chapter 25. attitude towards foreign nations section 5. world view the chinese way, ding and xu,...

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Chapter 25. Attitude towards Foreign Nations

Section 5. World View

The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 25. Attitude towards Foreign Nations

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Outline

• Introduction• The Century of Humiliation in the long history of China• Attitudes towards the United States• Attitudes toward Japan• Road ahead

The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014Chapter 25. Attitude towards Foreign Nations

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Introduction

• To understand the attitudes of the Chinese people toward other nations, one must know the Century of Humiliation of China.

• To avoid repeating that history and if possible, to rectify that humiliation.


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The Century of Humiliation


• The Century of Humiliation began in 1839 during the First Opium War between China and the British Empire.

• China fought many wars against foreign powers and was forced to sign many unequal treaties.

• E.g., The Treaty of Nanjing (1842)

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• Japan was China’s primary enemy during the second half of the Century of Humiliation.

⁻ The First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), signed The Twenty-One Demands that essentially aimed to turn China into a puppet state;

⁻ The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), in order to dominate China and secure its vast raw material resources

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• China was conquered by foreigners twice in history: the Mongols (the Yuan Dynasty) and the Manchu (the Qing Dynasty).

• But these are differentiated from the Century of Humiliation to the Chinese for three reasons:⁻ distant memories;⁻ both adopted the Chinese language and culture; ⁻ both were brought down by the Han.

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• China did not bring an end to the Century of Humiliation under its own power.

• Some “old debts” have not been paid in the eyes of some Chinese. e.g., Japan

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• The Century of Humiliation motivate three dominant attitudes toward foreign powers:

⁻ a yearning for justice to create a sense of closure;

⁻ fierce independence and suspicions toward foreign intervention;

⁻ a paramount duty to prevent similar humiliation.

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• The attitudes of the Chinese people towards the United States and Japan are crucial for reasons:

⁻ both countries belong to the three largest economies;

⁻ both countries are possible military foes of China;

⁻ both countries are considered to be role models by Chinese.

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Attitudes towards the United States

• The “Flying Tigers” (the American Volunteer Group) helped the Chinese during Sino-Japanese War and boosted the morale of Chinese.

• It is a chip that the United States can forever cash in to obtain good will from China.


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• China’s complex attitude towards the United States:

⁻ In a report by BBC, just 20% of Chinese respondents had overall positive affections towards the United States, while 57% had overall negative views;

⁻ The negativity is linked to disputes over trade, diplomatic strategies, Taiwan, human rights, and so forth;

⁻ According to the Pew Research Global Attitudes Project (2013), in 2012, 43% of Chinese interviewees appreciated the popularization of American values and customs; 52% welcomed democracy; 43% were fond of American music, films and TV shows; and 73% admired the United States’ advanced science and technologies.


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• Two informants’ attitudes (senior executives):⁻ Americans are not as friendly as they seem to be;

⁻ Sometimes even unreasonable;

⁻ with regard to playing the role of standards setters in many fields.

⁻ with high technology, financial power, military power, education system, justice, etc.

⁻ China should get involved in globalization instead of compete with the U.S.


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Attitudes towards Japan

• The Second Sino-Japanese War is the defining event that dictates the Chinese attitudes toward Japan:

⁻ a war that threatened the very existence of China;

⁻ especially savage, and involved mass killing of civilians, rape, etc. ;

⁻ no sense of closure about the war.e.g., Yasukuni shrine


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• A joint report (2013) by Japan’s Genron NPO and China Daily showed that approximately 90.1% of Japanese respondents and 92.8% of Chinese respondents had negative feelings toward each other.

• The main reason lies in history:⁻ Japan’s denial of history;⁻ the territorial dispute over the Diaoyu Islands;⁻ interpretation of WWII in history books


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• Informant’s attitudes:⁻ Japan can only be convinced when you have undisputable power to

beat them;

⁻ Japanese follow the strong and bully theweak;

⁻ admiration for Japan and its society;

⁻ Japanese companies treasure trust, froma business perspective


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Road ahead

• How China sees other nations will be critical, both politically and economically.

• We see the root of many of today’s problems as stemming from a general lack of closure on the Century of Humiliation.

• It is important for the Chinese to finally feel that all the wrongs have been righted and start a dialogue that addresses the root of the problem.


chapter 25. attitude towards foreign nations section 5. world view the chinese way, ding and xu,...

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