2020 年 14 巻 p. 21-32
This paper focuses on the concrete involvement of the Arts and Science Society of China in “The Japanese Cultural Project for China” implemented by the Japanese government in the 1920s. The paper aims to clarify that Japanese and Chinese scholars, who kept their distance from political and diplomatic relations between the two countries, collaborated together on the cultural project above mentioned.
The Arts and Science Society of China was inaugurated in 1916 by Chinese students who were studying in Japan and were keeping their distance from political activities. Members of the society also continued to appeal for the independence of “The Japanese Cultural Project for China” from the political interventions of both the Japanese and the Chinese governments, thereby clashing with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which continued to hold the real power over the cultural project. On the other hand, there was collaboration between the members of the society and Japanese scholars on “The Shanghai Natural Science Institute,” which was one of the core projects of “The Japanese Cultural Project for China.” Based on the ideas of Zheng Zhenwen and other members of the Arts and Science society of China, Shinzo Shinshiro developed a plan regarding the “East Asia Academic Research Council,” independent of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in order to establish a basis for the promotion of joint research projects and to coordinate academic groups in Japan and China.
The plan drawn up by the members of the Arts and Science Society of China and Shinzo Shinjo was brought to a halt due to the “National Revolution” and “Tanaka Diplomacy,” which were the political and diplomatic conflicts between Japan and China. However, such collaboration between Japanese and Chinese scholars in terms of cultural exchange passed on to the next generation. The involvement of Luo Zongluo and other members of the second generation of the society, in the requisition of Taipei Imperial University, is a typical example of the continuity of such cultural collaboration from one generation to the next.
