Author ｜
Chen Li-wei
Abstract ｜
The distinction between “democracy” and “republic” has always been somewhat ambiguous, a fact which is reflected in the different translations for both terms in China and Japan in the mid-19 century. While the Chinese “minzu” originally came into usage after the introduction of International Law theories, its meaning increasingly resembled the Japanese term for Republic, namely “gonghe.” Yet towards the end of the Qing dynasty, the large influx of Chinese students from Japan also introduced the concept of “gonghe” with its connotation of republic. For a short period of time both terms were used to denote the same concept, until finally “gonghe” became the main terminus. “minzu” on the other hand took on the meaning of democracy, as the Japanese termini of “minzuzhuyi”and “demokerashii” simultaneously were introduced. Thus after more than half a century the translation and usage of both democracy and republic finally settled into their respective modern wording in the context of East Asian modernity.
keywords ｜
minzuguo, gonghe zhengzhi, minzheng, minzuzhuyi, English-Chinese dictionary, English-Japanese dictionary