Tingran Wang
What Does “Unity” Mean for (Anti-)Coloniality in Asia?
This module explores the central concept of “unity” in Asia Pacific colonial and anti-colonial history. “Unity” has served a variety of purposes, whether in the colonial/orientalist tradition of reducing diverse Asian cultures to one imagery, in the anti-colonial project of “unity and struggle,” or in the peculiar case of Japan, of attempting to build a unified Asia while fiercely advancing their colonial agenda. In this module, learners will critically evaluate what a “unified” (de)colonized world means.
The learning pathway will primarily involve a historical analysis of past texts, but participants are encouraged to consider the implications of this concept for the present and future and to work to understand how building or dismantling “unity” can be advantageous or disadvantageous to the emancipation of the Third World in the post-colonial era.
This module primarily targets learners from Asia Pacific, especially college students. Post-colonial politics have been characterized by the rise of unilateralism, nationalism, and even chauvinism, which hinder further anti-colonial struggle. Therefore, it is important to understand how different forces, cultures, politics, and discourses have been politically “united” historically. Additionally, it is crucial to recognize the role that the idea of “wholeness” has played in colonial history itself. Upon completing this learning module, individuals will better understand their own (post-)colonial situation and be better prepared to reshape it after college.
Structure
This module features four parts that explore how the concept of “unity” has manifested in colonial, anti-colonial, and post-colonial history. Learners can navigate the sections freely, and there is no specific order required. Given that the central theme of this module revolves around “unity,” learners are strongly encouraged to read and discuss together with friends or classmates from diverse backgrounds. This way, learners can actively engage with the concept of “unity” throughout the learning process.
The module is organized to enable learners, first, to critically examine the colonial effort of reducing the vast, non-homogeneous culture of colonized Asia Pacific. This understanding will shed light on Orientalism as a consequence of such “unification.” It will provide individuals with a new perspective when examining colonialism in other regions, such as Africa or Latin America. For instance, one will be able to avoid the fundamental mistake of referring to the entire continent of Africa as a homogeneous entity when discussing African colonial history.
Second, the module will allow learners to understand how building “unity” among different nations in the colonized world has been a key objective in the anti-colonial era and to recognize it as an ongoing task in the postcolonial world.
Finally, by examining the Japanese empire's Co-Prosperity Sphere project and the Chinese government's efforts in “domesticating” Xinjiang and the Uygur population, learners will gain a deeper understanding of how building “unity” can also be perilous.
Tingran Wang is majoring in Physics at the University of Chicago.
Learning Resources
Unit 1—Colonial Attempts at Homogenizing the Colonized
TRT World. 2021. “Curry: A Figment of the British Colonial Imagination?” TRT World Magazine.
British Broadcasting Corporation. 1983. “Curry Around the World.” Spice of Life Series (Video).
Swettenham, Sir Frank Athelstane. 1895. Malay Sketches, “Introduction” and Chapters 1–6.
Said, Edward. 1978. Orientalism, “Introduction.”
Through these texts, students can observe how the colonized people were perceived as homogeneous. For instance, in Malay Sketches, Swettenham repeatedly refers to the Malays as a collective entity and confidently describes their characteristics as if all Malays are identical. This tendency to generalize extends not only to the colonized people but also to their culture, as exemplified by the treatment of Indian curry. Such generalizations ultimately contribute to Orientalism, where the Orient is reduced to fantasies born out of ignorance, Western interpretations, and colonial imaginings.
Unit 2—“Building Unity” Falls Into Evil Hands: Japanese Empire’s Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
Nogi Harumichi. 1992. “I Wanted to Build Greater East Asia,” in Japan at War: An Oral History, compiled by Haruko Taya Cook and Theodore F. Cook, pp 50–55 .
Anonymous (Japanese Ministry of Education). 1937. Kokutai no Hongi (Fundamentals of our National Polity).
Japan transformed into a modern nation in the late 19th century and became one of the colonizers in the early 20th century. Their primary objective was to unify the grand East/Southeast Asia and foster “harmony” among Asian people, enabling them to collectively resist white colonizers. However, this “ideal” eventually resulted in horrifying massacres and became a part of the Second World War.
Unit 3—“Unity” and Struggle in Anti-colonial Movements
Cabral, Amilcar. 1979. “Unity and Struggle,” in Unity and Struggle, pp. 28–44.
Zhou Enlai. 1955. “Main Speech by Premier Zhou Enlai, Head of the Delegation of the People’s Republic of China, Distributed at the Plenary Session of the Asian-African Conference.”
President Sukarno (Indonesia). 1955. “Opening Address (Bandung, 18 April 1955).”
“Unity” has been the goal of anti-colonial struggles, both in West Africa (with Cabral being regarded as the founding father of Guinea-Bissau) and East Asia. It serves as a fundamental premise in many anti-colonial texts, and students will have the opportunity to read selected works that explicitly discuss the political implications from a theoretical standpoint. When discussing “unity” in this context, the intention is to bring together different groups in order to maximize the overall resistance force against colonization. This concept is further developed at the renowned Bandung Conference, where leaders such as Sukarno and Zhou Enlai emphasized the significance of a united Asia-Africa. By studying these two articles, students can gain a better understanding of how, during the era of anti-colonial struggles, individuals sought to achieve “unity” through technical means, encompassing policies and diplomatic efforts. This contextual information will provide students with a deeper understanding of how the seemingly utopian vision of “unity” was manifested in historical realities.
Unit 4 China’s Repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang
Abdilim, Mihray. 2022. “China Moves to Close Down Uyghur Cultural, Language Organizations.” RFA: Radio Free Asia (online).
Dwyer, Arienne M. 2005. “The Xinjiang Conflict: Uyghur Identity, Language Policy, and Political Discourse,” Policy Studies 15 (read pp. 1–28).
In this final unit, students will learn about the most recent effort of the Chinese government in eradicating Uyghurs culture in their Xinjiang province. Although this is not about colonization in the traditional sense of invading foreign countries, it serves as a post-modern example of how previously colonized countries can turn into potential colonizers.