Modernization and the Struggle of Subjectivity of Japan:A Study of Yoshimi Takeuchi’s View of China and Asianism

• Main Authors: HUANG,PING-YI, 黃秉翊
• Other Authors: HO,SZU-SHEN
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/78x3je

碩士 === 輔仁大學 === 日本語文學系碩士班 === 104 === Japan’s Asianism is a spiritual heritage for modern Japan. Regardless of the controversies surrounding Asianism, its influence on Japan’s modernization cannot be neglected. Yoshimi Takeuchi was aware of the loss of Japan’s cultural subjectivity after the country’s defeat in 1945. To retrieve and reconstruct subjectivity, Takeuchi sought to redefine Asianism and believed that this was the way to help his country rethink modernisation. To gain a full understanding of Takeuchi’s thinking, the first part of this dissertation is focused on his historical background. Based on his background, the study looks into his analysis of the modernization process of China and Japan after World War II. After analysis, Takeuchi came to the conclusion that the success ofMeiji Restoration cannot be applied to China and thus a fundamental difference exists between the two countries. He then proposed the classification of “reflection and reverse,” which was inspired by Lu Xun’s concept of “struggle.” Takeuchi has been seeing the world and history from this perspective since he was young. Takeuchi used “the existence of resistance,” “people’s revolutionary awareness” and “types of modernization,” as the basis for understanding Asianism while examining the modernization of China and Japan. He hoped that his effort can provide Japan with a new perspective on Asianism and modernisation. Drawing reference from Takeuchi’s Asianism and his views on China, this study can provide suggestions to Asian countries that are undergoing modernization and experiencing subjectivity struggles and help these countries find their own path.