3 - Transculturation of Chinese Exiles in Postwar Japan: Pan-Asianism and Beyond

Presentation Abstract
This paper explores the unexplored literary and artistic endeavours of Chinese exiles in postwar Japan. In particular, it focuses on their engagement with the tenets of Pan-Asianism against the backdrop of the dominant Chinese exile discourse of the period. Despite the importance of these literary contributions, they remain largely overlooked in Chinese literary studies, in research on the overseas Chinese in Japan, and in the broader field of world literature. This study therefore aims to enrich both literary history and global literary studies.
Chen Kuanhsing's seminal book, Asia as

Method: Towards Deimperialization, acknowledges the role of the West in shaping Asian subjectivity and emphasizes the uniqueness of Asian histories and cultures. Chen proposes that Asian societies expand their frames of reference by juxtaposing them with Western viewpoints. While Chen elucidates how Asian culture can act as a counterforce to Western influence, he does not explore the discourses and creations of Chinese exiles, who are critical mediators between pre- and postwar Japanese and Chinese cultural politics, as highlighted by Takeuchi Yoshi in "Asia as a Method".
This paper seeks to fill this gap by analyzing the works of Chinese exiles, contemporaries, and advocates of Pan-Asianism who lived during Takeuchi Yoshi's time. Through this lens, the research aims to further unpack Chen's notions of "de-imperialization" and "Asian subjectivity" in the face of Western cultural hegemony.