When the Empire of Japan defeated the Chinese Qing Dynasty in 1895 and won its first colony, Taiwan, it worked to establish it as a model colony. The Japanese brought Taiwan not only education and economic reform but also a new pastime made popular in Japan by American influence: baseball. But unlike in many other models, the introduction of baseball to Taiwan didn't lead to imperial indoctrination or nationalist resistance. Taiwan instead stands as a fascinating counterexample to an otherwise seemingly established norm in the cultural politics of modern imperialism. Taiwan's baseball culture evolved as a cultural hybrid between American, Japanese, and later Chinese influences.
In Empire of Infields John J. Harney traces the evolution and identity of Taiwanese baseball, focusing on three teams: the Nenggao team of 1924-25, the Kano team of 1931, and the Hongye schoolboy team of 1968. Baseball developed as an aspect of Japanese cultural practices that survived the end of Japanese rule at the end of World War II and was a central element of Japanese influence in the formation of popular culture across East Asia. The Republic of China (which reclaimed Taiwan in 1945) only embraced baseball in 1968 as an expression of a distinct Chinese nationalism and as a vehicle for political narratives.
Empire of Infields explores not only the development of Taiwanese baseball but also the influence of baseball on Taiwan's cultural identity in its colonial years and beyond as a clear departure from narratives of assimilation and resistance.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
"Empire of Infields provides a deeply nuanced analysis of the complicated historical interactions of sport and colonialism in Taiwan."-J. S. Franks, Choice "Harney's Empire of Infields joins Sayuri Guthrie-Shimizu's Trans-Pacific Field of Dreams: How Baseball Linked the United States and Japan in Peace and War (2012) as an important work describing the evolution of baseball as an international sport. And while soccer, golf, basketball, or tennis may have a more truly global reach, he demonstrates well how baseball came to establish its secure niche in the world."-Paul Dunscomb, H-Asia "Harney's Empire of Infields is a book for those interested in who the Taiwanese are, by going back to the root and the route of the game of baseball. It goes beyond simple assimilation/resistance dichotomy via sport in terms of nation building, and it is well-written and the research masterfully handled."-Tzu-hsuan Chen, Asian Journal of Sport History & Culture "In this well-reported, wonderfully conceived book, John Harney has mapped not just the history of Taiwanese baseball but the role the game has played in the evolution of a contested Taiwanese national identity. This is a kaleidoscopic analysis of the entanglement of Japanese colonialism, Taiwanese identity, and nationalism, politics, and globalization."-George Gmelch, author of Baseball beyond Our Borders: An International Pastime "John Harney has utilized a host of primary sources to produce a nuanced and detailed reinterpretation of Taiwanese identity via the historical role of baseball. He offers an alternative analysis to the usual assimilation and resistance frameworks in other works as he negotiates the contested and ambiguous identity of a nation in limbo. A must-read for scholars of East Asian studies and sport historians."-Gerald R. Gems, past president of the North American Society for Sport History
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ISBN-13
978-1-4962-1533-8 (9781496215338)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
John J. Harney is an assistant professor of history at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.
