Configuring A Threatening Other: Historical Narratives in Chinese School Textbooks

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Chapter 4: Configuring a threatening other: Historical narratives in Chinese school

textbooks
Shubo Li, University of Oslo
How is history possible? Georg Simmel wrote in 1905, “What we must determine—
not in detail, but as a matter of principle, is the a priori dimension of historical knowledge.”
In the cognition of history, the formative influence of the human mind is “less easily
perceived because the material of history is mind itself.”1 Michel De Certeau is in line with
Simmel in factoring in the human mind. As a literary historiographer he views history
predominantly as a narrative space. He dissects the process of historiography and asserts:
Modern Western history essentially begins with differentiation between the present
and the past . . .This rupture also organizes the content of history within the relations
between labor and nature; . . . it ubiquitously takes for granted a rift between discourse
and the body (the social body) . . . It assumes a gap to exist between the silent opacity
of the ‘reality’ that it seeks to express and the place where it produces its own speech,
protected by the distance established between itself and its object.2
In that each historical period provides a place for a discourse, De Certeau explains the concept
of the Self and its objects in a historical narrative “a structure to modern Western culture can
doubtless be seen in this historiography: intelligibility is established through a relation with
the other; it moves (or ‘progresses’) by changing what it makes of its ‘other’-the Indian, the
past, the people, the mad, the children, the Third Word.” 3 Another illustration comes from
Greek historiography, in which ancient Greek historians contributed to the formation of
usable notions of “Greekness” by inventing a cultural category of “the barbarians;” for
example as Thucydides does in his writing of Iliad as an epic of Greco-Barbarian military
confrontation. 4
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Ancient Chinese historiography, as “one of the two independent traditions dominating
historical writing in Asia during the pre-modern period,”5 on the other hand, takes the notion
that the use of history should be the transmission of ethical standards from generation to
generation, particularly in the field of domestic and inter-state politics. Confucius, in
compiling the Spring and Autumn Annals, which conventionally marks the beginning of the
continuous historiographical tradition, “was thought to have introduced, by careful use of
wording and terminology, a substantial measure of praise and blame . . . It was believed that
what Confucius in fact did was to use the Annals as a class textbook.” 6 The subtlety of
Confucius’s historical writing demands that teachers’ explanations and commentary books7
make the underlying narrative explicit. Sima Qian, the author of Shi ji (Historical Records)
questions the very incentive behind Confucius’s writing of the Annals, in his
“Autobiographical Afterword of the Grand Historian.” Sima Qian suggests, “In a time of
political turmoil as in the state of Lu where Confucius was a minister in the court, he knew
that his political thoughts based upon his ethical thoughts would not be heard. Therefore he
preferred documenting the right and wrong doings in the past 242 years to expressing
admonitions in vain, as he believes historical facts demonstrate the consequences of righteous
and vicious deeds with great effect.”8 Sima Qian, as would most Chinese historians, viewed
history as a vehicle to transmit ethical values that are indispensable in building an ideal
society. Indeed this tradition was explicitly outlined in a notable example, Zi zhi tong jian
(Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government), completed in 1085 by Sima Guang, a leading
scholar during the Sung Dynasty (960-1279).
On the other hand, non-Chinese countries had never been important in ancient Chinese
historiography. As Gotelind Muller rightly observes, “there was not much official interest in
knowing about the other, as long as there was no need to do so.”9 The notion of China as tian
xia (all under heaven) sets no geographical boundaries to the conception of the nation, which
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is defined by “the officially maintained attitude of cultural superiority, even if Realpolitik in
history sometimes was forced to acknowledge an inverted asymmetry, at least in terms of
power relations (e.g. with the Liao, the Jin, the Mongols or the Manchus)” 10
The situation was changed by the nineteenth century, when the world was
fundamentally transformed by the new powers unleashed by the industrial, scientific and
capitalistic revolutions. Ernest Gellner argues, insightfully, that industrial civilization is
based on economic growth, rather than a stable technology, and this modern growth-
orientation has one immediate consequence: pervasive social mobility.11 The rise and
expansion of new great powers from Europe, represented by chartered trading companies and
missionaries in Asia, formed an imminent threat, to which China and Japan responded
differently. Japan adopted western fashion and systems without great difficulties, while
China was clumsy and reluctant to recognize the need for Western-style reforms.12 Scholars
suggest that the modern transformation of China and Japan were inextricably interrelated. As
historian Marius Jansen puts it “the appearance of Western gunboats in the harbours of each
other had significance for the other.” The response of either country was quickly noticed by
the other; due to their shared cultural ties and extensive educational exchanges. Jansen
maintains that it is clear that the news from China contributed to the sense of alarm that
gripped mid-nineteenth-century Japan at the approach of the Western world. Soon Japan’s
drive for modernization provided encouragement and a warning for China. During the second
half of the nineteenth-century the image of Japan held by influential Chinese leaders gradually
changed to one of grudging admiration.13
China’s defeat in the first Sino-Japanese war represented a crushing blow to the
Chinese pride and sense of identity. The loss also brought about fundamental changes that
provoked an intellectual ferment engendering political, social and cultural transformations in
China. Japan’s imperialist aggression so weakened the central government that China was
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threatened by the risk of an imminent dismemberment. In addition, the defeat also forced
China to further open itself up to the Western powers that introduced a modernization
movement that opened China to further global trade and engagement with the outside world.
The results were transformative.14 Benedict Anderson’s definition of nation as an “imagined
political community-and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign” can shed light on
this process of identification.15 To a certain extent the first Sino-Japanese war can be deemed
as a critical moment for the budding of a national identity in China. It made it impossible for
the Chinese people to continue to imagine China as a boundless existence of “all under
heaven.” Instead they had to perceive it as a limited territory surrounded and even penetrated
by hostile Western powers. An array of defeats and concessions caused many to doubt the
legitimacy of Manchurian monarchies. The urgent need to save the country found political
expression “Zhong hua min zu” (the Chinese nation), and in Tong meng hui (Chinese United
League’s) slogan “to expel the Tartar barbarians, to revive Chinese nation.” Ernst Gellner
points out that nationalism is essentially a product of modernity; yet nationalism does indeed
see itself as a universal and inherently valid principle, as manifested in the frequent use of the
term “awakening,” which implies a prior existence of such mentality.16 The notion of the
Chinese nation was constructed to serve as a political tool to unite Chinese people of different
ethnicities into one Chinese nation. This discourse was systematically taught and reinforced in
generations of young people developing within them a shared ideology of citizenship. My
argument is that the teaching of history in schools is an essential element in the process of
constructing a national identity, cultivating geo-political awareness, and creating and
reproducing patriotism. This study seeks to understand the role that Japan and
characterizations of Japanese culture have served in shaping Chinese history, particularly
modern history, in Chinese schools. This chapter examines the teaching of history in China,
specifically focusing on what Chinese students in primary, middle, and high school are taught
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about Japan and about China’s foreign policies toward and interactions with Japan over many
centuries.
The history taught in school textbooks usually demonstrates a highly condensed
version of a preferred account of the past shaped to create citizens who share political values
and who understand their connections to each other and to the motherland. The school books
are studied in the hope that the project will deepen understanding of how Chinese citizens
have come to understand relations between China and Japan, and so that insights can be
gleaned into the current dispute over the Diaoyou Islands.
This chapter will first outline the production of the historical narratives taught in
Chinese school textbooks. It will briefly explain the degree of centralized control over the
making of historic books, and the overarching paradigms conditioning how history textbook
were framed and designed in China. Then it will examine, via textual analysis, how Japan,
and how Sino-Japan relations and conflicts have been presented in history textbooks. The
chapter will especially focus on how emotional sentiments and values have been transmitted
through history texts and the national standards shaping the development of those texts. It
will argue that the constructing of Chinese modern history in the school textbooks, especially
of those topics related to Japan and Sino-Japanese conflicts, has been shaped to resolve the
political objectives and goals of the Chinese Communist Party. Finally, it will argue that this
constructed understanding of Chinese history, national identity, and of Sino-Japan relations
has implications for how contemporary Chinese citizens have come to understand the dispute
over the Diaoyu Islands.
Contextualizing historical teaching in Chinese secondary schools
Gotelind Müller, the author of a systematic study of history education in China, argued
that the Chinese state first actively intervened in history education and put out its first brief
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regulations and guidelines for the teaching of history, including world history, in the very last
years of the Qing Dynasty.17 During the brief period after the Qing dynasty was overturned
when China was governed by the Kuomintang and known as the Republic of China (ROC),
the government modified and adjusted the guidelines for the teaching of history education
several times so as to negotiate the boundary between “us” and “them.” Its 1923 regulation,
for example, overrode a conventional division between zhongguo shi (Chinese history) and
waiguo lishi (foreign history) and helped to combine Chinese history and world history in the
one and same frame.18 In the four-volume History Textbook Under New Regulation for
elementary school children’s use, the first three volumes were on Chinese history and the last
volume on world history.19 The Syllabus for junior secondary school issued by the Beijing
government maintains that:
In order to let the students have an overview of the collective evolution of human
kinds in the world, and to break away from a narrow mindedness of dynastical and
national differences, the compilation of history textbooks for junior mid-school shall
adopt an eclectic and global perspective, with an emphasis on Chinese history. The
students can then benefit from evaluating China’s status in the world through
comparisons, which seems to be better than the division adopted in previous
teaching.20
The history textbook for junior mid-school was then compiled in the following order: the first
two parts introduced the subject of human evolution and races; part 3 covered “The evolution
of human kind’s living conditions” (5 chapters); part 4 “The evolution of human kind’s
beliefs” (4 chapters); part 5 “The evolution of human organizations”(3 chapters); part 6 “The
evolution of human thoughts” (3 chapters), and part 7 “The conflicts and leagues of human
communities.” This last section devoted a full 16 chapters elaborating on wars and
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international leagues from east to west, ranging from the Warring States period (481 BC) to
the League of Nations.21
In retrospect the 1923 regulation may be understood as the most modern and
internationally focused of all of the attempts to shape history teaching in China. Revisions
that were undertaken in 1929, 1932 and 1940 featured an increasingly stern nationalistic grip
over history education, as the country lingered on the verge of war and felt the need to impose
anti-imperialism and national pride as primary goals of history education. The 1929
regulation reminds educators, “History education shall pay attention to China’s international
status, and shall remind students about the Chinese nation’s necessity of self-rejuvenation and
self-defense.”22 Perhaps these patriotic and nationalistic goals were most explicitly expressed
in the regulations proposed in 1932. One of the objectives of historical teaching in high school,
for example, was ”to elucidate the development of imperialism in the modern times, and the
trends of nationalistic movements and the origin of critical international issues, so as to
deliberate on our nation’s strategy to responding to international trends and changes, and
ultimately to promote the realization of freedom and equality in the world.”23 The 1940
rectified curriculum standards of secondary schools were characteristic of the wartime tension:
“History teaching shall depict the evolution of major nations of the world and their cultural
characteristics and the relations among the nations. It shall cultivate a global consciousness in
the students, who shall be encouraged to pay special attention to the international
circumstances and the status of our country, eventually to inspire a self-awareness of the
responsibility in resistance and defending the country.”24
Upon the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, history was
taught in both primary and secondary schools until the outbreak of Cultural Revolution in
1966. On June 13 1966, the Central Committee of CCP and the State Council suspended the
teaching of history classes in both middle and elementary schools, because the current
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curriculum failed to reflect Maoism and Chairman Mao’s theory on class struggle. In
February 1967, a new guidance was given to call back all students to classrooms to continue
the revolution. Old textbooks were entirely overhauled and new course materials in primary
schools consisted of no more than Quotations from Chairman Mao, the Three Articles,25
revolutionary songs and some math and science. Middle school students were allowed to
study some physics, math, foreign language and some common sense knowledge, as
supplements to the study of works by Chairman Mao. From 1969 to early 1970s, schools were
encouraged to develop their own teaching plans and curriculums, with the result that most
primary and middle schools replaced science subjects with “Basics in industry and
agriculture,” and humanities subjects with “Study on Maoism.”26 When the Cultural
Revolution was finally brought to an end in 1978, primary and secondary schools resumed the
teaching of history. Still shadowed by the Cultural Revolution, the first editions of history
textbooks published in 1979 comprised four volumes of Chinese History for junior mid-
schools which covered primarily peasants’ revolts, and two volumes of World History for
high schools which were dominated by revolutionary views. There were revisions in 1987 and
1990 to remove content on peasants’ revolts and revolutionary theories, and to add content on
Chinese modern history; but the basic framework and the embedded ideology remained intact.
Since 1993, the subject “Ethics and Society” replaced “history” in elementary schools
under the nine-year compulsory education reform.27 The curriculum was designed to help
students make sense of their social surroundings and the activities and interactions found in
these surroundings. Its structure was “based on children’s social life,” combining “learning of
character building and behavior rules” and “patriotism, collectivism and socialism,” as well as
the “learning of the Chinese characteristics, history and culture” and “geographical and
environment education.” Students were to be acquainted with knowledge about families,
schools and their hometown. They were to learn what was expected of them in these social
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environments, through activity-based projects consisting of well-intended interactions with
their family, school and local communities, which in the end should grow into a sense of
belonging to the nation. Historical learning involved in the course covered mainly the length
of the Chinese civilization, the great powers’ invasion and the Chinese resistance in the
modern times, the establishment and achievements of the CCP. 28
Historical education in secondary school textbooks, on the other hand, was intensified,
with a focus on the modern era (from 1840 to 2001) that was now to make up two-thirds of
the history curriculum. Since 1993, students take history lessons all the way through their
first three years in lower secondary school (Years 7, 8, and 9) and in their first year (10th
grade) in higher secondary school. In 1991, another major reform was implemented and the
subject Shijie lishi (World history) was substituted by Shijie jinxiandaishi bixiuke
(Compulsory study on world modern history) in the first and second year in high school,
while a subject zhonguo jinxiandaishi bixiuke (Compulsory study on Chinese modern history)
was added in high school Year 1. This was to enhance the education on Chinese
characteristics and the legitimacy of the CCP’s rule in the wake of the Tiananmen Square
movement, in which the Party’s use of military forces to crack down the student protest had
cause a gripping discontent nationwide with the ruling government. The then state head,
President Jiang Zemin hence declared that he wished to reinforce the teaching of Chinese
modern and contemporary history and guoqing (the nation’s realities), from kindergarten to
universities. “This issue is critical to our cultivation of the next generation of builders and
successors of our Socialist cause, to crackdown on hostile domestic and foreign forces
intending a ’peaceful evolution’ and to safeguard our journey on the socialist road generation
after generation. It is a foremost important task for our education in schools and shall have
undivided attention from education administrators at all levels.”29 The teaching of Chinese
modern history divides the period 1840 to 1949 into three phases: the history of humiliation,
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the history of struggle and the history of exploration. Chinese modern history thus has been
viewed as the route of China’s restoration guided by the CCP. This dominant perspective has
underpinned the teaching of Chinese modern history in schools, and has endured despite the
education reforms and curriculum shifts in the 21th century.30
The teaching of history is arranged in a spiral-learning model: “Chinese ancient
history” is taught in Year 7, Chinese modern history in Year 8, while World ancient history
and World modern history are covered in Year 9. During high school years 1 and 2 Chinese
modern history and World modern history are offered to students at an advanced level, while
three optional History elective courses are available during Year 2. According to the
curriculum standards, high school history courses are to be more demanding than the ones
taught in lower grades. High school Year 1 students, when guided by the teacher, shall be able
“to use the knowledge learned from Chinese modern history to develop correct thoughts on
issues and problems that have emerged in China`s road of socialistic development,” while
Year 7 students shall be able to “rightly observe issues and problems found in current social
life.”31 For students in lower secondary school, history teaching shall mainly provoke in them
patriotic feelings and a sense of national pride, whereas high school students shall derive from
the history a learned sense of responsibility to zhen xing zhong hua (rejuvenate China), in
addition to the feelings of patriotism and national pride.
Since the turn of the twenty-first century, secondary school textbook compilation has
greatly changed, People’s Education Press (PEP), an affiliate of the Ministry of Education
(MOE) 32 single-handedly developed textbooks for all Chinese schools since the founding of
the People’s Republic. By late 1980s, guided by the “One syllabus, Many editions” decree
from the State Commission of Education, several publishing houses from Beijing, Shanghai,
Sichuan and Guangdong embarked on the task of making new textbooks to meet the
requirements of the newly implemented education reforms that were to be in place by 1992.33
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The mechanism of competition was introduced to textbook marketing and PEP was turned
into one of the major textbook publishers operating on their own expenses.34 In 2001, a new
concept of “curriculum standards” was introduced to replace the old system of a mandated
syllabus, and the Compendium of curriculum standards for compulsory education
(experimental) enacted by the MOE, were revised and finalized in 2007.
The difference between a curriculum standard and a syllabus was the degree of
centralized control. The syllabus was deemed as a canon in the exam-oriented education
system that defined textbook compilation, teaching coordination and evaluating students and
teachers in the exam-oriented basic education. Teachers refrained from going beyond the
limits stipulated by the syllabus. The curriculum standards, in contrast, delineated a minimum
standard that is achievable by all students across the country and “should lay the foundation
for students entering and adapting to society and for further secondary school education.”35
Textbook authors and teachers were encouraged to enrich the teaching with their own
interpretations based on the curriculum standards.36 Adaptation to local contexts was
facilitated through the coordination between the three levels of national curriculum, regional
curriculum and school curriculum, to balance regional autonomy and state control of
education, particularly in teaching local history, utilizing local resources and in creating
tailor-made materials for students from rural area and of ethnic minorities.37
Although the controls over which publishers could compete in the market were lifted
since 2001, and in theory all organizations and individuals were eligible to compile
textbooks,38 fewer than ninety organizations withstood the rigorous process of evaluation and
were thus approved to develop school textbooks and they compiled approximately three
hundred titles.39 To be eligible to compete for acceptance, every March and September,
textbook proposals were to be submitted to the MOE; or to the provincial Education
Administration (EA) if the proposed textbook was intended for use only within one provincial
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area. The EAs would then scrutinize the qualifications of the publisher and authors, the
market analysis and the book’s structure. Three months later, in either June or December of
the same year, the applicants would be informed as to whether or not they could proceed to
publish. If the proposal was accepted, the applicant could begin creating the manuscript,
which was then screened by a national textbook authorizing committee convened by the MOE,
or its provincial equivalent in case of delegation. The initially approved textbooks were then
to be tested by a minimum of 400 classes or 20,000 students. A positive feedback and trial
report from the pilot schools was a prerequisite for the final approval. Provincial committees
thus retained some autonomy in approving local textbooks. Theoretically textbooks approved
by the national committee can be distributed nationwide, and schools can freely choose the
textbooks they wanted to use from an annual Catalogue of teaching materials for elementary
and middle schools nationwide. In practice, however, regional protectionism prevails.40
By 2007 there were 8 unique textbooks (altogether 48 volumes) for History and 3
textbooks (17 volumes) for History and Society in Chinese junior middle schools, and 4
unique textbooks (35 volumes) for History in high schools.41 The PEP, Beijing Normal
University Press, East China Normal University Press and Chinese Map Publishing house
published the most widely used History textbooks for junior middle school, while the most
popular History and society textbooks were published by PEP and Shanghai Education Press.
For high school History textbooks, PEP, People’s Press, Yuelu Publishing House and
Elephant Press shared the market. Li Fan, a professor from Beijing Normal University and the
author of a high school textbook on modern Chinese history, discussed the variety of history
textbooks available and noted that “although there are some differences in text and form, but,
as they follow the same curriculum standards, they do not differ much in content.”42
Under the decentralized guidelines of curriculum standards teachers were allowed
more freedom in lesson planning. It became possible to focus on the learning experience in
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the classroom and the teacher is encouraged to adopt a holistic teaching style, viewing a
lesson as constitutive of teacher, students, textbook and environment.43 The aim of history
teaching within the compulsory education was to form “a fundamental grasp of Chinese and
foreign history, and a basic command of history methods and skills,” so as that the students
develop an intellectual interest in the continuation and advancement of human history, and
appreciate the historical value of the Chinese civilization.44 History education should also
foster patriotic emotions, enable students to form a proper view of the world, and should help
form the foundation for citizenship by creating students of well-rounded character,” as the
History curriculum standards for full-time compulsory education instructs.45 It also advises
teachers “to lead students with the correct worldview and principles, especially in analyzing
historical events and historical figures, to broaden the function of emotional education of
history teaching, to ignite interests and to foster analytical skills and independent thinking, to
associate history with other aspects of social life, and to adopt innovative and interactive
learning methods.”46
“Knowledge and capacity,” “process and method” and “emotions, attitudes and values”
constitute the course objectives of history teaching in secondary schools.47 What are the right
emotions, attitudes and values to be formed through the education? One highlighted group of
the preferred emptions, attitudes and values are those about China: “to gradually understand
the national situation of China, to understand and love the Chinese nation’s cultural traditions
to identify with Chinese history and culture, to form an initial historical responsibility to the
country and the nation, and to cultivate a patriotic sentiment.”48 Another aspect that is
emphasized is “to strengthen the idea of democracy and rule of law” through understanding
that all societies evolve inevitably from autocracy to democracy, as well as “to understand the
diversity of cultural traditions across the world, and to form a cosmopolitan spirit that shall
prepare the students to face the world and to face the future.”49 Li Fan points out that it is
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difficult to strike a balance between the two teaching goals of emotion and value-based
education: “national identification and patriotism on the one hand, globalization and
cosmopolitanism on the other.”50
The portrayal of Japan and Sino-Japan relations in Chinese history textbooks
Japan is frequently mentioned in Chinese history textbooks. It is first mentioned in the
Year 7 course Chinese History II, unit 1 “A prosperous and open society.” The curriculum
standard (2011) requires textbooks to cover the following “content standard:” “use qian tang
shi (kentoshi, or Japanese missions to Tang China), Xuanzang travelling to West and Monk
Jianzhen’s visits to Japan as examples to illustrate the development of cultural exchanges in
Tang Dynasty.”51 The unit “Consolidating a unified multi-ethnic group country and its social
crisis,” shall introduce “the facts about how Qi Jiguang fought Japanese pirates, and Zheng
Chenggong’s taking over of Taiwan and the Albazin/Yakesa Campaign,” and the unit should
enable students to experience Chinese people’s great resisting spirit.”52 In Year 8 Chinese
Modern History, unit 1 “Invasions from the superpowers and the resistance of Chinese people”
shall “depict Deng Shichang’s courageous service in the Jiawu China-Japan war, identify with
Chinese people’s patriotism in fighting foreign invaders and introduce the Treaty of Maguan
(the Treaty of Shimonoseki) and its aftermath.”53 The entire Unit 4 shall be devoted to “the
anti-Japanese war on the Chinese people,” consisting of the following historical events:
“jiuyiba shibian (The Mukden Incident),” “Xi’an incident,” “qiqi shibian (the Lugouqiao
Incident),” “the Nanjing massacre,” “ xue zhan Taierzhuang (the blood-shedding battle of
Taierhuang), and bai tuan da zhan (The Hundred Regiments Offensive),” and the seventh
national assembly of the CCP.54 The curriculum standard suggests that students can take study
trips to the battlefields or interview veteran soldiers, or victims or witnesses of the crimes
committed by the Japanese army. Students are encouraged to sing “Yi yong jun jin xing qu
(Marches of the volunteers)” and “Da dao xiang guizimen de tou shang kan qu (Cut the
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devil’s head off with big knives)” to sense Chinese people’s bravery in the war.55 In Year 9
World Ancient History, the unit “Mid-ancient Asian and European civilization” covers the
thousand years of feudal systems in Asia and Europe. One of the two major ancient Asia
events the students are required to grasp is the “Taika reform” that enables them to have
initial knowledge about ancient Japanese society.56
In Year 9 World Modern History, the American civil war, Russia’s annulment of
serfdom, and the Meiji Restoration were selected as the three representative events discussed
in Unit 4, “The strengthened and broadened rule of the capitalistic class.”57 A comparison
between the Chinese Wuxu bian fa (the Hundred Day’s Reform) and the Meiji Restoration
was encouraged in a section called “Advice on teaching activities.”58 In the unit on the
Second World War, the Pearl Harbor attack was the only Japan-related event covered. In the
postwar world, textbooks should cover how Japan became a strong country, and students were
advised to use tables, figures and charts to demonstrate the economic development of US and
Japan, as a skill-building exercise.59
The “spiral-learning model” entails that history teaching in high school covers almost
the same historical events as in junior middle school.60 The History curriculum standards for
normal senior secondary schools (Experimental) requires textbooks: 1) to list as historical
facts the Western aggressions against China between 1840-1900, to have an overview of the
Chinese army and people’s resistance, and to sense the invincible bravery of the Chinese
people; 2) to list crimes committed by the Japanese army invading China, to recapitulate
briefly on the main facts of the second Sino-Japanese war, and to discuss the importance of
the Chinese victory.61
This textual analysis examined the PEP edition of history textbooks for Year 7-9 and
high school Year 1, which included Chinese Ancient History (Year 7), Chinese modern
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history (Year 8), World Ancient History (Year 9), and Chinese Modern History (high school
Year 1). To find out possible shifts in the narratives over time, an older PEP version of high
school Year 1 Chinese Modern History from 2003 and a People’s Press edition from 2006
were compared to the current PEP version published in 2007. The use of language and
illustrations are taken into consideration, as were the instructions from the Teacher’s Guides
that were prepared to accompany each textbook.
Japan as a keen learner
Japan is depicted as a diligent student of Chinese culture and achievements in Chinese
ancient history textbooks. In Year 7 Chinese History I, the lesson on China’s prosperity and
openness during Tang dynasty includes a Map of Tang dynasty’s foreign communication
route, and Ping cheng jing (Heij!-ky!) was marked as one of nine foreign cities with
connections to China.62 The Kentoshi (Japanese delegation’s) visit to China and the role of the
Monk Jianzhen are used as examples to highlight China’s influence and historical cultural
superiority over Japan. The textbook describes how those missions were composed of
between 200 to 600 people; of whom most were highly competent and educated, which
enabled them to become good students of the Tang culture. The book explains that they
introduced political reforms modeled on Tang Dynasty doctrines. Perhaps even more
significantly, they created a Japanese written language drawing upon Chinese characters. The
book also emphasized that cultural rituals and traditions from the Tang Dynasty have been
preserved in Japan ever since. To visualize China’s influence over Japan, the PEP textbook
inserted three illustrations: one quote with highlighted background, cited from Nihon Shoki
(The Chronicles of Japan), remarked, “China is a country with well-developed laws and
formalities. It is a highly advanced country and shall be cherished. It should be visited
often.”63 The second picture juxtaposed two almost identical coins: one from 7th century
China and the other from 8th century Japan. The text under the picture read: “Use your brain:
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What are the similarities between the two coins? Can you name more examples on Chinese
influences over Japan?”64 The third illustration is of a Japanese painting from the 8th century,
depicting Jianzhen and his disciples preparing their ship before setting out to sea.65
The thread on Japan’s systematic learning from China reappears in Year 9 World
Ancient History, where lesson 4 “The establishment of Asian feudal countries” features Taika
reforms as the turning point of Japan’s transition from a slave society to feudalism.66 The text
in a caption box gives background information of the reforms, and observes that Japan was
mired in conflicts among the noble clans and that it also faced slave protests, and the Emperor
K!toku was agitated by the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty and the rise of the kingdoms of
Korea. The Emperor made up his mind to reform with aid from a group of former kentoshis.67
A photo of a calligraphic work by Japanese from the 9th century was shown in the section,
accompanied by a question: “Please review related content in Chinese ancient history, when
did the exchange between China and Japan start? When was the period that the two countries
had the most frequent exchanges? What were the reasons for these exchanges?”68 The
preferred answer, as the Teacher’s Guide suggests, is that “the Japanese nation has been very
good at borrowing other nations’ culture, and assimilating it into their own culture. The
Japanese learned from China in the ancient times and learned from the West in modern times,
which contributed to Japan’s advanced development.”69 The discussion anticipated by the
teaching in this section, taken in total, would suggest that while the Japanese might be clever
and capable of copying from more developed cultures, the indigenous Japanese culture was
inferior to Chinese culture in historical times and to that of the west in the modern era.
Japan’s ambitious efforts to acquire new territories and gain greater influence through
eastward expansion were interrupted when the United States, emboldened by the power of its
modern steam-powered navy, demanded a trade treaty with Japan. This was the subject of
discussion in lesson 19 “The historic turn of Russia and Japan,” under Unit 6 “The Struggle of
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the Proletarian and the strengthening of the rule of capitalists” in Year 9 World Modern
History.70 The lesson defined the Meiji Restoration as a capitalistic reform, noting that it
introduced western technologies and established modern industries, while also advocating for
open attitudes to acquire knowledge from Europe and America. The unit emphasized how in
most aspects of Japanese social life, westernization was visible, including the introduction of
social equality among different trades and feudal pedigrees and the construction of new
schools to teach the content and in the style of western colleges and universities. One change
brought about by Meiji Restoration was Japan’s transition from feudalism to capitalism.
Japan’s rise as a capitalist country enabled it to avoid “the fate of degrading to a semi-
colonized society.”71 Meanwhile, the newly established army quickly became a tool for
“invasion and expansion” and Japan was set “marching on the aggressive road of Jingoism.”72
The “Activity and exploration” exercise attached to the section compared the Japanese Meiji
Restoration and the Chinese Hundred Days Reforms. Students were required to answer why
the former succeeded while the latter failed by comparing the historical background, leaders,
participants, and content of the two reforms.73
Positioning Japan as a permanent menace
The first known conflict to have occurred between China and Japan was presented in
the unit “China’s contact and conflict with other countries,” in Year 7 Chinese history I.74 The
section “Qi Jiguang combating Wa” outlines the legacy of Qi Jiguang and his battles against
Wakou, or Wa bandits; a name given to groups of Japanese samurai, merchants and pirates
harassing Chinese coastal areas in the 16th century. Qi Jiguang was portrayed as an invincible
military genius that devoted himself to his country without reservation. He was quoted
“Knowing that the yi dao (foreign island) is floating at the brim of the sky, vigilance is
indispensable and one shall not waste his best years on irrelevant things,” in the text.75 The
“foreign island” refers to Japan, which was deemed a permanent menace to China and should
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evoke the sense of responsibility from all compatriots.76 The couplet revealed the mind of an
ancient general and provided a teaching moment, which enabled students to contextualize
their understanding of today’s international order in the frame of history and in the process of
identity formation. Chinese Modern History taught in Year 8 covers the period from the first
Opium War in 1840 to the founding of the PRC in 1949. As already argued, the course
Chinese Modern History was meant to legitimate the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s rule,
and the historical narrative was arranged to serve that purpose. The first unit “Invasion and
Resistance” consists of five sections: “the Opium War,” “Crimes committed by the foreign
powers during the second opium war,” “Taking over Xinjiang,” “Jiawu China-Japan naval
battle,” and “The invasion of the eight-nation alliance.”77 The section on the first Sino-
Japanese war takes 4 pages out of the 23-page chapter, featuring two elements: the battle of
Yellow Sea and a story of Deng Shichang. The textbook identifies “Japan’s ambition to
conquer Korea and invade China hence to conquer the world,” as the direct cause of the Sino-
Japan war.78 In high school Year 1 Chinese Modern history, Chapter 2 “The emergence and
development of Chinese capitalism and the formation of the Chinese semi-colonized, semi-
feudalism society” renders a more thorough grounding of the war. It argues that because of
the internal tension between the booming industrial economy and a small domestic market,
Japan’s ruling class needed, pretty badly a way out of the economic crisis. Their solution is
the so-called “Continent policy” centered on launching aggression against China.79 The PEP
2003 high school Year 1 textbook gives a more detailed analysis of the international situation
under which China suffered: the Japanese invasion was deliberately tolerated by major
capitalist countries that were waiting for their chance to scramble for China, whereas the Qing
imperial court relied almost solely on international negotiation and intervention by Russia,
Britain, Germany and France, and thus failed to take Japan’s aggression seriously. The
extreme passivity of the Qing court, and the court’s wrong judgment on the likely actions of
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the major capitalist countries were deemed a major cause for the defeat of China.80 However
the criticism was overhauled from PEP’s 2007 edition, substituted by a French cartoon
postcard illustrating the imperialists cutting a Chinese dragon apart.81
Japanese aggressions throughout Chinese history textbooks were depicted as deceitful
and treacherous. The Japanese army was described as having schemed, ambushed, or
engineered a series of escalating conflicts to justify its decision to wage wars, such as in the
first and second Sino-Japanese wars and the secret invasion of Taiwan in 1874.82 The
textbook used in Year 8 Chinese History I offered a vivid personal account of how the
Japanese military bombed a railway in Liutiaohu, and attacked a nearby Chinese military
camp, so as to create a pretext for the second Sino-Japanese war. The account included an
excerpt from a memoir by a Japanese major who participated in the Liutiaohu Incident (the
Mukden Incident). The reading question asked “why did the Japanese invaders devise the
Liutiaohu Incident before they marched into Northeast China?” The suggested answer was
that it was part of the treachery of dragging China to the war.83 The Japanese were also
depicted as deceitful in covering up their crimes. In Year 8 Chinese History I a narrative,
accompanied by photographs taken during the first Sino-Japanese war, suggests the Japanese
army killed nearly twenty thousand civilians in Lvshun. Worse still, they intentionally
attempted to cover up the massacre by burning the bodies and erecting a fake tomb inscribed
“Manchurian soldiers and officers who died in the battle.”84
Putting Japanese crimes in perspective
Among all the different nations that have preyed upon China in its modern history,
Japan is described as the most devastating and persistent.85 Students are introduced to the
Treaty of Shimonoseki in the section on the first Sino-Japanese war in Year 8 Chinese history
I.86 The treaty is described as having caused severe damage to the Qing Empire. As a result of
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the Japanese aggression, China was compelled to cede to Japan its biggest island, Taiwan and
also the Penghu islands. These territorial acquisitions gave Japan access to rich resources and
also enabled it to expand its military power directed toward the east coast of China and indeed
all of Southeast Asia. In addition, China was compelled to pay Japan a war indemnity of 200
million silver liang (kuping taels), which was more than China could afford so the money was
borrowed from the Western powers. What was worse, Japan devoted approximately 85% of
the funds it received to support its military expansion. The opening of the ports in inland
China handicapped the emergent Chinese industries and permitted the Western powers to
carve the nation into concessions and colonies which led to further economic exploitation and
humiliation of China.87
During the second Sino-Japanese war Japan inflicted upon China still greater
catastrophes. My study discovered that there were significant differences in the narratives
textbooks offered regarding this war. When comparing the PEP editions of high school Year
1 Chinese Modern History of 2003 (the 2003 PEP edition) to the 2007 (the 2007 PEP edition)
and the People’s Press edition of 2006 (the 2006 PP edition), I detected significant differences
in how the historic narrative was structured. In the 2003 PEP edition, the chapter was named
“The anti-Japanese War on the Chinese Nation.” The pre-text synopsis gave an analysis of
Japan`s motives: “Japanese imperialists did not wage the full-blown invasive war by
coincidence. It was an inevitable outcome of Japan`s long-prepared strategy of conquering
China, dominating Asia and towering over the world.”88 The summary defines the war as “the
most extensive invasion China had suffered since the modern times.”89 The war narrative
sticks to the war timeline, starting from the Liutiaohu Incident, followed by a section on
Japan’s occupation of China, a section on the Nationalist government’s domestic and
international policies, then the final section on “the Communist Party’s insistence on anti-
Japanese war and the glorious victory.”90 The twenty page chapter devoted significant space
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to the Japanese occupation, elaborating on “the barbaric economic plundering,” “enslavement
education” and “the Japanese cruel and ferocious rule and Chinese people’s protests.”91 It
went into detail about how Japan plundered resources and food from China and starved the
Chinese people, how Japan seized Chinese industries and banks, and how they tried “to
eradicate the Chinese national consciousness” by promoting enslavement education.92
In the 2006 edition of the high school year 1 history textbook published by the
People’s Press (PP), the section on the second Sino-Japanese war is part of a larger section
titled: “China`s defense of its sovereignty in modern times.”93 An introductory synopsis
outlines the sequence of the historical events: “the outbreak of the war -- the united frontier---
the victory.” Shown side by side with the content outline, a quote from the Tanaka Memorial
describing Japan’s action plan was “first the conquest of Manchuria, then the conquest of
China, finally the conquest of the world.”94 The 2007 PEP edition of high school year 1
history textbook was constructed in a different order in comparison to the 2006 PP version. It
began from the end, marking Emperor Hirohito`s radio announcement of Japan’s
unconditional surrender to the Allies on August 15, 1945 as the defining moment of the war.
The synopsis asks, “during the past decades, Chinese people and wise Japanese people were
pondering: what the criminal war waged by Japanese imperialists has brought to China and
Japan?”95 The aim was to put the war in perspective. Students are required “to think about the
aftermath of the war, and to analyze the war`s impact on the two nation`s economies, politics,
culture and public psychology, in both the historical and current period,” as the Teacher`s
Guide suggests.96 The chapter was shorter than that of the 2003 PEP edition, taking only four
pages. The content on the Japanese occupation was overhauled.97
Japan’s “inhumane” experiments in testing chemical and bacteriological weapons on
living human beings were mentioned in the 2006 PP edition, accompanied by a map of “the
distribution of Japanese invader’s chemical and bacteriological troops in China.”98
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In the 2007 PEP edition, Japan’s war crimes were discussed in a section titled: “the
whole nation fighting the anti-Japanese war,”99 The tone in the 2007 PEP edition was more
moderate than that of the 2003 PEP edition and 2006 PP edition. It encouraged students to
explore the aftermath of the war crimes. The end of the lesson included a news story from
2003 explaining that a man from Qiqihar excavated five barrels of mustard gas.100 The man
died of poisoning, after he and his companions emptied the “oil” in a sewer and sold the
barrels to a recycling station. The text stated further that the remnants of Japanese chemical
weapons were found in more than ten provinces in China and that approximately two
thousand persons were exposed and became ill as a result. Students are asked to collect facts
about those victims through Internet searches or by conducting direct interviews, to better
understand the long-term harms caused by the war.101
The brutality of Japanese army was emphasized consistently in the textbooks, but the
latest edition also attempted to explore the psychological mechanisms behind the heinous
crimes. For example, the 2003 PEP and 2006 PP editions used historical facts, figures and
excerpts from memoirs to describe the Nanjing massacre, but in the 2007 PEP edition a new
angle emerged. Under the section “the monstrous crimes by the Japanese army,” two photos
were juxtaposed, one showing a Japanese soldier with members of his family engaged in a
merry gathering in Japan, the second showing a Japanese soldier holding a bayonet in one
hand and a human head in the other. The caption above contrasted the Japanese army’s
extreme bestiality exhibited during the war, opposed to the soldiers’ ordinary humanity at
home. The question asked, “what turned the Japanese invader from human being to anti-
human beasts?”102 As the Teacher’s Guide suggested, the teacher should lead students to take
both cultural and realistic factors into consideration. “The Japanese Bushido spirit honors
death more than life. How can one cherish another person’s life if one’s own is to be
undervalued? Considering the realistic factors, the Japanese army aimed at terminating the
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existence of China, therefore they wanted to destroy the Chinese peoples’ spirit by the means
of massacre and slaughters.”103 The Teacher`s Guide concluded that “Love our nation with
both minds and brains” is “what we can do after we remembered the crimes.”104 It pointed out
that “the aim of learning this section is to refute with historical facts the Japanese right-wing
politicians’ denial of history, but also to build a correct view on the responsibility of wars.
The students shall be guided to develop a rational patriotism that goes beyond the level of
emotional release.”105
All three of these editions avoided numerical totals of Chinese causalities and
economic losses in the war. Perhaps because such a summary could invite a comparison
between the losses experienced by the Nationalist and the Communist forces. Nevertheless in
the 2007 PEP edition an end-of-chapter question asked students to estimate “from 1931 to
1945, what bitterness and adversities were brought to the Chinese people by Japan? How did
the Chinese people conquer the adversities and win the war?”106 There was an emphasis on
affirming the greatness of the Chinese nation that endured the suffering and won the final
victory.
Situating patriotic sentiments in the present
Chinese modern history, as represented by the textbook narratives is a history of a
nation humiliated and violated by outside forces at least until the CCP emerged onto the world
stage. It is also apparent that the textbooks were intended to evoke intense and emotional
patriotic sentiments from the students. Forming the emotions and values was an explicit
objective prescribed in the curriculum standards.107 The guideline was implemented
extensively in the lessons on the two Sino-Japanese wars. The appeals to emotions were overt.
In the unit “The Chinese nation’s anti-Japan war” in Year 8 Chinese History, the three lessons
are titled “Unforgettable 9.18,” “Rather to die fighting, not to live as a slave without a country”
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and “Using our blood and flesh to build a Great Wall.”108 Songs, music and drama were
deemed effective teaching methods to instill patriotic nationalism in students. For example,
the lesson “Unforgettable 9.18” begins with the lyric of a tear-provoking song “Song hua
jiang shang” (By the Songhua river). A caption suggests the song expresses the agony of
those driven out from their homes in northeast China and the hatred against the Japanese
enemy felt by every Chinese.109
There are abundant resources and lesson plans available in the Teacher’s Guides and
on PEP’s website, which include examples of classroom interactions, power point
presentations, and audio-visual files, contributed by teachers across the country.110 Drama and
storytelling were popular forms in teaching patriotism. Students were encouraged to create
their own works. For example, a historic textbook play “Rather to die fighting, not to live as a
slave without a country” written by a student sought to reconstruct the historical moment of
the Lugouqiao Incident. It contained less than twenty lines, but the teacher praised the short
play as “humorous and appealing,” and suggested such plays “effectively stimulate the
students’ interest in learning and help them to have a grasp of what had happened.”111
The teaching of the historical relationship between China and Japan contributes to our
understanding of how Chinese citizens today come to understand the current issues regarding
Taiwan and the dispute over the Diaoyu Islands. History textbooks consistently emphasize
that Taiwan has always been a part of China. This is illustrated, for example in the story of
Zheng Chenggong, a national hero who drove the Dutch colonizers away from Taiwan and
established ethnic Chinese rule over the island in 1662, and was said to have acted “to recover
Taiwan from the Dutch colonizers.”112 The narrative neglected to mention Zheng’s maternal
link to Japan, or his decision to retreat to Taiwan and use it as a base to launch counterattacks
against the Qing Dynasty of Mainland China.113 Since ancient times the Taiwanese people
were described as having persistently subscribed to a Chinese identity, especially in fighting
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foreign invaders. Year 8 Chinese History features how a local community in Taiwan formed a
volunteer army to resist Japanese troops after the island was ceded to Japan in the Treaty of
Shimonoseki. Xu Xiang, a Qing loyalist and the leader of the volunteer army fought the
Japanese army until he dropped.114 The Teacher’s Guide encouraged students to read the
material about Xu Xiang and to rebuke the arguments on behalf of Taiwan’s independence.
The Teacher’s Guide also suggested that students be assigned to collect stories of how the
Taiwanese people resisted the Japanese colonial rule and to share those stories in the class.115
Although the Diaoyu Islands are not explicitly discussed in any of these textbooks,
they do appear as Chinese territory on two maps related to the first Sino-Japanese war: one in
the 2003 PEP edition of high school history compulsory I, on the map of “The Taiwanese
People fought against the ceding of Taiwan,”116 and the other in the 2006 PP edition of
History Compulsory I, on the map of “The Great Powers’ Scramble for China.”117 Even if the
islands are not discussed they are presumed Chinese because they historically were under the
control and influence of Taiwan and Taiwan has always been Chinese except for the brief
period when it was seized by Japan.
Zhongkao (the entrance exams for high school) and Gaokao (the national entrance
exam for universities) served as a crucial link between historical learning and perceptions of
the present. Candidates were often required to analyze current issues in relation to the
historical facts they have learned from school. Various teaching supplements provided
students with answers to questions that were likely to appear in exams. Questions related to
Taiwan and recently the Diaoyu Islands have been a fixture in the list of “things to be
prepared.” PEP`s website hosts a section specializing in Gaokao preparation features “2013
Special review on the heat topic in History: Diaoyu Islands and the Sino-Japanese
relations.”118 The teaching supplement suggested that in viewing Diaoyu Islands, students
should maintain that the “Diaoyu Islands have been Chinese since the ancient times. Any
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attempt by Japan to control the islands is illegal and constitutes a severe violation against the
Chinese territory and sovereignty and the human rights of the Chinese people.”119 A proper
attitude in understanding Sino-Japanese relations was phrased as “using history as a mirror
and facing the future.” This was elaborated further as “to learn from the advanced cultures
around the world and to build China into a strong country, to remember the history and
cherish peace, and to call on the Japanese Right-wing forces to reflect on history otherwise
they shall drag the Japanese people and people from the world into war again.”120 The
answers memorized in cramming for the exams might not necessarily cast influence upon
young people’s attitudes; however the answers did show the preferred understanding, that the
supremacy of the unity of Chinese territory and sovereignty are not disputable, which is
evidence of the legitimacy of the CCP.
Conclusion
As the Teacher`s Guide suggests, the historical narratives about Japan were formed as
a response to the present, as well as to prepare students for the future. What is happening
today influences how historical narratives are shaped. In Chinese history textbooks Japan has
been consistently portrayed as an imminent treat in East Asia, and this threat was made more
credible based on the historical lessons of how Japan has been the most ferocious enemy of
China in the past. Due to the decision to allow more local control over textbook production,
there are more alternative narratives allowed in current textbooks, and thus various historical
narratives of the influence of Japan on China’s history can be found in the textbooks. The
central government has, however, set the basic tone and the minimum expectations that books
must meet in order to gain approval through the guidance of curriculum standards, so
textbooks must not only list the historical facts, but also inspire a sense of solidarity and
patriotism. The students are expected to understand Chinese modern history as a history of
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humiliation and frustration, and it was only since the anti-Japanese war, in which the CCP
played a critical role, that China was able to defend its own sovereignty.
Accounts of the first and second Sino-Japanese wars were used to teach students a
clear historical consciousness and to encourage them to remember the scars and damage that
Japan inflicted on the Chinese throughout history. As stated in the Teacher’s Guide,
“remembering Japan’s war crime not only equips students with historical facts to respond to
the Japanese right-wing forces that attempted to deny the truth of Japanese aggression, but
also helps to foster a correct view on war responsibilities, and to lead the students to develop a
rational patriotisms that goes beyond emotional release.”121 This being said, recent editions of
Chinese history textbooks tended to put the Japanese war crimes in perspective. The 2007
PEP edition of high school Year 1 History Compulsory for example, contextualized the
Japanese war crimes to enable students to make sense of the atrocities. Students were
encouraged to establish a “correct view on the responsibility for the war” and “to love the
motherland with both hearts and minds,” and to hold Japan accountable for its war crimes.122
The textbooks and the Teacher’s guides never directly encourage a hawkish attitude toward
Japan. Students are encouraged to learn from history, and to develop a rational patriotism.
Most importantly, the formation of the historical accounts of Japan mirrored the
formation of the national identity of China. In ancient history, Japan was depicted as having
an indigenous culture inferior to the Chinese culture, especially during the 7th to 9th centuries.
The image of Japan as a keen follower of China can be seen as a projection of the self-image
of Chinese civilization in the past, when the economic accumulation, social system and
cultural achievements were at their peak, and can be experienced by students as a source of
national pride. Japan’s rise after the Meiji Restoration can be viewed as a parallel to the Qing
Dynasty’s decline. A thousand years later, when Japan had successfully transformed to a
capitalistic power and a modern nation, China’s failure to transform to a modern state was
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attributed not to the threatening presence of Western great powers but rather to the rise of
Japan. The development of Japan was cited in the textbooks as a measure of China’s
achievements in creating its own modern society, despite the presence of the Western powers.
In the narratives of the Chinese modern history, China, Japan and the West can be understood
as the three protagonists. Both the first and the second Sino-Japanese wars were regarded as
turning points in Chinese modern history. The first Sino-Japanese war caused the most severe
blow to China and dragged China to the verge of being dismembered by the Western powers.
The second created an opportunity for the CCP to become a decisive power on the world’s
stage. In rendering the second Sino-Japanese war, the textbooks demonstrated a careful
balance between the forces of the Nationalists and the Communist resistance fighters, and the
latest edition of the textbooks did not state that the Communist Party played the leading role
in the war. Nevertheless, the Teacher’s Guide recommended that teachers point out the
Communist Party’s strategic thinking and vision, as opposed to the Nationalist’s hesitance and
lack of consistency during the war.123 After all, this war brought about the first victory China
had ever tasted in its modern history, and the victory was won when China defeated Japan by
allying with Western powers. The victory then can be understood as having justly created a
tremendous sense of national pride.
To summarize, the historical narratives about Japan in the Chinese school textbooks,
especially those of today, contributed to the construction of a common understanding about
the formation of China as a modern nation. Many scholars hold that the root of the tension
over the Diaoyu Islands is history and the conflict of national identity between China and
Japan.124 What was deemed important in such historical narratives was first and foremost an
understanding of China`s situation as being bullied, exploited and robbed in the period
between 1840-1945 by the foreign imperialists. It is to be learned that China must remain
vigilant to foreign, especially Japan and its allies the western powers, which can be contained
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only by China’s own national power accrued through development and stability. The
narrative stresses that only a strong government, such as the CCP regime, can protect China
from the greedy foreign perpetrators, of whom Japan is the most dangerous one. This sense
of crisis serves as a cornerstone for the CCP`s ruling legitimacy. Hence the historical
presentation of Japan could be used as a medium evoking the sense of solidarity among the
Chinese people in creating and reproducing patriotism.
$%&%'()*#
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+
##Georg Simmel, On Individuality and Social Forms, ed. Donald N. Levine, trans. Donald N.
Levine (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1971), 3.
2
Michel De Certeau, The Writing of History, trans., Tom Conley (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1988), 2-3.
3
Ibid.
4
Paul Cartledge, “Historiography and Ancient Greek Self-Definition,” in Companion to
Historiography, ed. Michael Bentley (London and New York: Routledge, 1997), 23-27.
5
David Morgan, “The Evolution of the two Asian Historiographical Traditions,” in
Companion to Historiography, ed. Michael Bentley (London and New York: Routledge,
1997), 11.
6
Ibid.
7
Since the text of the Spring and Autumn Annals is a quite arid record of major events,
Confucius supplemented the text with oral explanations. Later, during the Han Dynasty, a
number of commentaries were composed to explain and elaborate on its meanings. Among
them, The Commentary of Gongyang, the Commentary of Guliang, and the Commentary of
Zuo are the most widespread, all allegedly compiled from inherited notes of Confucius's
students.
8
Sima Qian, “Tai shi gong zi xu (Autobiographical Afterword of the Grand Historian),” chap.
70 in Shi ji (Historical Records), 91BC, Guoxue.com, accessed October 4, 2013,
http://www.guoxue.com/shibu/24shi/shiji/sj_130.htm.
9
Gotelind Müller, “Teaching ‘the Others’ History’ in Chinese Schools: The State, Cultural
Asymmetries and Shifting Images of Europe (From 1900 to Today),” in Designing History in
East Asian Textbooks: Identity Politics and Transnational Aspirations, ed. Gotelind Müller,
(London and New York: Routledge, 2011), 33.
10
Ibid.
11
Ernest Gellner, Nationalism (London: Phoenix, 1998), 25-26.
12 See: Charles Holcombe, A History of East Asia: From the Origins of Civilization to the
Twenty-First Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 193-207; Yen-Ping
Hao and Erh-Min Wang, “Changing Chinese View of Western Relations,” in The Cambridge
History of China, eds. John K.Fairbank and Kwang-Ching Liu (Cambridge: Cambridge
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13
See: Marius Jansen, “Japan and the Chinese Revolution of 1911,” in The Cambridge
History of China, eds. John K.Fairbank and Kwang-Ching Liu (Cambridge: Cambridge
14
See: Hao Chang, “Intellectual Change and the Reform Movement” in John K.Fairbank and
Kwang-Ching Liu eds. The Cambridge History of China (Cambridge University Press:
Cambridge,1980), 274-329.
15
Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of
Nationalism (Revised Edition). (London: Verso, 1991), 6.
16
Gellner, Nationalism, 10.
17
Müller, “Teaching ‘the Others’ History’ in Chinese Schools: The State, Cultural
Asymmetries and Shifting Images of Europe (From 1900 to Today).”
18
Ibid.
19
Yun-sen Fu, Xin fa li shi jiao jiao ke shu:xin xue zhi xiao xue shi yong ( History Textbook
Under New Regulation: For Elementary School) 4 vols.!Beijing: The Commercial Press,
1923).
20
Fan Li, “A Brief Discussion on the Evolution of History Education in Secondary Schools in
the Era of the Republic of China: Focusing on the Curriculum Standards Issued by the Beijing
Government and the Nanjing Government,” (in Chinese) History Teaching, 2003. Issue 11.
historyteaching.com, accessed October 4, 2013,
http://www.historyteaching.cn/lsjx/show.asp?id=175.
21
Chenggang He, ”Exploring the Thematic Design in History Textbooks from the Era of
Republic of China,” (in Chinese) Chinese History Teaching Web, December 01, 2006,
accessed October 4, 2013, http://hist.cersp.com/jcyj/jcll/200612/4717_2.html.
22
Fan Li, "A Brief Discussion on the Evolution of History Education in Secondary Schools in
the Era of the Republic of China: Focusing on the Curriculum Standards Issued by the Beijing
Government and the Nanjing Government,” quoting Curriculum Research Institute, ed. 20
shiji zhongguo zhongxiaoxue kecheng biaozhun, jiaoxue dagang huibian, lishu juan
(Collected Twentieth Century Curriculum Standards and Teaching Outlines for Chinese
Secondary and Primary School: History) (Beijing: Peoples Education Press, 2001)
23
He, “Exploring the Thematic Design in History Textbooks from the Era of Republic of
China.”
24
Li, “A Brief Discussion on the Evolution of History Education in Secondary Schools in the
Era of the Republic of China: Focusing on the Curriculum Standards Issued by the Beijing
Government and the Nanjing Government.”
25
The “Three Articles” were Mao’s early political writings before 1949. The articles were
entitled “In Memory of Norman Bethune,” “Serve the People,” and “The Foolish Old Man
Who Removed the Mountains.” These were said to represent the essence of Mao's ideology,
and they extolled selflessness, hard work and internationalism. Both Quotations and The
Three Articles were part of a vulgarization of Maoism. Studying and reciting essays was
compulsory for everyone.
26
Difei Chen, “Curriculum and Teaching Reforms in Primary and Middle Schools During the
Cultural Revolution,” (in Chinese) (Masters thesis, Hunan Normal University, 2005).
accessed October 4, 2013, http://www.docin.com/p-654918782.html.
27
Hongzhi Wang, “The Chronological Development of Elementary and Secondary School
Textbooks by the Peoples Education Press,” (in Chinese) last modified November 22, 2002,
Peoples Education Press, accessed September 19 2013,
http://www.pep.com.cn/gzls/js/ztts/kg/201008/t20100831_840633.htm.
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28
Ministry of Education of P.R.C, The Curriculum Standards for Ethics and Society for
Compulsory Education, The Chinese Web of Compulsory Education Curriculum, 2011,
accessed October 4, 2013, http://edu.qq.com/a/20120202/000092.htm.
29
National People's Congress of P.R.C, "The State Commission of Education on ‘General
Guideline on Enhancing Education on Chinese Modern and Contemporary History and the
Nation’s Realities in Elementary and Middle Schools,” last modified August 26 1991,
accessed October 4, 2013, http://china.findlaw.cn/fagui/p_1/87924.html.
30
Hui Chen, “The Review and Analysis on the Twenty Years of History Curriculum Reform
in Chinese High Schools,” (in Chinese) Journal of Southwest Normal University, vol.5, 1999,
accessed October 4, 2013, http://www.360doc.com/content/08/1231/20/9787_2236221.shtml.
31
Ibid.
32
Fan Li, “Curriculum Reform and Textbooks in China” in Designing History in East Asian
Textbooks: Identity Politics and Transnational Aspirations, ed. Gotelind Müller (London and
New York: Routledge, 2011), 137-147.
33
Qingjun Chen, “Review and Prospectus: History Teaching in Middle Schools in the New
Era, (in Chinese) History Teaching, 1996, Issue 7 and 8, accessed October 4, 2013
http://61.132.103.29:8084/CHELRes/200/060/080/Longedu000027919.htm.
34
Peoples Education Press, “The History of Peoples Education Press,” Peoples Education
Press, accessed October 4, 2013,
http://www.pep.com.cn/rjs/rjgl/rjls/dsj/201012/t20101206_982017.htm.
35
Ministry of Education of P.R.C, History Curriculum Standards for Full-Time Compulsory
Education, 2011, Sina.com.cn, accessed October 4, 2013,
http://ishare.iask.sina.com.cn/f/22964174.html?from=like.
36
Hui Chen, “The Review and Analysis on the Twenty Years of History Curriculum Reform
in Chinese High Schools.”
37
Ibid.
38
Ministry of Education, PRC, “Order No.11 Provisional Regulations on Compilation of
School Teaching Material,” 2001, accessed October 4, 2013,
http://www.moe.edu.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/moe/moe_621/201005/88490.html.
39 Xinhua Net, “Interpreting the Profit Chain Underneath the Negative-Renting Model of
School Textbooks,” last modified 7 April 2009, People.com, accessed October 4, 2013,
http://society.people.com.cn/GB/1063/9085357.html.
40
Zhihua Zhu, “ Unveil the Profit Chain Underneath Primary and Middle School Textbooks,
the Distribution of Textbooks Protected by the Local Government,” Legal Evening, 8
September 2008, accessed October 4, 2013,
http://www.cnci.gov.cn/content/200898/news_30129.shtml .
41
Yunguo Wei and Qiao Li, “A Comparative Study on Textbooks After the Curriculum
Reform,” National Research Project No. BHA060029, 2010, Peoples Education Press,
accessed October 4, 2013,
http://www.pep.com.cn/kcs/ktgl/gj/jc/201010/t20101021_939829.htm.
42
Li, “Curriculum Reform and Textbooks in China.”
43
Xiong Wang, “Theories and Practices on High School History Curriculum Standards,” last
modified 30 June 2008, Chinese History Curriculum Web, accessed October 4,
2013,http://hist.cersp.com/book/200806/10048.html.
44
Ministry of Education (PRC), History Curriculum Standards for Full-Time Compulsory
Education II, 2011, accessed October 4, 2013,
http://www.zxls.com/Article/Class163/pxzl/201103/20110314175750_154364.html.
45
Ibid.
46
Ibid.
!"#
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47
Ibid.
48
Ibid.
49
Ibid.
50
51
Ministry of Education (PRC), History Curriculum Standards for Full-Time Compulsory
Education II, 2011.
52
Ibid.
53
Ibid.
54
Ibid.
55
Ibid.
56
Curriculum Research Institute and History Curriculum and Textbook Research and
Development Center, Shijie lishi (World History), Year 9 I, (Beijing: Peoples Education Press,
2006), 24-25.
57
Development Center, Shijie lishi (World History), Year 9 I, 118-120.
58
Ministry of Education (PRC), History Cime Compulsory Education II, 2011.
59
Ibid.
60
61
Ministry of Education (PRC), History Curriculum Standards for Normal Senior Secondary
Schools (Experimental), 2006, accessed October 4, 2013,
http://www.ycy.com.cn/Article/kcbz/gz/200608/8537_3.html.
62
Development Center, Zhongguo lishi: Qinianji xiache (Chinese History, Year 7, II) (Beijing:
Peoples Education Press, 2006), 29.
63
Ibid.
64
Development Center, Zhongguo lishi: Qinianji xiache (Chinese History, Year 7, II), 29.
65
Ibid.
66
Development Center, Shijie lishi: Jiunianji Shangche (World History: Year 9, I), 24-25.
67
Development Center, Shijie lishi: Jiunianji Shangche (World History: Year 9, I), 25.
68
Ibid.
69
Chen Hong, “Lesson 4: The Establishment of Asian Feudal States” in Jiaoshi jiaoxue
yongshu: Shijie lishi (Teacher`s Guide: World history), Year 9 I, ed. Curriculum Research
Institute and History Curriculum and Textbook Research and Development Center (Beijing:
People Education Press, 2006) accessed October 4, 2013,
http://www.pep.com.cn/czls/js/tbjx/jsys/9s/201008/t20100827_810351.htm.
70
Development Center, Shijie lishi :Jiunianji Shangche (World History: Year 9, I), (Beijing:
Peoples Education Press, 2006), 105.
71
72
Ibid.
73
74
!!"
"
##############################################################################################################################################################################################
75
76
Ibid.
77
Development Center, Zhongguo lishi: Banianji Shangche (Chinese History, Year 8, I),
(Beijing: People Education Press, 2006), 15.
78
Development Center, Zhongguo lishi: Banianji Shangche (Chinese History, Year 8, I), 16.
79
Curriculum Research Institute and History Curriculum and Textbook research and
development center, Lishi 1:Bixiu (History I, Compulsory), Ordinary High School Curriculum
Standard Experimental Textbook, (Beijing: People Education Press, 2007), 58.
80
History section of People Education Press, Zhongguo jindai xiandaishi:Bixiu Shangche
(Chinese Modern History: Compulsory, I), (Beijing: People Education Press, 2003), 51.
81
Curriculum Research Institute and History curriculum and textbook research and
development center, Lishi 1:Bixiu (History I, Compulsory), 59.
82
Such characterization can be found in Curriculum Research Institute & History curriculum
and textbook research and development center, Zhongguo lishi: Banianji Shangche (Chinese
History, Year 8, I), 16-18,70-77; Curriculum Research Institute & History curriculum and
textbook research and development center, Lishi 1:Bixiu (History I, Compulsory), 58-61, 74-
75. Curriculum Research Institute and History curriculum and textbook research and
development center, Lishi 1:Bixiu (History I, Compulsory), 58-61.
83
development center, Zhongguo lishi: Banianji Shangche (Chinese History, Year 8, I), (Beijing:
People Education Press, 2006), 70.
84
development center, Zhongguo lishi: Banianji Shangche (Chinese History, Year 8, I), 18.
85
development center, Zhongguo lishi: Qinianji xiache (Chinese History, Year 7, II), 96;
Curriculum Research Institute and History curriculum and textbook research and development
center, Zhongguo lishi: Banianji Shangche (Chinese History, Year 8, I), 16-19.70-77;
center, Lishi 1:Bixiu (History I, Compulsory), 58-61, 74-76.
86
Chen Jianhua, “Teaching advices on Lesson 4 Jiawu Sino-Japanese War,” in Jiaoshi
jiaoxue yongshu: Zhongguo Lishi (Teacher`s Guide: Chinese History), Year 8 I, ed.
center, (Beijing: People Education Press, 2006) , People Education Press, accessed September
19, 2013, http://www.pep.com.cn/czls/js/tbjx/jsys/8s/201009/t20100902_864330.htm .
87
development center, Zhongguo lishi: Banianji Shangche (Chinese History, Year 8, I), 17;
Chen Jianhua, “Teaching advices on Lesson 4 Jiawu Sino-Japanese War,” ; Curriculum
Research Institute & History curriculum and textbook research and development center, Lishi
1:Bixiu (History I, Compulsory), 59.
88
History section of People Education Press, Chinese Modern History, 8 I, (Beijing: People
Education Press, 2003), 28.
89
Ibid.
90
History section of People Education Press, Chinese Modern History, 8 I, 28-48.
91
Ibid.
92
History section of People Education Press, Chinese Modern History, 8 I, 34-37.
93
Duan et al, Lishi I: Bixiu (History Compulsory I), (Beijing: People’s Press, 2006) 33.
!"#
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94
Ibid.
95
96
development center, “Unit 4, Lesson 16 Anti-Japanese War” in Jiaoshi jiaoxue yongshu:Lishi
Bixiu (Teacher’s Guide: History Compulsory, Year I), (Beijing: People Education Press,
2007) , People Education Press , accessed September 19, 2013, accessed September 19, 2013,
http://www.pep.com.cn/gzls/js/tbjx/kb/jsys/bx1/201008/t20100830_832765.htm.
97
development center, Lishi 1:Bixiu (History I, Compulsory), 74-76.
98
Duan et al, Lishi I: Bixiu (History Compulsory I), 33.
99
100
101
Ibid.
102
103
development center, “Unit 4, Lesson 16 Anti-Japanese War” in Jiaoshi jiaoxue yongshu:Lishi
Bixiu (Teacher’s Guide: History Compulsory, Year I).
104
Ibid.
105
Ibid.
106
107
Ministry of Education (PRC), History curriculum standards for normal senior secondary
schools (Experimental), 2006.
108
109
110
For example, in preparing Lesson 4 Jiawu Sino-Japanese war, a teacher can find in the
Teachers' Center of the PEP website a well-informed Powerpoint presentation by a history
teacher from Guangzhou, a detailed analysis of the chapter by a teacher from Henan, extended
clarification on complicate concepts, and numerous visual aids ranging from photographs to
prints and historic maps.
111
Wang Yin, “A history short play: Rather to die fighting, not to live as a slave without a
country,” People Education Press, accessed September 19, 2013,
http://www.pep.com.cn/czls/js/tbjx/8s/u4/jxck/200912/t20091228_620143.htm.
112
development center, Zhongguo lishi: Qinianji Shangche (Chinese History, Year 7, I), 103.
113
development center, Zhongguo lishi: Qinianji Shangche (Chinese History, Year 7, I), 103-104.
114
115
Chen, “Teaching advices on Lesson 4 Jiawu Sino-Japanese War.”
116
History section of People Education Press, Zhongguo iindai xiandaishi: Bixiu (Chinese
Modern History: Compulsory, II), (Beijing: People Education Press, 2003),30.
117
Duan et al, Lishi I: Bixiu (History Compulsory I), 26.
!"#
#
##############################################################################################################################################################################################
118
People Education Press and GOPEP, “2013 Special review on the heat topic in History:
Diaoyu Islands and the Sino-Japanese relations.” GOPEP, accessed September 19, 2013,
http://info.gopep.cn/about/news-content-id-13631.
119
Ibid.
120
Ibid.
121
development center, “Unit 4, Lesson 16 Anti-Japanese War” in Jiaoshi jiaoxue yongshu: Lishi
Bixiu (Teacher’s Guide: History Compulsory, Year I).
122
Ibid.
123
Ibid.
124
Tatsushi Arai and Zheng Wang, “The Diaoyu/Senkaku Dispute as an Identity-Based
Conflict: Toward Sino-Japan Reconciliation" in Clash of National Identities: China, Japan,
and the East China Sea Territorial Dispute, ed. Tatsushi Arai and Zheng Wang, (Washington
D.C: Wilsoncenter: 2013), 97.
!"#
#

Configuring A Threatening Other: Historical Narratives in Chinese School Textbooks

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Chapter 4: Configuring a threatening other: Historical narratives in Chinese school

Shubo Li, University of Oslo

Simmel in factoring in the human mind. As a literary historiographer he views history

predominantly as a narrative space. He dissects the process of historiography and asserts:

protected by the distance established between itself and its object.2

doubtless be seen in this historiography: intelligibility is established through a relation with

Greek historiography, in which ancient Greek historians contributed to the formation of

usable notions of “Greekness” by inventing a cultural category of “the barbarians;” for

example as Thucydides does in his writing of Iliad as an epic of Greco-Barbarian military

generation, particularly in the field of domestic and inter-state politics. Confucius, in

continuous historiographical tradition, “was thought to have introduced, by careful use of

admonitions in vain, as he believes historical facts demonstrate the consequences of righteous

scholar during the Sung Dynasty (960-1279).

history sometimes was forced to acknowledge an inverted asymmetry, at least in terms of

capitalistic revolutions. Ernest Gellner argues, insightfully, that industrial civilization is

changed to one of grudging admiration.13

provoked an intellectual ferment engendering political, social and cultural transformations in

The results were transformative.14 Benedict Anderson’s definition of nation as an “imagined

generations of young people developing within them a shared ideology of citizenship. My

constructing a national identity, cultivating geo-political awareness, and creating and

characterizations of Japanese culture have served in shaping Chinese history, particularly

The history taught in school textbooks usually demonstrates a highly condensed

gleaned into the current dispute over the Diaoyou Islands.

constructed understanding of Chinese history, national identity, and of Sino-Japan relations

over the Diaoyu Islands.

Contextualizing historical teaching in Chinese secondary schools

government maintains that:

comparisons, which seems to be better than the division adopted in previous

the League of Nations.21

trends of nationalistic movements and the origin of critical international issues, so as to

responsibility in resistance and defending the country.”24

environment education.” Students were to be acquainted with knowledge about families,

modern times, the establishment and achievements of the CCP. 28

education reforms and curriculum shifts in the 21th century.30

The teaching of history is arranged in a spiral-learning model: “Chinese ancient

addition to the feelings of patriotism and national pride.

syllabus, and the Compendium of curriculum standards for compulsory education

(experimental) enacted by the MOE, were revised and finalized in 2007.

interpretations based on the curriculum standards.36 Adaptation to local contexts was

textbook proposals were to be submitted to the MOE; or to the provincial Education

and middle schools nationwide. In practice, however, regional protectionism prevails.40

Under the decentralized guidelines of curriculum standards teachers were allowed

cosmopolitanism on the other.”50

The portrayal of Japan and Sino-Japan relations in Chinese history textbooks

Japan is frequently mentioned in Chinese history textbooks. It is first mentioned in the

Jianzhen’s visits to Japan as examples to illustrate the development of cultural exchanges in

initial knowledge about ancient Japanese society.56

Japan, as a skill-building exercise.59

normal senior secondary schools (Experimental) requires textbooks: 1) to list as historical

the Chinese victory.61

that were prepared to accompany each textbook.

Japan as a keen learner

Japan is depicted as a diligent student of Chinese culture and achievements in Chinese

formalities. It is a highly advanced country and shall be cherished. It should be visited

which contributed to Japan’s advanced development.”69 The discussion anticipated by the

participants, and content of the two reforms.73

Positioning Japan as a permanent menace