피부색의 等級 ―근대 중·일 교과서의 인종 서술

Abstract

This thesis is to research how racial knowledge had been reproduced and how much meanings had been obtained in East Asia's context especially China and Japan. I have approached from three other levels to figure it out. First is the spreading process of racial knowledge to East Asia. Physical anthropology (dividing a human race into five level) constructed by western scholars was propagated to East Asia at modern times. In Japanese textbook of Meiji period, five races were ordered as white was first, red was second, yellow was middle, next was brown and the last was black. The order was premised that Japan and China had not been civilized yet. In Chinese textbook of late Ching dynasty and early Republic of China, "racial competition" were described in many different ways. But there was no abasement to the yellow race in Chinese textbook differ from Japanese. In addition, even there was conviction that the yellow race could defeat the white in "the survival of the fittest" social evolution The second is "regrading" of racial knowledge. China and Japan advanced "regrading" of racial knowledge by different ways in their textbook each other. Japan lifted themselves up to the equal position of white race through "regrading" of colored races- especially the yellow. China followed Japanese point of view and China regraded the tribes within the country such as colored races and Myo. In spite of different racial descriptions between Chinese textbook and Japanese textbook, racial knowledge on the Chinese textbook was come from Japan. As the editor of the time recognized, contents of the textbook, as well as form, were copied from Japanese textbook. Selecting which knowledge could be wide spread and adoption is decided by weather the knowledge could give satisfaction to the consumer('s demand) or not. So consumer, sometimes, choose the knowledge old-fashioned and already proved as an error instead of the knowledge having "political correctness". A racial concept of the modern times is not a biological concept but a political. Politics may resolve the racial problem or deepen it in the other hand.