西方的“族体”概念系统——从“族群”概念在中国的应用错位说起

On the Western Conceptual System of“Ethnic-national Community”: Taking the Misuse of“Ethnic Group”in China as a Starting Point

在西方学术界和社会公共用语中,“nation”(国族)及其派生概念“nationality”(民族)是政治科学的分析单位,而“ethnos”(族种)及其派生概念“ethnicgroup”(族群)则是族类学(ethnology)的专业术语,这两组四个概念各有具体含义和抽象定性,不可相互混淆或替换。我国社会媒体、学术界乃至官方机构对这些概念的应用常有错位,特别是以“ethnicgroup”取代“nationality”来界定我国55个少数民族的做法,既不符合我国民族结构形成的历史和现实国情,也有悖于我国基于马克思主义政治立场而形成和持有的民族理论。

In the Western academic community and social public language,“nation”and“nationality”are analyzing units in political science, while“ethnos”and“ethnic group”are ethnological terms. Each of these 4 terms, classified in 2 groups, has a connotation in a specific sense and a quality in an abstract sense, and they are not interchangeable. However, these terms are often misused in China's public media, academic research, and even by the government departments. The worst example is applying“ethnic group,”in the place of previous“nationality,”to China's 55 minor nationalities, which ignores the history and reality of the formation of the national structure in China, and is inconsistent with China's theory of nationalitity that is based on and sustained by the Marxist political position.