清代中国人对日称呼演变考略

A Study of the Evolution of Japan’s Name in Chinese during the Qing Dynasty

清代中国人对日本的称呼,除“日本”“东洋”等几乎不含褒贬的中性词外,常见的还有“倭”“倭夷”“岛夷”等贬称。“东洋”一词,于清代原本指代包括朝鲜、日本、琉球等国的地域,而当它以作为特称日本的词汇出现时,当为“东洋日本”一词省略“日本”二字后所形成的称呼。清代中国人对日称呼的变迁大致反映了清代中日关系及国人对日感情的变化:自清初至十九世纪六十年代,中日关系平淡无事,大多中国人对日本并无太多的好恶之情,对日称呼也多不含褒贬;十九世纪七十年代至甲午战争结束,尤其是在日本悍然侵台、吞并琉球乃至对朝鲜和中国发动大规模侵略战争时,中国官民对日本多用贬称;甲午战后,因日方正式向中国提出要求禁止对其使用贬称,加之国人的对日憎恨也因两国间文化交流的增进而被稀释淡化,中国人对日本使用贬称的情况明显减少。

A wide variety of terms were used in the evolution of the Chinese name for Japan during the time of the Qing dynasty.In addition to neutral words such as"Japan"and"Dongyang"which contain no positive or negative nuance,there were also common derogatory terms such as"Wo","Wo Yi"and"Dao Yi".The term"Dongyang"originally referred to the geographical names of Korea,Japan,Ryukyu and other countries in the Qing dynasty,but when it appeared as a word specifically referring to Japan,it should be what was left after omitting"Japan"of the word"Dongyang Japan".The evolution of Japan's name in Chinese in the Qing dynasty roughly reflects the change of Sino-Japanese relations in this period and the feelings of Chinese people towards Japan:From the beginning of the Qing dynasty to the 1860s,Sino-Japanese relations were simple and uneventful.Most Chinese people did not have much love or hatred for Japan,nor did they address Japan with positive or negative comments;from the 1870s to the end of the Sino?Japanese War,especially when Japan flagrantly invaded Taiwan,annexed Ryukyu,and launched a large-scale war of aggression against Korea and China,Chinese officials and people often used derogatory terms to address Japan.After the Sino-Japanese War,the Japanese officially asked China to ban the use of derogatory terms,and the Chinese people's hatred towards Japan was diluted by the improvement of cultural exchanges between the two countries.For this reason,the derogatory terms used by Chinese people for Japan were significantly reduced.