A Study On The Changes In The Modern Chinese People's Cognition Of The Northeast (1860-1932

Northeast China has been Chinese territory from everlasting.After emperor Shunzhi relocated Beijing as the capital in 1644,Northeast China,as "the birthplace of Chinese dragon",was under the special protection of Qing government and off-limits by people inside Shanhaiguan pass.It led to weak border defence of Northeast China.After the outbreak of the Second Opium War,more than one million square kilometers of territory in Northeast China was occupied by Russia with signing"Aihui Treaty" and "Beijing Treaty" with China.Some people with breadth of vision began to think about how to keep land safe.Therefore,the year 1860 can be regarded as a big turning point of Chinese cognition on Northeast China.In view of the territory crisis in Northeast China,numerous officials of Qing government advocated immigrant policy.Although the policy has not been implemented,during the decades from the end of the Second Opium War to the early Republic of China(RC),people in Shanhaiguan pass were immigrated to Northeast China to earn a living by means of crossing the sea and the Great Wall.Population in Northeast China increased constantly and reached "strengthening border" to some extent.During the late Qing Dynasty,the governmental power of Qing government was weakening.The signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki between China and Japan gave Chinese people a strong stimulus and the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898 made Chinese people more disappointed with Qing government,resulting intensification of contradictions.In addition,under the circumstance that the concept of western nationality countries was introduced into China,the theory of single-nationality country was recognized by many Chinese people.Therefore,the"Anti-Manchuism" revolution with the main objective of overthrowing Qing Dynasty was outbreak in China.As the birthplace of Qing Dynasty,Northeast China was involved in and negatively affected by it via been treated as the "uncivilized area" of some Chinese people.After establishment of RC,under the influence of "peaceful coexistence of five ethnic groups",the thought of "Anti-Manchuism" was weakened and the attitude towards people in Northeast China tended to positive and acceptable.It can be said that the appearance of "peaceful coexistence of five ethnic groups" has played a crucial role in coordination of ethnicity relations,removal of ethnicity conflicts,stability of border areas and maintenance of national unity for newly established regime."That isn’t all",it symbolized the transformation of "Anti-Manchuism" to establishment of a united multi-ethnic country led by Sun Yat-sen,the representative of revolutionary political party.However,Northeast China still maintains distant and strange for Chinese people.With the continuous development of media and transportation,Northeast China has been deeper understanding.Both the old Northern warlords and the newly established government of RC Kuo Min Tang began to pay attention to the land.For instance,Zhang Taiyan was appointed to develop Northeast China by Yuan Shikai and Chiang Kai-shek was nominated to revolutionize Northeast China by Chen Qimei.Before the change of ruling,Northeast China was actually governed by Zhang Zuolin,the head of Manchurian warlord.Northeast China,then,has been transformed from former "uncivilized area" into an integral part of China.Unfortunately,most Chinese people still hold the stereotype of remote and uncivilized border area to it.The periods of 1920s was witnessed the highlight of immigration to Northeast China,leading high development in various undertakings.With the in-depth investigation of Northeast China,the strategic position and economic value have been emphasized.So this was a golden period for the development of Northeast China.The dream of building Northeast China in peace and self-reliance,however,was broken with the outbreak of September 18th Incident.Northeast China was occupied rapidly by Japanese Guandong Army.With the miserable feeling of losing control of Northeast China,the appeal to fight against Japan and the armies of volunteers were become the major voices around China.As such,the outbreak of September 18th Incident,to some extent,marked the tremendous change of Chinese recognition for Northeast China.Although the investigation group of Li Dun launched a field investigation in Northeast China,the tragic fate being conquered by Japan could not be eventually changed relying on international forces.To sum up,the cognitive experiences of Chinese toward Northeast China in modern times had undergone a complex process of "cherisheddiscriminatory-re-cherished".There are two main reasons.First,the cognition of Chinese people on Northeast China has gradually deepens.Second,the concept of"nation state" has been increasingly strengthened since modern times.These two main reasons mingled with each other and jointly influenced cognition of Chinese people on Northeast China during 72 years from the end of the Second Opium War to the establishment of pseudo-Manchukuo.Indeed,any concept is the product of certain conditions and environment.When time and environment change,the concept changes accordingly and the new meaning emerges.