歷史傳統與近代建構：晚清國家轉型中的「苗族」話語

Historical Tradition and Constructing Modernity:“Miao Discourse”in the Late Qing Dynasty’s National Transformation

儒家觀念中與蚩尤、九黎、三苗相聯繫的「苗」，是與黃帝所代表的「華」在倫理價值上相對的存在。而晚清由西方、日本傳入中國的人種競爭觀念、民族建國觀念、漢族西來說、苗族土著說等「新知」，共同形塑了一套嶄新的「苗族」話語。「苗族」成為東洋史上的重要人種之一，卻因為在與「漢族」的競爭中失敗而日漸衰頹，行將滅亡。人們通過「排三苗遺種於黃帝子孫之外」的方式界劃漢族的邊界，並且通過「以苗為鑑」來重塑漢族的種性，希望從滿族手中恢復漢族的國家。然而清代很早就確定了「改土歸流、開闢苗疆」的同化方針，它治「苗」的整套舉措不是為了將「苗」變為文化特徵鮮明、領土區劃連片、自治權力完整、政治身分特殊的民族、地域及政治實體，而是逐漸將「苗」變為「民」。這種「變夷為夏」的同化觀和「化苗為民」的臣民赤子觀在近代對接上梁啟超等人從西方接受的民族帝國主義和國家主義觀念。漢族驅逐苗族與滿族征服漢族構成了一個可能的「復仇」連鎖，「苗族」話語也頻頻被人用以反對「排滿」的主張。辛亥革命以「排滿興漢」而起，卻以「五族共和」而終。一方面是「中華」取代了「大清」，另一方面則是經過「大清」重塑後的「中華」得到再次確認。「五族共和」通過將五族與五地相聯繫，實際是將「漢族」的族裔主權觀推向「滿、蒙、回、藏」，再通過「共和」而合五為一。而苗族處於十八省之內，在族裔主權想像中附屬於「漢族」，故而未能與其他各族比肩而立。

The“Miao,”associated with the Chiyou蚩尤, Jiuli九黎, and Sanmiao三苗tribes, within Confucian philosophy is oppositional in terms of ethical values with the“Hua”represented by the Yellow Emperor. But the notions of competition between races, nation-building, the Western origins of the Han, and the indigenous status of the Miao, introduced to China from the West (including Japan) in the late Qing dynasty, formed a new set of Miao discourse. The Miao were viewed as being one of the important races in the history of East Asia, but due to“losing”to the Han, they were on the verge of extinction. Moreover, the Han were delineated by excluding the descendants of the Sanmiao from being those of the Yellow Emperor, and Han identity was reshaped by using the Miao as a reference, thereby hoping to restore the Han nation from the Manchu. However, the Qing dynasty had early on established an assimilation policy of“transforming the Miao into Han,”a set of measures to govern the Miao not aimed at establishing an entity with distinct cultural characteristics, territory, autonomous power, or political identity, but rather gradually transforming the Miao into min民, namely the people or citizens. The concepts of civilizing barbarians and creating citizens aligned with the modern ideas of national imperialism and nationalism accepted by Liang Qichao (1873–1929) and others. The previous expulsion of the Miao by the Han and conquest of the Han by the Manchus constituted a chain of“national revenge.”Therefore, Miao discourse was repeatedly used to oppose the proposition of the“exclusion of the Manchus.”After the Xinhai Revolution, which was first based on“exclusion of the Manchus and restoration of the Han”ideology, China turned to largely accept“five races under one union”五族共和(gonghe here also indicating“republic”). In one regard,“Zhonghua”(China) seemingly replaced“Da Qing”(the Great Qing), but in reality,“Zhonghua”was reconfirmed following its reshaping by the latter. The“five races under one union”discourse, by linking the five ethnic groups with five regions, actually promoted ethnic sovereignty to not only the Han but also the Manchu, Mongol, Hui, and Tibetan peoples, then merging the five into one. The Miao, however, are located throughout the eighteen provinces and within imagined ethnic sovereignty were deemed subordinate to the Han.