“跨国民族”再认识——与马戎先生商榷

A Renewed Understanding of“Cross-border Ethnos”:A Discussion with Ma Rong

针对马戎先生在《如何认识"跨境民族"》一文中提出的概念问题,以及建议慎用或者弃用"跨境民族"的建议,本文从"跨国民族"概念的真实内涵所指,层层分析,阐述了不同的观点。本文认为,马戎先生的"如何认识"只是将"民族"和"族群"概念争论的老问题,扩展到"跨国民族"研究的新领域,根子仍在"民族"概念的内涵理解问题上;他对相关概念在"名"和"实"的表述和分析上,都值得商榷;他的立论基础来自"民族主义首先是一条政治原则"的思想,从而导致其分析与中国的实际有出入。本文建议从做好"民族"概念汉英对译着手,即可消除不当对译产生的歧义,并且强调"和平跨居"是跨国民族未来发展的正确方向。

In response to Ma Rong’s paper,"How to Understand‘Cross-border Nations’",and his suggestion that the concept of"cross-border nations"be used with great caution or altogether abandoned,this paper puts forward a different view based on a deep analysis of the connotations of"cross-border ethnos".This paper argues that Ma Rong has only extended the old debate about the concepts of"nation"and"ethnos"to the new field of"cross-border ethnos",while the root problem still lies in the understanding of the implications of"nation".His account of the"name"and"reality"of the concept in question is debatable.His argument is founded on the idea that"nationalism is first a political principle",which renders his analysis totally inconsistent with China’s reality.This paper suggests that many misconceptions may have been caused by the inadequate Chinese translation of the term"nation",and more precise translations are needed to straighten out the misconceptions.The paper argues that"peaceful cross-border inhabitance"is the correct direction for future cross-border ethnos.