As oriental countries,the West often perceives China and Japan as two countries with similar politics, economics, and social norms. What many Westerners may not realize, however, is that starting in the 19th century, Japan ended its traditional isolationist policies while China sought to become isolationist, and that this distinction strongly influenced both Japan and China’s political, economic, and social responses to modernization and westernization.
Politically, China and Japan’s reaction to Western ideas dramatically differed. When President Fillmore sent Commodore Matthew C. Perry to Japan, the ho-shogun and his advisers first resisted the visit, but finally agreed to trade with the United States upon signing the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1858. As a result, Western diplomats soon inundated the Land of the Rising Sun in order to persuade the nation politically, but more importantly to them, economically. The political-diplomatic, cultural-intellectual, and socio-economic relation that followed was christened the Meiji Restoration. In general, the Japanese gradually became very receptive to the concepts of democracy, liberalism, and laissez-faire, but Meiji leaders planned to remain free of Western imperialism by negotiating with Western diplomats. They did not abandon their isolationist policies of over 200 years under the Tokugawa Shogunate only to be absorbed as a European colony; instead, they wanted to learn Western military and industrialization tactics so that they could compete with Westerners politically and economically in the future.
China, however, was just the opposite. After experiencing the stresses of the Taiping Rebellion, often dubbed the world’s bloodiest civil war, and then latter the horrors of the Opium Wars with Britain, China needed a political recess. They had already been deceived by the British before and had been arrogant in assuming that the Qing navy was strong enough to handle the British. They adopted an isolationist policy and during the early 20th century, underwent a self-strengthening movement to heal the wounds inflicted by the British; one major hurdle was nursing almost an entire nation off of its opium addiction. China was afraid of involving itself with a Western power again.
Economically, Japan flourished during the late 19th century, while China was in a state of decline. Japan soared primarily because of Western intervention. After tearing down their walls and opening themselves to new industrial methods, Japan was prepared to compete within the global economy. They had some of the same commodities that China did because Japanese scholars so strongly studied Chinese culture. This worked to Japan’s advantage. Japan had porcelain, which, although of a slightly lower quality than that produced in China, was highly coveted by the British. Japan could also offer Europeans its own arrange of teas and pearls. The Japanese pearl trade grew tremendously during this period, especially since pearls were so fashionable in Victorian England—even lower-middle class women insisted upon owning a low-grade pair. With the help of Western diplomats, Japan established powerhouse factories in European styles and increased their transportation and communication networks after imitating Britain and America’s penchant for railroads.
In contrast, China invested most of its energies in recovering from the Taiping Rebellion, the onslaught of the Opium Wars, and ridding its nation of its detrimental opium addiction. Little time was spent industrializing or competing for power across the rest of the world. China’s early 20th century period witnessed its self-strengthening movement. Many historians argue that China did not become truly modern until Mao’s intervention in 1947 and his policy of the Great Leap Forward.
Socially, Japan became increasingly western, whereas China remained more or less static. Japanese women often exchanged kimonos for corsets and started experimenting with Western-style cosmetics; they also began worshipping Western ideals of beauty. The art of the geisha gradually declined and Japanese women even began seeking more rights (although their role as subservients to men remained virtually unchanged.) Japanese schools were as strict and grueling as ever, but they started adopting certain Western practices, such as the study of world history. China, however clung to Chinese traditions more fervently than ever. Both men and women were expected to dress in traditional clothing; schools forward female attendance; society was patriarchal; and families generally honored Confucian, Taoist, and/or Buddhist theology and ideology.
All in all, Japan and China had different reasons for either accepting or rejecting Western influences during the late 19th century. It seems that each country made the wisest decision it could given its current political situation. Both countries are among the wealthiest and most powerful in the world—perhaps just powerful enough to one day rule a predominantly Western-controlled globe.
