When you think of "Scotland", what comes to mind? Is it the checkered skirts on the men? Or the high-pitched Scottish bagpipes? Is it a whisky that the British call "water of life"? Or the world's first cloned sheep - Dolly...
What kind of epic journey has Scotland gone through in the 300 years between the merger of the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom to today's Scottish independence debate? How should we understand the traditional culture, historical landscape and social changes of the Scottish nation? How can Scotland's present be better understood? In the so-called "post-Brexit" era in the United Kingdom, what different path will the thinking and choices of people living in this part of Scotland bring to Scotland, to the whole Of England, and even to the whole world? Standing at a historic crossroads, where will scotland, an ancient people, go?
On July 31st, The Beijing News Book Review Weekly, Culture Living Room, together with Oracle, a social science literature publishing house, invited Martin McDermott (Chinese name: Meng Huaxuan), the representative of the Scottish government in China, Xu Yitong, the translator of "The Scottish Nation: A Modern History", Xu Heqian, a master of contemporary history at the University of Edinburgh, and Gao Lin, a writer familiar with European history, to visit SKP RENDEZ-VOUS Bookstore, focusing on the theme of "Scotland and the Scottish Nation Walking at the Crossroads". A joint analysis of Scotland's past and present, and discussions were held on the spot about the formation of Scotland's "national image", Scotland's accession to the United Kingdom and its relationship with the European continent.
The Scottish Nation: A Modern History, by.M T.M. Devine, translated by Yitong Xu, Social Sciences Literature Press, Oracle, July 2021.
The Scottish Nation sold more english-language countries than Harry Potter at one point
In 1707, two kingdoms that had maintained independence since the Middle Ages, Scotland, signed a Treaty of Union with England, and a unified Kingdom of Britain was born. Retaining the key functions of the Scottish State Church in education, poverty alleviation and other fields maintained the stability of Soviet-British relations, the expansion of the British Empire around the world provided Scotland with a vast overseas market, and the inflow of capital and talent also contributed to the rapid development of the Scottish economy in the Industrial Revolution. The American War of Independence and the French Revolution strengthened Scotland's loyalty to the United Kingdom, but the Scottish nation did not lose its national identity, but formed a unique Scottish national image through highland fashions such as checkered and long skirts. After the Second World War, Scotland's sense of national identity rose again, and maintaining the unity of the United Kingdom has become a serious challenge that the British government must face in the future.
For Scotland, The Scottish Nation: A Modern History is a landmark book that has had a huge impact on Scottish political education and national identity. At the event, Martin McDermott said that the work was first published in 1999, which is also the time when the Scottish Parliament was re-established, which is a key period for understanding the current History of Scotland. Interestingly, after the book was published, it sold more than Harry Potter, a phenomenon that is very rare in English-speaking countries. In Martin McDermott's view, The Scottish Nation: A Modern History builds a bridge between academia and the Scottish people, especially when the Scottish people have a good understanding of their own people's history and a strong desire to know Scottish history.
As the translator of the book "Scottish Nation: A Modern History", Xu Yitong first talked about the title of the book. How to understand "Scotland" and "Scots"? In this regard, Xu Yitong said that the first impression of the Scots in many people's minds must be rough, full of romantic feelings, skirt-wearing, and the image of the medieval Nordic nation that hates the English, which may be the symbol that most people will think of immediately after hearing "Scotland".
Looking back at the historical process of Scotland in the past three hundred years, Xu Yitong noted that Scotland has experienced rapid industrialization and modernization at a considerable stage, and in many fields such as economy and technology, it can be said that it has opened up a precedent for modern civilization. Xu Yitong found that Scotland gave birth to such great figures as Adam Smith and David Hume, but there is a big gap between Scotland's influence on modern life and the association of modern people with the three words "Scotland": "We also tend to think that the Scottish nation is ancient and pre-modern. But in fact, as in the 2014 referendum on [Scottish independence], and now scotland's image in the international news, the Scottish nation is in fact highly modern, closely related to the development of our contemporary world, and related to many contemporary economic and social changes. ”
So, how should the Scottish nation be understood? Xu Yitong said that the Scottish nation is not a specific ethnicity, but lives on Scottish soil, may come from different countries, believe in different religions, support different football teams, from different social classes, very intricate, like a platter of diverse society in the collective life and experience of all people in the society. This collection differs from the static Scotland in the landscape shots of Mel Gibson's films, and is a very dynamic and up-to-date image.
Stills from the movie Braveheart (1995). Set in the court of England in the 13th and 14th centuries, the film tells the story of William Wallace, the leader of the Scottish Uprising, indomitable struggle with the rulers of England.
From the point of view of European history, the concept of the Scottish nation is full of dialectics
From england and Scotland merged in 1707 to 2007, in three hundred years, the independence of Scotland, a once independent country, was absorbed and dissolved. Here, Xu and Qian raise the question of how Scotland can maintain its cultural and social system uniqueness in the process. With urbanisation, the Industrial Revolution, etc., how did Scots join britain's global expansion network?
After the end of the Second World War, with the global contraction of British colonial docks and the degradation of heavy industry in the 1960s and 1970s, the local Scottish labor force began to realize that they needed to formulate a policy that belonged to Scottish society and Scottish industry, rather than leaving all the decision-making power in London. Xu Heqian agrees with Xu Yitong's point of view, he believes that from the perspective of European history, the concept of the Scottish nation is full of dialectics, especially the formation of the concept of the Scottish nation, which did not end because of Britain, the Soviet Union and the state. To some extent, the British, Soviet and State enabled the nation to be reconstructed, and the identity and pluralism increased greatly.
What role has Scotland played in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland over the past three hundred years? Collin shares the issue as a reader of The Scottish Nation: A Modern History, "Scotland and England are more of a partner role. And looking at Scotland from this perspective, Gowling said, "we will find a lot of Scots who don't realize that they are Scots", such as 007 - the prototype of 007 is a Scotsman.
Goreen believes that in the story of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson is a Scot, and the author of this character, Arthur Conan Doyle, is also a Scot. The relationship between the neurotic, imaginative and extremely intelligent detective in Sherlock Holmes, and the doctor who is full of common sense, very rational, and always believes that he is more objective than Sherlock Holmes, the relationship between these two characters is actually the relationship between England and Scotland in Conan Doyle's mind.
Stills from the movie Sherlock Holmes (2009).
When you think of Scotland, it's easy to think of dresses like Scottish long skirts, checkered tweeds and beanieless hats. But Gowling said that such a dress did not represent the Scots for a long time, nor did it represent the culture of Scotland, it was only the image of a small number of People in Scotland, and it was the clothing of the clans of the Northern Highlands of Scotland. For the Scottish Lowlands, and even for the Stuart dynasty that ruled Scotland, these Highland clans were more troublemakers. In the time of the Hanoverian Dynasty, the Hanoverian Dynasty adopted a fine and exile attitude towards the people of the Highland clan who were dressed like this, hoping to eliminate them through severe punishment.
But with the advent of the French Revolution, the image of the Scots was reversed, and the Scottish long skirt, checkered tweed and beanie, from the clothing worn by a few northern clans, became a symbol of Scottish culture. When George IV appeared in Edinburgh wearing a long Scottish dress, a checkered cape, and a beanie, the Hanoverian dynasty chose the image of these former enemies as their ideal Image of the Scots. This means that Scottish culture has reversed from the traditional notion that culture spreads from the south to the north. From this perspective, it took more than 100 years for the Scots to finalize the symbolism and positioning of their own culture.
At the event site, Martin McDermott, the representative of the Scottish government in China, wore a long Scottish dress. (Filmed on the spot)
In Collin's view, there is a high degree of consistency between Scottish culture and the history of the time. Why, for example, did the Hanoverian dynasty allow the costumes of the northern Highland clans to become symbols throughout Scotland? Because the Northern Highland clans were already in a state of disintegration and had lost their real threat to the Hanoverian Dynasty, the Hanoverian Dynasty could allow such a group of people and their image to become a symbol of scotland as a whole.
Many Scots would see themselves as a different ethnic group from England
Martin McDermott said that before becoming the United Kingdom, England and Scotland were effectively two completely independent countries. In 1707, Scotland and England merged into one country and became the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Scottish Parliament and the English Parliament were officially merged to form the United Parliament, which is today the British Parliament in London. Martin McDermott said that the partnership between two countries and two peoples has influenced the development of global history for a long time. From the scottish government's point of view, after 1999, the Scottish Parliament was re-established as an independent parliament.
Here, Martin McDermott mentions that in fact, before parliament was formally re-established, many areas in Scotland, including education, health care, and some social management systems, were actually self-governed by Scotland. Nevertheless, as history evolved, the people of Scotland felt it necessary to re-establish their own parliament. Martin McDermott further said that many Scots would see themselves as a different ethnic group from England.
During the Scottish independence referendum, Xu he happened to study at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, thus witnessing the referendum debate that lasted from 2013 to 2014. The independence referendum ended with 55 per cent opposition and 45 per cent support, so Scotland remains a member of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
As a Scot, Martin McDermott has experienced first-hand the changes in Scottish society over the last four decades. So, for him, what kind of personal experience will the change of Identity of the Scots – including internal psychological identity and external appearances (such as traditional dress, and whether the Gaelic language is emphasized) bring about?
Martin McDermott responded to this question from his own family background. When he was still in school, many local children were not allowed to use the local Language or dialect of Scotland, and the traditional way of behaving in Scotland was not popular, "everything at that time was changed in an English-style way." But by 1999, by the time the scottish nation: A Modern History was published, a lot had changed. In Martin McDermott's view, history is actually the history of the people, and the most important thing is not the major historical events, but the connection between history and people, "what happens to the people is the most important." ”
At the same time, Martin McDermott said that today we look at Scotland from a very diverse perspective, including some historical feuds with England, but beyond that, England was also a very close partner of Scotland. Therefore, he pointed out that from the perspective of national identity, the Scottish people saw themselves as a nation within the world, not to pursue any nationalist tendencies, not to prove that the Scottish people were better than the English people.
What exactly does a monarchy United Kingdom mean for modern Scots? If one day, Scotland becomes a nation, will it become the Kingdom of Scotland? On Goreen's question, Martin McDermott argues that Scots are diverse and have a high degree of diversity of views – they can support one faction or hold multiple views at the same time. For example, a Scottish nationalist can also support the royal family, can also be a republican, and may also want Scotland to remain in Britain. Martin McDermott cited the 2014 Scottish independence referendum as an example, and we can see that in the debate at the time, the Scottish government wanted Scotland to become an independent country, but also hoped to continue to use the pound sterling after independence and be able to join the European Union, while still wanting to retain the existing monarchy.
This made Xu Heqian think about how as a proud Scot, but also as a person who likes the royal family, and is even willing to support and stay within the framework of the British royal family, these two identities are not in conflict. In Xu Heqian's view, this is likely to be related to the fact that the British royal family absorbed a lot of Scottish elements. Xu Heqian mentioned that in British movies or TV series, there are often some scenes, such as the queen driving her own jeep in rainy weather, or hunting and riding a horse in an undulating emerald green mountain, which is usually the queen vacationing in Scotland. Xu Heqian noticed a very interesting detail, in the Scottish press or other articles, talking about Queen Elizabeth II, usually write about Queen Elizabeth, because according to the historical tradition of Scotland, as of now, they have only one Queen Elizabeth. This is a very interesting insistence of the Scots in Xu Heqian's view.
Stills from the movie The Queen (2006).
Will there be a second Scottish independence referendum? This is a question that Xu heqian asked Martin McDermott. Martin McDermott shared some of his thoughts on this from a personal perspective. Martin McDermott said that whether there will be another referendum, all parties hold different views, everyone is actively discussing. However, from the perspective of policy priorities, the scottish government's primary consideration is how to achieve a post-COVID-19 economic recovery. Once the recovery has been achieved, Scotland may consider the possibility of another referendum. Martin McDermott believes that whether the Scottish people want the referendum to leave the UK or stay in the UK needs to be left to the Scottish people to decide.
Reporter 丨He An'an
Editor 丨 Xu Yuedong
Proofreading 丨 Zhao Lin