Pub Date : 2020-12-11DOI: 10.1163/15700615-20211001
R. Huijsmans, Piti
Drawing on ethnographic research in northern Laos, this article analyses articulations of a good life in primary school textbook imagery and how this resonates with everyday life in rural upland communities. This is contrasted with children’s sketches of a good life found in the classrooms and ethnographic accounts of moments of ‘good time’ in the context of rural schooling. It is argued that these latter moments constitute brief instances of a good life in the present. Given the deeply hierarchical power relations in which rural education is embedded, not all of these good times stay good for very long. This is reflective of the condition of late socialism in rural areas.
{"title":"Rural Schooling and Good Life in Late Socialist Laos","authors":"R. Huijsmans, Piti","doi":"10.1163/15700615-20211001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700615-20211001","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Drawing on ethnographic research in northern Laos, this article analyses articulations of a good life in primary school textbook imagery and how this resonates with everyday life in rural upland communities. This is contrasted with children’s sketches of a good life found in the classrooms and ethnographic accounts of moments of ‘good time’ in the context of rural schooling. It is argued that these latter moments constitute brief instances of a good life in the present. Given the deeply hierarchical power relations in which rural education is embedded, not all of these good times stay good for very long. This is reflective of the condition of late socialism in rural areas.","PeriodicalId":35205,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of East Asian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49323108","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.1163/15700615-01902001
{"title":"List of Contributors","authors":"","doi":"10.1163/15700615-01902001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700615-01902001","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":35205,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of East Asian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45465931","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.1163/15700615-01902011
P. P. Masina
{"title":"Foreword","authors":"P. P. Masina","doi":"10.1163/15700615-01902011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700615-01902011","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":35205,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of East Asian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41533595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.1163/15700615-01902003
Jeremy E. Taylor, Zhiyi Yang
This paper provides a ‘state of the field’ view of what the authors refer to as the ‘new cultural history’ of Japanese-occupied China. It explores how this small but growing field is beginning to provide new perspectives on questions of ‘collaboration’ and ‘resistance’ that have dominated many recent studies of wartime China. In addition, the authors argue that more research needs to focus on elite forms of Chinese cultural expression under occupation (a topic which has hitherto eluded serious academic scrutiny). This introduction also introduces the four key papers which make up this special issue.
{"title":"Towards a New History of Elite Cultural Expression in Japanese-Occupied China","authors":"Jeremy E. Taylor, Zhiyi Yang","doi":"10.1163/15700615-01902003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700615-01902003","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This paper provides a ‘state of the field’ view of what the authors refer to as the ‘new cultural history’ of Japanese-occupied China. It explores how this small but growing field is beginning to provide new perspectives on questions of ‘collaboration’ and ‘resistance’ that have dominated many recent studies of wartime China. In addition, the authors argue that more research needs to focus on elite forms of Chinese cultural expression under occupation (a topic which has hitherto eluded serious academic scrutiny). This introduction also introduces the four key papers which make up this special issue.","PeriodicalId":35205,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of East Asian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/15700615-01902003","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43154388","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.1163/15700615-01902009
Yidan Yuan
In the wake of Japan’s occupation of Beiping (now Beijing) in 1937, the historian Chen Yuan’s choice between staying in or leaving the city (which would imply accommodation or resistance) was regarded not merely as a personal decision but also as a symbolic stance for the ethical principles of the Chinese intelligentsia. Based on a close reading of Chen’s historical writings during the Japanese occupation, this paper focuses on the inner world of this historian, and argues that a salient rhetorical feature of Chen’s wartime work was its role as a mechanism which he referred to as ‘illuminating the subtle’. This involved historical facts being cited and interpreted in a way that demonstrated the historian’s attitude and feelings towards contemporary events. It is proposed that the ‘illumination of the subtle’ is not accepted at face value as academic research, but rather that it is treated as a rhetorical device, in order to understand the inner logic and dynamism of this expressive mechanism.
{"title":"A Historian’s Ethical Duty","authors":"Yidan Yuan","doi":"10.1163/15700615-01902009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700615-01902009","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 In the wake of Japan’s occupation of Beiping (now Beijing) in 1937, the historian Chen Yuan’s choice between staying in or leaving the city (which would imply accommodation or resistance) was regarded not merely as a personal decision but also as a symbolic stance for the ethical principles of the Chinese intelligentsia. Based on a close reading of Chen’s historical writings during the Japanese occupation, this paper focuses on the inner world of this historian, and argues that a salient rhetorical feature of Chen’s wartime work was its role as a mechanism which he referred to as ‘illuminating the subtle’. This involved historical facts being cited and interpreted in a way that demonstrated the historian’s attitude and feelings towards contemporary events. It is proposed that the ‘illumination of the subtle’ is not accepted at face value as academic research, but rather that it is treated as a rhetorical device, in order to understand the inner logic and dynamism of this expressive mechanism.","PeriodicalId":35205,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of East Asian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42063722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.1163/15700615-01902006
Zhiyi Yang
This article examines the construction of lyric identities by Li Xuanti, a classical-style poet, cultural celebrity and prominent civil servant in collaborationist regimes based in Nanjing during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It argues that Li used his poetry to explore the confusion, ambivalence and sense of cultural pride while living with the occupiers. Despite his collaboration, a frequent identity that appears in Li’s poetry is that of a yimin (loyalist), who has retreated to the inner world of reclusion. With the progress of the war, however, another identity eventually emerged in Li’s poetry, namely that of a patriot. Historical allusions in Li’s poems thus acquire double-entendre, expressing his ambivalent loyalty. Li was also at the social centre of a group of like-minded collaborators and accommodators in Nanjing, bound by their common practice of classical-style poetry and arts. Their community thus becomes a special case of study for the sociology of survival under the Japanese occupation.
{"title":"Thatched Cottage in a Fallen City","authors":"Zhiyi Yang","doi":"10.1163/15700615-01902006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700615-01902006","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This article examines the construction of lyric identities by Li Xuanti, a classical-style poet, cultural celebrity and prominent civil servant in collaborationist regimes based in Nanjing during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It argues that Li used his poetry to explore the confusion, ambivalence and sense of cultural pride while living with the occupiers. Despite his collaboration, a frequent identity that appears in Li’s poetry is that of a yimin (loyalist), who has retreated to the inner world of reclusion. With the progress of the war, however, another identity eventually emerged in Li’s poetry, namely that of a patriot. Historical allusions in Li’s poems thus acquire double-entendre, expressing his ambivalent loyalty. Li was also at the social centre of a group of like-minded collaborators and accommodators in Nanjing, bound by their common practice of classical-style poetry and arts. Their community thus becomes a special case of study for the sociology of survival under the Japanese occupation.","PeriodicalId":35205,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of East Asian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42352810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.1163/15700615-01902008
Yi-hsuan Chiu
This paper investigates the poetry of Qu Xuanying, a literatus who remained in the city of Beiping (now Beijing) following its occupation by the Japanese in 1937. Through historical allusions in his poetry, Qu communicated with friends about the ethical dilemmas that he faced under occupation, and reflected upon the choices that literati in earlier eras had made when facing dynastic transitions and foreign conquest. Qu’s ‘esoteric writing’ during the occupation contained a complex set of historical allusions which referenced various points in the Chinese past. Since Qu served in the collaborationist north China regime, he has often been perceived as a ‘traitor’ or a ‘collaborator’. Through this in-depth analysis of his literary works, however, this paper seeks to reveal the special exegetical strategies adopted by literati such as Qu under occupation.
{"title":"Esoteric Writing through Historical Allusions","authors":"Yi-hsuan Chiu","doi":"10.1163/15700615-01902008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700615-01902008","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This paper investigates the poetry of Qu Xuanying, a literatus who remained in the city of Beiping (now Beijing) following its occupation by the Japanese in 1937. Through historical allusions in his poetry, Qu communicated with friends about the ethical dilemmas that he faced under occupation, and reflected upon the choices that literati in earlier eras had made when facing dynastic transitions and foreign conquest. Qu’s ‘esoteric writing’ during the occupation contained a complex set of historical allusions which referenced various points in the Chinese past. Since Qu served in the collaborationist north China regime, he has often been perceived as a ‘traitor’ or a ‘collaborator’. Through this in-depth analysis of his literary works, however, this paper seeks to reveal the special exegetical strategies adopted by literati such as Qu under occupation.","PeriodicalId":35205,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of East Asian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48675751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.1163/15700615-01902004
Sovinda Po, Christopher B. Primiano
Since its creation in 2013, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has received ample attention in the media and from government officials and scholars. Many different, and often polarising, views exist on BRI. While some view it as China’s grand strategic goal of remaking the world in its own image, others perceive it as consistent with the international system. Using interviews conducted in Cambodia and an examination of press sources, this article draws from the selectorate theory to examine both why the Cambodian government is siding with China regarding economic ties, specifically regarding BRI, and the impact that is having on popular perception in Cambodia. The small coalition in Cambodia that Hun Sen seeks to placate results in a negative view among a significant segment of the Cambodian populace regarding Cambodia’s relations with China, and Chinese investments in particular.
{"title":"It’s All about the Coalition","authors":"Sovinda Po, Christopher B. Primiano","doi":"10.1163/15700615-01902004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700615-01902004","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Since its creation in 2013, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has received ample attention in the media and from government officials and scholars. Many different, and often polarising, views exist on BRI. While some view it as China’s grand strategic goal of remaking the world in its own image, others perceive it as consistent with the international system. Using interviews conducted in Cambodia and an examination of press sources, this article draws from the selectorate theory to examine both why the Cambodian government is siding with China regarding economic ties, specifically regarding BRI, and the impact that is having on popular perception in Cambodia. The small coalition in Cambodia that Hun Sen seeks to placate results in a negative view among a significant segment of the Cambodian populace regarding Cambodia’s relations with China, and Chinese investments in particular.","PeriodicalId":35205,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of East Asian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/15700615-01902004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49369184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.1163/15700615-01902010
P. Chan
This article looks at artists’ engagement with artistic activities carried out in wartime Shanghai, with a particular focus on guohua (lit., ‘national painting’). Drawing on primary sources such as archival materials, diaries, paintings, magazines and newspapers, it explores the layered meanings attached to and social functions of guohua and the institutional structure of the Shanghai art world from the gudao (solitary island) period to the advent of full occupation from December 1941 onwards. As a symbol of Chinese elite culture, guohua continued to dominate the Shanghai art world with support from Wang Jingwei’s regime and the occupying Japanese, and was deemed the root of East Asian art and one of the crucial pillars of the East Asian renaissance in the discourse of the new order of East Asian art. Through closely examining the discourse of guohua in occupied Shanghai, this article advances our understanding of the production and consumption of art in wartime Shanghai by going beyond the paradigmatic binary of ‘collaboration’ and ‘resistance’.
{"title":"The Discourse of Guohua in Wartime Shanghai","authors":"P. Chan","doi":"10.1163/15700615-01902010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700615-01902010","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This article looks at artists’ engagement with artistic activities carried out in wartime Shanghai, with a particular focus on guohua (lit., ‘national painting’). Drawing on primary sources such as archival materials, diaries, paintings, magazines and newspapers, it explores the layered meanings attached to and social functions of guohua and the institutional structure of the Shanghai art world from the gudao (solitary island) period to the advent of full occupation from December 1941 onwards. As a symbol of Chinese elite culture, guohua continued to dominate the Shanghai art world with support from Wang Jingwei’s regime and the occupying Japanese, and was deemed the root of East Asian art and one of the crucial pillars of the East Asian renaissance in the discourse of the new order of East Asian art. Through closely examining the discourse of guohua in occupied Shanghai, this article advances our understanding of the production and consumption of art in wartime Shanghai by going beyond the paradigmatic binary of ‘collaboration’ and ‘resistance’.","PeriodicalId":35205,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of East Asian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41918014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-08-12DOI: 10.1163/15700615-01901010
L. Momesso, Niki J. P. Alsford
This special issue concerns agency and negotiation in the context of the hierarchical relations between the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a global superpower, and Taiwan, a subordinated actor often relegated to a marginal position in contemporary global geopolitics. By exploring how Taiwan opposes, interrupts and re-creates its subordinate position vis-a-vis China, the authors of this special issue will shed light on the complexities of the ongoing Taiwan experience, shaped by different, often opposing, interests, positions and perspectives regarding its relationship with China. Yet, by exploring the experience of Taiwan with reference to its Chinese legacies, this special issue will also allow important reflections on China, not only in its hegemonic role regionally and globally, but also in its weaknesses when it deals with subordinated actors. This is a timely and important piece, which will allow alternative interpretations of contemporary events not only in Taiwan, for instance the recent national elections and related political developments, but also in the region, such as the protests which have been occurring in Hong Kong during the last four months.
{"title":"Negotiating Legacies","authors":"L. Momesso, Niki J. P. Alsford","doi":"10.1163/15700615-01901010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700615-01901010","url":null,"abstract":"This special issue concerns agency and negotiation in the context of the hierarchical relations between the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a global superpower, and Taiwan, a subordinated actor often relegated to a marginal position in contemporary global geopolitics. By exploring how Taiwan opposes, interrupts and re-creates its subordinate position vis-a-vis China, the authors of this special issue will shed light on the complexities of the ongoing Taiwan experience, shaped by different, often opposing, interests, positions and perspectives regarding its relationship with China. Yet, by exploring the experience of Taiwan with reference to its Chinese legacies, this special issue will also allow important reflections on China, not only in its hegemonic role regionally and globally, but also in its weaknesses when it deals with subordinated actors. This is a timely and important piece, which will allow alternative interpretations of contemporary events not only in Taiwan, for instance the recent national elections and related political developments, but also in the region, such as the protests which have been occurring in Hong Kong during the last four months.","PeriodicalId":35205,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of East Asian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/15700615-01901010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64588405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}