This first volume in a two-volume set provides the only comprehensive, Western-language history of Pan-Asianism through primary sources and commentaries. The book argues that Pan-Asianism, often—though unfairly—associated with the Yellow Peril, has been a powerful political and ideological force in modern Asia. It has shaped national identities and strongly influenced the development of international relations across Asia and the Pacific. Scholars have long recognized the importance of Pan-Asianism as an ideal of Asian solidarity, regional cooperation, and integration but also as an ideology that justified imperialist expansion and military aggression. Yet sustained research has been hampered by the difficulty of accessing primary sources.
Thoroughly remedying this problem, this unique sourcebook provides a wealth of documents on Pan-Asianism from 1850 to 1920, many translated for the first time from Asian languages. All sources are accompanied by expert commentaries that provide essential background information. Providing an essential overview of Pan-Asianism as it developed throughout modern Asia, this collection will be an indispensable tool for scholars in history, political science, international relations, and sociology. Its accessible presentation makes it a valuable resource for non-specialists as well.
Contributions by: Cemil Aydin, Yuan P. Cai, Peter Duus, Selçuk Esenbel, Jing He, Eri Hotta, Joël Joos, Kim Bongjin, Kyu Hyun Kim, Eun-jeung Lee, Matsuda Koichiro, Marc Andre Matten, Sven Saaler, Michael A. Schneider, Alistair Swale, Christopher W. A. Szpilman, Brij Tankha, Renée Worringer, and Urs Matthias Zachmann.
This first volume in a two-volume set provides the only comprehensive, Western-language history of Pan-Asianism through primary sources and commentaries. The book argues that Pan-Asianism, often—though unfairly—associated with the Yellow Peril, has been a powerful political and ideological force in modern Asia. It has shaped national identities and strongly influenced the development of international relations across Asia and the Pacific. Scholars have long recognized the importance of Pan-Asianism as an ideal of Asian solidarity, regional cooperation, and integration but also as an ideology that justified imperialist expansion and military aggression. Yet sustained research has been hampered by the difficulty of accessing primary sources.
Thoroughly remedying this problem, this unique sourcebook provides a wealth of documents on Pan-Asianism from 1850 to 1920, many translated for the first time from Asian languages. All sources are accompanied by expert commentaries that provide essential background information. Providing an essential overview of Pan-Asianism as it developed throughout modern Asia, this collection will be an indispensable tool for scholars in history, political science, international relations, and sociology. Its accessible presentation makes it a valuable resource for non-specialists as well.
Contributions by: Cemil Aydin, Yuan P. Cai, Peter Duus, Selçuk Esenbel, Jing He, Eri Hotta, Joël Joos, Kim Bongjin, Kyu Hyun Kim, Eun-jeung Lee, Matsuda Koichiro, Marc Andre Matten, Sven Saaler, Michael A. Schneider, Alistair Swale, Christopher W. A. Szpilman, Brij Tankha, Renée Worringer, and Urs Matthias Zachmann.
Introduction: The Emergence of Pan-Asianism as an Ideal of Asian
Identity and Solidarity, 1850–2008
Sven Saaler and Christopher W. A. Szpilman
Part I: The Dawn of Pan-Asianism, 1850–1900
Chapter 1: The Concept of "Asia" before Pan-Asianism
Matsuda Koichiro
Chapter 2: The Foundation Manifesto of the Koakai (Raising Asia
Society) and the Ajia Kyokai (Asia Association), 1880–1883
Urs Matthias Zachmann
Chapter 3: The Genyosha (1881) and Premodern Roots of Japanese
Expansionism
Joël Joos
Chapter 4: Koa—Raising Asia: Arao Sei and Inoue Masaji
Michael A. Schneider
Chapter 5: Tarui Tokichi’s Arguments on Behalf of the Union of the
Great East, 1893
Kyu Hyun Kim
Chapter 6: Konoe Atsumaro and the Idea of an Alliance of the Yellow
Race, 1898
Urs Matthias Zachmann
Chapter 7: Okakura Tenshin: "Asia Is One," 1903
Brij Tankha
Chapter 8: Okakura Tenshin and Pan-Asianism, 1903–1906
Jing He
Part II: The Era of Imperialism and Pan-Asianism in Japan,
1900–1914
Chapter 9: The Foundation Manifesto of the Toa Dobunkai (East Asian
Common Culture Society), 1898
Urs Matthias Zachmann
Chapter 10: The Kokuryukai, 1901–1920
Sven Saaler
Chapter 11: Miyazaki Toten’s Pan-Asianism, 1915–1919
Christopher W. A. Szpilman
Chapter 12: Pan-Asianism, the "Yellow Peril," and Suematsu Kencho,
1905
Sven Saaler
Chapter 13: Hatano Uho: Asia in Danger, 1912
Renée Worringer
Chapter 14: Nagai Ryutaro: "The White Peril," 1913
Peter Duus
Part III: Asian Responses to Imperialism and Japanese Pan-Asianism,
1900–1922
Chapter 15: So Chaep'il: Editorials from Tongnip Sinmun (The
Independent), 1898–1899
Kim Bongjin
Chapter 16: Zhang Taiyan and the Asiatic Humanitarian Brotherhood,
1907
Yuan P. Cai
Chapter 17: Aurobindo Ghose: "The Logic of Asia," 1908–1909
Brij Tankha
Chapter 18: Sin Ch'ae-ho: "A Critique of Easternism," 1909
Kim Bongjin
Chapter 19: Abdürresid Ibrahim: "The World of Islam and the Spread
of Islam in Japan," 1910
Selçuk Esenbel
Chapter 20: An Chung-gun: "A Discourse on Peace in East Asia,"
1910
Eun-jeung Lee
Chapter 21: Benoy Kumar Sarkar: The Asia of the Folk, 1916
Brij Tankha
Chapter 22: Li Dazhao: "Greater Asianism and New Asianism,"
1919
Marc Andre Matten
Chapter 23: Kurban Ali and the Tatar Community in Japan, 1922
Selçuk Esenbel
Chapter 24: Rash Behari Bose: The Indian Independence Movement and
Japan
Eri Hotta
Part IV: The Breakdown of the Imperialist Order: World War I and
Pan-Asianism, 1914–1920
Chapter 25: Germany, Sun Yat-sen and Pan-Asianism, 1917–1923
Sven Saaler
Chapter 26: Pan-Asianism during and after World War I: Kodera
Kenkichi (1916),
Sawayanagi Masataro (1919), and Sugita Teiichi (1920)
Sven Saaler
Chapter 27: Kita Ikki: "An Unofficial History of the Chinese
Revolution," 1915, and "The Outline of a Plan for the
Reconstruction of Japan," 1919
Christopher W. A. Szpilman
Chapter 28: Tokutomi Soho and the "Asiatic Monroe Doctrine,"
1917
Alistair Swale
Chapter 29: Paul Richard: To Japan, 1917, and The Dawn over Asia,
1920
Christopher W. A. Szpilman
Chapter 30: Kita Reikichi: "Misunderstood Asianism" and "The Great
Mission of Our Country," 1917
Christopher W. A. Szpilman
Chapter 31: Taraknath Das: Pan-Asian Solidarity as a "Realist"
Grand Strategy, 1917–1918
Cemil Aydin
Chapter 32: Konoe Fumimaro: "A Call to Reject the Anglo-American
Centered Peace," 1918
Eri Hotta
Bibliography
Sven Saaler is professor of modern Japanese history at Sophia
University, Tokyo.
Christopher W. A. Szpilman is professor of modern Japanese
history at Teikyo University, Tokyo.
The first substantial compilation of materials on the topic in the
English language . . . [which] not only fulfills the
historiographical gap and teaching needs but also opens up further
research into the subject. . . . The editors do not assume a
coherent Pan-Asianism; rather, the strength of this collection lies
in its acknowledgment of varieties, tensions, and changes within
various voices of Pan-Asianism. . . . Each short chapter comes with
an informative, easy-to-follow essay as well as translations of
primary materials, making the collection ideal for undergraduate
teaching. . . . Despite the sense of taboo around the subject of
pan-Asianism, or rather because of it, carefully contextualized
analyses of its history are highly important. Not only for teachers
but also for any critical readers of Asian history and contemporary
discussions of Asian integration, Pan-Asianism is a welcome and
invaluable collection.
*East Asia Integration Studies*
These engaging tomes . . . offer a mint of scholarship on what has
long been a troubling issue to decipher for students limited to the
English language; namely, what is the deal with Pan-Asianism? . . .
The question has long been of interest but few were the tools one
could employ to gain insight or even access to more than mere
cursory introductions. These books change the nature of that game
[with] a two-volume set of fine translations covering the 19th and
20th centuries (with a bit into the 21st), focusing on a wide
variety of well-known, and some lesser known, ideologues (Japanese
and other) on the topic of pan-Asianism. . . . This is a set for
any library and to serve as a reference on [researchers’] shelves.
. . . These books bring an enormous span of disparate writings
together, an exceedingly admirable goal even without the
translations and introductions. . . . Each selection is preceded
with a clear explanation from the translator, noting the
significance and providing some background on the text itself.
Sometimes the introductions or explanatory sections are longer than
the actual translation, and that is fine because these volumes
offer precisely that to the beginning reader an introduction. I can
think of no better set of current volumes on the market that offer
this wealth in terms of both coverage, depth of explanation, and
then actual translation of primary text, to readers in English . .
. . Saaler and Szpilman should be commended on being able both to
corral an army of able and intellectually gifted scholars from
around the world and get them to produce translations and
introductions in this multi-layered collection of tracts from the
last century and a half. . . . I can only imagine the effort put
forward in producing this publication and the two volumes sit
proudly on my shelf, already well-thumbed as I paw through them
looking for insight.
*Reviews in History*
The publication of Pan-Asianism is a seminal event: until now it
has been almost impossible to find translations on this strand of
thought. . . . [I]n its scope and variety this easily is the best
sourcebook on Pan-Asianism available in any language. Every
academic library on Japan should stock this collection, and many
scholars on modern Japan and Asia will benefit from owning it.
*Monumenta Nipponica*
Finally there is an excellent source book on Pan-Asianism, an
ideology that has played an important role in Japan's regional
interactions since the late 19th century. These two volumes are
essential for any university or research library as they cover
modern Asian history from the mid-19th century until the present.
The set is an incredibly good value because it provides access to a
comprehensive range of translated materials that encompass a number
of languages. The contributors preface their translations with
useful commentary that help readers understand the significance of
what they are about to read, making this very useful for students
and scholars. . . . A treasure trove of primary documents, some
translated into English for the first time.
*Japan Times*
[A] welcome addition to an on-going conversation and a substantial
resource for both scholars and students. . . . [T]his two-volume
collection of documents brings together prominent visions of Asia
from across the region and over nearly two centuries, all carefully
placed in historical and intellectual context by thoughtful
introductions from a long list of contributing scholars. . . .
[R]emarkable in part for its breadth: geographical, chronological
and ideological.
*Pacific Affairs*
This is an extraordinary undertaking, simply breathtaking in the
range of writings it introduces to an English-speaking readership.
The two volumes contain Pan-Asian writings by many well-known
Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Indian, Indonesian, and Malaysian
authors, in addition to manifestos produced by various Pan-Asian
organizations. It is particularly helpful that these translations
are introduced by essays written by leading scholars in the field.
These two books together make an important scholarly contribution
by opening up access to an area of modern history that has remained
largely impenetrable to many of us.
*Naoko Shimazu, University of London*
'Pan-Asianism' galvanized—and still galvanizes—political
imaginations from Afghanistan to Japan, from the Suez to Sakhalin,
in an array of sometimes conflicting projects: defense against 'the
West,' internal colonialism, transnational class solidarity, and
celebration of religious and other traditions. These volumes, in
translating seminal works from many languages and presenting
skilled commentary, provide an unprecedented basis for a historical
understanding of this perplexing yet vital concept. A gift to
scholars and students for years to come.
*Julia Adeney Thomas, University of Notre Dame*
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