翻訳と紹介 : 梁啓超「新民説」(『新民叢報』1902.2.-1906.3.)
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概要
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"Shimmin-setsu (Discourse on a new people)" is an article serialized from February in 1902 to November in 1907 in Shimmin-soho (Magazines for a New People), which was published in Yokohama by Liang qi chao. It consists of 20 sections. This book has the most important meaning for forming Liang's thoughts. "Shimmin-setsu" deals with two questions : (1) why must people be made new? And (2) how can people be made new? As for the first question, Liang identifies the nation with a human body. Just like a human body is strong when each part is well, the nation is strong when everyone is sound. He claims the necessity of a new people by discussing the problem from the two points of view : a domestic one and a global one. In China those days, people who felt concerned about the nation were just waiting for the advent of a wise leader. Liang criticized their attitudes and presented his own ideas. A nation consists of its people. Its quality relies on that of its people. While every citizen in the West had discipline, the people in China lacked this quality. Then, he claimed them to be responsible and disciplined. He was sure that when people became new, a new nation naturally emerged. Liang thought that the West and Japan had already finished making of modern nations. In this respect, China remained feudalistic. From this point of view, too, people must be changed into new men with a modern nationalistic mind. We agree with his claim that new people are needed for a new nation. But his definition of new people, i.e. 'new men with a modern nationalistic mind', cannot be accepted as they are, though we sympathize with him from a historical point of view. Since this thought prevailed those days, those tragic wars irresistibly occurred. And unfortunately, this state has not been fully changed until now. As for the second question, that is, how people can be made new, his answer is that people make efforts to change themselves. He had two ways for that in his mind. One is that a man brushes up his own virtue to be new. And the other is that he receives something new to grow new. He hoped that Chinese people became modern men with a new moral sense. What he regarded as moral sense had two aspects : public and private ones. He pointed out Chinese moral sense was almost private without publicity. Then he claimed Chinese people must acquire a public moral sense. In other words, the concept responsibility was necessary for China to compete with other nations. Private moral sense is introvert and does not contribute to the nation's progress. In fact, it has some danger to make people slaves to the nation. Public moral sense, on the other hand, refers to individuals' attitude or responsibility for society, which Liang considered to be essential. The contrast between 'private' and 'public' is important for contemporary sociology. For instance, Private Self and Public Self are recognized in a model for human mind. In this sense, we can call him prophetic. But what he had in his mind is not enough for new people and a new nation. History has proved that. (I have translated the first six sections into Japanese this time.)
- 2004-03-01
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関連論文
- 梁啓超にみる国民性改造の思想 : 「奴性」と「愛国心」という二つの鍵概念をめぐって
- 翻訳 : 梁啓超「新民説」(『新民叢報』1902.2.-1906.3.)
- 翻訳と紹介 : 梁啓超「新民説」(『新民叢報』1902.2.-1906.3.)