1999 June 26 conference
Room 307
8. Individual Papers on Culture and
Communication in China and Japan
Chair: Patricia Sippel, Toyo Eiwa
University
1) Sarah Cox, Washington University in St. Louis/Kokugakuin University.
"Theories of Translation in Meiji Japan
"Western Europe owes its civilization to translators." Though perhaps
overstated, this assertion in L.G. Kelly's 1979 outline of translation theory, The True
Interpreter, points to growing recognition in literary studies of the importance of
literary cross-fertilization, the transfer of both content and form from one linguistic
and cultural tradition to another, in the continuing vitality of national literatures. The
power of translations has long been recognized in Meiji Japanese literary studies, with
modern literary critics claiming "Meiji literature is the history of translations and
their influence," or "The significance of the Meiji era rests more fully in
translation' (hon'yaku) and adaptation' (hon'an) than in original works' (sosaku)."
The numerous translations created in Meiji Japan transformed and revitalized Japanese
literature.
This paper examines theories of literary translation and adaptation in Meiji Japan,
tracing a growing recognition of the significance of such endeavors. It examines, for
example, Tsubouchi Shoyo's ideal of assimilation and appropriation of Western works
through adaptations; Wakamatsu Shizuko's concept of translation as a means to import
Western ideals of Christianity, particularly concerning the status of women and children;
and Mori Ogai's desire to preserve "otherness" in translation. Yet within
theories of translation as varied as these runs a unifying thread: namely, that
translation is the resurrection of an alien thing in a native body in order not only to
revitalize native literature but also to lead readers to a larger world outside of the
boundaries of their own geographic or linguistic limitations. Meiji translators perceived
themselves variously as not just borrowers and adapters but as creators of a new
literature and a new literary consciousness, and as educators about a wider world, not
only enriching the literary landscape but also their readers' experience.
2) Ng Wai-ming, National University
of Singapore. "The Forgery of Books in Tokugawa Japan"
The forgery of books had a long history in Japan. It became very popular in the late
medieval period and reached its peak in the early Tokugawa period (1603-1868). In
particular, the seventeenth century was the age of forgery of books in which hundreds of
forgeries were made.
This paper is a preliminary study of the forgery of books in Tokugawa Japan from
intellectual and comparative perspectives. It aims to provide a historical overview of
this important but little-studied cultural phenomenon and to discuss its political and
intellectual implications. It consists of five sections. Section one gives an account of
political and cultural backgrounds of the forgery of books in Tokugawa Japan. Sections two
and three examine the forgery of historical writings and Shinto texts respectively.
Section four discusses the forgeries in other genres of writings, such as Confucian texts,
literature, and arts. The concluding section pinpoints the characteristics of the forgery
of books in Tokugawa Japan by comparing them with those of China.
3) Qin Shao, The College of New
Jersey. "Print Culture in a Chinese County: Nantong, 1900-1930"
This study focuses on print culture (the press and the other mass media) as an agent of
social change in Nantong county of central China in theearly 20th century, when local
elites successfully marketed Nantong as a "model" of modernity nationwide. Local
elites in Nantong built a modern publishing house in 1903, the first county-level modern
publishing house in China. In the ensuing two decades, hundreds of books on local affairs
were printed, and a dozen newspapers and magazines emerged.
Employing an interdisciplinary approach and utilizing theories of social and cultural
history, this study examines two aspects of print culture in Nantong: 1) how local elites
used the press to publicize the "model" county image and to build their power,
and 2) how the popularity of the press in turn gave rise to a reading public and new modes
of thought, which consequently challenged the local elite establishment. It shows the role
the local press played in shaping social change and power structure in a small town.
In Chinese studies the examination of mass media has been largely confined to major urban
locales where the Chinese press first emerged. This study will provide a comparative case
study of a localized, rural-centered print culture to the study of print culture in urban
China as well as to that of the modern European press.
4) Massimiliano Tomasi, Western Washington University. "The Revival of
Oratory in Early 20th Century Japan"
The years following the Meiji Restoration saw the introduction of Western rhetoric, both
in its meaning of the art of speech and art of composition. Rhetoric soon became the
object of study and discussion among Japanese scholars, who sought to understand the
boundaries of this new discipline, and at the same time envision its possible application
to the needs of the Japanese linguistic and literary worlds.
During the first years of the Meiji period,
several key factors affected the assimilation process of rhetoric and the directions its
further research would take in the years to follow. Studies in composition and literary
criticism, for example, were slow to flourish and were clearly not as popular as those in
oratory. Thus, while almost two decades were needed until Takada Sanae's Bijigaku became
the first truly Japanese work to address the application of Western rhetoric to issues of
native literature and literary style, the interest in the art of speech brought about a
rapid development of studies in oratory, as is proved by the remarkable number of
treatises published between the Meiji Restoration and the establishment of the National
Diet (1890). Rhetoric, as the art of speech, was particularly acclaimed among the Peoples
Rights movement, and became symbol for those social and political forces that were
vehemently calling for freedom of expression.
Unfortunately, after two decades during
which oratory had enjoyed a growing popularity among scholars, politicians and
intellectuals, the years between the Sino and Russo-Japanese wars proved fatal for its
later development. Oratory became object of governmental censorship and suppression, and
gradually lost its cohesive power and effectiveness in the public and social life of Meiji
Japan. However, at the very end of the Meiji era, a new wave of interest in oratory began
to take shape, particularly among university students. Such a revival lasted well into the
Taisho period and led to a reinvigoration of scholarship in this field and to
revitalization of oratory's role in the public life of the nation.
This study will specifically address the
Japanese scholarly production on oratory between the turn of the century and the end of
the Taisho period.It will seek to provide a long needed historical outline of oratory's
final development, with special regard to the stages that preceded it, and within the
framework of a general assessment of the role played by Western rhetoric in modern Japan.
5) Noriko Tsunoda Reider, Miami
University. "Rhetoric of 'Chrysanthemum Tryst': from 'Fan Chu-ch'ing's 'Eternal
Friendship' to 'Chrysanthemum Tryst'"
Ueda Akinari's short story entitled "Chrysanthemum Tryst" in Ugetsu monogatari
(Tales of Rain and Moonlight, 1776) is a tale about trust in which a protagonist commits
suicide to appear on schedule for a planned reunion with his sworn brother. This story is
an adaptation of Chinese vernacular fiction, "Fan Chu-ch'ing's Eternal Friendship" in Stories Old and New (1620)
compiled by Feng Meng-lung. What Akinari took from the original Chinese text and what he
abandoned or added to tailor the story to his Japanese audience reveals societal and
cultural differences between China and Japan of the time as well as Akinari's originality
and artistic intention. Akinari's borrowings of the original text on theme, structure and
plot have been the subjects of scholarly works. But Akinari's rhetoric which is often
credited as a source of the story's appeal has not been fully discussed vis-a-vis the original Chinese text. While
observing the cultural differences between China and Japan on the basis of the text's
transfer, my paper will examine how Akinari crafted his rhetoric to make the story
believable and tragic rather than fantastic or absurd. The new historicism investigates
the relationship between historical or literary texts and personal life, including the
social environment in which a particular work was penned. Chinese vernacular fiction,
which was gradually imported to Japan from the beginning of the Edo period, started to
gain the serious attention of Japanese intellectuals around the Kyoho period (1716-1736).
Some of Japanese were interested in studying the regulations of the Ming Dynasty in China,
in practicing the Chinese writing style, and in studying contemporary Chinese society.
Chinese vernacular fiction was read to satisfy these demands, as language textbooks,
cultural guide books, and for entertainment. Ueda Akinari (1734-1809), a literatus, was
well aware of this fashionable trend among intellectuals, and was interested in Chinese
vernacular fiction himself. He tailored the text to increase believability and intensity
for an audience who would have recognized his skill in incorporating Chinese vernacular
text, even its diction.
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