Hanjian
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In Chinese culture, a Hanjian (traditional Chinese: 漢奸; simplified Chinese: 汉奸; pinyin: Hànjiān) is a derogatory and pejorative term for a race traitor to the Han Chinese ethnicity, The word Hanjian is distinct from the general word for traitor, which could be used for any race or country. Literally, it means traitor who is the Han or one who betrays Han (people), and traces back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912).
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[edit] History
During the Qing Dynasty, the Han Chinese were the majority of the population but were subdued by the ruling Manchus. Initially, the Manchu Qing government used the term to name Han Chinese who were rebellious against Manchu rule. During the late Qing period, anti-Manchu nationalists used the term for Hans who collaborated with the Qing government and thus were traitors of the Han people.[1] The word was often used retroactively for historical Han traitors, such as Wu Sangui, who had assisted the Manchus in conquering China.[citation needed]
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, National Revolutionary Army was often beaten by Japanese forces. Chiang Kai-shek explained Hanjian espionage helped the Japanese and ordered CC Clique commander Chen Lifu to arrest them.[2] The victims were 4,000 in Shanghai[3] and 2,000 in Nanking.[4] Because martial law was in force, it was explained that formal trials were not necessary, and the condemned were executed swiftly, while thousands of men, women and children watched with evident approval.[5]
The government in Nanjing commanded by Wang Jingwei during the Second Sino-Japanese war is considered to be Hanjian by most Chinese, as are Taiwanese who fought in the Imperial Japanese Army against China. The word also became used legally, with the Republic of China (ROC) having "Regulations Regarding Punishment of Hanjian" (1938) and "Regulations Dealing with Hanjian" (1945). The People's Republic of China (PRC) ratified a "Direction for the Confiscation of Properties of War Criminals, Hanjian, Bureaucratic Capitalists and Anti-revolutionaries".[citation needed]
After the Sook Ching Massacre in World War II, prominent Singaporean Chinese industrialist and philanthropist Tan Kah Kee proposed to the provisional ROC government to treat all Chinese who attempted to negotiate with the Japanese as Hanjian. His proposal was adopted by the Second Legislative Yuan and was lauded as "the best proposal in the world"[citation needed] by Chinese resistance who fought against the Japanese.
During the Cold War, the People's Republic of China classified Chinese citizens who collaborated with a hostile foreign power as a Hanjian.
[edit] Historical figures labelled Hanjian
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- Qin Hui: Court minister of the Southern Song dynasty who preached appeasement towards aggressions from Jin Dynasty; Prevented the Chinese general and folk hero Yue Fei from fighting the Jin invaders and later betrayed and executed him.
- Wu Sangui: Ming Dynasty general whose duty was guarding the Shanhai Pass. He guided the Manchu armies of Qing Dynasty into China after the rebel commander Li Zicheng ended the Ming Dynasty and abducted his concubine Chen Yuanyuan. He later commanded the Manchu invasion and executed personally (strangulated with a bowstring) the Yongli Emperor of the exiled Southern Ming Dynasty in a display of loyalty to the Manchurians.
- Wang Kemin: Collaborated with the Japanese during World War II; established by the Japanese as the puppet Provisional Government of the Republic of China or North China Autonomous Government; classified and arrested by the Nationalist Government as a national traitor; committed suicide.
- Dewang (Demchugdongrub): Collaborated with the Japanese; established by the Japanese Army as the head of state of government of Inner Mongolia. Classified by the Nationalist Government as a national traitor.[citation needed] However, it should be noted that since Dewang was not a Han Chinese but a Mongol, naming him a Hanjian is problematic.
- Wang Jingwei: Advocated peace negotiation during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Set up the Nanjing "Nationalist Government" puppet state with the assistance of Japanese Army.
- Zhou Fohai: Second in charge of the Wang Jingwei government Executive Yuan.
- Chen Gongbo: Head of the Legislative Yuan of the Wang Jingwei government.
- Kawashima Yoshiko: Also known as "the Eastern Jewel", she was born a Manchu princess, given to and raised by Japanese and executed as a Japanese spy and Chinese traitor by the Kuomintang after the Second Sino-Japanese War. She has been featured in numerous Chinese and Japanese novels, films, TV programs, and video games, with Chinese frequently portraying her as a wanton villainess and seductress and Japanese portraying her as a tragic heroine.
- Koo Hsien-jung: Betrayed the pro-Qing Republic of Formosa (Taiwan) and led the Imperial Japanese Army to capture Taipei in 1895. The Koo family became wealthy and influential during the Japanese colonization and continues to be one of the most powerful business and political families in Taiwan, with members living and operating in both Taiwan and Japan.[6]
[edit] Modern Usage
Because of the dominance of Han culture in China, Han and Chinese are virtually equivalent to each other. Therefore, in the modern context of this word, a Hanjian is one who is a traitor to Chinese, whether the political, geographical or cultural concept, and is not necessarily limited to Han Chinese.
A Hanjian is more specific than simply any traitor in that since a Hanjian would need to collaborate with an external power that is not Han or Chinese to be considered one. Theoretically, in civil wars there would not be any Hanjian, but in reality both sides of the Chinese Civil War accused each other of being Hanjian, for the Americans and the Soviets.
As such, an accusation that someone is a Hanjian is much stronger than an accusation of being simply a traitor.[citation needed]
The phrase Hanjian is misapplied extensively by some people. Such phenomenons can be found on today's internet.
[edit] Criticisms
The word has been criticized for promoting a unitary, ethnically homogeneous state, and the use of Han is considered by some as Han chauvinism.[citation needed] These groups suggest using Huajian (traitors of the Chinese race or people) or simply, traitors to the nation.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Pamela Kyle Crossley, A Translucent Mirror: History and Identity in Qing Imperial Ideology (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999), 337.
- ^ Yomiuri Shimbun, September 14, 1937 page 7
- ^ Yomiuri Shimbun, September 15, 1937 second evening issue, page 1
- ^ Gaho Yakushin no Nihon, December 1, 1937
- ^ The New York Times August 30, 1937 page 3
- ^ Lindy Yeh. The Koo family: a century in Taiwan. Taipei Times, April 15, 2002.
