국경을 넘나들던 친일파 - 이완용과 근대 중국의 매국노 담론(1905~1945) -

Abstract

Lee Wanyong is not only the well-known quisling in Korea, but also the byword of “quisling” in modern China, and the name is used as a negative example to blame the traitors and to caution the masses. From the end of Qing Dynasty to the early days of the Republic of China, when external crises of China continued and even got worse, the production of knowledge and discourses about Lee Wanyong continued as well. Especially after 1915, as the confliction with Japan gradually rose to the principal contradiction of Chinese external relations, Lee Wonyong as a label finally changed from general reference of powers that fawning to foreign countries to a byword that specifically means pro-Japanese faction.BR On the background of external crisis interwoven with internal faction, various public opinions and factional powers used Lee Wonyong to refer to the objects that they tried to attack, so that a large number of Lee Wanyong of Chinese version was produced. In other words, Lee Wanyong largely became a symbol of political rhetoric and stigmatization under the factional background in China. Therefore, the process of the production of quislings who are like Lee Wanyong is a part of how anti-Japanese nationalism built the history in modern China.BR Nonetheless, it is improper and not in line with historical facts to put the blame for the falling of Choson on individual “traitors” such as Lee Wonyong. Quite different from the rough argument that the public opinions often refer Lee Wonyong as quisling and put the blame on specific person for the falling crisis of a nation, a few intellectuals analyzed the ending of Choson at the internal level, such as Korean social structure, national character, etc. The analyzation made at that time reflected the anxiety caused by the internal and external crises in China of the days and “Sinocentrism” complex left by the traditional suzerain-vassal order, but compared with outpouring the feelings by holding specific quislings accountable and the roaring public voice from the flaring anger among people, this kind of discourse actually appears more sober and objective to reflect on the colonial history of Choson and the social crises of modern China.