Western And Japanese Imperialism Essay

The end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century were a venerable period for China. The nineteenth century for China was a time of turmoil. The Boxer and Taiping rebellions, battles over the concessions and trading rights, all followed by the loss in the Sino-Japanese War shook all of China. The people were confused with the results and management of these events and wanted to know what would happen next. China’s search for security and superiority led it to study the very same people who humiliated and defeated them, all for the hope of never losing to anyone again. The nature of how Western and Japanese Imperialism affected China happened after China was defeated by both the Westerners and Japanese. The loss of the …show more content…
After losing the Sino-Japanese War, the political state of Japan became a public interest. Japan was influenced by Westerns and had thus adapted into a state of imperialism. The westerns had their own problems with United States separating from England and declaring themselves a democracy rather than a monarchy. Chinese scholars noticed these differences and used them as an example of why China should change the way it is governed. Some of them only wanted to change a couple of things to make China more open to its people, but others wanted a complete restart. Kang Youwei is a perfect example of someone who wanted a complete change for China, because he believed China’s “present trouble lied in clinging to old institutions without knowing how to change…in an age of competition between states” (reader 170). He proposed the Civil Servant Examination be removed along with customs like foot binding, family and gender boundaries. He wanted to adopt the use of Western educational methods in China. China was in a state of vulnerability and the proposition of changing parts of their way of living sounded ludicrous and threatening. Other ideas brought forth covered China’s economy and how its money was not used properly for the benefit of its people. After the Sino-Japanese War, a lot of questioning and want for change surfaced at an …show more content…
The Chinese wanted to keep their roots, but change enough to regain their status as a strong, self-sufficient country. One key aspect they managed to keep almost intact was their culture. Culture is a huge part of any county’s identity and China was not willing to change what it was fighting so hard to keep. Even the extreme Kang Youwei felt the need to “somehow be reassured that China’s culture identity would not be wholly lost amid the changes” (reader 161). Observing the Westerners and Japanese culture was the first step, but they only adopted a very small amount from them. They started by removing the requirement to foot binding women. Following this was the implementation of gender equality and education for everyone. Women were kept strictly indoors for hundreds of years and they were finally allowed the same freedom as men. The poor and those of lower status who could not afford an education, now had the opportunity to receive one. These changes presented the citizens of China with an opportunity for a better life. A major part of China’s culture, for women, was foot-binding and the idea to eradicate this custom created mixed emotions. Ideologies and customs of this kind were ingrained into population since childbirth. In theory, the idea of these modifications was widely accepted, but the citizens of China were not prepared for their physical