Author ｜
Hazama Naoki, Translated by Chen Wei-chin
Abstract ｜
This article aims to discuss the difference between Asianism raised by Japanese after First Sino-Japanese War, and the Imperialism later with a sense of aggression is based on leading Asian countries to fight in Europe and America in the international community as a positive partnership. The establishment of Toa-kai (East-Asia Association) at Hunan, Ajia Kyōkai (Asia Association) at Shanghai and Zenrin-yakusho-kan (Shanlin library) in the late nineteenth century were under the idea of Asianism, showing Chinese reformist intellectuals actively cooperated with Japan, which was the condition of realizing Asianism. Translating books were a vital activities of the chain of Asianism. Azuma Heiji, Nakae Chōmin and so on all translated Western books in Chinese, because at that time the Japanese Asianists wanted to make Chinese the common language of the East Asian cultural sphere, emphasizing cooperation between China and Japan with equal rights, in order to resist the Western English-speaking world, thus establishing the Zenrin-yakusho-kan (Shanlin library). However, these partnerships in Asia still failed. Take Zenrin-yakusho-kan (Shanlin library) for example, due to the lack of copyright regulation in China, led to the piracy problem. China and Japan also had different ideas on copyright.The idea of Zenrin-yakusho-kan (Shanlin library) eventually failed. Since then, Japan brought civilization into China with superiority and aggression and toward the so-called imperialism.
keywords ｜
Asianism, Toa-kai, East-Asia Association, Ajia Kyōkai, Asia Association, Zenrin-yakusho-kan, Shanlin library