'Don't Belittle Our Southern Neighbor''： Chen Xujing's View of Thailand

「不要藐視我們的南鄰」：陳序經對泰國的看法

A major dilemma faced by Chinese intellectuals of the early twentieth century was how they could acquire Western learning without compromising national sovereignty. This article focuses on the attempt by Chen Xujing 陳序經 (1903-1967) to resolve this dilemma with his concept of ''Wholesale Westernization,'' which posited that non-Western nations must shed all their native or traditional elements and Westernize completely to become sovereign. By analyzing Chen Xujing's Siam and China, the article suggests that his view of Thailand was an extension of his Wholesale Westernization concept. For Chen Xujing, Thailand, observed through the lens of this concept, was a progressive nation created by its kings and their Chinese subjects in the image of the West. For that reason alone, Chen Xujing argued, Thailand deserved the admiration and respect of Chinese intellectuals, who should no longer belittle the strength of their southern neighbor. In the milieu of nationalism and self-determination in wartime China, Siam and China might be regarded as a political commentary that critically examined Thailand's pro-Japan policy and the oppression of the Thai Chinese, who were described as constituting the crucial means through which the highly Westernized country could modernize further.

二十世紀的中國知識分子面對一個兩難的處境：他們想要推行西學，但又覺得此舉會讓西方勢力滲透中國，使中國喪失主權。陳序經（1903-1967）反駁此見，提出全盤西化論，主張西方以外的國家必先摒棄一切傳統知識及習俗，徹底西化，方能捍衛主權。本文重點分析陳序經的《暹羅與中國》，闡明陳氏對泰國的看法濫觴於其全盤西化論。根據此論，泰國是其歷代國王及華裔商民以西方為模本建立的先進國家，故此陳氏認為，中國知識分子應重視泰國，不可低估其實力。在抗日時期民族主義和民族自決的氛圍下，《暹羅與中國》實為時論之作，呼籲國人借鏡泰國西化的同時，亦審視其親日政策及對泰籍華人的壓迫，並指出高度西化的泰國仍可藉泰籍華人之力，進一步現代化。