國恥、國魂與「我四萬萬同胞」: 近代中國集體榮辱意識和人口想像的形塑與效應

Abstract

本文主要探討「四萬萬人」如何在近代中國從一個人口數\r\n字，卻漸次演化成為近代中國的國族符號的歷史過程及其意\r\n義。經由晚清時期的維新思想的運用，尤其是康有為和梁啟\r\n超二者論述的催生下，此「數字化」的描述晚清中國人口的\r\n方式，配合所謂「同胞」的血緣親屬想像符號，形塑出具有\r\n高度同質性意涵的國族認同。「四萬萬」人口符號同時也標\r\n示中國作為國族國家，脫離傳統天下秩序的新世界觀的重要\r\n轉變。但另一方面，為了強烈激發國族意識，四萬萬的國族\r\n想像也經常以全盤負面形象如「四萬萬禽獸」的意象出現。\r\n最後，本文也檢討此種人口想像模式和其它近代中國人口想\r\n像意象，例如「一盤散沙」、「五族共和」等彼此之間的矛\r\n盾和潛在緊張性。不斷出現在近代中國語境的「四萬萬人」\r\n符號，不僅扮演如B. Anderson 所描述的限定國族國家邊界\r\n意識的重要角色，更是長期以來已經很「自然」地嵌入近代\r\n中國日常生活國族意識中。藉由去自然化此現象和歷史化此\r\n符號，詳細地分析比較各類有關運用「四萬萬」符號的文\r\n本，本研究試圖更清楚地解析「四萬萬人」符號產生的歷史\r\n過程，以及發揮了哪些想像的力量從而形塑了近代中國國族\r\n認同的特定風貌。

My research aims to analyze the historical process\r\nand significance of how the term ’Four Hundred\r\nMillions,’ originally a plain description of the\r\nQing population, has gradually become widely utilized\r\nby many people as a national symbol of modern China.\r\nThanks to the late Qing reform thinking, especially\r\nthe discourses of Kang Yowei and Liang Qichao,\r\nthe ’digitalized’ way of depicting the population\r\nsize of Qing China, together with the use of the\r\nterm ’Compatriot,’ came to shape a highly\r\nhomogeneous national identity of modern China. This\r\nsymbol also indicates the important transition of\r\nChina transforming into a nation-state from a\r\ntraditional empire. However, on the other hand, this\r\nsymbol has also been constantly appropriated to\r\nconstruct negative national identities, such\r\nas ’Four Hundred Million Animals,’ in order to\r\nshame China into becoming a true nation. And since\r\nthe ’Four Hundred Millions’ discourse is also\r\noften paralleled to other famous collective\r\nimages/symbols, such as ’a heap of loose sand’\r\nand ’republic of five peoples,’ my study has tried\r\nto reflect on the complicated relationship and\r\ntension between these symbols as well. The symbolic\r\npower of ’Four Hundred Millions’ not only performs\r\nthe function of setting the ’boundary’ of modern\r\nChinese nation against other nations, a function that\r\nhas been analyzed by B. Anderson, but also has\r\nbecome ’naturally’ embedded in the banal\r\nnationalism of modern China. By ’denaturalizing’\r\nthis phenomenon and historicizing this symbol by\r\nmeans of analyzing and comparing painstakingly a\r\nvariety of texts which utilize this symbol, my study\r\nhas tried to further our understanding of the\r\nhistorical formation and the significance of the\r\nsymbolic power of ’Four-Hundred Millions’ in the\r\nconstruction of modern Chinese identity.