Open Collections

Zhang, Yuhe

University of British Columbia

Zuguo-muqin 祖國-母親 is a common metaphor in modern Chinese, that juxtaposes the terms “Ancestor’s country” and “Mother.” In Chinese usages, the term could be translated as “Motherland-China.” This study delves into the genealogy of such Motherland metaphors in a Chinese context. This metaphor was introduced into Chinese in the early 20th century and gained traction among Chinese intellectuals amid the national crises and the turmoil of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1931–1945). Combining the Chinese political tradition of family-state spirit, modern colonialist and anti-colonialist frameworks, and the nation-state model, the Motherland-China metaphor served as an instrument of Chinese nationalist discourse, blurring the boundary between individual families and the national “family.” Through an analysis of articles from Chinese newspapers and magazines published between 1905 and 1945, this study uncovers a diasporic narrative encoded in the contexts of Motherland-China metaphor. Centered around the physical and metaphorical mother-child separation, the diasporic narrative of Motherland-China encapsulates experiences of nostalgia, guilt, love and anticipation, implying that diasporic “children” have responsibilities towards their mother and are obligated to return to Motherland-China. The study identifies three main patterns of this diasporic narrative: 1) overseas diasporic narratives that emphasize unbreakable blood ties; 2) domestic diasporic narratives that prioritize the call of the motherland over familial bonds; and 3) “neighbor-as-mirror” narratives that use Korean diaspora in China as an analogy to mobilize Chinese to fight. These patterns, extrapolated from specific cases, offer starting points for understanding the overall logic of the diasporic narratives of Motherland-China. Finally, I argue that diasporic narrative of mother-child separation is important for understanding the Motherland-China metaphor as part of Chinese nationalist discourse. The diasporic narrative of Motherland-China had several functions: it opened a specific emotional sphere of nostalgia and anticipation that resonated with social and historical conditions and common emotional triggers among Chinese during the first half of 20th century and it helped wartime mobilization. Besides, it bridged the suffering and liberation narrative to domestic, transnational and international solidarity against the Japanese invasion. Based on these cases, I propose that scholars of motherhood metaphors pay more attention to diasporic perspectives.

Text

2024-08-29

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89095

Asian Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/