Modern China and Japan, An Introduction

1. Definition:

Unlike the Western world where the modern era is usually defined as starting from the Renaissance, a movement that was started within Europe, modern China and Japan are usually defined as starting from the mid-19th century, when they were forced to open their doors to trade from Europe.  Indeed, Westernization was a central characteristic of both China and Japan in the past 150 years and the modern histories of both countries have been one of how to navigate between traditional values and practices and Western ones.

2. China and Japan before 1840:

China and Japan followed distinct paths of development in history.  China, being a continental country, is one of the four most ancient civilizations in the world (the other three are: Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Indian), with a history of written records dating back to 4,000 years ago (the Chinese talk about a civilization of five thousand years).  The first written records appeared in Japan, an island country, in the 8th century A.D.  The first unified state was established in Japan around the mid 7th century, but according to Japanese legends, the first Japanese state was established around 660 B.C.

3. Qing China:

Historically, imperial dynasties ruled over a unified China from around 220 B.C. up to 1911.  Periodically, the unification would disintegrate for various reasons, but it would invariably be restored.  The last dynasty to rule over a unified China was called the Qing (pure) Dynasty (1644-1911), established by the Manchus, an ethnic group.  Like most previous foreign rulers in China, the Manchus were much assimilated into the Chinese culture.  The Manchus consisted of various tribes that originated from what later became northeastern China (called Manchuria).   In the 18th century, Manchu emperors encountered what later would turn out to be a more formidable foe than rebels or the Han (the majority of ) Chinese whom they ruled over, the Europeans who were beginning to undergo the Industrial Revolution and were looking for overseas markets for their machine manufactured goods.  Initially, Manchu emperors tried to ignore these European envoys for trade.  But in 1839, China and Europe clashed in a war over opium.  The Chinese destruction of British opium, grown in India, (c.f. our drug war today) led to British government retaliation and declaration of war on China.  The Chinese defeat by the British led to China's concession of five ports for trade with Britain and indemnities of millions of ounces of silver, as well as many privileges to Britons in China, such as one sided most favored nations status, and extraterritoriality. The First Opium War(1839-42) was followed by a series of humiliating defeats of China by foreigners in the second half of the 19th century, which finally propelled the Chinese to decide on "self-strengthening."  The decision to reform ultimately led many Chinese to identify the Manchu rulers as what obstructed their demand for change.  This led to the overthrow of the Manchu Dynasty in 1911 and the ushering in of a Chinese republic.

4. Tokugawa Japan

Like in China, Japan had an imperial system.  But unlike in China, after the 13th century, with the imminence of foreign invaders such as the Mongols, the ruling dynasties were largely military aristocrats and the emperor was overshadowed.  The last military aristocratic dynasty (1603-1868) was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu.  Tokugawa Japan saw steady development of government, economy, and commerce.  But like China after the 1500s, the country was increasingly closing itself up to the outside world, especially the Western world.  Overseas trade was banned by the government.  The only Europeans allowed to be in Japan, the Dutch, had to live on a small island off the four main islands of Japan.  The Tokugawa government led to a new round of introduction of Chinese learning, including the idea of meritocracy and a social hierarchy.  It was a military government, led by a military general (shogun), who gave fiefs to his followers (daimyo), and he himself as well as his daimyo had many retainers (samurai).  It was a system that resembled European feudalism.  Like in Qing China, around 1850, the West requested Japan to open up for trade.  The Tokugawa government's wavering over this led to its overthrow by the pro-emperor forces.  The end of the Tokugawa era led to the so-called restoration of the emperor to the center of politics.  Unlike in China where the imperial system was overthrown, in Japan the emperor was judiciously kept to maintain a sense of continuity.

 5. Trajectories of modern development:

Japan Political reforms conducted in the name of the Meiji emperor (by the 1890s):  Western style constitutional government  Modern school system.  Abolition of the feudal system.   Reappointments of new aristocracy.   Industrialization.   Land redistribution.  Military triumphs and road to imperial power: Imperialism and wars. The Sino-Japanese War (1894)  The Russo-Japanese War (1904)  The 15 year war (1931-45).  Under the American occupation (1945-52). Postwar economic takeoff. Export driven economy with great involvement of the Bank of Japan and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) (more extensive discussion on this later in the semester). Economic recession from the 1990s to now. Financial speculation, the appreciation of the yen, and the lack of structural adjustment to a new and changing world economy led to economic recession that started from 1993 (more extensive discussion on this later in the semester). China: Wars with foreign countries in the second half of the 19th century The Opium War (1939-42) The Second Opium War (1858-60) The Sino-French War (1884-85) The Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) The Boxer Rebellion (1900-01) The republican era (1911-49) Establishment of the republic (1911) National disintegration and warlord rule (1916-27) National reunification by the government led by the Nationalist Party. (1928) War with Japan (1937-1945) Civil War between the Nationalist Party and Communist Party (1945-49) Nationalists' fleeing to Taiwan (1948-49) The Communist era (1949-present) Various political movements (e.g. anti-Rightist movement, and the Cultural Revolution, as mentioned in Jung Chang, Wild Swans) with an emphasis on Marxist class struggle against the "enemies" of the Communists. Communist reform (1978 to the present) Export oriented economy; Gradual expansion of market control; Rapid urbanization of large coastal rural areas. Government cooptation of non-Communist elements such as intellectuals and capitalist entrepreneurs.