In the 19th century, both Japan and China found themselves lacking with little to no improvement when it came to technology and military advancements in their prospective countries. This lack of progression would bring the possibility of great injustice to both areas. At certain times during this century they would be faced with making decisions of whether to allow western powers force their way in, to intimidate and gain relations between themselves and that power. Japan found itself reacting well to imperialism by giving into whichever country wanted relations and brought force enough to get it thereby saving itself from unnecessary strife and possibility of war. China had other ideas about letting western powers in and ultimately deciding …show more content…
to go against western powers trying to force their way in. In each situation, the choices Japan and China made forever changed how the economy for each country would respond and ultimately how well they were each able to modernize themselves and improve in order to have those achievements it had lacked before. The Russians were the first power to come to Japan seeking advancement for their economy and establishing contact.
Russia wanted to open trading relations with Japan and when the Japanese denied the proposal for trade between themselves and Russia, Russia attacked already established trading posts in Japan knowing they didn’t have the the forces in order to defend. In response to this attack, Japan captured a captain of a Russian surveying group and held him until Russia agreed to stipulations before he could be released. The shogunate was weary of westerners and had great respect for its ancestors so initiating any new foreign relations wasn’t allowed and if there were to be any contact with foreigners it was under strict orders of how and when. The shogunate while weary was aware that there were many countries wanting to establish relations with Japan and was against having any contact at all so the country of Japan was closed off to all western powers and an isolationist policy was born. This policy while in theory would help the country of Japan protect itself in its vulnerable state wound up impoverishing itself and they hurt themselves more in the process by stifling their economy even further. During this period of isolation, Japan tried working to improve itself in order to be ready for that one day when the country would no longer be closed off to all other powers around them. They spent more time on military training as well as developing new …show more content…
technologies. The United States wasn’t far behind Russia and they too tried to force themselves on Japan. The United States came demanding that Japan sign a friendship treaty between them both. This proposition came with its own military to make sure that the demands were enforced. Japan was intimidated by the force and willingly signed the treaty. This treaty would allow American ships to dock to obtain goods at ports in Japan, anyone shipwrecked coming from the United States would be ordered to be treated as a friendly, and they would have the right to post a consul in a designated area of Japan. Once the United States gained its footing, the demands for more didn’t end. Provisions to the original treaty were made and when all was said and done, Japan was made to allow the United States the privilege of extraterritoriality. This privilege was quite a deal for the United States as it would exempt individuals from the United States or certain areas inhabited by the United States in Japan from local law. If and when the United States ever decided to send their military there for example, they could do so with these new provisions and Japan wouldn’t be able to govern over the military body. Later, this allowance would be extended to other countries such as the Netherlands, Britain, France, and Russia. The signing of the treaties attributed to the Fall of the Shogunate allowing a new type of government to form. The Meiji Restoration period was the time Japan really came into it’s own and transformed into a more modern country. Oligarchs were the ones to start a new government during the restoration. They promoted reform in Japan’s economy as well as industrialization. They placed industries that produced arms under state control in order to supply the military. Banks and paper currency came into being. Railroads and shipyards were built. Cotton spinning and weaving factories were built along with the start of silk imports coming from France. While the industry grew exponentially, advancements in agriculture were taking place as well. New seed varieties were found and commercial fertilizers were brought into the mix. There was even new equipment to use. With this modernization came strength for Japan. It evolved into its own super power. Its military power was demonstrated through its success in war as seen during the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War. During the 19th century China experienced major internal strains due to the expanding population which created taxes on the food supply in the country. The shortages of food led to rebellions which weakened the country’s government. One of the bloodiest rebellions was the Taiping Rebellion. This rebellion lasted more than a decade and roughly 30 million people died as a result. Before dealing with internal issues such as the rebellions, China was dealing with an opioid epidemic brought on by western influences trading in opium with China. At first, western powers were trading in silver for tea which ended up in China’s favor due to the fact that there was an ever growing demand for the tea so instead of trading and paying in silver, opium became the payment due to China’s history of using it for medicinal purposes. When most of the population starting to become addicted to the drug it caused great troubles for the country, so much so that China had to ban opium. This ban leads to the first Opium War where China in its weakened state is forced into relations with Britain. This was not the end for relations being forced on China. Japan yielded to the pressure of these western powers and allowed them to flood their shores with merchants and trade while China refused any western influence or force whatsoever.
It is seen that Japan while allowing these relations even against their better judgment were found to be better for it. China on the other hand suffered due to their resistance. Western powers fought their way in but it was fought every step of the way. While the treaties and agreements made by Japan weren’t done with terms favorable to its country, a dynamic economy was the result of it deciding to open itself back up to relations with the outside world. Japan had realized after the Meiji transformation period that if they wanted to become a world power much like those who had forced their ways on them, that they would have to welcome these powers and when they did many doors starting to open for them. These doors opening included establishing new industries and adopting new agriculture advancements. From the start China was in the mind set of defiance against any and all western influence. It didn’t stop the influence from coming but China went kicking and screaming the entire way. The country tried its best to reform and make effort to advance the country as challenged to do so by the west while trying to preserve Chinese customs and values. They tried valiantly to make themselves a super power like Japan had but they couldn’t find the right formula to make themselves strong enough and were
unsuccessful in their efforts.
Japan, at first, let the newcomers in and learned about them, and let them learn a little from them. However, they didn't have very good experiences, like as portrayed in document twelve, the Japanese thought of the Europeans as arrogant and full of themselves, and the Europeans, like Will Adams in document fourteen, didn't like what the Japanese did, in holding them there when they wanted to leave, and the way they treated the women as completely there just to serve and help the men, as was mentioned in document eleven. The Japanese, as in document fifteen, said that innovations had to be reported, and listed them right next to factional conspiracies, as if they were both equally bad, showing that the Japanese didn't want to advance technologically, and wanted to stick with tradition. The Europeans as we already know, where rapidly advancing technologically, because of their fierce rivals with each other, making Japan dislike them even more. The Europeans, who were trying to spread Christianity as well as become rich, thought that the Japanese would convert quickly, as Francis Xavier wrote in document thirteen, “They see clearly that their ancestral law is false and the law of God true, but they are deterred by fear of their prince from submitting to the...
During the 19th Century, China and Japan each responded differently to western penetration. China was against industrializing and did not want to create an empire like those of the western empires. Japan however learned that if they wanted to survive they had to adopt the changes that the western empires were adopting. Japan began to create an industrialized society and soon became one of the major industrial powers. China went through many rebellions and finally decided to industrialize just enough to be able to fight off the western empires. However, they did not industrialize fast enough or big enough, and they could not defeat the west. Although they responded differently, both China and Japan were affected by western penetration economically,
Japanese revolts ensue with the opening of Japan to the Western World. The middle and lower classes wanted Japan to be open while the conservative daimyo did not. Both of these groups looked to the emperor for a decision. The shogunate, reliant on the isolation, collapsed under pressures caused by outsid...
The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor’s territory and take over its import market, mostly pointed at China. To put an end on that the United States put economic sanctions and trade embargoes. We believed that if we cut off their resources and their source of federal income than they would have no choice but to pull back and surrender. But the
Japanese aggression originated in the fall of 1931 when the explosion of a section of the South Manchurian Railway in northern China occurred, causing Japan’s Kwangtung Army, who was guarding the railroad, to exchange fire with the Chinese Army and then proceed to occupy all of Manchuria. Soon after, the Kwangtung Army set up a puppet government and renamed the region Manchukuo. The Chinese Army claimed that the Japanese purposely blew up part of the railroad to initiate a confrontation and therefore a reason to occupy Manchuria.2 Later, in 1937, Japan decided to go ahead with plans to further invade China, and conquered most of the northern and eastern regions within a year. This was later t...
...ining power over its subjects. The Tokugawa instead took the wives and children of the shoguns semihostage in Edo to deter powerful families from taking over the Tokugawa. This is the way the Tokugawa handled the problem because they were no outsiders to Japan but they had many enemies within the state. The Tokugawa and Chinese, however, both closely maintained their contact with foreigners, especially in trade. The Chinese established the Canton system which limited the Europeans to trade in only one city and need a guild approval to trade. The Japanese solved this problem of foreign relations through directing all trade traffic to Honshu, a port city under Edo’s direct rule. This was significant because this direction of trade meant the Edo government could collect taxes on the products rather than another daimyo, drawing power and wealth away from rival families.
In the early 1800’s, Japan had blocked off all trade from other countries. Foreign whaling ships could not even reload or repair their ships in Japan territory. This offended many other countries. In 1852, Matthew Perry was sent to Japan to negotiate open trade. Japan felt threatened by the United States, and gave in to their demands. Japan was frightened by their stipulations, and immediately began to reform. They developed a new education system that was similar to America and Europe’s. They also developed a Western style judiciary system.
In the middle of the 19th century, despite a few similarities between the initial responses of China and Japan to the West, they later diverged; which ultimately affected and influenced the modernizing development of both countries. At first, both of the Asian nations rejected the ideas which the West had brought upon them, and therefore went through a time period of self-imposed isolation. However, the demands that were soon set by Western imperialism forced them, though in different ways, to reconsider. And, by the end of the 19th century both China and Japan had introduced ‘westernizing’ reforms. China’s aim was to use modern means to retain and preserve their traditional Confucian culture. Whereas Japan, on the other hand, began to successfully mimic Western technology as it pursued modernization, and thus underwent an astounding social upheaval. Hence, by the year 1920, Japan was recognized as one of the world’s superpowers, whereas China was on the edge of anarchy.
In the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, China at the time confronted impending risk of being parceled and colonized by colonialist powers...
Japan had always been an ally of the United States. Japan tried to collect their share of treasure from Versailles. Japan ran into some troubles, Woodrow Wilson. Wilson rejected Japan’s claim to German concessions in Shantung. Duan Qirui, a Chinese warlord and politician had borrowed money from Japan to make China’s army stronger. Japan used that loan and wanted it to be repaid by getting the concessions in Shantung. In 1921, at the Naval Conference the US pressured the Britain’s to end their 20 year alliance with the Japanese. Japan was now isolated, Stalin’s unhappy empire to the north, t...
As many people know, Imperialism has shaped the culture and customs all over the world. Imperialism is the dominance of one country over another politically, economically or socially. Western culture can be seen in all parts of the world; from Asia to Africa, to the Indies and the Americans. The downside of having the bits of western culture all over the world, is how it got there. Western influence was forced upon places in Asia, specifically India, Indonesia with a hellacious price; lives and poverty.
By the 1940’s, Japan was considered more powerful than China. They feel as if they were more superior than China because they conquered where China had not. China and Kuomintang were having a war, but then later Japan took home the victory.
Japan's insistence on its interests in China flew in the face of
...high power status, Japan had to have a self-reliant industrial common ground and be able to move all human and material resources (S,195). Through the Shogun Revolution of 1868, the abolition of Feudalism in 1871, the activation of the national army in 1873, and the assembly of parliament in 1889, the political system of Japan became westernized (Q,3). Local Labor and commercial assistance from the United States and Europe allowed Japan’s industry to bloom into a developed, modern, industrial nation (Q,3). As a consequence production surplus, and food shortage followed (Q,3). Because of how much it relied on aid of western powers, Japan’s strategic position became especially weak. In an attempt to break off slightly from the aid of the west Japanese leaders believed that it would be essential for Japan to expand beyond its borders to obtain necessary raw materials.
Japan has very significant characteristics in terms of their economic power either in the Asia- Pacific region or around the world. After World War II the Japanese economy was deeply affected by shortages, inflation, and currency devaluation means that Japanese economy was bankrupt position. Therefore, Japan passed under the control of US in the post- Second World War period. From this point, economic transformation or recovery or development has started in Japan with the impacts of US and Japanese governments. Besides this economic aid, US also guided Japan in democratization and demilitarization whereas Japanese government had direct role dealing with those developments different from what happened in Germany at that time. What it means that is Japanese government had played interventionist role into economy. On the other hand, one of the significant reasons of why US needed to help former enemy is the fact that after the WWII was the beginning of the Cold War and Russian presence was in the region. That’s why US made their contribution in order to revive Japan.