This paper attempts to explore the complex and dynamic relationships between political identity and cultural identity historically, with particular reference to East Asia between the 14th century and 19th century. This paper acknowledges there was no conceptualisation of Asia, let along East Asia, until the end of 16th century, and the notion of Asia or East Asia did not really play any part in forming regional consciousness, political, cultural or otherwise, until the first half of the 19th century. None the less, it argues that there was a distinctively regional political identity shaped by China coterminous roughly with today's Northeast and Southeast East Asia including Inner Asia and parts of Central Asia, though the geographical coverage as well as the membership of the shared political identity varied constantly over time. It also points out that there were at least two discernable regional cultural identities, one that included China, Korea, Japan, Ryukyu and Vietnam which existed prior to the period concerned, and another forged by the ruling Manchu elites of Qing China in the 17th century to tie Inner Asia, Central Asia and Tibet to China. Studying these 'East Asian' identities, and the interplay between political identity and cultural identity yield significant insights into the role of culture and identity in politics and conversely, the role of politics in cultural development and identity formation.
|
