<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The discipline of folklore studies was introduced to China in the early twentieth century while the country faced a grave national crisis resulting from intense foreign pressure and a rigid political system that was incapable of adapting to the challenges of the modern world. Nationalism contributed to the rising interest in folklore from the late 1910s to early 1920s, then became the dominant theme of folklore studies thereafter. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, folklore studies spread all over the country and developed vigorously within China. However, the eruption of the War of Resistance in 1937 interrupted this revitalization process and most folklore activities came to a standstill. In wartime China, leading scholars looked to the past in part as a reaction to Japanese imperialism, but also to strengthen cultural cohesion for the nation. In Japanese-occupied areas, some scholars persisted in independent folklore investigations and writing even though most upper tier Chinese universities and leading figures in the folklore movement gradually relocated to non-occupied territory. Scholars who remained in the occupation zone often had contact with foreign-backed institutions and were able to continue working during the war years. Their research activities served the purpose of rallying the nation and fed a growing popular demand for more and deeper investigations into China’s folk traditions. This work examines the influence of nationalism on folk studies in Beiping and Shanghai, shining a light on folklorists’ activities, folklore organizations, and primary publications during China’s War of Resistance against Japan.</p>
</abstract>

The discipline of folklore studies was introduced to China in the early twentieth century while the country faced a grave national crisis resulting from intense foreign pressure and a rigid political system that was incapable of adapting to the challenges of the modern world. Nationalism contributed to the rising interest in folklore from the late 1910s to early 1920s, then became the dominant theme of folklore studies thereafter. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, folklore studies spread all over the country and developed vigorously within China. However, the eruption of the War of Resistance in 1937 interrupted this revitalization process and most folklore activities came to a standstill. In wartime China, leading scholars looked to the past in part as a reaction to Japanese imperialism, but also to strengthen cultural cohesion for the nation. In Japanese-occupied areas, some scholars persisted in independent folklore investigations and writing even though most upper tier Chinese universities and leading figures in the folklore movement gradually relocated to non-occupied territory. Scholars who remained in the occupation zone often had contact with foreign-backed institutions and were able to continue working during the war years. Their research activities served the purpose of rallying the nation and fed a growing popular demand for more and deeper investigations into China’s folk traditions. This work examines the influence of nationalism on folk studies in Beiping and Shanghai, shining a light on folklorists’ activities, folklore organizations, and primary publications during China’s War of Resistance against Japan.

In the Shadow of War: Nationalism and Folk Studies in Wartime Beiping and Shanghai

Department of History, 6B-10 Faculty Hall

Journal of Nationalism, Memory & Language Politics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The discipline of folklore studies was introduced to China in the early twentieth century while the country faced a grave national crisis resulting from...

In the Shadow of War: Nationalism and Folk Studies in Wartime Beiping and Shanghai

Publié en ligne: 30 juin 2024

Pages: 55 - 73

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jnmlp-2024-0004

Mots clés
Folklore studies, Modern China, Nationalism, Intellectual history, Second Sino-Japanese War

© 2024 Selina J. Gao, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

In the Shadow of War: Nationalism and Folk Studies in Wartime Beiping and Shanghai

Publié en ligne: 30 juin 2024

Pages: 55 - 73

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jnmlp-2024-0004

Mots clésFolklore studies, Modern China, Nationalism, Intellectual history, Second Sino-Japanese War

© 2024 Selina J. Gao, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Mots clés
Folklore studies, Modern China, Nationalism, Intellectual history, Second Sino-Japanese War