History of the Building of the Australian Nation 澳洲建国史 – Preface 序

The continent of Australia, otherwise known as simply Australia,[1] is located in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. It was still desolate and undeveloped 150 years ago. Since the commencement of British colonisation in Australia in 1788, painstaking efforts have been made and numerous difficulties have been overcome to lay the foundation of a nation. Today, this vast nation is flourishing in both prosperity and power. Britain now looks at Australia with newfound respect and has granted the country autonomy. Nations the world over have been awed by Australia’s formation and have been eager to establish diplomatic relationships with this rising power in the Southern Hemisphere.

[1] The author uses the term ‘澳洲’ (Aozhou) to refer to Australia throughout this book, although Australia is also known as Aodaliya 澳大利亞 in Chinese. As zhou 洲 means continent, it should be noted that it can denote the continent of Australia rather than the country. However, in the original text, the author states here that his usage of Aozhou refers to Aodaliya, in other words the country of Australia. Besides, the author tends to use the term ‘澳洲大陆’ (Aozhou dalu) to refer to the Australian continent to distinguish it from Australia as a country. As such, Aozhou is almost exclusively rendered as ‘Australia’ in this translation.

[2] Here the author speaks from a Eurocentric perspective that neglects the tens of thousands of years of Indigenous history in Australia. This disregard for Indigenous history was pervasive in studies on Australia’s history at the time this book was published. More information regarding the history of Australia’s Indigenous peoples can be found in Bruce Pascoe, Dark Emu: Aboriginal Australia and the Birth of Agriculture (Magabala Books, 2018).

澳洲亦稱澳大利亞，位於西南太平洋，百五十年前，猶一片荒原，尚未開發，自一七八八年英人移殖後，披荆斬刺，艱苦經營，克服種種困難，奠定國家基礎，至今日而蔚然大國，既富且強，不惟英本國刮目相看，而給予自治領之地位；即世界各國，亦莫不引為驚異，肅然起敬，而樂與此南半球崛起之大國，攜手論交也。

[1] Here ‘English miles’ refers to English statute miles. Prior to the International Yard and Pound Agreement of 1959, there was a slight discrepancy between the miles used in the UK, the US and various Commonwealth nations. This book predates this agreement, therefore the author chose to give Australia’s area in English statute miles for accuracy. Now disused, English statute miles were equivalent to 1609.341 metres, whereas today’s miles (otherwise known as international miles), as stipulated under the International Yard and Pound Agreement, equate to 1609.344 metres. See Lewis V. Judson, Weights and Measures Standards of the United States: A Brief History (Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1963), 30-31.

查澳洲之領土面積，共為三百餘萬英方里；而其現有之人口數目，猶不過七百萬。是以其土地面積言，正與北美合衆國之面積相等；如以其人口數目言，猶不及紐約一市人口之多。如此地廣人稀，何以立國？政論家每引以為疑問；然夷考澳人百餘年來之奮鬥歷史，及其建國之天然優越條件，則澳洲之有今日，實亦自有其至理，決非偶然倖致之事。如澳洲今後在人口問題上，得到合理之解決，其建設前途之進步，正未可限量。所謂「今日之澳洲即明日之美國」不難達其目的，而實現此建國之理想也。

There are many Chinese researchers and a wealth of Chinese writings on the politics, economics and societies of Europe and the United States. In contrast, Chinese researchers on Australia are few and far between. There is a pronounced lack of Chinese-language publications about Australia, which makes it difficult for Chinese scholars to find information about the country. Having spent many years in Australia, I find pleasure in researching and examining the general political, economic and social phenomena of the country. I am particularly interested in, and have extensively studied, the feats accomplished over the past hundred or more years to establish this nation. I have thought about compiling my knowledge into a book for a long time, to provide my compatriots with a specialist reference on Australia. Regrettably, I was unable to bring most of my materials about Australia back with me when I returned to China during the war. This, coupled with the fact that it is not easy to collect such information in China, meant that I did not dare pick up my pen for many years. This work heavily relied on the help of the Australian envoy Sir Eggleston (1875-1954),[1] as well as encouragement and motivation from many individuals such as Liang Dapeng 梁大鵬 (1911-1998), Yang Juetian 楊覺天 (1904-1970), Zheng Zhaochen 鄭兆辰 (dates unknown) and Ren Dasheng 任達生 (1917-1947). I would like to express my thanks to Liang and Ren for taking time to review the manuscript of this book. They provided me with detailed comments and many suggestions. Lastly, I must say that this book is far from comprehensive due to time constraints relating to its publication. Errors are inevitable and can only be polished out at a later date. I look forward to being taught by readers as this book’s inadequacies and mistakes are found.

[1] Serving in China from 1941 to 1944, Sir Frederic Eggleston was the first diplomatic representative posted to the Republic of China by Australia. Although we have translated shi 使 as ‘envoy’ here, Eggleston was officially known as the Australian Minister to China. As an early proponent of Australian engagement in the Asia-Pacific region, Eggleston left a legacy of productive relations between Australia and China. More information regarding Eggleston, as well as other influential Australian figures in China in the 1940s and 1950s, can be found in William Sima, China & ANU: Diplomats, adventurers, scholars (Canberra: ANU Press, 2015).

Preface by Luo Jiezi 駱介子 from the provisional capital of Chongqing[1] on the 1^st of April, ROC (minguo 民國) 33.[2]

[1] Chongqing, formerly romanised as Chungking, was China’s provisional capital (peidu 陪都) from 1937 to 1945.

[2] This date is equivalent to the 1^st of April, 1944. The calendar used by the author is the Republic of China (ROC) calendar (Zhonghua Minguo li中华民國历). Following Chinese dynastic tradition, it designates years according to the year of the ruling dynasty’s reign. The ROC was founded in 1912, making 1912 the first year on this calendar, therefore ROC 33 is equivalent to 1944. Months and days under this system are identical to the Gregorian calendar.

民國三十三年四月一日駱介子序於重慶陪都