INTERVIEW/ Bu Ping: Time for us to adapt to the changed face of Asia
10/04/2007
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
The following are excerpts from an interview with Bu Ping, director of the Institute of Modern History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, about the 10 biggest incidents in modern and contemporary history in East Asia. This is a part of a series to complement the "Impact of History--150 years in East Asia."
* * *
The 10 biggest incidents I chose are:
1. The "opening" of the Asian region
2. Japan's Meiji Restoration in 1868 and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)
3. China's Xinhai Revolution in 1911
4. The Second Sino-Japanese War (1931-1945)
5. The Pacific War (1941-1945)
6. Japan's defeat in 1945 and the start of the Cold War
7. Establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949
8. Normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations in 1972
9. The end of the Cold War in 1989
10. Economic advancement and changes in the political structures of East Asian countries
I cited events that became turning points of the East Asian region as a whole. Since I attached import!ance to links between events, they are more or less in chronological order.
Even if I had to cite them in the order of import!ance, I would have put the "opening" of Asian countries at the top of the list. Before modern times, East Asia was dominated by the Sino-centric system and was hardly affected by Western nations. But with the opening of the region, it at once became part of the world order.
Unlike the Japanese, Chinese people do not use the ｅxpression! "opening of a country." Because of the Opium War (1840-1842), we traditionally say that we were "forced to open our doors" by major Western powers. Nevertheless, East Asian countries have equally felt the impact of the major Western powers. In that regard, I believe the opening of the region would be accepted as a common event among East Asia countries.
Later, as Japan underwent the Meiji Restoration and the Russo-Japanese War, it became the first major Asian power. These were major developments that changed the East Asian order. In particular, the Russo-Japanese War was the first war in which a yellow-skinned race beat a white race. At the same time, however, China saw Japan not as a fellow Asian country but one that sided with the major Western powers. Japan would not have resorted to the colonization of the Korean Peninsula had it not transformed itself into a major Western power.
As for the import!ance of the 1911 Xinhai Revolution in China, it is an event that has attracted the attention of Japanese and South Korean scholars more than their Chinese counterparts. In China, the emperor system continued for two millennia and with the Xinhai Revolution, it became the first republican state in Asia. It was a symbolic event. However, after the revolution, China fell into chaos for a long time. That is why the Chinese see the revolution as a failure and tend not to recognize its significance.
The Second Sino-Japanese War that continued for 14 years from the 1931 Mukden (Manchurian) Incident was a war between two major Asian countries and became an import!ant turning point for both countries. (An all-out war between the two started in 1937.)
Japan, which gradually grew stronger, entering the ranks of major Western powers, made war against Asia. Meanwhile, China had weakened, repeatedly losing wars against major powers. However, the war between China and Japan triggered the move to realign various forces. As a result, both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party were able to unite and finally win the war. Chinese people think the Second Sino-Japanese War was a turning point for China's restoration.
Furthermore, Japan even made war against the United States. At this juncture, war spread across the world and changed its nature from a war of aggression to a fascist war.
Japan's defeat is part of the war, but I distinguished it as a separate event because it brought about various changes. In Japan, the defeat triggered the process toward democratization. Even after the defeat, various problems remain unsolved. They include Japan's relations with Asian countries and other pending problems.
The Korean War is a symbol of the Cold War in Asia. But I wish to attach greater import!ance to the prolonged Cold War itself. Japan completely sided with the United States, confronting China, whose policy also was a result of the Cold War. It was only when the situation ended in 1989 that such circumstances really changed.
During this time, China underwent the Cultural Revolution and Japan and South Korea normalized diplomatic relations. In particular, the normalization of China-Japan relations is import!ant because it eased the Cold War situation in Asia. on the other hand, the China-Soviet and U.S.-Soviet confrontations intensified. These events occurred against a backdrop of the Cold War.
After the end of the Cold War, while the Chinese economy took off, the Japanese economy entered a period of recession. Since the 1990s, China has grown stronger, coming to be on an equal footing with Japan. This trend deserves attention. But the peoples of China and Japan have yet to understand each of them. A time to adapt to this structural change has just begun.
* * *
Bu Ping is director of the Institute of Modern History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He also chairs the Chinese side of the Japan-China Joint History Research Committee and has taken part in a private project to make common supplementary history teaching materials. He is the author of "Nihon no Chugoku Shinryaku to Doku-gasu Heiki" (Japan's invasion of China and poison gas weapons). He was born in 1948.(IHT/Asahi: October 4,2007)
10/04/2007
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
The following are excerpts from an interview with Bu Ping, director of the Institute of Modern History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, about the 10 biggest incidents in modern and contemporary history in East Asia. This is a part of a series to complement the "Impact of History--150 years in East Asia."
* * *
The 10 biggest incidents I chose are:
1. The "opening" of the Asian region
2. Japan's Meiji Restoration in 1868 and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)
3. China's Xinhai Revolution in 1911
4. The Second Sino-Japanese War (1931-1945)
5. The Pacific War (1941-1945)
6. Japan's defeat in 1945 and the start of the Cold War
7. Establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949
8. Normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations in 1972
9. The end of the Cold War in 1989
10. Economic advancement and changes in the political structures of East Asian countries
I cited events that became turning points of the East Asian region as a whole. Since I attached import!ance to links between events, they are more or less in chronological order.
Even if I had to cite them in the order of import!ance, I would have put the "opening" of Asian countries at the top of the list. Before modern times, East Asia was dominated by the Sino-centric system and was hardly affected by Western nations. But with the opening of the region, it at once became part of the world order.
Unlike the Japanese, Chinese people do not use the ｅxpression! "opening of a country." Because of the Opium War (1840-1842), we traditionally say that we were "forced to open our doors" by major Western powers. Nevertheless, East Asian countries have equally felt the impact of the major Western powers. In that regard, I believe the opening of the region would be accepted as a common event among East Asia countries.
Later, as Japan underwent the Meiji Restoration and the Russo-Japanese War, it became the first major Asian power. These were major developments that changed the East Asian order. In particular, the Russo-Japanese War was the first war in which a yellow-skinned race beat a white race. At the same time, however, China saw Japan not as a fellow Asian country but one that sided with the major Western powers. Japan would not have resorted to the colonization of the Korean Peninsula had it not transformed itself into a major Western power.
As for the import!ance of the 1911 Xinhai Revolution in China, it is an event that has attracted the attention of Japanese and South Korean scholars more than their Chinese counterparts. In China, the emperor system continued for two millennia and with the Xinhai Revolution, it became the first republican state in Asia. It was a symbolic event. However, after the revolution, China fell into chaos for a long time. That is why the Chinese see the revolution as a failure and tend not to recognize its significance.
The Second Sino-Japanese War that continued for 14 years from the 1931 Mukden (Manchurian) Incident was a war between two major Asian countries and became an import!ant turning point for both countries. (An all-out war between the two started in 1937.)
Japan, which gradually grew stronger, entering the ranks of major Western powers, made war against Asia. Meanwhile, China had weakened, repeatedly losing wars against major powers. However, the war between China and Japan triggered the move to realign various forces. As a result, both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party were able to unite and finally win the war. Chinese people think the Second Sino-Japanese War was a turning point for China's restoration.
Furthermore, Japan even made war against the United States. At this juncture, war spread across the world and changed its nature from a war of aggression to a fascist war.
Japan's defeat is part of the war, but I distinguished it as a separate event because it brought about various changes. In Japan, the defeat triggered the process toward democratization. Even after the defeat, various problems remain unsolved. They include Japan's relations with Asian countries and other pending problems.
The Korean War is a symbol of the Cold War in Asia. But I wish to attach greater import!ance to the prolonged Cold War itself. Japan completely sided with the United States, confronting China, whose policy also was a result of the Cold War. It was only when the situation ended in 1989 that such circumstances really changed.
During this time, China underwent the Cultural Revolution and Japan and South Korea normalized diplomatic relations. In particular, the normalization of China-Japan relations is import!ant because it eased the Cold War situation in Asia. on the other hand, the China-Soviet and U.S.-Soviet confrontations intensified. These events occurred against a backdrop of the Cold War.
After the end of the Cold War, while the Chinese economy took off, the Japanese economy entered a period of recession. Since the 1990s, China has grown stronger, coming to be on an equal footing with Japan. This trend deserves attention. But the peoples of China and Japan have yet to understand each of them. A time to adapt to this structural change has just begun.
* * *
Bu Ping is director of the Institute of Modern History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He also chairs the Chinese side of the Japan-China Joint History Research Committee and has taken part in a private project to make common supplementary history teaching materials. He is the author of "Nihon no Chugoku Shinryaku to Doku-gasu Heiki" (Japan's invasion of China and poison gas weapons). He was born in 1948.(IHT/Asahi: October 4,2007)