My response to the video “Two coasts of China” and “Meiji” of “Pacific Century”
This is a discussion for my history class, I don’t think it is a fair comparison of both countries’ modernizations. So, here is my respond.
Great Wall: as I saw some of students do know understand why Chinese people build them, I will explain it. Chinese people, especially the majority Han people love peace. We are agricultural society from 5000 years ago. Han people are not good at fighting. But the problem is on north of China, nomads tried to get our products for free. For thousands of years, they did not try to get over our land; instead, they just raid products and kill Han people. During Yuan Dynasty Mongolian took our land, but what happened? They are not good dominators of a civilized society. Whatever Qin or Ming dynasty, they just want a peace and safe environment for living. Besides, 1st, it is almost impossible to trade with nomads, what they have? 2nd, Ming dynasty is from 1368 to 1644, the modernization in Europe is not really started yet, they just get rid of the control of Holy Roma Emperor. So, Great Wall is not a proof that the Chinese people do not want to be modernized.
Different situation: at that time, 1800s, China and Japan are in totally different situations, we cannot just say Japan was modernized and China resisted to be modernized.
China: Rich, civilized, with a minority ethnic group government. Because China was rich, Europeans want to make money from China, they want to trade with China. The problem is the government does not want to trade. I did not see any problems with that, trade or not is a freedom for whatever or whoever. Chinese government does not want to trade, then that means they are resisting modernization? It is not fear. The issue is not about modernization for China and Europe, it is about money. Europeans want to make money, and their solution is opium. They become drug dealers. The story of “Lin Zexu” should be exists. After he destroy drugs, British were using force to request money pay back, is that fair?
Japan: on the opposite, Japan has nothing to lose. It was a small country, basically agricultural and fishing society. They do not have the money Europeans want. They did not threat by Europeans’ gunship and poisoning of opium. On the other hand, Meiji is a good emperor. He leads his people to modernization. As now, the train is still an inerasable sign of Japanese rising. It was even the beginning of stories of WWII; Japan has the power to fight against Europeans and Americans.
Missing Histories: I have to say, Chinese did what they have to do. After about 1890, Chinese people who studied from Japanese Meiji revolution began to do the same thing in China. After so many times of failures, Sun Zhongshan, a great leader of Chinese revolution leads China into a new age. He and his group — Kuomintang of China (Chinese Nationalist Party) established Republic of China. China did not fail; China is just a little bit late. It is all because the Emperor Domination system is way too deep in Chinese culture. But we finally did it.
Imperialism: it is a very heavy word in Chinese history. From 1840, the 1st opium war, imperialism became the nightmare of China. Europeans’ opium poisoned Chinese people. Europeans’ gunship attacked Chinese coasts. China became weaker and weaker. Lands of China began to lose. Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, Northeast China, even Tibet. They all have been lost by China. Now, some of them are still part of China, and some of them only partially remained. Even, NOW! Westerners’ power tried to separate China in parts. Japan grew up 1st in Asia, they used the same way, the same imperialism to trait his neighbors. During the WWII, innumerable Chinese and other races people died under Japanese imperialism. I cannot tell anything good from it. Nothing is perfect, imperialism maybe good for European a while, consequences came later.
