EACS-2016. Book of Abstracts

Section 12 21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies 131 The paper analyses Wang’s vision of cross-cultural interaction between China and the West in the sphere of economic theory. He rejected any possibility of the Chinese impact on Western economics via French Physiocrats, thus creating a single-direction model of global dissemination of economic knowledge. Wang Yanan described “Chinese economics” as a theory that emerged in China to investigate specific social and economic conditions of this nation. Though he admitted that the English school of economic thought was the core of the orthodox economic theory, there were also French Physiocrats, the German historical school, the Austrian school of economics. He hoped that China would produce an economic teaching with “national identity” shaped by its social and historical context. Buettner Clemens (Goethe University Frankfurt) Soliciting Subordination from the Soldier: Military Legislation in Early Republican China Key words: civil-military relations, legislation, military modernization, warlordism, German-Japanese influences The de facto collapse of the Chinese state at the hands of military men during the so-called “Warlord Era” (usu. 1916–1928) proved that the attempts of the Republican government to assure civilian dominance over the military failed miserably. However, in theory the government’s approach to subordinating the military to the authority of the Chinese state was sound: Within the first three years of the Republic, a comprehensive military legal systemwas set up that essentially copied those of the German and Japanese Empires —and there, civilian supremacy over themilitary had been realized. On basis of Chinesemilitary legal texts from the early Republican era, this paper argues that overt invocations of soldierly morality within the legal framework disclose and detail the weakness of the Chinese state in civil-military relations: The Chinese military man was asked to subordinate himself to the state out of moral considerations, not because of any normative authority of the state that ought to justify this demand. This inclination towards moralizing in legal texts stems, in large part, from the Chinese reception of Japanese military legal texts which—other than their German counterparts —put more emphasis on questions of morality. Unlike in Japan, however, the emphasis of morality in legal texts in China did not strengthen the state, it actually corroborated and reinforced its weak position in comparison with the military. Chabaille Fleur (Lumière-Lyon 2 University, Lyon Institute of East Asian Studies) Picturing the Laoxikai Incident (1916–1917): an Interpretation of Nationalist Discourses through Press Caricatures Key words: Laoxikai incident, visual history, press caricatures, Yishibao, Chinese nationalism Ahundred years ago, a large protest movement was sparked by Tianjin urban citizens against the expansion project of the French Concession of Tianjin into the Laoxikai District. During six months, demonstrations and boycotts targeted French commercial interests at local and national levels. While the diplomatic settlement of the Laoxikai incident was suffering from many delays, the Tianjin Chamber of commerce led a massive general strike in the French Concession. Local elites thus provided a decisive contribution in both leader- ship and funding support. Besides, local press played a crucial part in launching a press campaign, which covered the diplomatic negociations and relayed protest actions. Among Tianjin newspapers, the Yishibao was particularly active. In addition to publishing daily reports, expressive caricatures were used to expose ideological standpoints and discussions emerging from urban public opinion. Through the analysis of these caricatures, this paper aims to examine nationalist conceptions and expectations in the 1910s, soon after the overthrow of the Imperial regime and the establishment of the Republican government. These visual materials reflect major shifts in the formulation of patriotic discourses regarding territorial sovereignty and citizenship. Not only did press vocabulary and illustrations denounce territorial encroachments from imperialist powers, but they also disclosed conflicting political views. For instance, press slogans urged for the central State to take a stronger role, while advocating a greater level of local autonomy. Although such aspirations could not be achieved, they represented a significant step towards an activist framework for other