Racial modernity in Republican China, 1927-1937

Racial modernity in Republican China, 1927-1937

This article locates the moment in Chinese history when ethnicity became a subject of scientific concern and an object of social engineering. Specifically, it examines how Han Chinese academicians during the Nanjing decade (1927-37) argued for the necessity of social engineering by appealing to race...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Asian ethnicity Vol. 23; no. 2; pp. 377 - 397
Main Author: Foreman, Matthew Wong
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Abingdon Routledge 03-04-2022
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects:
Chinese race
Empiricism
Engineering
Ethnicity
Homogeneity
Minority groups
Modernity
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Pan Guangdan
Political institutions
Race
science
social engineering
Social sciences
Wu Zelin
Zhonghua minzu
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Summary:This article locates the moment in Chinese history when ethnicity became a subject of scientific concern and an object of social engineering. Specifically, it examines how Han Chinese academicians during the Nanjing decade (1927-37) argued for the necessity of social engineering by appealing to race science. Focusing on a debate between the eugenicist Pan Guangdan and the anthropologist Wu Zelin, it argues that the Nanjing decade witnessed a key moment of ideological convergence in the physical and social sciences. Academicians concerned with national and racial salvation believed in awakening the Chinese population's racial consciousness, which could only be achieved through rigorous social engineering. To justify the state's homogenizing claims over ethnic minorities, they appealed to the doctrine of racial homogeneity, capitalized on the increasing cultural authority of scientific empiricism to recruit political allies to their cause, and endeavored to embed the 'fact' of 'race' from specialized disciplines to political institutions.
ISSN:1463-1369
1469-2953
DOI:10.1080/14631369.2020.1792765