중국문화의 근대성과 우생학 ― 19세기 말과 20세기 초를 중심으로

Abstract

The concept of “negative selection” (survival of the unfit over the fit) stirred up anxiety among the Chinese literati, which subsequently inspired them to embark on the modernization project of eugenics. In particular, Yan Fu's translation of Thomas Huxley's Evolution and Ethics created fear in the intellectuals who believed that China's collapse was imminent: The inferior majority would eventually dominate and exterminate the superior minority. Scholars explored ways to preserve and pass on the superior Chinese race. They encouraged intermarriage between Chinese and white Westerners as a way to carry out their belief. In order to establish theoretical grounds, they juxtaposed the two disparate races in terms of “racial proximity” moreover, they delved into the yin-yang binary opposition to explain the affinity with regards to the mutually supplemental relationship between yin and yang. Despite Chinese literati's efforts to theorize their arguments, the intermarriage could not be easily applied to real life. As a result, the reformation of everyday customs, ban on early marriage, population control, and improvement of daily habits was proposed as a starting point for racial reform. Later in the 1920s and 30s, eugenics became a popular topic among the New Youth critics and inside the circle of the liberal critics. For example, Chen Duxiu, Lu Xun, and Pan Guangdan paid attention to eugenics either as in a form of birth control or of birth increase. In addition, free marriage and model families became controversial issues when eugenics appeared as a main theme with the increasing discussion of cultural modernization.