History, Body, Nation: The Formation of the Body in Modern China (1895-1937)

Author: Huang Jinlin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: This book essentially aims to answer three questions: What historical changes has our body undergone to reach its current form? What historical specificity and danger are implied in this state of bodily development? Can it be regarded as a universal and eternal model of the body? The questioning and answering of these questions form the basic argument of this book. The author hopes to clarify, through these discussions, how the existence and meaning of the body have been accumulated and shaped in the historical evolution of modern China, influenced by the fluctuations of the nation-state's destiny. This book demonstrates the changes in the body in modern China through four themes: the nationalization, juridification, temporalization, and spatialization of the body.
In terms of the nationalization of the body, the author examines the development of the body's nationalization through a series of national transformation movements that emerged in the late Qing and early Republican era, along with the accompanying changes in the education system. The juridification of the body explores the changes in the body's development and construction as modern China's legal system evolved from ethical law to rights-based law. What role did this transformation play in the construction of an independent body and a nationally-oriented body? As for temporalization, the author argues that the "world time" intrusion into China in the second half of the 19th century had a critical impact on the Chinese body. In terms of spatialization, the author takes student movements in the late Qing and early Republican era as an example, examining the relationship between the construction of the body and space through the bodies that roam the streets and public squares.
Through these discussions, the author hopes to present an image—that the formation of the body is actually a highly political process and outcome. This body cognition, formed for and through the nation-state, has not diminished over time or with the evolution of events; instead, it is now dominating the development of the body in contemporary China with a strong stance. The writing of this book aims to open a door, allowing us to glimpse the dangers of this narrow development.
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