Author ｜
Chen Li-wei
Abstract ｜
“Diguo (帝國)” –– although the term has been used for long time in classical Chinese, it was Japan that first translated this word in Dutch –– “Keizerdom” 18th to 19th century, also used as a translation to “Empire”on An English and Japanese, and Japonese and English Vocabulary, published in 1830. It is worth to note that we cannot find any translation for this word on English-Chinese dictionary published in 19th century. “Diguo Zhuyi (帝國主義),” the combination of “imperial” and“ism”, first appeared in 1898 in Japanese context; at the same time, it was found in the journal, The China Discussion (1898-1901), which was published by Liang Qi-Chao in Yokohama. Later on, he began using this word, also introduced the idea in Chinese, with his positive belief that it might be essential for Chinese society.However, as the nature of “Imperialism” –– expansion and invasion is revealed, numerous critiques appeared. Among those, revolutionaries, Zhang Binglin was powerful enough to include a lesser power/race to strongly push the criticism ahead. In addition, in Lenin’s imperialism theory, he positioned “Imperialism” to the ultimate stage of capitalism,and revealed its nature, invasion.It can be said that the concept formation and dissemination of“Imperialism” is one of the biggest characteristics of the first half of the 20th century.
keywords ｜
Empire, Liang Qichao, The China Discussion, Zhang Binglin, Nikolay Lenin