The image of China and Chinese in <i>setsuyōshū</i>. Case study of “The Complete Compendium of Urban Knowledge” (<i>Tokai setsuyō hyakkatsū</i>, Osaka, 1801)

Abstract

During the second half of 18 th century, the formation of collective identity continues to proceed in Japan. Popular literature impacted this strongly. A lot of materials published during this period contained knowledge about Chinese history and geography. In this paper, we try to examine the image of China in setsuyōshū as an example of popular mass literature, using the case of “The Complete Compendium of Urban Knowledge”, and the role it played in the formation of the image of Japan. The book was compiled in Osaka at the end of the 18 th century and appears to be one of the characteristic examples of the genre. Its author Takayasu Rooku was a well-educated calligrapher and connoisseur of the Chinese language and Chinese history. Due to the professional interests of the compiler, the amount of knowledge about China in the edition is greater than in other similar works. Chapters related to China focus on famous places, heroes, provide a list of calligraphers, show China’s place in the world map and images of Chinese people. Like other chapters of the book, they are accompanied by detailed illustrations: there are images of the eight views of Shao and Shang, Chinese heroes, famous people. We try to trace the source of information, as in the case of the chapter about Chinese arms and partly in the case of the 24 examples of filial piety. In some cases, we can trace the fashion and social tastes of the time: such is the case of the list of great Chinese calligraphers. We also pay attention to how China is called in different parts of the book. We try to examine the ways China was perceived and how its image was formed. We distinguish China as the source of wisdom and virtue; China as the source of cultural borrowings; China as an object of comparison to validate the quality of Japanese famous landscapes; contemporary China as a source of modern knowledge, a potential threat, and an object of interest.