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
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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, 2014
Chapter 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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The Century of Humiliation
• 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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The Century of Humiliation
• 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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The Century of Humiliation
• 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
• 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 Century of Humiliation
• 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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Attitudes towards the United States
• 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;
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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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Attitudes towards the United States
• Two informants’ attitudes (senior
executives):
⁻
Americans are not as friendly as they seem to be;
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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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Attitude towards Foreign Nations
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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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Attitudes towards Japan
• 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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Attitudes towards Japan
• Informant’s attitudes:
⁻ Japan can only be convinced when you have undisputable power to
beat them;
⁻ Japanese follow the strong and bully the
weak;
⁻ admiration for Japan and its society;
⁻ Japanese companies treasure trust, from
a 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.
The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 25.
Attitude towards Foreign Nations
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