Princess Wencheng in historical writing: The difficulty in narrating ethnic history in multi-ethnic China

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 615-645
Author(s):  
Juan Wang ◽  
Damzhin Cedain
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Modern China ◽  
Striking Difference ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Classical Literature ◽  
Historical Writing ◽  
Nationalist Discourse ◽  
Ethnic History ◽  
Chinese Classical Literature ◽  
Ethnic Nation

For a multi-ethnic political entity, whether it is an empire or a nation-state, the key to survival is an inclusive order under which multiple ethnic groups with different heritages coexist peacefully. Historical writing on ethnic groups and interactions among them is an important part of this order. To demonstrate this point, this paper offers an examination of three different historical narratives of Princess Wencheng, the heroine of a “peace-making marriage” of the Tang Empire (AD 618–907), who married Songtsen Gampo, the king of Tubo (the ancient name of Tibet). In the first narrative, which is from Chinese classical literature, Princess Wencheng was treated as an insignificant figure and the text paid much more attention to the ceremony of the “peace-making marriage” than to the princess’s individual traits. In the second narrative, which is from Tibetan ancient literature, the princess was portrayed as the incarnation of “Green Tara”, a tantric deity in Tibetan Buddhism, and supposedly possessed goddess qualities and magical powers. This striking difference reflects the different views about the world and its ideal order of the two ancient civilizations. The third narrative, which was shaped by the nationalist discourse during the first part of the 20th century, depicted a new image of Princess Wencheng, gradually transforming her into a “transmitter of technology.” This paper offers a detailed analysis of this evolution and, furthermore, a critical comment on the historical writing done under the guidance of the so-called “progressive view of history”. Our conclusion provides a theoretical discussion of the structural dilemma for modern China as a multi-ethnic nation-state.

scholarly journals The Nation and Its Logic in Early Twentieth-Century China*

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo K. Shin
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Modern China ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Chinese People ◽  
Nationalist Discourse ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Point Of Departure

Abstract Of the radical transformations that have been associated with modern China, one of the most significant, historians would agree, is the permeation of the convictions — often with the aid of concepts borrowed from Europe via Japan — that Chinese people are inherently a nation (min zu) and that China is, by extension, a nation-state (guo jia). But as many have noted, the process of adopting and internalizing such convictions was far from linear. Taking as its point of departure the contested nature of the nationalist discourse and drawing particular attention to the border province of Guangxi, this paper seeks not only to identify the logic and fundamental tensions inherent in the construction of the nation (especially from the perspective of a border region) but also to explain why such tensions have continued to plague present-day China.

scholarly journals ايزيديو شنكال والأرمن 1914-1918 دراسة في موقف الايزيديين من المذابح الأرمنية

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeed Khudeda Alo
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Nation State ◽  
World War ◽  
World War One ◽  
Military Campaign

ملخص البحث:يعتبر الأرمن من احد الجماعات العرقية المميزة التي عاشت في الدولة العثمانية، قاموا بتاسيس جمعيات سياسية في القرن التاسع عشر تلك الجمعيات التي سعت الى تأسيس دولة قومية للارمن بمساعدة الغرب كان ذلك من الاساب الرئيسة الى تعرضهم الى الإبادة الجماعية من قبل الدولة العثمانية. وخلال سنوات الحرب العالمية الأولى توجه الاتراك الى اتباع سياسة قومية وذلك نتيجة لتطورات الحرب فكانت النتيجة تهجير الأرمن من مناطقهم وقيام الاتراك بمذابح منظمة ضدهم، لكن هناك مجموعات تمكنت من النجاة من تلك المذابح والتوجه الى العراق وخاصة الى سنجارحيث قام أهلها من الايزيدييين باستقبال الأرمن ومساعدتهم في محنتهم وبناء البيوت ،من الطين، لهم وإيجاد العمل لهم آنذاك لكي يستطيعوا من استمرار حياتهم. لكن موقف الايزيديين هذا مع الأرمن دفع بالاتراك الى القيام بتوجيه حملة عسكرية الى سنجار أدت الى قتل الكثير من الأهالي ونهبت ودمرت قراهم وتركت اثار سلبية على المنطقة. The Yezidis from Sinjar and the Armenians. 1914-1918A study in the Yezidi position with regards to the Armenian Genocide.The Armenians are reputed to be one of the most distinguished ethnic groups which lived during the rule of the Ottoman Empire.During the nineteenth century they established political societies whose raison d' etre was to pursue the founding of a nation-state for Armenia, backed by Western aid and support.Their political endeavours were one of the main reasons for their genocide under the Ottoman Empire. During World War one, the Turks pursued their own national policy, resulting in the displacement of the Armenians from their territories and targeted massacres against them. There were those who succeeded in escaping theTurkish massacres and fled to Iraq, most particularly the area of Sinjar. The Yezidis from Sinjar welcomed the Armenians and aided them in their process of resettlement, building of mud houses and finding employment. The aid extended by the Yezidi community of Sinjar to the Armenian displaced, caused the Turks to launch a military campaign against Sinjar, looting and destroying villages and murdering many that wreaked havoc upon the region.

Understanding Educational Policies in Multilingual States

1990 ◽  
Vol 508 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTINA BRATT PAULSTON
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Language Maintenance ◽  
Language Shift ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Social Variables ◽  
Group Relations ◽  
Prolonged Contact ◽  
The Social ◽  
Language Maintenance And Shift ◽  
Modern Nation State

The main linguistic outcomes of the prolonged contact of ethnic groups within a modern nation-state are language maintenance, bilingualism, or language shift. This article explores the social variables germane to language maintenance and shift in ethnic-group relations. An understanding of language maintenance and shift and the social conditions under which they occur is prerequisite to establishing or evaluating educational language policies that seek to regulate the interactions of ethnic groups within a nation-state. A language policy that goes counter to existing sociocultural forces is not likely to be successful.

scholarly journals Narrativas de Genji no período Meiji (1868-1912): do ponto de vista da relação literatura e estado

2017 ◽  
pp. 119-139
Author(s):  
Rei Kufukihara
Keyword(s):  
Great Powers ◽  
Young Girl ◽  
Japanese Culture ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Classical Literature ◽  
Common People ◽  
Tale Of Genji ◽  
Meiji Era ◽  
The Uk ◽  
High Level

We pick up three people’s works from Meiji era concerned with The Tale of Genji, written in the 11thcentury. The first one, a translation of The Tale of Genji done by a young diplomat established in the UK in order to show to the great powers of that country how much the Japanese culture was a high-level one. The next one, a novel by Ichiyo Higuchi, influenced by The Tale of Genji, is about a young girl who is sold by her own parents to prostitution. The novel’s name refers to the impossibility of the Japanese nation-state to deal with common people and children. The last one, a poem by Akiko Yosano cries out against the Russo-Japanese war. The reason why is that Akiko accepted various human feelings that appear in The Tale of Genji: delight, sadness and heartbreaking. For Akiko, such human feelings are more important than the war by the nation-state. So she criticizes even the Emperor Meiji as the top of the command hierarchy. Ichiyo does not cry against the contradiction of Japanese state and makes it clearly by writing the heroin’s behavior and mentality in a lively way. For these two women, Ichiyo and Akiko, The Tale of Genji is not only the classical literature, but works as the encouraging recognition of reality.

scholarly journals Analysis on differences in Canada and China's official attitude and perception on their minority nationalities

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Dennis Song
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Close Relation ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Common Descent ◽  
Minority Ethnic Groups ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
French And English

The government’s perceptions and attitudes of their ethnic minorities are in close relation with the ethnic minorities’ welfare policies, and also affect the public’s perception of ethnic minorities. Therefore a government’s definition and attitudes are crucial to maintaining national stability. For instance, Canada is a multi-nation state, comprising multiple ethnic groups in one country, with the two most influential as the French-Canadians and the English-Canadians. French and English Canadians are majority ethnic groups while there are many other minority ethnic groups such as the First Nations. The People’s Republic of China is also a multi-nation state, although the biggest ethnic group, the Hans, comprise 98% of the entire population.11 Although all nations have their own cultural cognition - common descent, history, culture, and language - both Canada and China have their own unique definition for their minority nations: Canada’s minority nations are the Aboriginal People of Canada 22, and China’s minority nations are the 55 officially recognized ethnic groups other than the Han people. This essay aims to compare the official perceptions and attitudes of ethnic minorities in China and Canada, hoping to clarify the relationship between ethnic minorities and mainstream ethnic groups, and help the general public to understand them, hence promoting harmonious societal development.

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