當代美國蒙古研究遞嬗——檢視Morris Rossabi的蒙古研究

The Evolution of Mongolian Studies in Contemporary America–An Investigation of Morris Rossabi’s Mongolian Studies

臺灣蒙古研究的發展與政府的蒙藏政策密切相關，近年方逐漸從「邊疆政策研究」轉至「民族研究」領域，觀察當代美國蒙古研究的流變，有助臺灣蒙古研究者認知自身學術系譜特點，以及在全球蒙古研究中所處位置。檢視美國哥倫比亞大學東亞語言與文化系教授Morris Rossabi的蒙古研究歷程，顯示冷戰結束、蒙古國民主化、中國崛起等因素，為美國蒙古研究學界帶來新的議題，Rossabi開始從文本翻譯轉為進行實地考察，區域研究範式逐漸由「內亞研究系譜」轉向「東亞研究系譜」，並配合歐美歷史學界「全球史」風潮，將蒙古史置於全球史脈絡下，重新檢視蒙古帝國之歷史遺緒對於整合歐亞大陸、促進全球化所扮演之角色，使得當代美國蒙古研究出現不同以往新趨勢。

The development of Mongolian studies in Taiwan is closely associated with the authorities’ Mongolian and Tibetan policies. It was not until recent years that Taiwan’s Mongolian studies have gradually shifted from “border policy studies” to “ethnic studies.” This study posits that observing the evolution of Mongolian studies in contemporary America could help Taiwan’s Mongolian studies scholars be cognizant of their own characteristics of academic genealogy as well as their position in the global Mongolian studies. By reviewing the course of Mongolian studies of Morris Rossabi – a professor in the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures, Columbia University, this article found that since the end of the Cold War, the democratization of Mongolia, China’s rise and other issues have evolved into new research agenda within the Mongolian studies community in the United States. In the case of Morris Rossabi, he started shifting from text translation to field investigations, and his area studies paradigm also changed from “Inner Asian Genealogy” to “East Asian Genealogy.” At the same time, since Rossabi’s Mongolian studies was in line with the “global history” studies trend amongst European and American historians, the Mongolian history was thus placed in the global history context. As such, historical legacy of the Mongolian Empire was re-examined, which greatly contributed to the integration of Eurasian continent as well as the globalization process, and ultimately brought brand-new trends to the Mongolian studies in contemporary America.