Iron and Plough: Reflections on a Century of Sino-Japanese Relations

Author: Yu Jie
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: Japan, a country adorned with beautiful cherry blossoms, where daily life is highly artisticized. Japan, the leading neighbor across the sea from China, was once a fervent admirer and learner of Chinese culture. In Japan, certain essential parts of ancient Chinese culture have been preserved most completely, such as clothing, architecture, calligraphy, Go, and Zen philosophy. Japan, an island nation on the periphery of East Asia, has, since modern times, forced China to the brink of national extinction through military force. Since the late 19th century, many of the hardships China has endured have had direct or indirect ties to Japan. Historian Guo Tingyi remarked: "At the end of two thousand years, China bestowed upon Japan great kindness, and Japan was built upon it. In the past century, Japan has repaid China with extreme cruelty, and its harm to China has been uniquely profound. The wounds suffered by modern China, though not all can be attributed to Japan, are in fact mostly caused by Japan." Japan, today the wealthiest economic power in Asia and the world's second-largest economic entity, is a key player in China's foreign relations and trade. However, despite being of the same Yellow Race and sharing the Greater Chinese Cultural Circle—even sharing the same writing system—Japan remains foreign, distant, and confusing to us even today. Understanding the Japanese is even more challenging than understanding Europeans or Americans. Daisaku Ikeda, a Japanese writer and the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate, described Japan's civilization since the Meiji Restoration as a "warm Japan." This is a classic summary. In the eyes of the Chinese, Japan is geographically close but spiritually distant. When Chinese people observe Japan, the situation appears hazy and elusive. On September 29, 1972, Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda of Japan and Premier Zhou Enlai of the People's Republic of China signed the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement in the Great Hall of the People, marking the true end of the long war and hostility between the two countries and the normalization of diplomatic relations. However, the lack of trust between the two peoples did not entirely vanish with a mere declaration. Suspicion and mistrust, alienation and disdain, still root in the war of blood and fire. China and Japan, one rich in resources and the other in technology; one a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the other a global financial and manufacturing hub. Both countries have immense needs for each other. More importantly, both China and Japan are among the most important nations in the world today. Their relationship is not only about the security of the two countries but also involves the peace and development of the entire world. No one enjoys living forever in the past, and no nation is willing to carry the burden of history indefinitely. History, this great book, must continually turn to new pages. Many Chinese people are willing to view the history, reality, and future of China-Japan relations with the greatest goodwill, tolerance, and understanding. However, the history of modern China-Japan relations, that history filled with smoke and blood, seems always difficult to turn past. If this page of history cannot be turned, the main reason lies not in China but in Japan. When Japan's courts reject lawsuits by Chinese war victims against the Japanese government, when Japan's extreme nationalists erect monuments in the Senkaku Islands, when Japanese historians claim the Nanjing Massacre is a fictional event, when chemical weapons left by the Japanese army once again take the lives of Chinese citizens, when Japan's prime minister and government officials visit the Yasukuni Shrine, the generous and kind-hearted Chinese people are forced to rise up and condemn them in unison. We do not incite hatred, but we must defend dignity; we do not seek revenge, but we must restore history. Because we painfully realize that the bloody history is so deeply connected to the present. On August 4, 2003, mustard gas abandoned by the Japanese army during World War II leaked in Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, China, injuring 40 civilians and killing one. In response to this incident, the Japanese government's delayed handling and the indifferent attitude of Japanese media provoked the anger and condemnation of the Chinese people. The Social Survey Center of the China Youth News reported on the impact of the "August 4" gas leak incident on Chinese youth. The report showed that 97.9% of Chinese youth were concerned about the incident, 83.2% had a worsened impression of Japan as a result, and 82.2% stated they could not accept Japan's so-called "comfort money." Respondents expressed their views: "For a Japan that refuses to acknowledge history, we certainly won't have a good impression." "'Comfort money' reminds me of 'food thrown with disdain,' and we will never accept it." "Japan should learn from this and quickly remove all abandoned weapons from China." "For the 'August 4' incident, anyone with a conscience would be deeply appalled and hateful of the irresponsible attitude of the Japanese government and sympathetic to the victims' plight."