Saving China and admiring Japan: Cultural traitor Qian Daosun
By: Kato, Naoko
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Material type: 
BookPublisher: Modern Asian Studies Description: 58(1), Jan, 2024: p.34-55.Subject(s): Qian Daosun, Provisional Government, North China, Japanese occupation, Hanjian (traitor), Cultural literatus, Librarian, Translator, Japanese culture, Sino-Japanese cultural exchange, Wartime libraries, Selection, Destruction, Censorship, Preservation, Confiscation, Knowledge production, Japan’s cultural policy, Beijing Modern Science Library, Personal connections, May Fourth writers, Lu Xun, Zheng Zhenduo, Resistance vs. collaboration dichotomy
In:
Modern Asian StudiesSummary: Qian Daosun (1887–1966) was imprisoned for collaborating with the Provisional Government in North China under Japanese occupation, and to this day he is labelled as hanjian (traitor). Yet, Qian was first and foremost a cultural literatus, librarian, and an exceptional translator with an in-depth understanding of Japanese culture and languages. This article examines the crucial role that Japan and the Japanese language played for Chinese cultural literati in their quest to save China. It also brings to the forefront the dilemmas and agonizing choices Qian faced in his attempt to promote Sino-Japanese cultural exchange in the midst of war, in particular as a librarian. Wartime libraries are highly contested sites of selection, destruction, censorship, preservation, confiscation, and knowledge production. An added layer of complexity was Japan’s cultural policy in China that promoted Japanese-language collections and governed libraries such as the Beijing1 Modern Science Library where Qian worked. What exacerbated Qian’s dilemmas was his upbringing, which led him to form close personal connections with like-minded Japanese literati. Lastly, this article revisits the hanjian label by comparing Qian’s fate to that of other librarians and returned students of Japan, such as May Fourth writer Lu Xun and patriotic bibliophile Zheng Zhenduo. By deliberately examining May Fourth writers alongside hanjian and Japanese intermediaries, the intention is to dismount arbitrary labels and divisions that have set them apart and against each other in the resistance versus collaboration dichotomy.- Reproduced
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/abs/saving-china-and-admiring-japan-cultural-traitor-qian-daosun/84BF50DDA1792B1CEC6BDBE952DBB57E
| Item type | Current location | Call number | Vol info | Status | Date due | Barcode |
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Articles
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Indian Institute of Public Administration | 58(1), Jan, 2024: p.34-55 | Available | AR132222 |
Qian Daosun (1887–1966) was imprisoned for collaborating with the Provisional Government in North China under Japanese occupation, and to this day he is labelled as hanjian (traitor). Yet, Qian was first and foremost a cultural literatus, librarian, and an exceptional translator with an in-depth understanding of Japanese culture and languages. This article examines the crucial role that Japan and the Japanese language played for Chinese cultural literati in their quest to save China. It also brings to the forefront the dilemmas and agonizing choices Qian faced in his attempt to promote Sino-Japanese cultural exchange in the midst of war, in particular as a librarian. Wartime libraries are highly contested sites of selection, destruction, censorship, preservation, confiscation, and knowledge production. An added layer of complexity was Japan’s cultural policy in China that promoted Japanese-language collections and governed libraries such as the Beijing1 Modern Science Library where Qian worked. What exacerbated Qian’s dilemmas was his upbringing, which led him to form close personal connections with like-minded Japanese literati. Lastly, this article revisits the hanjian label by comparing Qian’s fate to that of other librarians and returned students of Japan, such as May Fourth writer Lu Xun and patriotic bibliophile Zheng Zhenduo. By deliberately examining May Fourth writers alongside hanjian and Japanese intermediaries, the intention is to dismount arbitrary labels and divisions that have set them apart and against each other in the resistance versus collaboration dichotomy.- Reproduced
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/abs/saving-china-and-admiring-japan-cultural-traitor-qian-daosun/84BF50DDA1792B1CEC6BDBE952DBB57E
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