中国の国家–社会関係における「あいまいな領域」に関する議論の系譜とその現代的射程

抄録

Whenever they have examined China in any period, Japanese scholars of China have used similar expressions to talk about China’s state-society relations. Starting from the dichotomy of state-society, they have believed that the relationship between the two has a certain “ambiguity” in China. Here, I will call the above observation of the state-society relationship in China the “ambiguous sphere” hypothesis. In this essay, I will first a) extract from the works of Japanese scholars who observed China in the first half of the 20th century the common ideas about state-society relations in China that are considered to be the pioneers of the “ambiguous sphere” hypothesis. Next, b) I will argue that such a way of thinking has been the basis of Japanese observations of the Chinese state and society over a long period of time, from the Ming and Qing dynasties to the present day. But in practice, c) I will use a rudimentary interpretive grid to show that the meaning and location of “ambiguity” differs slightly from one observer to another. Then, d) I will offer some suggestions for a more productive use of the “ambiguous sphere” hypothesis in understanding contemporary China. Finally, e) I will point out that even if the above conceptualization is useful for understanding the seemingly contradictory realities of Chinese society, it may be a trap into which Japanese scholars of China may fall.