Historiography refers to the principles and practices relating to the writing of history, whether by one or more sets of historians. We are familiar with the idea that history is written by the victors but this is not really true of much of the history of East Asia. For example, very little history was written or has at least come down to us from the Mongol Conquests. It would be wrong to imagine, therefore, that history is always written in an objective and scientific manner. Instead, it reflects many underlying assumptions of the writers and their aims for their writing.
This does not seem on the face of it to be very exciting but in fact studying the historiography of East Asia reveals a great deal about the beliefs of people of the past. It also can tell us a great deal about the motivations of political leaders of the present who sponsor particular beliefs about what really happened in the past.
One particular example is the continuing controversy between Japan and Korea. In the early years of the twentieth century, Korea was colonized by Japan and the rule of the Japanese was complete and often brutal. Koreans would like the world to know more about this period and history books are replete with stories of ill-treatment of Koreans by Japanese. However, on the Japanese side, just as in the case of many of the events of WWII, there appears to be a desire to avoid responsibility for what happened and, indeed, to deny it altogether. Consequently, history textbooks for Japanese schoolchildren are rigorously scrutinized for examples of possible bias and omission. The contest between the two countries also extends to rival claims as to who was the first to invent or discover various innovations, which means claims of archaeological discoveries are similarly fiercely reviewed. There has also been a long-standing controversy concerning the possible Korean ancestry of the Japanese imperial family.
In Thailand, previous military dictatorships have been keen to present the Thai people as having always been present in the land of Thailand. Ideally, this would coincide with a degree of seniority to Chinese people, who had long considered themselves to be elder brothers in the region. Consequently, works such as William Clifton Todd's The Tai Race have been seized on as providing support for this unscientific belief. This nineteenth century treatise on the Tai peoples of Southern China and bordering areas and Reverend Dodd's interest in converting them to Christianity is by and large a careful and responsible account but has been made famous by additions to the text by Dodd's wife after his death. These additions are misreadings of Dodd's notes and suggest a provenance for Tai people that Dodd himself had not concluded. Nevertheless, this version of history is still being taught in many Thai schools.
One particular example is the continuing controversy between Japan and Korea. In the early years of the twentieth century, Korea was colonized by Japan and the rule of the Japanese was complete and often brutal. Koreans would like the world to know more about this period and history books are replete with stories of ill-treatment of Koreans by Japanese. However, on the Japanese side, just as in the case of many of the events of WWII, there appears to be a desire to avoid responsibility for what happened and, indeed, to deny it altogether. Consequently, history textbooks for Japanese schoolchildren are rigorously scrutinized for examples of possible bias and omission. The contest between the two countries also extends to rival claims as to who was the first to invent or discover various innovations, which means claims of archaeological discoveries are similarly fiercely reviewed. There has also been a long-standing controversy concerning the possible Korean ancestry of the Japanese imperial family.
In Thailand, previous military dictatorships have been keen to present the Thai people as having always been present in the land of Thailand. Ideally, this would coincide with a degree of seniority to Chinese people, who had long considered themselves to be elder brothers in the region. Consequently, works such as William Clifton Todd's The Tai Race have been seized on as providing support for this unscientific belief. This nineteenth century treatise on the Tai peoples of Southern China and bordering areas and Reverend Dodd's interest in converting them to Christianity is by and large a careful and responsible account but has been made famous by additions to the text by Dodd's wife after his death. These additions are misreadings of Dodd's notes and suggest a provenance for Tai people that Dodd himself had not concluded. Nevertheless, this version of history is still being taught in many Thai schools.
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