新聞, 風聞을 넘나드는 동아시아 근대지 ― 『新民叢報』(1902-1907) 서적 소개를 통해 본 지식 담론의 재편

Abstract

This paper is aimed at providing a wider view on cultural history of modern books. Through this, it further aims to identify the way of existence of modern knowledge in East Asia based on research of book advertisements and ‘New Books' corner as well as other related articles published in the Xinmin Congbao. The Xinmin Congbao was published in 1902, Tokyo. It was distributed and disseminated in China via Guangzhi Book Company(廣智書局), a modern publisher in Shanghai. Refugee intellectuals and Chinese students in Tokyo were at the center of the formation of knowledge networks in Tokyo and Shanghai and the activities were based on translation and transfer of modern knowledge of the Meiji Japan. The Xinmin Congbao and Guangzhi Book Company provide a critical view of cultural history through which the way of existence of modern knowledge can be seen. Based on this work, we can learn the way of existence of modern knowledge in East Asia. First, when the Xinmin Congbao as a media source started introducing modern knowledge, it showed the new modern knowledge like a panorama, enabling open reading of knowledge. Knowledge moved so fast and was exposed to public discourse arenas and people could access an exponential amount of knowledge. Second, the introduction of books by the Xinmin Congbao tried to provide a broad view on modern knowledge of the Meji period. It interpreted the distribution of knowledge through study of books on specialized corners such as the 「Dongjiyuedan (東籍月旦)」 and through ‘Scholarly Biographies'(學案) which presented genealogy of knowledge. Third, the knowledge in the Xinmin Congbao moved fast to become a reading culture of Chinese youth, and at the same time met their political movement, resulting in views that saw interpretation of knowledge through this media as something subversive. Fourth, as students in Tokyo at that time who were also readers of the Xinmin Congbao became planners of the modern media, their magazines directly recorded modern knowledge of the Meiji period that they actually saw, heard, and experienced. The record of such experiences went from establishment of modern knowledge in notional words to further exposing the moments when the modern knowledge became critical while it was being experienced.