黄文雄の「歴史とは何か」（自由社）
＜日・中・台・韓＞の歴史の差異を巨視的にとらえる
その６―第五章 日本を平和の中で発展させたのは天皇の存在だ
前章で、日本の特色を「人を殺さないで発展した日本の歴史」であることを明らかにしましたが、それを根底で支えたのが天皇の存在であるといいます。
日本を初めて統一した大和朝廷の下、易姓革命をなさず、一つの王朝を戴いていることの幸せ及び歴史発展での貢献は、日本人よりも台湾人でとして外部から見ているものの方がよくわかると黄文雄氏はいいます。
易姓革命の国中国では歴代王朝の皇帝は約２００人を数えますが、天寿を全うできなかった者が３人に１人もいるそうです。宋の太祖が、東大寺の渡来僧奝然から日本の万世一系の話を耳にして、とても日本に憧れたのも無理もないことでしょう。
徳川幕府の巨大な政治力のもとに細々と存在するしかない朝廷はいったいどんな社会的な意味を持っていたのか、無駄な存在ではないのかと日本の外から見ている外国人はついついそう見てしまいそうです。日本人の中にもそう思う人も少なからずいました。しかし、権力を失っていた天皇は祭祀を行い民の平安、幸福を願うことにより「権威」を保持し続けたのです。権力と権威の分離が日本ではかなり早い時代に成立していきました。
これが、幕末の危機において大きな力を発揮することになったのでした。この権威があったからこそ、薩長による討幕が私闘に終わらず、国家統一の戦いとなり、大きな血を流さないで明治維新を成し遂げることが実現できたのでした。
日本語原文： http://hassin.org/01/wp-content/uploads/ko6.pdf
英訳文： http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/KO-BUNYU-No.6.pdf
黄文雄プロファイル：http://hassin.org/01/wp-content/uploads/ko.pdf
海外には、下記の通り英文で発信しました。
平成３０年２月６日「史実を世界に発信する会」会長代行 茂木弘道拝
http://hassin.org
KO BUN’YU’S DEFINING HISTORY
A macroscopic analysis of the differences among the histories of
East Asian nations: Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea
No. 6, Chapter 5: Emperor System Paves Way for Peaceful Progress in Japan
Chapter 4 pointed out that Japanese history can be characterized as “history without slaughter”. This basic character of Japanese history was brought about by the “Emperor System.”
From the time that the Japanese people were first unified by the Yamato Court up to the present day, a single dynasty of emperors has reigned over Japan. The fact that Japan has only had one Imperial House contributed greatly to its historical development and the happiness of its people. Mr. Ko Bunyu says that this is something that he, as a Taiwanese man observing Japan from the outside, is able to understand better than the Japanese themselves do.
While China has been ruled by numerous royal families in succession–about two hundred have been crowned as “emperor” in China’s successive dynasties–only one-third of them have died of natural causes. As explained by Chapter 3, this phenomenon created an extremely cruel and brutal history. It is no wonder that Emperor Taizong of the Song dynasty was struck with admiration for Japan’s stable imperial succession when he heard from monk Chonen of Japan’s Todai-ji Temple that an unbroken line of emperors had reigned over Japan since earliest times.
During the Tokugawa era, the Imperial Court maintained only a meager existence under the stifling hegemony of the Tokugawa shoguns. Foreigners who observed Japan from abroad often reflexively viewed the Imperial Court as nothing more than a senseless waste of money–even a fair number of Japanese people said the same thing. Under the circumstances, however, the Emperor dutifully performed religious rites passed down through the imperial line, and prayed for the peace and well-being of the Japanese people. Thus, the dignity, or ultimate authority, of the nation continued to rest on the Emperor. In other words, authority and power were separate ever since Japan’s early days as a state.
This authority or dignity played a decisive role at the time of national crisis; at the final years of the Edo period, the struggle between the Tokugawa shogunate and the Satuma/Chosu domain did not turn into a long-lasting and bloody feud but turned into a unification of the nation under Emperor’s authority. The Meiji restoration would not have been possible without the existence of the Emperor.
URL: http://www.sdh-fact.com/book-article/1121/
PDF: http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/KO-BUNYU-No.6.pdf
Profile of Ko Bunyu: http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL02_1/72_S3.pdf
Questions are welcome.
MOTEKI Hiromichi, Acting Chairman
for KASE Hideaki, Chairman
Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact