(Essential questions) Blockbuster|Ma Rong: Rereading the debate on "the Chinese nation is one" during the War of Resistance Against Japan, what contemporary enlightenment does it have?
China News Service, Beijing, August 16th, title: Ma Rong: Rereading the debate on "the Chinese nation is one" during the War of Resistance Against Japan, what contemporary enlightenment does it have?
China News Agency reporter Li Hanxue
The picture shows Ma Rong.
Photo courtesy of me
In 1939, the historian Gu Jiegang put forward the view that "the Chinese nation is one" in the context of the War of Resistance Against Japan.
At that time, this view led to discussions among scholars of different academic backgrounds, including Fei Xiaotong, saying that he did not seem to pay enough attention to the diversity of various ethnic groups in China.
However, even Fei Xiaotong changed his opinion after half a century.
What is the reason for the change?
Looking back at this controversy now, what enlightenment does it have for understanding the ethnic relations of the Chinese nation?
Ma Rong, a professor in the Department of Sociology at Peking University, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service on "Questions of East and West" to discuss the above topics.
The summary of the interview record is as follows:
Half a century of controversy has finally become a big pattern
China News Agency reporter: In your opinion, how should we understand the temporal and spatial background when the historian Gu Jiegang put forward "the Chinese nation is one" more than 80 years ago?
Fei Xiaotong, an anthropologist who had just returned from studying in the UK at that time, did not fully agree with this view, but later changed his attitude. How do you understand this change?
Ma Rong: In 1939, Mr. Gu Jiegang published an article entitled "The Chinese Nation is One" in the 9th issue of Yishibao Frontier Weekly (February 13, 1939).
The article clearly pointed out that from the perspective of modern political concepts, there is only one "Chinese nation" in China, and the "five major nations" that people often talk about should not be called "nations."
Moreover, calling the Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui, and Tibetan groups as "nations" is itself a strategy and conspiracy for imperialists to divide and disintegrate China.
Data map: Women show ethnic costumes and talent show.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Zhongjun
At that time, Japan had established the "Puppet Manchukuo" and encouraged the establishment of the "Inner Mongolia Autonomous Government". It even invited Ma Bufang's uncle Ma Lin to Peiping and planned to set up a "Northwest Return to China" in Gansu, Qingning and Ningxia.
In this severe situation, Mr. Gu’s worries are by no means groundless.
He had visited King Germany in Chahar before trying to persuade King Germany to give up "Mongol autonomy", and then witnessed the ethnic rift caused by the local Hui and Han feuds in the northwest.
Therefore, he first realized from the huge real risk of national division and the personal experience of the people of all ethnic groups hurting each other: the unity of the "Chinese nation" must be emphasized.
The Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui, and Tibetan groups are all called "nations." This set of discourse has been used by the imperialists to promote "national self-determination" and "national independence" in order to achieve the purpose of dividing China.
Some domestic scholars who were confused and blindly accepted Western concepts echoed, which made Mr. Gu even more worried.
This is his original intention for writing this article.
He wrote in a subsequent article: "The era I live in is the most difficult era in China’s history. The experience I have gained is the experience of the people on the frontier who have been in contact with the people who have suffered and been bullied. I have patriotism and compassion. I can't bear to say that." I read these articles from Mr. Gu, and what I admire most is not only his knowledge and reputation, but also his patriotism.
Mr. Fei Xiaotong studied anthropology at Tsinghua University and the United Kingdom. According to the basic concepts and discourse system of anthropology produced by Western scholars in the study of Asian, African and Latin American colonies, Mr. Fei naturally thinks that China’s Han, Manchu, Mongolian, and Chinese The Hui, Tibetan, Miao and Yao groups with different ancestry, languages and cultural traditions should all be regarded as "nations."
When anthropologists inspect and study populations, one is that they value their cultural traditions more than their political identity, and the other is that they value the differences between different groups of people more than their commonalities.
Therefore, Mr. Fei, who has just returned from studying abroad, wrote an article expressing his disapproval of Mr. Gu's point of view.
In 1939, Mr. Gu Jiegang was 46 years old. He was very influential in the field of Chinese historians because of his publication of "Ancient History Discrimination."
Mr. Fei Xiaotong had just walked out of the school at that time and was only 29 years old. He was influenced by the Western anthropological tradition and emphasized the importance of differences between groups. He was worried that people would ignore the cultural, linguistic, and physical diversity that anthropologists are concerned about.
Focusing on the theme of "the Chinese nation is one", the dialogue between two scholars who had different ages, different academic backgrounds, different research experiences, and different focuses can provide us with many important enlightenments beyond specific points of view.
Nearly half a century later, Professor Fei Xiaotong put forward the famous theory of "the structure of the pluralistic unity of the Chinese nation" in the "Turner Lecture" of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1988.
He explained that in the long history, "Many scattered ethnic units have undergone contact, mixing, connection and fusion, and at the same time they have split and died, forming a world where you come and I go, I come and you go, and you have me and me. There is you in it, and a pluralistic unity with each individuality.... Formed as a free national entity, through national consciousness and becoming the Chinese nation... Under the pressure of resisting the Western powers, a conscious nation that shares weal and woe is formed. entity".
I think Mr. Fei basically accepted Mr. Gu’s basic concept of the "Chinese nation" in 1939 and his description of its characteristics and development process 50 years later, and defined the "Chinese nation" as a conscious "national entity".
Mr. Fei said, "I will use the term Chinese nation to refer to the one billion people with national identity in China's territory. The more than 50 ethnic units it includes are pluralistic, and the Chinese nation is one."
This can be regarded as his conclusion on the controversy half a century ago.
China is different from other multi-racial and multi-ethnic countries
China News Agency reporter: Compared with the United States, India and other multi-ethnic and multi-ethnic countries, what do you think is the difference in the history of the survival and development of China's various ethnic groups and their interactions with each other?
What characteristics does this make in China's ethnic relations?
Ma Rong: The multi-ethnic and multi-ethnic countries in the world can be roughly divided into three categories.
The first category is European countries. After the 17th century, Europe established a new world order with the "nation-state" as the political entity unit under the sign of the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia.
In these "nation-states", people who speak different languages and believe in different religions live to varying degrees. It is only in the process of "nation-building" that the central government has continuously strengthened and deepened the people's political identity with the country.
The second category is the new countries (the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) established by white colonists in the colonies of European countries in the past. The white immigrants of these countries come from different European countries, local indigenous ethnic groups and other non- White immigrants have made these countries a multi-racial and multi-ethnic political entity.
The third category is a large number of new countries (India, Indonesia, Burma, etc.) that emerged in the former colonial territory of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, promoted by the colonial independence movement after World War II.
These countries have formed a multi-ethnic population structure during the colonial period.
The formation histories of these three types of countries are different, and each has its own characteristics in the identity model.
China is different from the above three categories.
At least since the Qin and Han dynasties, China has taken the Central Plains as its core region, and has formed a political entity with constantly changing borders and changing the central government’s dominant group. This political entity has a "great unification" cosmology and a "Chinese culture". (Hua Xia Civilization) is the core civilization system, and there is a group communication order of "harmony without difference" and "education without class".
Although there have been many dynasty changes and the clan source of the Central Plains imperial family has changed, after various social changes and impacts, it has always maintained the development trend of "a long time must be divided, and a long time must be combined".
The main line of the core ideas of this cultural system originated from Confucianism and other schools of thought in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period. It is an ideological system with unique cosmology and social ethical norms developed in the debate and competition of various schools. .
Data map: Students recite classic Confucian classics in unison.
Photo by Liang Ben
Compared with many civilized systems in the world with religion as the core, the most important basic feature of the Chinese civilized system is its secularity.
This is completely different from taking monotheism (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) as the ideological basis.
Mr. Jin Yaoji believes that China is different from any other "nation-state" in modern times. "It is an independent development of political culture based on culture, not race, for the distinction between Chinese and foreigners, or it is called a'civilized body'. The country' (civilizational state) has a unique civilized order".
Lucian Pye called China "a civilized system disguised as a nation-state."
This can explain to a certain extent that China's "multi-ethnic phenomenon" and the "multi-ethnic phenomenon" within the above three types of countries have obvious differences in their root causes.
The concept of "nation" and nationalism, which originated in Europe, is a certain group identity ideology with a "zero-sum structure" and a strong exclusivity. It is impossible to appear in the soil of Chinese civilization similar to the "nation" in Western discourse. The concept of "nationality" cannot give rise to a Western-style "nationalism" ideological system.
Discussions about the concept of "nation" and "nationalism" in Chinese society are mainly due to the influence of Western knowledge systems and discourse concepts in modern times.
Today's emphasis on "casting the Chinese nation's community consciousness" as the main line and direction of the work of the Chinese nation in the new era is to a large extent a return to Chinese political and cultural traditions under the new historical conditions.
This tradition has maintained the continuation and development of China's political entity for more than two thousand years, which is very rare in the history of the world.
From multiple unity to community consciousness
Reporter from China News Service: Although the various ethnic groups in China have different appearances, costumes, customs, etc., in China, the "big family" is often used as a metaphor for the relationship between various ethnic groups.
In your opinion, how is this "big family" relationship possible?
Why do we have the confidence to "cast the sense of community of the Chinese nation" today?
Ma Rong: In the course of historical development, many groups in the Chinese National Community still retain many characteristics.
The historical cross-regional population migration and inter-ethnic marriage have made some ethnic groups have characteristics in physical fitness, clothing, language, religious beliefs, and living customs.
Some differences between the various races are more obvious, and some are almost indistinguishable.
According to Mr. Fei Xiaotong, "From the biological basis, or the so-called'blood', it can be said that the'one body' of the Chinese nation is often mixed and intermingled, and no nation can be said to be in blood.' Thoroughbred'".
Mr. Fei's description of "the pattern of the pluralistic integration of the Chinese nation" is very helpful for us to understand the various differences between the various ethnic groups in China today.
This is the historical basis and operating mechanism for the continuous consolidation and development of the "Community of the Chinese Nation" today, and it is also our confidence and confidence in "building the Community of the Chinese Nation."
Data map: The picture shows the performance scene of "Mongolian Wedding".
Photo by He Yutian
In modern imperialist aggression activities, we can see that there have indeed been some national separatist thoughts and activities within various ethnic groups in China. That is because the Chinese were not united enough at the time, and the national strength was not strong enough.
Today in the 21st century, we are fully determined, confident, and capable of safeguarding national sovereignty and security, and we are bound to complete the final reunification of the mainland and Taiwan.
Universal language education reflects the modernization process
China News Agency reporter: At present, some western media accuse the Chinese government from time to time that the work carried out by the Chinese government to accelerate the modernization of ethnic minority areas is destroying the original way of life of ethnic minorities.
How do you respond to this view?
Ma Rong: A country needs to promote its own industrialization and modernization development process. All citizens need to master a written tool that is helpful for learning and mastering modern science and technology knowledge, and it is also necessary to learn and master in the domestic labor market and employment environment. The language of communication.
Therefore, all countries in the world are promoting their own "national language education" in various ways, and some are directly called "national language education".
This is an objective need for the development of the country and society, and it is also an objective condition for every citizen (including ethnic minority nationals) to fully participate in various national construction undertakings and realize their personal development ideals.
China’s national common language (Mandarin) After the “abolition of imperial examinations and new learning” in 1905, modern school education has been developed for more than one hundred years, and the Chinese textbooks for various subjects have been quite mature, which objectively proves the professionalism of Chinese primary and secondary school students. The level can withstand international comparison.
In contrast, modern education in ethnic minority areas in western China started relatively late. For example, before 1952, Lhasa did not have a modern elementary school.
To compile textbooks in the fields of mathematics, physics and chemistry in ethnic minority languages, it is necessary to have native experts in various subjects, and a certain scale of market support is needed after the textbooks are compiled and published.
Therefore, the objective situation is that the quantity and quality of Chinese Uyghur, Mongolian, Kazakh, and Tibetan textbooks cannot meet the needs of young people of all ethnic groups to learn modern knowledge.
In addition, China has formed a large pattern of inter-regional mobility of labor. In order to help the vast number of ethnic minority youths in the west learn and master modern knowledge and cross-region employment, learning and mastering the national language is a basic condition.
Some people criticize that China's implementation of national language education in the western region is totally unreasonable. The governments of these countries also implement national language education in their own countries. In the United States, it would be difficult for them to do so if they do not know English.
However, there is no conflict between learning and mastering the national common language and inheriting the native language and traditional culture of the ethnic group, and it is possible to do both.
Data map: The third grade students of the first primary school in Lhasa are in class.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Gongga Laisong
Imagine that if a Tibetan teenager only speaks Tibetan, it will be difficult for him to live in the city. He cannot use Chinese TV programs to access a large amount of knowledge and information that cannot be included in Tibetan programs, and cannot shop or sell his own farms through Chinese websites. As a by-product, his activity area and activity space are bound to be greatly restricted, which is very detrimental to the development of himself and his family.
Minority youths have every right to join the modernization process of the country and society.
At the same time, they will be more capable of inheriting and protecting their own traditional culture.
(Finish)
Ma Rong, born in March 1950, Hui nationality, native of Shanghai, jumped into the team in Dongwu Banner, Inner Mongolia from 1968 to 1973. In 1987, he received a Ph.D. in sociology from Brown University, and returned to China in the same year to teach at Peking University. He used to be the director of the Institute of Sociology and Anthropology of Peking University and the head of the Department of Sociology. He is currently the Liberal Arts Chair Professor of Peking University. Research fields include ethnic and border development, education research, and population migration. Published "Ethnic Sociology", "Tibet's Population and Society", "Applied Research of Sociology", "Ethnic Group, Nation and State Construction", "Migration and Interaction of Ethnic Groups: A Survey of Chifeng, Inner Mongolia", "Chinese Ethnic History and Chinese Common Culture" The Status Quo and Prospects of Chinese National Relations, "Chinese National Discourse in Historical Evolution", "Population and Society in contemporary Tibet", etc.