanese show a sense of inferiority to the white race on the one hand, and on the other hand, they also show a sense of superiority to other yellow races. As for the situation in Asia before , it is more practical to say that it is not so confrontation with the white race, but rather confrontation with China on the Korean Peninsula has become a more practical topic. Therefore, the sense of crisis and fear of China often turn into contempt and discrimination. The Great Asianism, which was originally a fight against the Yellow Peril theory, eventually became an ideology that invaded Asia, must be confirmed in such a context. Below, this article focuses on how Japanese intellectuals use ethnology to reconstruct their imperial order within East Asia in the remarks of Huang Peru.
2 The criticism of the Yellow Peril theory of Japanese intellectuals
1. Mori Ouwa: Hygiene and Ethnology
1903, on the eve of the upcoming trip to the Northeastern War Zone in China, Mori Ouwa, as the Minister of the Second Army of the Imperial Army, delivered two consecutive speeches on European ethnism, namely "The Philosophy of Ethnology" and "The Philosophy of the Yellow Peril theory". On the one hand, this shows Sen's strong interest in the issue of race and yellow peril, and on the other hand, as he himself said, race discrimination has become "the most important issue of this era." Although Sen's speech was at the outbreak of on the 3rd of the Russo-Russian War, he began his speech and stated that "the Yellow Peril theory has been studied for a long time" and "has been collecting various materials since ten years ago." Therefore, we must also review the various historical situations during this decade. Among them, the most eye-catching thing is the experience of becoming a Japanese soldier who became a great power for the first time in the suppression of Boxer Movement . Generally speaking, Japan became an ally of the West and should have a sense of trust in Westerners, but Sen called for vigilance against Westerners. In a speech on the Boxer Rebellion, he emphasized that since the Meiji Restoration, Japanese soldiers have made indirect contact with the West mainly through books, foreign instructors, international students and travelers. However, on the battlefield in Beijing, from officers to soldiers, you can have direct contact with Westerners. Now, facing the morally corrupt Western soldiers, it is the best time for the Japanese to break the infinite admiration of Westerners.
1903 "Overview of Ethnology Philosophy" is first published, now in the Theology Museum of Tongzhishe University
As we all know, in Eight-Nation Alliance , especially German and Russian troops, committed large-scale atrocities such as robbery, arson, and rape on the battlefield in Beijing. However, since the Japanese were the first to join forces with Western powers, the Japanese government regarded it as a major event "the leader since the founding of the country", emphasized that "barbaric behavior damages the majesty of the empire", ordered Japanese soldiers to "strive to show the armies of various countries", "set an example, strictly abide by military orders and rules", etc. As a result, as the Japanese soldiers witnessed the various atrocities of Western soldiers on the battlefield in Beijing, the image of the former idealized Westerners collapsed immediately.Japanese newspapers also reported on large-scale reports on atrocities on the battlefield, especially the image of Russians cruelly killing and plundering was widely publicized. As a result, the image of "terrifying Russian" was immediately rooted in the hearts of the Japanese. For example, in , who was bedridden at that time, Jiang Zhaomin (1847-1901), recorded: "The news newspaper often publishes articles that fear Russia", "especially the government is overly afraid of Russians." "Although the material academics of Westerners are admirable, the righteousness of Westerners is not worthy of fear, but they are far inferior to our country." In Zhongjiang's view, the morality of Westerners is actually not as noble as they advertise themselves. The so-called civilization is just a material art.
Senouwai
In "The Summary of the Yellow Peril",Senouwai also has a critical attitude towards the morality of Westerners.
Recently, the new phrase "Yellow Peril" has appeared. Little did they know that in Northern Aihui, the Russians drove away five thousand Qing people, slaughtered the Heilongjiang River, and eroded the south of Lushun and Dalian, forcibly concession Liaoyang , which was a horrifying thing.
"Humanity" and "international law" were originally Western theories, but Sen used this to criticize the Russians' atrocities against the Chinese and break the moral superiority of whites. In addition, Mori believes that the Yellow Peril theory is just propaganda of the Russo-Japanese War. "War is not good for me, and the white man's theory of yellow peril will be in its infancy. If our army plays a sing of triumph, the white man will use it to suppress the fruits of our victory." "If we win, we will become yellow peril; if we fail, we will become barbarians." Sen can be said to have broken the double standards of the Yellow Peril theory in one sentence. Therefore, he criticized the Meiji government for its long-term follow-up to European and American foreign policies. He pointed out that although we Japanese fight side by side with white people, the average white race has always been wary of us, and the struggle with white people is actually inevitable. Because for Westerners, Japan is their "enemy in front of the face". It is precisely because of his deep understanding of this that Mori pointed out that "even if he is reluctant, we Japanese must stand opposite to white people."
1904's "The Summary of the Yellow Perish" is first published, now in , Tongshishe University, , Immediately Idekawa Library,
Unlike the "The Summary of the Yellow Perish" centered on foreign policy, Sen's other speech entitled "The Summary of the Ethnic Philosophy" aimed at the French historian Gobineau (1816-1882), the earliest advocate of the "Aryan racial superiority theory" in Western society. His "Theory of Ethnic Inequality" (1855) is a culmination of European anthropology, Orientalism, , sociology, and linguistics since the 18th century. Since this book first systematic and theorized the complex racial thoughts of Europe throughout, Gobino is regarded as the "father of modern racialism." Its core view is that races are divided into white races, yellow races and black races according to their advantages and disadvantages, and each race has irreversible physiological and psychological characteristics. Among the white races, the highest and most kind are Aryans, and they are the only civilized races, which originate from their special bloodline. Other races can only be civilized by mixed races with the Aryan race.
In response to Gobino's "ethnic inequality theory", Sen refuted it from three levels in his speech. First of all, Sen believes that Gobino's philosophy of racial proposition is a kind of self-boast, but is "sensational for a moment." "Just as people initially thought that the earth-centered celestialism was correct, and then they believed that the human-centered Genesis was correct, now the Aryan race-centered ethnology will sooner or later be self-defeating." Secondly, Mori took the Japanese Meiji Restoration as an example to point out the absurdity of the Gobino race philosophy. He sarcastically said: "If Count Gobino now sees the achievements of our country since the Meiji Restoration, he will also say that the Japanese have the Aryan bloodline." In the end, Sen's criticism did not only stay among the Westerners, but also criticized the Japanese themselves without any doubt in accepting Western ethnology. For example, Mori severely criticized Taguchi Utsuyoshi, who advocated the "Japanese Aryan origin theory", "As a scholar, you should not be so shallow and rash."
First research often relies on the above two speeches "Overview of Ethnology Philosophy" and "Overview of Yellow Perish" to believe that Mori was the most representative Japanese intellectual in the Meiji era "anti-ethnology". However, as a military doctor, Mori's view of race is not examined. In fact, in Mori's guiding work "New Health Chapter", written to the army's military doctor, Mori attached special importance to the issue of race. This stems from his rise to the name of new science in Germany since the second half of the 19th century. He first emphasized in the "ethnic hygiene" in the "General Discussion" of "The New Health Chapter" that "the purpose of ethnic hygiene is to prevent the degeneration of race", and then wrote a paper "Race", which specifically discussed "prevent the degeneration of race". Sen believes that there are two methods, one is "the existence of quantity" and the other is "the existence of mass". The so-called "the existence of quantity" means that "the entire human race does not require the proliferation of the whole human race, but that the superior race (white race, yellow race) should be proliferated. And reduce the reproduction of the weak. "
Here we can find that Sen is based on the social evolution theory idea of "survival of the fittest and survival of the fittest", and advocates only giving the strong a chance to survive. Originally, social evolution theory was an ideology of imperialist colonial expansion, and the yellow race is also the object of enslavement, but Sen quietly divided the white race and the yellow race into "higher races", resolving this contradiction.
is the second "the survival of mass", and its function is to "prevent the degeneration of the genetic gene . "Sen listed some scientific and effective examples, such as "both men and women should quit drinking during childbirth", "men over 55 years old, women over 40 years old should reduce childbirth", etc. But it is worth noting here that prohibiting interracial marriage is also used by Sen as a means to prevent ethnic degeneration. He believes that "in Africa, white races are actively implementing this policy. For example, the Germans prohibit marriage with indigenous people in Africa, and the purpose is to avoid mixed races."
From this, it can be seen that although in the speech "Overview of Ethnic Philosophy", Gobino's theory of mixed race degeneration was severely criticized. However, in the "New Health Chapter", we found that Mori himself is actually a racial inequalityist. "Although the mixed race of white race and black race is better than the wise blacks, its reproductive power is far inferior to that of white races. The same is true for mixed races of white and copper. "Sen obviously divided the black race into inferior races. Not only that, he also gave scientific evidence:
white race and yellow race gradually gained power. The black race is increasingly suffering. The difference between the advantages and disadvantages of races lies in the number of geniuses, the distance from mud monkeys, and the singular and plural serum combinations.
is the standard of Western physiology , such as "far from mud monkeys" and "singular and plural serum combinations", which constitute the basis of the advantages and disadvantages of the race outside the Mori Ou. From here we can also see that Mori Ou criticizes the limitations of racialism. That is, on the one hand, Mori opposes Westerners' discrimination against yellow races, but does not have any doubts about physiology and hygiene that constitute the basis of Western ethnology. Not only that, he also borrows the same ethnological principles, The black race shows naked discrimination. In fact, Mori Ouwa is not really opposed to ethnology. His two speeches are only special products during the Russo-Japanese War. Mori Ouwa's real ethnologist thought is hidden in the scientific principles reflected in his hygiene.
Mori Ouwa's "Prevention of Degeneration" section of the manuscript of "Ethnology" paper, hidden in the Ouwa Memorial Hall (Tokyo District). "New Chapter of Health", "The Complete Works of Ouwa" Volume 32
2. Taguchi Ushiki: " Theory of Asia 4" virtual and real
In the history of the research on the Yellow Peril Theory, the "Japanese Aryan Origin theory" proposed by Taguchi Ushiki at the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War often attracts special attention.People generally attribute the "Japanese Aryan origin theory" to the "Asian theory" spirit reflected in Taguchi's early civilized historical theory series of works "Asian theory" (1882) and "Asian theory of Chinese culture" (1888), and believe that the "Asian theory of Japanese race" is the "Asian theory" in the ethnographic sense. However, some people believe that Taguchi's ethnology and early civilization history theory are not clearly related to the mainland's mixed theory. In Taguchi's discourse on the mixed habitation of the mainland, he advocated the "Japanese multi-ethnic mixed theory", advocated civilization and culturalization and colonization and industry, and called on Japan to adopt a more open immigration policy.
Taguchi Utsuyoshi
However, the above is just Taguchi's specific view on the government's racial policy. In fact, his concern for the origin of the Japanese racial origin was influenced by the "Japanese and Xian-Single-Single-Education Theory" at that time for the purpose of invading North Korea. In Meiji Japan, the "Japan-Single-Entrance Theory" is not a simple historical research work, but an aggression ideology closely linked to the expansion policy of the Great Japanese Empire. As his representative figure, Professor Hoshino (1839-1917), a subject of the National History Department of Imperial University of Tokyo, summarized, "The purpose of the theory of "Jixian's "Ancestral Discussion is the expansion and contraction of my territory." In other words, through the historical invention of the Japanese and Koreans being "the same kind of ancestor" that the Japanese Empire was originally aggression and expansion of North Korea, it could be beautified into "the unification of the motherland." This historical logic deeply attracted Taguchi.
Although Taguchi does not fully agree with the "Japanese and fresh ancestry theory", he put forward his own views on the origin of the Japanese race. In "Residence System and Mixed Residence in the Mainland", Taguchi said, "I have studied history and found that our Japanese race should have originated from the Turkish and Hun races. There is a lot of evidence." In fact, during this period, Taguchi advocated the "theory of the origin of the Japanese race of Huns." He further talked about the reason: "People often take Persians, Greeks, Indians and British as examples, and believe that the Asian race is far inferior to the Aryan race. However, people do not know that Turkey invaded Europe in history, and the Huns defeated Austrian . They once confronted European countries alone. Today's Europe is far less than the power of Turkey and the Huns back then." Due to this historical discovery, Taguchi immediately concluded that the Japanese who belonged to the same race as Turkey and the Huns "are not inferior to the Aryan race in all aspects of skills, academics, industry, agriculture, etc.." The "The Origin of the Japanese Race of the Huns" proposed by Taguchi is indeed because of their historical achievements in conquering Europe. From this point of view, we can find historical resources for the theory of superiority of the Japanese race; but on the other hand, it is by no means limited to this. In fact, when Taguchi proposed the "theory of the origin of the Japanese in the Huns" it was when Japan completely subdued the Korean Peninsula and crossed the Yalu River to attack China during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Various post-war arrangements such as indemnity and cede land have been widely discussed in Japan. On the one hand, the "Conditions for Peace" written by Taguchi advocates that in order to suppress the Qing Dynasty's revenge ability against Japan, war compensation should be requested to the greatest extent; on the other hand, in terms of ceding land, unlike the Taiwan and Liaodong Peninsula that most people demanded, Taguchi advocated cede the , the three northeastern provinces, which were mainly Jilin, Shengjing and Zhili. It is not difficult to find that the "theory of the origin of the Japanese Huns" proposed by Taguchi is closely related to its requirement of ceding land. After the conclusion of the Treaty of Shimonoseki , Taguchi immediately drafted the article "Theory of Japanese Ethnology". Among them, he believed that the Hun race "although it was derogatory by the Chinese historians, it was actually a brave race." "One of them went far away to Europe and took advantage of the decline of Rome and siege the city and territory. Now, the Wuwei of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is actually the reason why its ancestors originated from the Hun race." Taguchi emphasized, "According to language customs, our Japanese race and the Hun race are actually the same race. Hungary and Turkey are compatriots of our race. Our race should work hand in hand with Hungary and Türkiye to stand in the world." Taking advantage of the opportunity to defeat China, Taguchi's ethnology embodies the ideal image of the Great Japanese Empire that is heading to the world stage.
However, what surprised Taguchi was that shortly after the conclusion of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Germany, France and Russia took coercive measures to intervene in the Far East, which forced Japan to spit out the fruits of victory that had already been achieved. The German Emperor put forward the political slogan of "Yellow Peril Theory" and called for "Confronting Japan! Defending Europe's interests! Great European union!"
As mentioned earlier, although the Yellow Peril Theory has complex reasons, it ultimately originated from the historical memory of foreign invasion of Europe. In particular, the European invasion of the Huns, known as the "Whip of God" and the Mongols, , and , had a decisive influence on Europeans' understanding of the Yellow Peril theory. Under this situation, Taguchi's slogan "If other races harm our Hun race, I should fight to the end with the heroic posture of the Hun race" undoubtedly seemed extremely out of place in the historical environment at that time. Aware of the pressure of the Yellow Peril theory, Taguchi had to reconsider the origin of the Japanese race.
1904, with the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, the Yellow Peril theory once again became a hot topic in Western media. In order to eliminate the diplomatic pressure brought to Japan by the Yellow Peril theory, Taguchi published the book "The Yellow Peril theory: The Truth of a Japanese Race". The book believes that "rather than saying that the Japanese are yellow perils, it is better to say that the Russians who were conquered by the Huns, Tatars and Mongol racial in history are the real yellow perils. They have barbaric Mongol racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial racial From a linguistic perspective, he argued that the Japanese race did not originate from the Huns, but was a branch of the Aryan race. Taguchi believes that "in terms of grammatical terms, Latin , Greek , Sanskrit are far from the languages of European countries, but are similar to my Japanese." "Western linguists call themselves Aryan race, but derogate our race to Tulane , but in fact they put the cart before the horse and the error is extremely wrong." "Now the grammar of Sanskrit is still flawlessly preserved in my Japanese. We are actually closer to Aryan race than Europeans." "Despising the Japanese as Huang Peril is a nonsense that does not understand the truth." In fact, it is not difficult to find that Taguchi had to change the "theory of the origin of the Japanese Huns" when he realized the diplomatic pressure of the Yellow Peril theory. In this sense, Taguchi's "Japanese Aryan origin theory" has a bit of diplomatic color.
1904 "Theory of Breaking the Yellow Peril" is now in the Humanities Research Library of Tongzhishu University
However, Taguchi's strange remarks were immediately widely criticized in Japan. For example, the linguist Shinmura Izumi (1876-1967) believed that Taguchi's "linguistic arguments are scientifically valuable and lack consideration in academic and morality" and "the fallacy is fundamental fallacy, not fallacy at once and forth." Former Prime Minister Okuma Shigenobu (1838-1922) also rebuked: "Is the blood of the Aryan race so valuable? I deeply doubt it. No matter what, my Japanese race is definitely not an Aryan race." Mori Ouwai also believes that Taguchi's remarks are shallow and ignorant and not worth mentioning.
The accusations against Taguchi by all sectors of society include criticism of his knowledge and the protection of Japanese national self-esteem. For the above reasons, Taguchi had to make an appropriate response. In February 1905, Taguchi held a speech entitled "Research on Japanese Ethnology" at the Historical Research Association. Taguchi admitted frankly that "the study of the origin of Japanese race is not a matter of overnight." However, Taguchi believes that this is no longer a particularly important issue. Because, "Westerns always only thought Aryan was a superior race", but as Japan won the Russo-Japanese War, "they began to realize the power of the yellow race." With the victory of the Russo-Japanese War, Taguchi no longer adhered to the "original theory of the origin of the Japanese Aryan race", but believed that "with the great achievements of our empire, the ancestors of such a nation must be the prestigious race in history." In fact, Taguchi returned to the "theory of the origin of the Japanese Huns".He concluded that "they first brought them to North China from India, Persia, and Turkey, and became the Hun race in the early Han Dynasty, and some of them were able to cross the sea to Japan." Taguchi Utsuki, who was a representative figure of the "Asian theory", finally set the origin of the Japanese race on the Asian continent. It can be seen from this that Taguchi's ethnology is not so much a "de-Asian" approach, but rather a theoretical preparation for the subsequent invasion and expansion of Japanese imperialism towards mainland aggression and expansion.
To sum up, Taguchi Utsuyoshi's sway between the "Japanese Aryan Origin Theory" and the "Hun Origin Theory" actually reflects the contradiction between the Japanese self-knowledge under the diplomatic pressure of the Yellow Peril Theory. On the one hand, the Japanese need to seek the superiority of their own nation based on Western ethnology theory; on the other hand, the Japanese do not completely succumb to the pressure of Western ethnology and attempt to re-establish the Japanese Empire's own ethnology order. In this sense, Taguchi Utsuyoshi became a key figure in the Japanese's self-knowledge genealogy, from inferior to superior races.
3. Takayama: Going towards Asiaticism,
Generally speaking, since the Meiji Restoration, Asiaticism has always had an important influence among the Japanese people until it reached a low point after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894. However, after the intervention of the Three Kingdoms, under the stimulation of the Yellow Peril theory, Asiaticism of Greater China once again became one of the important social trends. During this period, as the editor-in-chief of Japan's most influential magazine "Sun", Takayama's speech on race issues attracted widespread attention. However, the high mountain's attention to the issue of race did not first arise from the seizure of the Liaodong Peninsula and the interference of the three countries it caused, but rather the relationship between Taiwan and Japan's nationalism, another new colony.
After the Meiji Restoration, Japan has been committed to building itself into a nation-state. In this historical process, the concept of national mottoology plays an extremely important role as an ideological tool to unify the people. The so-called national theory emphasizes the authority of the emperor in history as the "one line of all ages"; on the other hand, it emphasizes the "family and state theory" based on blood ties. It excludes the social construction theory of Western countries with contractual relations as the core, and emphasizes that the emperor and his subjects are a completely naturalized parent-child relationship. Under the influence of this concept, the Japanese regarded "country" as an extension of "home". In the patriarchal system with the Emperor as its peak, all Japanese subjects were united by blood relations. Therefore, the premise for constituting national motto can only be the "same race, same country" "the single composition theory of Japanese race".
National Theory has always been in an advantageous position before the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. However, with the victory of the war, the national theory encountered a huge crisis on how to deal with the more than three million alien races in the new colony Taiwan. The first thing that attacked the national theory was the Christians in Japan. For example, the pastor of the Christian Federation, Toshiki Watanabe (1867-1944), declared that "as our empire expands, in terms of how to deal with foreign-regional grass-roots people, the national stubbornly obsessed with the doctrine of the ruler and the people as the same ancestors, which is contrary to the pioneering and enterprising spirit of our empire." What Watanabe is worried that the national stylistic primitive primitives of the Japanese racial lineage will be detrimental to the overseas expansion of the Japanese empire. But it is worth noting here that Japanese Christians attacked the "single-race composition theory" of national motto, rather than targeting the emperor system. In fact, they are calling for accelerating the overseas expansion of the Japanese Empire and maintaining the Christian missionary cause.
However, Gaoshan Chuniu has a fierce critical attitude towards Christians. In the editorial article "The New Layout of Our Country" in Sun magazine, he continued to insist on "The My Country is flawless and unparalleled in the world" and criticized Christians for not understanding the "true meaning of the country." In Gao Shan's view, "the state is based on real power, and the strength of power stipulates the scope of power." However, "state" and "real power" are not contradictory, but the two influence each other and deepen each other. "The king and the people share the same ancestors, and the national system with loyalty and filial piety is the basis of the motherland's concept. As for the expansion of national power, the national system theory excludes external resistance and commands the conquered new territory, which is incomparable."In fact, contrary to Christians, Takayama believes that it is the strong patriotic spirit triggered by the national theory that unites the entire Japanese nation. Therefore, Japan can quickly move towards the path of expansion overseas. The national theory not only does not hinder Japan's expansion overseas, but is its powerful driving force.
The opposition between Tagayama and Christians is on the surface around the issue of overseas colonization, but actually implies the question of how to understand the national form of Japanese imperialism. Before Japan occupied Taiwan and annexed North Korea, there was always "Japanese" for Japan's national form. The theory of single racial composition and mixed composition of Japanese races. Although these two remarks are opposite to each other, they provide a very broad space for interpretation for Meiji politicians and intellectuals. As for the theory of single racial composition of Japanese races, it provides theoretical resources for Japan to quickly move from a shogunate system of separatist vassal vassal vassal vassal zodiac to a unified "nation state"; as for the theory of mixed composition of Japanese races, it provides theoretical resources for Japanese imperialism to move towards colonial expansion and assimilate foreigners in the colonies into Japanese subjects. The opposition between the two is that the Japanese Empire was not in the period of transformation. Avoidable historical phenomenon. However, the "Japanese racial single composition theory" was basically difficult to maintain after 1910 when the Japanese and Korean merger was merged. This is because, before that, although the "Japanese racial single composition theory" believed that the "Ainu people", Ryukyu people and Taiwanese vassals in Hokkaido were not enough to pose a threat to national theory due to the small number of people, after the Japanese and Korean merger, more than 10 million Koreans were incorporated into the empire, accounting for more than one-third of their total population. Such a huge alien population size makes it meaningless to continue to adhere to the "Japanese racial single composition theory".
In fact, Takayama also saw the theoretical dilemma between the national theory and the Japanese Empire during overseas colonization, and began to explore new solutions. Unlike the direct criticism of national theory by Christians, Takayama chose to use the research of Japanese mythology to find new theoretical basis for overseas colonization. In March 1899, Takayama published an article "Myth and History of the Ancient Times of the Kanodian Volume" in "The Central Committee", which detailed the origin of the Japanese race. He believed that "the most important issue in the ancient history of the Japanese nation is where the hometown of the Izumo and the Tensun nations is? "Takayama believes that the myths of "Kushiji" often have images related to oceans and islands, so it is concluded that the Japanese race should have come from the sea since ancient times. He further believes that "the hometown of the Izumo nation and the Tensun nation is in the South Pacific." There are four reasons: First, the tide of the Sea of Japan is from south to north. Therefore, Takayama believes that "the migration of the Japanese nation can only flow along the trend and enter Japan through Taiwan and Ryukyu Islands." Second, there are few natural phenomena in the north described in the volume of the God of God. Third, Takayama believes that the myth of "Kushiji" is very similar to the myth of the Polynesian Islands. Therefore, Takayama presumes that "the ethnic groups in the South Pacific and the Japanese nation should have many causes and conditions." Fourth, Takayama believes that the "Kushiji" is also obviously influenced by the Indian Vedic myth.
The myth of Gaoshan immediately caused a huge response in the whole society as soon as it was published. People argued The method and significance of mythological research, however, Takayama was not interested in it at all. He then published a paper entitled "The Japanese as colonial people". Based on previous mythological research, he began to advocate Japan's overseas colonial expansion. He said, "The Japanese should regard overseas colonization as their own duty" and "because our ancestors, as colonial nations, have left great achievements in history." "The backbone of the Japanese nation, the Tensun race and the Izumo race are colonial races that have come from across the ocean, and are originally ambitious and adventurous nations. Judging from the history of the Shenwu Eastern Expedition and the Three Koreans, the national spirit of the conquerors is visible." Therefore, Takayama attributes Japan's colonial expansion since the Meiji Restoration to "the characteristics of the nation". From this, it can be seen that Takayama's mythological research aims to discuss the legitimacy of Japanese overseas colonization.
Of course, it is also worth noting here that the "Japanese origin theory of the South China Sea" proposed by Takayama was after the "northern advance theory" of the Japanese Empire's goal of annexing the Korean Peninsula suffered a major setback. Although Japan defeated China during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. However, the intervention of the three countries made it difficult for Japan to implement the "northern theory" policy of expanding to the mainland. Under this situation, the "Southward Progress" route with the slogan "operating Taiwan" gradually surfaced. As Masayoshi Matsukata (1835-1924) of the Senate at that time said, "my country's current strategy is to defend the north and advance south, consolidate the foundation of southern operations, and aim at the country's century-long plan." From then on, the "theory of defending the north and advancing south" based on coordination with Russia gradually became the guiding principle of the Meiji government. Against this background, Takayama's "return to his hometown" to tell the "Japanese origin theory of the South China Sea" is a theory that has to be said to provide a theoretical basis for the Meiji government's "theory of the Southward advance".
Although Gaoshan actively cooperated with the Meiji government in the "South Advance Theory" centered on the "Ocean", Gaoshan has a completely different view in the situation in China centered on the "Continent". Just as "sleeping on firewood and tasting gall" became a popular saying of the times after the Sino-Japanese War, Japan and the whole country chose to actively prepare for revenge. On the one hand, Gao Shan actively advocated the "Southern Advance Theory" based on the research of mythology, and on the other hand, he began to study the "history of world civilization" using the "race struggle" method to counter the expansion of the West in East Asia.
Although it is called the "history of world civilization", just like mythological research, its purpose is still on the issue of race. As Gao Shan himself said, "Ethnic research is an urgent task for contemporary historical research." Although during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Meiji government tried hard to suppress the Greater Asianism remarks of China and Japan's "same language and same race" and interpreted the aggression against China as a confrontation between "civilization and barbarism", under the pressure of the Three Kingdoms interference and the Yellow Peril theory, diplomatic understanding with "race opposition" as the axis of "race-to-race" has emerged again. It was during this period that Gao Shan quickly moved closer to the Great Asianism of the "Great Alliance of Ethnicity". In the editorial "The Far East Issues as Race Competition", Gao Shan sighed:
Now looking back at the Japanese-Qing War, we can't help but sigh. Previously, we used the name of righteous war to deal with the Chinese Empire, but in fact, we were sad. Is China the last empire of the same race as our empire? The Turanian countries were killed and looted by the Aryans outside the Far East. Our Japan and the Chinese Empire are the last Turan country in the world. We should support each other, and share our destiny. China and us are our compatriots. Alas! If we put China half-dead, wouldn’t we cut off our backs? I think about this, the Qing war we boast about was actually a strange disaster in the Far East and a great misfortune of the Tulan race.
, which was originally regarded as a "charity war", has become a "strange disaster in the Far East" and "a great misfortune of the Tulan race" in the eyes of Gaoshan. The "Chinese people" who were originally despised by the Japanese have now become the "only compatriot". In fact, under the stimulation of the Yellow Peril theory, Gao Shan’s understanding of diplomacy has changed essentially. He was not obsessed with the concept of national system in his early years, but believed that "the major event in the world is not ideals, not humanity, but interests. Nowadays, competition for race is the greatest advantage." He criticized the Japanese-British alliance, "National! The alliance of alien races is difficult to maintain!" He envied the Panslavic movement led by the Russians. "The Great Slavic movement is eye-catching, covering huge land, customs and nations, and has a strong and prosperous racial feelings." He called on the Japanese to have such a consciousness that "When Japan, as one of the world's countries, was awakened, it represented the last hope of the Tulan race in the Asian-European conflict."
It was at this time that the "Asia theory" that "rejected the evil friends of Asia in the East" since Takayama and Fukuzawa Yukichi completely broke down, and headed towards the "Greater Asiaticism" that confronted the West.
Looking at the ethnology of Gaoshan, on the one hand, it was dissatisfied with the invasion of East Asia by the European powers, and called on Greater Asiaism to actively resist the white race; but on the other hand, for the expansion of the Japanese Empire itself, especially in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, Gaoshan actively used ethnology to provide theoretical resources for it.
Conclusion
According to Takezawa Yasuko, the English word Race contains at least three meanings: "lowercase race", "uppercase Race" and "RR (Race as Resistance)" (as a resistance race). The so-called "lowercase race" refers to a race that was distinguished between regions by only sensory differences before being influenced by modern European and American ethnographic taxonomy. The so-called "Race" refers to a race that uses modern scientifically developed classification methods to forcibly define all races in the world. The so-called "Race as Resistance" refers to a race that is forced to be generated in order to mobilize the population extensively. If according to Takezawa's understanding, the yellow race represented by the Yellow Peril theory can only be "Race as Resistance". Because of the offense and defense around the Yellow Peril Theory, both Japan and the West, the mobilization effect of the crowd is the most important.
As far as Japan's modern intellectual history research is concerned, confronting the Western/white people, "calling Asian freedom", and "liberation of people of color" have always been regarded as important topics and are valued. Especially at the Paris Peace Conference, Japan, as the country that proposed the "elimination of racial discrimination cases" at an international conference for the first time, its progressive significance has been repeatedly emphasized. From this research perspective, the Yellow Peril theory of opposing explicit discriminatory remarks has always been regarded as the prototype of the Japanese "anti-ethnicism".
However, as shown above, in Meiji Japan's speech space on the Yellow Peril theory, Japan not only has an opposition to ethnology, but also a side that uses the Yellow Peril theory to reconstruct its imperialist order. For example, while Mori Ou criticized the theory of Aryan superiority, he retained discrimination against the black race; the "Japanese-Red Ethnic Huns Origin" expanded on the basis of the "Japanese-Single-Ancestor Theory" was to invade the Northeast region of China, but under the pressure of the Yellow Peril theory, he had to change it to the "Japanese-Red Ethnic Aryan Origin"; In order to avoid the pressure of the Yellow Peril theory, Takayama, who was originally obsessed with the state theory, advocated the Japanese Empire's development of the South Ocean, and on the other hand, he had to confront the West with Asiaticism. The above examples show that the Meiji Japanese resistance to the Yellow Peril theory cannot be simply summarized as "anti-ethnicism". It not only shows the twists and turns in Japan's process of building a nation-state, but also reflects the instability of Japanese imperialism in the transition period.
[Note: The original title of this article is "The Yellow Peril Theory and Ethnology of Meiji Japan", which was first published in "Silin" No. 2, 2020; the author Li Kaihang is a lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages of Donghua University and a postdoctoral fellow in the History Department of Fudan University. The Paper was authorized to publish it, and the author rewritten the original text and the comments were omitted. ]
Editor in charge: Peng Shanshan
Proofreading: Ding Xiao
