Volume 9 | Issue 17 | Number 1 | Article ID 3519 | Apr 25, 2011 The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Pan-Asianism as an Ideal of Asian Identity and Solidarity, 1850–Present アジアの主体性・団結の理想としての汎アジア主 義−−１８５０年から今日まで Christopher W. A. Szpilman, Sven Saaler Pan-Asianism as an Ideal of Asian Attempts to define Asia are almost as old as the Identity and Solidarity,term itself. The word “Asia” originated in ancient Greece in the fifth century BC. It 1850–Present originally denoted the lands of the Persian Empire extending east of the Bosphorus Straits Sven Saaler and Christopher W. A. but subsequently developed into a general term Szpilman used by Europeans to describe all the lands lying to the east of Europe. (The point where This is a revised, updated and abbreviated Europe ended and Asia began was, however, version of the introduction to the two volume never clearly defined.) Often, this usage collection by the authors ofPan-Asianism. A connoted a threat, real or perceived, by Asia to Documentary History Vol. 1 covers the years Europe—a region smaller in area, much less 1850-1920; Vol. 2 covers the years 1850- populous, poorer, and far less significant than present, link. Asia in terms of global history. The economic and political power of Asia, the The term “Asia” arrived in East Asia relatively world’s largest continent, is increasing rapidly. late, being introduced by Jesuit missionaries in According to the latest projections, the gross the sixteenth century. The term is found, domestic products of China and India, the written in Chinese characters 亜細亜( ), on world’s most populous nations, will each Chinese maps of the world made around 1600 surpass that of the United States in the not-too- under the supervision of Matteo Ricci distant future. China’s economy, like Japan’s, is (1552–1610), one of the founders of the Jesuit already larger than that of any single European mission in China. However, it took two more country. With this new economic might comes centuries before the name gained wide growing diplomatic influence. The twenty-first currency in the region. For it was only with the century, many pundits agree, will be an Asian resumption of European colonialist expansion century. This undisputed Asian success story, in the nineteenth century that “Asia” ceased to together with its accompanying tensions and be a technical term used by East Asian discontents, has attracted much media and cartographers and, in reaction to the threat of scholarly attention. Yet for all this talk of Asia, Western colonialism, came to represent a there is no consensus on what Asia actually specific geopolitical space bound together by stands for as a whole. Is the vast Asian such commonalities as a shared history, close landmass a single entity? There has never cultural links, a long record of diplomatic been—and perhaps never will be—universal relations, trade exchanges, and the notion of a agreement on this question. “common destiny.” Although the definitions of Asia were diverse and often contradictory, the Where is Asia? real or perceived Western threat caused an 1 9 | 17 | 1 APJ | JF increasing number of intellectuals, politicians, down to the present—a pattern discussed and activists throughout Asia to argue for below. strengthening “Asian” solidarity in relation to “the West.” In this way, then, a pan-Asian worldview or “style of thought” became established and diffused throughout the region. It can be identified in the writings of intellectuals, political statements, popular slogans, and even in songs and poems in a number of Asian states and nations. A representative selection of such texts, all of which are of great significance in the history of Pan-Asianism and Asian regionalism, are included in this collection. They were written or collected in various parts of Asia, from Japan, through Korea, China, Indonesia, and India to the Ottoman Empire, over the past 150 years. These texts, most of which have been translated into English from a number of Asian languages, are brought to the Western reader for the first time in an easily accessible form. Each source is accompanied 1808 map of Asia by a commentary that provides essential information, such as a biographical sketch of These arguments about the definition and the author and the historical context of the nature of Asia in reaction to the impending document under consideration. Western threat marked the beginnings of Pan- Asianism as an ideology and a movement. A number of collections of pan-Asian texts have Vague sentiments about strengthening Asian been published in Japanese. The most solidarity were gradually developed intoimportant of these is Takeuchi Yoshimi’s concrete policy proposals for a united defense (1910–1977) volume Asianism, which, in of Asia against the encroachments of Western addition to providing a selection of sources, imperialism. In many cases, such calls for Asian examines the significance of Pan-Asianism and solidarity, integration, and unity wereattempts to place it in its historical context. accompanied by endeavors to create an Asian Much less useful is the recently published identity by postulating commonalities and three-volume anthology, Ajiashugishatachi no identifying traditions of interaction andKoe (Pan-Asianist Voices), which merely interrelationship. Some thinkers took for reproduces snippets of texts seemingly at granted the existence of an Asian identity. random without any critical contextualization. Others argued that such an identity must be Pan-Asianism, however, receives scant deliberately forged as a necessary condition for attention in widely available English-language realizing the ultimate objective of unifying Asia. source collections on Asia such as the volumes Although individual writers in different places in the Introduction to Asian Civilizations and at different times advocated a wide variety series—Sources of Japanese Tradition, Sources of strategies and views on the nature of Asian of Chinese Tradition, Sources of Korean unity, we can nonetheless observe a certain Tradition and Sources of Indian Tradition. degree of uniformity in the development of pan- Asian rhetoric from the nineteenth century The end of the Cold War in 1989 produced a 2 9 | 17 | 1 APJ | JF surge of interest in issues of regionalism and in research on Asian regionalism. transnational identity in contemporary East Asia. This new interest in contemporary The Origins of Pan-Asianism: regionalism was followed only a decade later by Macronationalism and Transnationalism the recognition of the long-term historical developments underlying the geopolitical The term “Asia” came into common use in East formation of the East Asian region and the idea Asia only in the mid-nineteenth century in of Asian solidarity (i.e., the ideology of Pan- response to the increasing diplomatic, military, Asianism) as important research subjects. Few and economic presence of the Western powers, works on Pan-Asianism were published before and their territorial expansion in East Asia. The 2000 in any language. But since the beginning Opium War of 1839–1842 was a watershed in of the twenty-first century there has been an the history of Asian–European encounters. The upsurge of interest in the historicalBritish victory led to the recognition, development of Pan-Asianism, reflected in a throughout East Asia, of Europe as a common stream of book-length publications on various threat, and it was at that time that intellectuals aspects of Pan-Asianism. In addition, a number and politicians throughout the region began to of important articles have been published on consider the questions of “Asia” and Asian the subject over the years. Notwithstanding solidarity. With a view to giving the concept of these publications, however, knowledge of Pan- solidarity substance, they began exploring Asianism and its role in modern Asia remains Asian cultural commonalities and the common fragmented, unsystematic, and unbalanced. historical heritage of the continent. It is of course true that, as Hamashita Takeshi and This collection aims to remedy the situation by other scholars have pointed out, East Asian providing readers with the seminal documents countries had a long history of interaction of Pan-Asianism and thus a comprehensive before the nineteenth century. This took the overview of the development of the ideals of form of an interstate system, centered on Asian solidarity and regionalism in the hope of China. It was this Sinocentric system stimulating further research and providing the (sometimes also known as the tributary system) foundations for a synthesis of earlier work. The to which the Western powers had to major difficulty with researching Pan-Asianism accommodate when they first came into contact is a linguistic one, for it would be very difficult, with East Asian states. But it was the acute if not impossible, for any one scholar to master sense of crisis brought about by the Chinese all the languages necessary for defeata in the Opium War that forced Asian comprehensive study of the subject. So, while writers and thinkers actively to pursue the the community of scholars interested in issues agenda of a united Asia, an Asia with a common of Asian regionalism continues to grow,goal—the struggle against Western linguistic difficulties and the barriers ofimperialism. specialization have prevented them from studying Pan-Asianism as an ideology that Ideas of Asian solidarity came in a large variety transcends linguistic boundaries and national of forms, as did the geographical definitions narratives and examining the processes of underlying claims for regional solidarity. Some regional integration in East Asia from the forms of the concept were based on perspective of the longue dureé. We hope that assumptions of racial unity, following, curiously this collection, with its comprehensiveenough, racial notions that had originated in approach, will help scholars to look beyond the the West (Hannaford 1996; Dikötter 1997). scope of their narrow specializations and open Others tended to emphasize commonalities in new possibilities for transnational cooperation culture and language (more accurately written 3 9 | 17 | 1 APJ | JF language).