Abstract
The characterization of Japan as a martial country, as opposed to a China that emphasizes civil virtues, has colored views of the two societies for centuries. This was reinforced by apparent differences in their traditional governments, with Japan ruled by warriors while China was marked by a scholarly examination system. The underlying conception of a martial Japan was carried into the modern age, where it flowed into the emerging discourse on bushido, or “the way of the warrior,” which began to be popularized around the time of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95. Rather than a continuation of an ancient tradition or a manifestation of a “national character,” however, bushido is largely a modern invention, interpretations of which have tended to primarily reflect the conditions under which they were formulated. The samurai spirit has at times been credited for Japan’s economic success and technological progress, but also associated with militaristic imperialism.
In China, bushido, or wushidao, has played an important role in shaping views of Japan from the late nineteenth century onward, as the period of bushido’s greatest growth and popularization coincided with an unprecedented influx of Chinese students, reformers, and exiles to Japan. Chinese intellectuals credited bushido with driving the Meiji Restoration and subsequent reforms, while students at Japanese civilian and military schools were exposed to the pervasive bushido ideology. As relations between Japan and China worsened, attitudes towards wushidao became increasingly negative, although there remained a significant diversity among interpretations. Discourse on the subject declined in both Japan and China after 1945, but was revived in Japan in different forms relatively soon after the war. In China, interest in wushidao began to grow in the 1980s, and recent diplomatic tensions contributed to a tremendous increase in Chinese studies of the subject over the last two decades. Wushidao is often put forth as a possible explanation for supposedly “traditional” Japanese militarism, and is one of the most common themes in Chinese cultural and historical studies of Japan. By placing its examination of Chinese views into the broader historical context of bushido discourses in Japan and other countries, this study considers their influence and implications for reconciliation and inter-cultural relations.
In China, bushido, or wushidao, has played an important role in shaping views of Japan from the late nineteenth century onward, as the period of bushido’s greatest growth and popularization coincided with an unprecedented influx of Chinese students, reformers, and exiles to Japan. Chinese intellectuals credited bushido with driving the Meiji Restoration and subsequent reforms, while students at Japanese civilian and military schools were exposed to the pervasive bushido ideology. As relations between Japan and China worsened, attitudes towards wushidao became increasingly negative, although there remained a significant diversity among interpretations. Discourse on the subject declined in both Japan and China after 1945, but was revived in Japan in different forms relatively soon after the war. In China, interest in wushidao began to grow in the 1980s, and recent diplomatic tensions contributed to a tremendous increase in Chinese studies of the subject over the last two decades. Wushidao is often put forth as a possible explanation for supposedly “traditional” Japanese militarism, and is one of the most common themes in Chinese cultural and historical studies of Japan. By placing its examination of Chinese views into the broader historical context of bushido discourses in Japan and other countries, this study considers their influence and implications for reconciliation and inter-cultural relations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 129-168 |
| Number of pages | 40 |
| Journal | Extrême-Orient Extrême-Occident |
| Volume | 38 |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Keywords
- JAPAN
- HISTORY
- Samurai
- CHINA
- Nationalism
- Identity
- Militarism
- War
- Bushido
