Historian poliittisuus ja kiinalainen nationalismi

1
Historian poliittisuus ja kiinalainen nationalismi

• Elina Sinkkonen
• Renvall-instituutti, 21.8.2008

2
Koekysymykset

• Voiko nyky-Kiinaa kutsua kansallisvaltioksi?
  Argumentoi puolesta ja vastaan.
• Kuinka ns. historiakysymys vaikuttaa Kiinan
  poliittiseen toimintaympäristöön?
• Nationalismin kehitys Kiinassa 1900-luvun alusta
  nykypäivään.

3
Luennon painopisteitä

• Mitä on kansallinen historia?
• Historian poliittisuus, kansallisen nöyryytyksen
  narratiivi
• Kansallinen identiteetti turvallisuuspoliittisena
  kysymyksenä
• Nationalismin teoriapohjan eurosentrisyys

4
Identiteeteistä

• Oma identiteetti määrittyy toiseuden kautta
  toinen on epistemologinen ja ontologinen
  välttämättömyys
• Identiteettien moninaisuus, päällekäisyys ja
  vuorovaikutus
• Yksilö ja ryhmäidentiteettien suhde (
  micro/macro problem)
• Kansallisen identiteetin ja nationalismin suhde

5
Nationalismi Kiinassa (1)

• Teesi siirtymisestä kulturismista nationalismiin
  (esim. Townsend 1996)
• - kiinalainen kulttuuri piti imperiumin koossa
  ei identifikaatiota valtioon/kansakuntaan
• - ulkomaiset hallitsijat hyväksyttiin, jos nämä
  noudattivat Kiinan kulttuurinormeja (Yuan
  dynastia 1276-1368, Qing dynastia 1644-1911)

6
Nationalismi Kiinassa (2)

• - periodisointi kulturalismin valtakausi
  (dynastinen Kiina), siirtymä nationalismiin (c.
  1860-1919), nationalismin valta-aika (1919?)
• - eliitin kulttuurinen identifikaatio
  saavutettiin standardoidun koulutusjärjestelmän
  kautta (tie virkamieheksi vaati osallistumista
  kokeisiin, joissa testattiin klassisten
  konfutselaisten tekstien hallintaa)

7
Nationalismi Kiinassa (3)

• Oopiumsodat (1839-1842 ja 1856-1860), 1895 häviö
  Japanille sodassa ? lisääntyneet
  ulkomaalaisvastaiset mielipiteet
• Sun Yat-senin opetukset sanminzhuyi
  (nationalismi, demokratia, socialismi)
• - Mao in 1938 Can a Communist, who is an
  internationalist, at the same time be a patriot?
  We hold that he not only can but also must be.

8
Nationalismi Kiinassa (4)

• Patriotic education in post-Tiananmen China
• - Action Plan for Patriotic Education in 1994
  patriotism is essentially identical to
  socialism
• - Action Plan for Civic Morality in 2001 five
  loves (love for the motherland, the people,
  labor, science and socialism) are the legal
  obligation and moral responsibility of every
  citizen

9
Nationalismi Kiinassa (5)

• Populaarinationalismin kaksi aaltoa 1990-luvulla
• 1) älymystöön painottunut ensimmäinen aalto
  say no-books
• 2) Internet-nationalismi verkkoadressit ja
  Japaninvastaiset mielenosoitukset

10
Chinese Nationalism and Western Theories

• Chinese nationalism and national identity often
  neglected in theoretical discussion on
  nationalism
• - Eurocentric definitions of nationalism
  define it often either ethnic or civic
• - in non-European world nationalism is usually
  linked to anticolonialism
• - dominant Chinese nationalism does not fit
  into Eurocentric categories

11
Dimensional Model of National Identity (1)

• Montserrat Guibernau 2007 the Identity of
  Nations ( Cambridge Polity Press ) 11-25
• National identity is a semi-fluid construction of
  narrative nature, which is formed through
  individuals psychological stance in regards of
  nations history, territory, culture and
  politics.

12
Dimensional Model of National Identity (2)

• Five dimensions
• History, especially what comes to defining
  national history and the parts of history that
  are highlighted in the narrative about nation.
  Identities are always constituted by narratives
  (Ringmar 1996), and the present identity
  necessarily takes some stance in regards the
  past. The common myths mentioned by Anthony
  Smith fall within this dimension.
• Territory, though a part of the population might
  have only a vague idea of some parts of their
  nation and gain knowledge on territorial issues
  only through media and education (see. Guibernau
  2007, 21).

13
Dimensional Model of National Identity (3)

• Culture, which includes aspects such as language,
  religion, dominant values, national symbols,
  rituals and ceremonies.
• Politics, specifically the rights and duties of
  citizens, and education in all its forms,
  especially when its purpose is to socialize
  people to behave in a certain way in regards to
  national institutions.

14
Dimensional Model of National Identity (4)

• Psychological dimension defines how the
  combination looks Each persons experiences and
  psychodynamics define the construction of her/his
  national identity

15
Psychological Dimension

• Material survey (N1346), 12 interviews
• Psychological dimension
• - nationality seen as the most defining factor
  of personal identity by 56 of the respondents
  (one of the three most important defining
  factors by 71)
• - international comparison (most defining
  factor) Taiwan 4.3, USA 2.4, Japan 15.3,
  Germany 5.0, Finland 22.2
• - 56.4 of the Chinese felt very close to
  Peoples Republic of China, in addition to
  38.3 who felt close

16
Historical Dimension (1)

• The Relevance of national history
• Int. How do you see the role of history in
  contemporary China?
• P1 First of all, if someone doesnt know Chinese
  history, hes not a real Chinese. I think knowing
  ones own history is extremely important.
  Secondly, China has gone through hard times and
  our history can teach us a lot. Its precious
  experience. (Person 1, female, 20, economics,
  Chongqing.)

17
Historical Dimension (2)

• Narratives of Past Glory and Humiliation

18
Historical Dimension (3)

• Int. Would you explain your drawing in a few
  words, please?
• P6 Its a summary of historical trends. The
  x-axis represents time and the y-axis axis means
  power.
• Int. Do these peaks and valleys signify
  something?
• P6 Yes, they represent Chinas influence and
  power during that historical period. For example,
  here during the Ming dynasty there is a peak,
  after which comes a downhill. (Person 6, female,
  20, international relations, Tianjin.)

19
Historical Dimension (4)

• In question 21 students were asked to name one to
  five events or periods that came to their mind
  when they thought of Chinese history
• - Tang dynasty was mentioned 672 and
  Anti-Japanese War 514 times
• ? Narratives of past glory and humiliation

20
Territorial Dimension (1)
21
Territorial Dimension (2)

• Int. Would you explain your drawing in a few
  words, please?
• P7 Its a map of China. Starting from the Qin
  dynasty (221-206 B.C.) everything has to do with
  this. I study Chinese history and it seems to me
  that in history everything has some kind of link
  to this map.
• Int. So you think history and the Chinese map
  are inseparable?
• P7 Thats the starting point (Chinese
  territory). Maybe its because from ancient times
  to the modern ones, there have been territory
  related problems, problems with the ethnic
  minorities and the Taiwan problem which all have
  to do with this map.The relation is pretty
  fundamental. (Person 7, female, 21, history,
  Chongqing.)

22
Territorial Dimension (3)

• Syndrome of a divided country
• If Taiwan were to declare independence,
• - 41.2 percent were strongly in favor of the
  use of armed forces,
• - 35.2 percent agreed on the use of the army,
• - 16.7 percent could not decide whether to use
  the armed forces or not,
• - 5.3 were against the use of the military
• - 1.5 percent were strongly against the use of
  armed forces

23
Cultural Dimension (1)
24
Cultural Dimension (2)

• Int. Would you explain your drawing in a few
  words, please?
• P10 What comes to my mind of Chinese history is
  monarchy and strict hierarchy, which were
  protected with extremely tight control. Also the
  parents were very strict. In other words life was
  not free. (Person 10, female, 21, Party history,
  Jimen.)

25
Cultural Dimension (3)

• Int. In a few words, what do Confucian values
  mean to you?
• P9 Confucianism gives rules to the life in the
  domestic and external realm, especially on
  harmony and order. It was pretty influential
  during feudal times. In todays society the
  economy is developing extremely fast so against
  this background Confucianism is not suitable. I
  wouldnt approve of a society arranged according
  to Confucian principles. (Person 9, male, 27,
  economics, Heshan.)

26
Cultural Dimension (4)

• Int. Some features of Confucianism put people in
  order based on their status. What is your opinion
  on this?
• P10 Confucianism contains a lot of good things,
  and todays China is founded on these values. The
  problem is the good aspects of Confucianism are
  not emphasized, but instead the bad sides are
  more influential. Good things are for instance
  filial obedience and valuing sincerity and
  honesty, but I think dividing people in societal
  ranks is bad. I follow the Christian religion,
  so I think we shouldnt divide people in
  different classes based on their status. (Person
  10, female, 21, Party history, Jimen.)

27
Cultural Dimension (5)

• 70.0 percent agreed that Confucian values are the
  foundation of modern China (22.0 agreed
  strongly, 48.0 agreed, 22.5 neither agreed nor
  disagreed and 7.5 percent disagreed or disagreed
  strongly)

28
Cultural Dimension (6)

• Int. Do you think there is a contradiction
  between Confucian values and communist values?
• P11 To great extent, communism is using
  resources of Chinas traditional culture to
  propagate its cause. Otherwise it would be
  impossible to reach the masses. Talking about the
  collective and collective interests is common to
  both. Confucianism stresses on obeying the
  emperor, on committing yourself to the community
  and behaving according to correct etiquette.
  Communism emphasizes also the collective,
  sacrifices and dedication even though Marx did
  not think about Confucianism when he formed his
  ideology. (Person 11, female, 22, international
  relations, Henan.)

29
Political Dimension

• P4 I think that some aspects of Chinas
  education are incorrect and that some of the
  contents of what the government is teaching us is
  wrong. They taught a lot about Japan, I dislike
  Japan but I feel that saying that you hate
  Japanese or Japan does not mean that you are a
  patriot. The government is using us. That is not
  right, we should have our own thoughts, and this
  should be attained from reading books, looking at
  certain things in order to have our own ideas. We
  cannot completely go by what the official says, I
  personally think in this aspect China is very
  wrong. (Person 4, male, 26, law, Chizhou.)

30
National Pride, Identity and Othering

• Factors 1 (domain specific pride) and 3 (general
  pride)
• Int. In your opinion, do university students
  have anti-Japanese sentiments? Why?
• P1 Yes, some students do. Its not so much
  against individual Japanese, the problem is how
  the Japanese government has acted. We know what
  happened during World War II, the Nanjing
  massacre and all. Its not something those
  Japanese living in Japan now did, but I and
  almost all of my friends think they should
  confess what they did and stop harming us. We
  think that only when people know theyve done
  something wrong can they change. If the
  (Japanese) government doesnt acknowledge the
  past, I dont know how things can get better in
  the future. There could even be another World War
  II. (Person 1, female, 20, economics, Chongqing.)

31
End remarks

• History remains a critical issue for Chinese
  self-understanding
• Hard cover soft core?
• Borders of identity can never be well-defined