The Largest Excursions and Reports on China Written by the Japanese Students of Toa-Dobun-Shoin College in Shanghai in the First Half of 20th Century

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  • 東亜同文書院の中国調査旅行と書院生の描いた中国像
  • トウア ドウブン ショイン ノ チュウゴク チョウサ リョコウ ト ショインセ

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Abstract

This paper aims to clear the process and results of the large scale excursion, 1907-1942, in China, by the Japanese students of Toa-Dobun-Shoin college in Shanghai.<br>Toa-Dobun-Shoin college was established in 1901, in Shanghai, China under the age of Qing Dynasty, to educate Japanese students as businessmen to deal with trading works between Japan and China. This college had been managed by Toa-Dobun-Kai, in Tokyo, which had been organized by private foundation just after the war between Japan and Qing's China, 1894-1895.<br>Toa-Dobun-Shoin college had two main teaching programmes. One was Chinese, and the other was the large scale excursion mainly on foot to research regional features in China and southeastern Asian areas. These excursions were done by the senior students who were organized to 10-15 groups each year. Each group was consisted of two-six students and they could decided their courses freely guided by their guidance professor. Each student had their research programmes and wrote each report and diary through about three monthes, from May to August each year.<br>Total number of their excursion courses had reached to about 700, and more than 4, 000 students had took part in these excursions, 1907-1942. These courses and their results were the largest scale in the world.<br>They created a lot of fruits writing their subjects and diaries, from the point of geography, history, sociology, politics, commerce, trade, tax system, financial system, people life and culture, education, rural and urban features and other subjects which gave us totally a lot of regional information of China and southeastern Asian areas in the first half of the twentieth century.<br>Especially, their diaries give us vivid description and it is possible to rebuilt each area of China and southeastern Asian areas. Fig. 2 shows all kind of money and coin used in each area. It shows the traditional economic regions which last till even today. Fig. 3 shows the teritorries of military cliques in 1923 and 1924, rebuilding by their each discription of diaries. It also shows us the traditional areas in China which also shows the continuity to nowadays in China. Fig. 4 shows the distribution of anti Japanese and anti-foreign movement, which occured just after the May 30th Incident of 1925 in Shanghai. The movement had rapidly diffused all over China in 1925. This means the strong nationalism by Chinese and this nationalism had supported new next unified power, Republic China and Communist China. Fig. 5 shows the distribution of bandits in 1924 and 1925, which had been observed by the students through their excursions. These bandits had been concentrated along border zones between each province. This shows the confused areas in those days of China, and the same situation is also appearing in nowadays China.<br>We can evaluate these documents written by the students of Toa-Dobun-Shoin college, as quite precious materials showing the regional features of China in those days.

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