『文明小史』 속 ‘문명’ 담론의 표상(表象)과 그 패러독스(paradox)

Abstract

『文明小史(Wenmingxiaoshi)』 witten by LiBoYuan is a symbol of civilizations such as the exposition of modern ideas in modern Chinese period and the reflection on the practice of civilization, social reform, and new political system. These facts are so relatively distinct in the recognition of LiBoYuan and the 『Wenmingxiaoshi』 that it may not be necessary to reconsider. However, this fact poses one question at the same time. The question is that the conflicting positions between the representations of the civilization discourse in 『Wenmingxiaoshi』 and the back of it show contradictions This paper starts from the awareness of these issues. In this point of view, 『Wenmingxiaoshi』 is an important reference text that can trace the modern ideas, and it will be a valid standard to shed new light on the formation of modern China. Therefore, this paper first looks at the discourse of civilization as a modern representation system scattered throughout the 『Wenmingxiaoshi』, and tries to see the paradoxical inherent in 'civilization'. LiBoYuan had embodied his civilization discourse through popular propagation of science and technology and scientific knowledge through education, civilization reform, and modern institutionalization as a cornerstone of civilization. This confirms how many efforts and attempts had been made by modern China, including LiBoYuan, toward civilization. To them, civilization blossom was a discourse that was identifiable to all of the Western world, which was a result that are synonymous with the spread of science and technology and scientific knowledge, the construction of education and school based on civilization and the foundation of the social reform and modern institutions However, the civilization discourses and representations reflected in the 『Wenmingxiaoshi』 were not coordinated or filtered by the clash of Western civilization and Chinese tradition. The western philosophy and civilization theory that were imported at the time when the Western powers were forcing the Western civilization against the whole world and they were conveyed to the public as an idea of civilization. So this revealed the false perception of Western civilization, the paradox of civilization. Considering this point, it can be said that 『Wenmingxiaoshi』 written by LiBoYuan is a new paradigm of modern Chinese, and presents the afterimage which has not properly established it yet. despite its presentations of civilization discourse.