Po, Ronald C. ORCID: 0000-0002-9678-0536
(2019)
Hero or Villain? The evolving legacy of Shi Lang in China and Taiwan.
Modern Asian Studies, 53 (5).
pp. 1486-1515.
ISSN 0026-749X
Abstract
For over two centuries, some of China’s most prominent officials, literary figures, and intellectuals have paid special attention to the legacy of Shi Lang. Compared to many other historical figures, in East Asia’s cross-strait tensions and geopolitics, Shi Lang remains essential to our understanding of this region’s troubled past and the murky outlook for its future. Although the image of Shi Lang continues to mean different things to different people, to some degree, his significance to one particular community is also communicated to other communities. As a result, by analysing most of the previous appraisals and examinations of Shi Lang, we can see the historical narratives of this man as being continually under construction in a shifting and mutually reinforcing process. This paper aims to examine the ways in which the legacy of Shi Lang has percolated throughout Chinese history, since the Qing Dynasty, and also how it continues to function in the present day. It is fascinating to not only delineate how the story of Shi Lang has evolved as a legacy, but also to explore the rich variety of ways in which an individual or a community has adapted the narratives that makes up the story of Shi Lang to suit the demands of different historical settings and perspectives.
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