Political dynamics in Asia are critical to understand in the era of expanding Chinese influence. The rivalries of the South China Sea will likely be of critical importance in the coming decades and the relationship between Japan and China is of utmost importance. China and Japan discusses the historical co-evolution of both countries starting from early Japanese civilization until the present. It spends most time on the period including the Meiji Restoration on through modern times. In reading the book one can get a deeper appreciation of the current frictions as a consequence of the long history, though it is also hard not to find sympathy with one side over the other as Chinese nationalism has been used as a political tool. To understand the dynamics in Asia between China and Japan as a consequence of their history, this book is among the most readable and informative.
The book is split into 12 chapters but the first two cover the archaeological evidence from the first voyages between the two countries. The book quickly moves into the 19th century and discusses Japan's modernization and both the internal and external pressures that were caused by it. China in the 19th century was in decay as its imperial system ossified as it remained completely insular. Japan on the other hand joined in the imperial ambitions that were occurring with Western powers and the author discusses the rivalries created by Japan's presence in Korea and also the first Sino - Japanese war right before the turn of the century. The author discusses the growing frictions that were caused by broad imperialism and in particular Japan's increasing confidence due to its military victories. Japan imperial ambitions grew and it claimed Taiwan and Manchuria as it's territories after defeating China while it was weakened. The author spends time discussing the domestic politics of the time in both nations. Japan in particular was going through an internal upheaval as its warrior class was stripped of its historic titles and the existential crisis created by that led to strong nationalist undercurrents. The growth of militarism in Japan is discussed as a consequence of its regional relative advancement alongside the politics of the samurai class. The author then spends time on the most historically formative years for Japan and China's relationship today, the run up to WWII. China was a poorly governed country and exploited by warlords while it was undergoing a civil war. Japan, a resource poor country exploited China's resources for its industrial engine and there was a growing resentment to their colonialism. With the onset of the war, relationships deteriorated further. The tactics that came from the Manchuko government had strong Japanese nationalist streaks, furthermore any tit for tat escalation of violence was completely disproportionate coming from the Japanese and the height of barbarism came with the rape of Nanjing. That episode has left and irreparable stain on the relationship between the two countries. The author then moves into the post war period when Japan had been decimated by the war, and in atoning for its sins tried to help China industrialize. The author discusses the pragmatic improvement in relationship as China was in need of expertise and Japan was in need of restoring its image as a neighbor. The industrializing of China had quite a bit of dependency on skill transfer from Japan, which the author talks about alongside the moral imperative felt by most of Japan's population to try to right its wrongs of the past. The author ends with the deterioration of relationships as China's strength came to exceed Japan's and the political calculus changed from depending on Japan to considering Japan a potential villain that could help unify support for the party, which claimed to be the party to liberate China of the imperialists, namely Japan. The change in narrative was of course highly self interested, but the consequence was an abrupt change of temperature that has not significantly improved. The author discusses what each side sees as dangerous about each other, the overall Chinese position, from a western point of view, is not credible, it largely uses Japan to flame nationalist sentiments as and when it is useful to do so. Japan on the other hand is seen as a country who has atoned for its past, but is tired of apologizing for events of the past from a previous generation. It is hard not to sympathize.
China and Japan is a good overview of the intertwined history of the two countries. It spans from 600 AD to the present so it discusses a lot, it focuses on 19th century onwards. One learns about how each country modernized, where it took its cues from and how the paths to modernization were fraught with regional conflict. The author also discusses the late industrialization of China and how Japan's involvement was instrumental but now it is somewhat obsolete. The relationship between Japan and China is of utmost importance and to understand it better, this is a great starting point.
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Top reviews from other countries
ron
Interconnectivity - mutual interaction and development
Reviewed in Canada on July 9, 2021
嘉莉
An illustrative account of the long, complicated relationship between China and Japan
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 20, 2019
嘉莉
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 20, 2019
I am writing this review after reaching the 12th and final chapter of this book. I'd like to express my gratitude to Prof. Vogel for - once again, laying out a long, complicated subject in detail and committing himself as a neutral reporter to all the historical events.
Our history is not a fairy tale and deserve better treatment than what mainstream media makes of it.
Final remarks: Wished the Japanese and Chinese names of all Japanese and Chinese figures were kept. As a Chinese reader, they carry more meaning than its romanized translations and are thus easier to remember.
谢谢您傅高義先生！
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Dr Zhu Weiguang
It is a very interesting book.
Reviewed in Singapore on September 2, 2021