Asian Studies

China and Japan are countries that were largely considered to be socialist states in the East Asia region. The onset of the Industrial Revolution in the Western world led to the incursion into these countries by the Western powers. The Industrial Revolution had caused an influx in trade whereby the Western countries needed markets for their goods and services. They also needed raw materials and labor which they could use to fuel further development. Many countries reacted differently to this incursion. For instance, the Chinese leadership did not want the incursion of the western countries into their territories. Japan, on the other hand, did not put up much resistance and as such welcomed this incursion. First and foremost, China was a country that had monarchies. These monarchies were responsible for the leadership of the country. Their main reason for refusal of the incursion had a lot to do with their pride and need to protect properties acquired through fraudulent means. The leadership had ill-acquired wealth and did not want the Western countries to expose this by enlightening Chinese citizens. China also considered its tributaries as sufficient points from which they could draw their much needed resources. Tributaries such as Hong Kong and Taiwan were however governed by China through dictatorial ways. This feeling of being self-sufficient however hampered Chinas chances of progressing faster in the Industrial Revolution. Japan, on the other hand, had noted the importance of Industrial Revolution and had positioned itself to use the incursion positively. The incursion brought them the much needed technology that was pivotal in accelerating development. They embraced western education and thus acquired technical skills in the military fields apart from technical knowledge in engineering and other fields (Lockwood, 1956).

The difference in reactions by the two East Asian countries stems from different reasons. Japans reaction can be attributed to its pragmatic leadership. The leadership in Japan had envisioned a free and independent country. As such, they wanted to learn the most early enough so as to progress at speeds similar to those of the Western countries. They thus took this incursion as an opportunity to learn fast. China, on the other hand, assumed that their superiority in the East Asian region could help them develop faster. This territorial superiority, however, was only real within its tributaries. As a result, China could not acquire new and more efficient technology and knowledge that were very important in the Industrial Revolution. The need by Chinese monarchies to protect their ill gotten wealth also fuelled this resistance.  During the British Opium war, however, European powers managed to enter into China and thus the revolution got substantial impetus. The need by China to maintain a chokehold on their tributaries also fuelled the resistance to a large extent. Tributaries like Hong Kong had for long been oppressed by Chinese authorities who believed that Hong Kong was their protectorate and as such had to be governed from a central point. The incursion by Western imperialists was viewed as a threat as the western powers were likely to liberate these tributaries from Chinese oppression. In conclusion, Japan and China reacted in totally different ways to the Western Imperialism. This can be said to have affected the rate of development in the two countries. Whereas Japan progressed faster in the East Asia region, China and the other countries within the region were left to languish in stagnated growth. While we can attribute the Japanese reaction to a leadership with foresight, the Chinese reaction can largely be attributed to its largely very conservative nature fostered by its Confucianistic beliefs.