Chinese scholar criticizes the ignorance of anti-Japanese nationalists
EastSouthWestNorth, one of the best China blogs on the net, has posted a translation of an article entitled “Chinese People Mistread The World, Especially Japan” by Wang Jinsi [a director of the China War-of-Resistance-against-Japan Historical Society]. The article focuses on the ignorance, fabcrications, and lies that seem to accompany reports about Japan in China, such as a fake essay by a “Japanese Student” living in China that was published by the China Youth Daily in 2000. The essay, which sparked outrage among readers for years, contained quotes such as the following:
When I was in Japan, I despised China people. When I came to China, I found the China people to be even more inferior than I imagined. They stoop and bow before this Japanese student who has no background, they say that everything about Japan is better and even traditional China culture is better inherited by Japan. When I asked them about a hero who died in a fire during a mission in the Korean war, they said that fools like that don’t exist anymore. The Japanese company employees working in China obviously do not treat China people like human beings. They said that the thing they like to do best in China is to screw the China bitches while hurling insults at them in Japanese.
Despite evidence that pointed to the letter being written by a Chinese person, some scholars even believed that the essay was actually written by a Japanese student. Wang Jinsi addresses such ignorance in his article for Sichuan News Net:
When these twisted anti-Japanese sentiments are widespread, absurd speculations and a distorted picture of Japan result. The sad part is that many of the misreadings about Japan came from Chinese people. What are the motives for them to deceive their compatriots? It does not matter how good your intentions are, but there are certainly negative consequences. We need to ask just how many anti-Japanese rumors are still circulating?
Suppose we remain in ignorance about Japan. Ignorant people have no fear, but they can only fall into stupidity. “We read the world wrong and say that it deceives us.” Rabindranath Tagore said so back then. Similarly, we can say: “We read Japan wrong and say that it deceives us.” Japan may have its inadequacies and flaws, but our national spirit and patriotic sentiments should be able to sustain themselves without needing lies.
It’s good to see a voice of reason out there: Read the full story here!
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Here is the link to the essay in Chinese, you can find his picture there (the old man in the picture was Chairman Mao’s secretary) http://news.163.com/07/0223/09/380NGQL7000121EP.html
It was interesting to read some of the 2165 comments there. Most comments are accusing the Japanese for the misunderstanding or misreading. Of course there are also some who defend the author and those who got nothing better to say other than curse words.
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Interesting, it is good to see articles like this.
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Honestly, the Chinese are more obsessed with the feeling of unity brought on by anti-Japanese sentiments than with the sentiments themselves. In a world penetrated by insecurity, unity is the remedy, for better or for worse. The fact that one (or several) scholars accuse the greater mass of its ignorance is a good start; but it cannot override the large-scale discrimination simply because it is fed into and rooted within millions of people.
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Asuka- have you considered that most of them will feel a strong feeling of disgust and hate even if there was ZERO anti-japanese propaganda? Because maybe a lot of things the japanese miltary did to their relatives was indeed THAT horrific. And on such a large scale.
Maybe it shouldnt really matter because its in the past? Its over 50 years ago? Well it would matter a lot less if it werent for an increasing amount of ignorance and/or denial in Japan- fact not propaganda. Or the former Prime Minister’s vists to the a certain shrine for example.
Some of the millions of Chinese may have the details wrong. But its better than the (millions?) of Japanese who are in denial of a fundamental historic truth, namely the vicious, disgusting, cruel + sadistic behaviour of many many Japanese troops and scientists two generations ago. THAT is the source of the fire, NOT random little stories. Modern Japan may not be to blame for its past atrocities, but denying and down-playing what your earlier generations did in cold blood only helps to fan the flames of your so-called ‘ignorant’ masses.
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This is a repost from me, one of the best written on the topic: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/02/18/new_history_old_wounds/
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Sorry to say this but, your comment is typical ignorance. Japan as a nation admits past atrocities and the emperor, the prime minister, and other representatives of the Japanese government have issued apologies to China and other asian countries. How many cases are there in which countries have taken steps to apologise (or even make statements of atonement) to victims of their colonial or martial adventures? Even the Germans are only really sorry for Nazism, not for invading Africa.
Historians in Japan recognize that the Japanese army killed many Chinese in the past. Some of them disagree on the numbers killed. Because the numbers presented by the Chinese government have been getting higher without showing any evidence. That doesn’t mean the Japanese are denying the incident. You don’t seem to realize that there are people who have a variety of thoughts and that is the way of most democratic nation-states. Japan have freedom of press and freedom of choice, and people can openly debate those historical issues. Can you say same thing about China? Can historians in China print anything remotely different from the Chinese government’s position?
I recommend you to read this article from The New York Sun which was written by a Hong Kong journalist .
http://www.nysun.com/article/37828
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My previous comment was a response to Songey.
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I have to agree – while the Chinese have a historic right to be annoyed with Japan because of the war, it’s simply not fair to claim that the Japanese deny all wrong-doing, or even a majority. Here’s a sample sentence from a middle-school textbook, concerning Japanese colonial rule in Indonesia etc:
“However, in the Japan-occupied areas, there was opposition to forced Japanese-language education and worshipping at shrines. Anti-Japanese guerilla activity, in collaboration with the Allies, took place, and the Japanese Army harshly suppressed them, leading to many casualties even among ordinary civilians”.
The actions of the Japanese Army against occupied areas is not ignored in schools. Here’s another quote, about life in Korea after the Japan-China War started:
“Towards the end of the war, conscription and forced labour (徴用) were also required of Koreans and Taiwanese, forcing various casualties and suffering upon local people. Also, many Koreans and Chinese were taken to Japanese mines, and made to work under harsh conditions.”
This is clearly not denial that Japan did some rather unpleasant things. These are taught to schoolchildren. Oh, and the textbook I quoted from is the 2005 “New History Textbook” – the infamous Tsukurukai one.
So while I have sympathy with Chinese who say that Japan was very very cruel and nasty 60 years ago, I am not impressed by statements, made either for political motives or from ignorance, that suggest there is this huge denial of wartime horrors in Japan. To think that is akin to thinking that all Americans think like Pat Robertson, simply as he is the only American voice you can hear. There are many people on both sides working for peaceful relations between Japan and China, and it they who should be supported, not the politically-motivated propagandists.
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Im sorry Mika but with the volumes of blogs of racist anit-chinese hate and with prominent democratically-elected politicians dragging their heels about how much they should apologise, with the TV programs very clearly trying to instill denial to the wider public under the guise of ‘democractic free speech’ as reported on this very blog, you would be the ignorant one when it comes to the level of open or private denial in Japan. As for ‘the majority of Japanese’ I would not dare to use such a phrase as I do not possess the knowledge of what such a number that would constitute a majority would think.
Only arrogant apologists who are allergic to talk about Japanese atrocities use phrases ‘Most Chinese/Japanese’ or quite simple ‘the Chinese/the Japanese.’ I dont think I used such phrases so perhaps you should read what is written, not what you would like to see.
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For every politician’s speech that admits wrong-doing, how many others play down the nature and numbers of murders (by your coutrymen – I presume?)
“You don’t seem to realize that there are people who have a —variety of thoughts—! and that is the way of most democratic nation-states.”
But oh I do, my prejudiced Mika. And I see a GREAT euphamism for holocaust denial when I see one i.e. the above. The tragedy in Japan is that denying the Asian Holocaust hasnt been made illegal unlike in Austria and Germany and so hearing such views in public and panderings to your ultra-conservatives is now not so abhorrent. [I bet you're going to challenge me on that one too!]
How many cases of countries doing what for what?!
Are you not ACUTELY aware that Imperial Japan is extremely special in recent history for their degree + extent of their cruelty to the countries it invaded. Imperial Japan is NOT typical of colonial powers with regards to their wartime conduct EVEN compared to the excesses of the Nazis against the Jews.
Seriously-get that into your head before calling me ignorant. To this day, we still don’t know whyyyy they were so needlessly brutal. At least the Nazis treated their POWs on their Western Front well.
And i will say this again to you slowly and clearly:
It is of my opinion…that…if the CCP did not exist…if the number of Chinese killed was not ‘inflated’- EVER… those ignorant masses as they have been called would still habour very very similar feelings as they do now.
Democratic South Korea hates your past history and your present apologists just as much as undemocractic PRC. As tempting as it may, try not to shift too much blame to the CCP (even for all their faults)
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I have to agree with Songey on his last point. Many Chinese-Americans are not satisfied with the handling of WWII history by the Japanese government, and these Chinese live in the free world, they haven’t been brainwashed. Some of them even hate the Chinese government.
I don’t think Germany should sarifice freedom of speech to protect history. They can achieve the same goal with freedom of speech. Japan should not sarifice her freedom of speech, either. People should use freedom of speech to confront the denials, and to request the declassifications of remaining war records.
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sampoong dept. store,
And you just told us a tooth fairy story.
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“Imperial Japan is NOT typical of colonial powers with regards to their wartime conduct EVEN compared to the excesses of the Nazis against the Jews.”
What does this sentence mean? That Japanese colonial policy is in some way similar to the Holocaust? I don’t recall reading about Tojo or Hirohito deciding to gas every Korean, but I guess my history books have been lying to me. Perhaps Japan doesn’t outlaw Holocaust denial as Japan never committed a holocaust.
It doesn’t outlaw Nanking Massacre denial either, but why would you think that the internet ravings of a few nutters who use relative anonymity to express extreme views are in any way representative of mainstream thought?
Is a formal apology by a prime minister then worth no more than some internet ravings? I guess that despite emancipation and civil rights, the KKK must still be right about blacks if that is the case….
Internet debates – make storms in teacups look like force ten cyclones….
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You know, it’s funny, when I read about China complain about Japanese imperialism, yet they seem to have no problem whatsoever with the imperialism of other countries, namely British colonialism. Britain has never offered China an apology or any compensation for Opium Wars and their colonial occupation. And yet Chinese never complain about it.
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Apologies and compensations are not the issue here. Chinese Government is not asking for those two things. Apologies were given, Compensations were given in the form of loans and a seat at the UN. Name any today’s British politican, who can deny the colonial history and not suffer severe political consenquences. What are the political consequences for those Japanese Parliament members who attended the opening ceremony of a film denying Nanking Massacre? Chinese will definitely complain about it, when some British start to deny history. But, they haven’t been denying, so what is there to complain about? People can not complain something out of nothing.
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“The fact is, there is no evidence to prove there was coercion,” Abe said. “We have to take it from there.” http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070301/ap_on_re_as/japan_sex_slaves
Mike Honda testifies in support of “comfort women”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9H7KXWUtXM
I am now convinced.
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To Mika:
They seem to have no problem whatsoever with other colonialists?..No, i think what you perceive as ‘the Chinese’ just hating japan and no one else is due to the fact that what the Japanese did during the war, the way they did it, and the scale they did it on. This also happened in living memory vs. European colonists. I feel very tired repeating this point now.
And if you think the Chinese don’t mind the opium war or the pillagings of national treasures by the Europeans…i think you must have wrote that when your head wasnt screwed on.
I think everyone reading your messages on this subject can see that you are almost offended that Japan is being treated different from the other colonialists.
During the second world war- it was. Churchill may have ordered the gasing of Kurdish villages before he became PM, the French were very harsh in Vietnam even after their liberation etc etc…but
1) can this ever compare to what the Japanese did? (bar the Nazis?)
2) is it okay to do it just ‘because all the other kids are doing it?’ little Mika? Get real man and admit to yourself that you like the CCP because their hypocrisy is convenient for your attack on the Chinese population who suffered immeasurable under the Japanese.
3) Just to remind you incase you get angry about something else i said, any other nation behaving badly anywhere changes nothing about the extrodinary brutality of the Japanese invasion.
But deep down i suppose you know that already.
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Yes, Underthinker, you probably have been reading your books wrong/havent been reading your books at all/didnt put an ounce of thought when did read your books/ didnt bother to check the source of the author.
That sentence means in short: the Japanese did commit a holocaust in Asia and it was arguably an even more brutal one than what the Nazis did in Europe.
No one gives a shit what some noble colonial policy statement said. Murderers can make their acts sound like pure logic and/or humane so long as there are guilty parties or idiots out there all too ready to listen.
And i dont know why i am bothereing to teach you history here but one good example is the Japanese gasing Wuhan several times before they attacked (seems like the innocent Emperor, peace be upon him, gave okay orders himself). Or maybe the Chinese and everyone else made that up right
I see you picked up my mentioning of internet postings and singled it out for your convenience- I have some sympathy with you since its very hard to defend guitly parties in your media and government so why bother. It would be great if those kind of racists, revisionist rantings were confined to just the internet. Unfortunately, it usually starts in the real world first before it becomes widespread in cyber space. Also note the often linked articles and quotes to which these idiots refer you to. They didnt come out of no where. Like i said before to mika, dont put words in my mouth about the ‘Japanese mainstream’. I dont pretend to have that much data or cynicism.
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Ah, the attempt at personal insult. Always a good move in internet debate.
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And you took that crushing insult like a man!…I wish i was such an expert at dodging responses. I guess i shouldn’t have taken you seriously from the beginning. Oh well. Apologies for being so harsh to you…
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070302/ap_on_re_as/japan_sex_slaves_7;_ylt=AhlWxIKgqHhNqQBjwVV9fAX9xg8F
The Prime Minister of Japan himself, now denying another huge Japanese atrocity. What shame and pity this weak leader brings to his country…what a shame for the world that as time goes by, as eye-witnesses die of old age, people at the very height of Japanese politics try their best to turn tragic reality into myth.
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Well, i don’t know much about politics but in the current world, i would say say that China poses a greater threat than Japan to the whole. .
For one thing, the Japanese don’t have ballistic missiles pointing at another state, nor do they possess nuclear weapons and their constitution prohibits the use of force to settle disputes while China announced multiple times that they will use force on Taiwan if they chose to declare independence (even if its decided by the local population in Taiwan).
And don’t forget that China has been supplying some “dangerous” states with technology and weapons, crushed her own students just because of different political ideology and has been actively spying and trying to steal US technology for years.
MAYBE ITS utterly unforgivable for the current Japanese to deny or play-down previous generations’ wrong-doings in WWII but its perfectly alright for the current Chinese leaders/people to deny or hide the student killings in 1989 (or other incidents much further down in history such as tibet or some “cult” organ harvesting or some “big leap forward”)
Could be just me who thinks like this but hey, what do you think? rather than focusing on something thats 60 years ago, why not focus on the current problems or those in the near-future?
—- Just an Asian-American (with Chinese ancestry) wondering maybe these could be some of the reasons why Chinese-Americans react differently to the Japanese compared to the Chinese—-
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Now, as a chinese, let me get some stuff straight:
1. The chinese KP do not actively promote anti-japanese feelings. They simply teach the kids about crimes commited by JP. Kids learn in history lesson more stuff about JP than just war crimes. They learn that JP built Infrastructure and industry in north china… AND war crimes. The war crimes commited by JP is so horrible that the kids eventually start hating JP. Did anybody here ever read a book about the crimes commited by JP in China? or do u Japanophile just cant bear ur beloved JP has not always been the cutest thing on earth? The KP heavily promote in school propaganda glorifying the bravery of the commie soldier and Mao and much less JP crap than u think.
2. The japanese apology is not really sincere. U dont know the fine nuance of the language. They didnt say we apologise..they said we regret., which has a totally different meaning in japanese. It means something like oh, u dont really mind, do U?
German president apologies EVERY FUCKING YEAR for their crimes. They organise school tours to KZ, they invite Jew into schools to speak about their sufferings in KZ. They do everything to let their kids learn the suffering of the victims. WHAT do Japan do? They celebrate themselves as the true war victims every year, they emphasise on THEIR loss and suffering, their kids learn how much Japan suffered, NOT THE OTHERS. Germany has become a peaceful nation because its aware of the immense sufferings it has done to the others. Japan becomes a peaceful? nation because its aware of ITS OWN suffering.
3. Anti-Japanese feelings are, in my observation, actually declining. Young chinese, born after 1980, who enjoyed a much more opened society and information flow, r much more japan friendlier. Actually common chinese and japanese get along quite well. I know at least 3 sino-jp couples. Anime/Manga/AV porns & pop culture r a much better peace bringer than any cheap apologies from JP.
4. There r 1 billion chinese and how any do u see on this picture? less than 0,00000001%.
5. I(born after 1980)dont hate the nowadays japanese, and none of the chinese youngster i know does it… I and a lot chinese are aware that guilt, no matter how bad, can not be inherited by the next generation. I dont like the jp gov, but gov ≠ ppl. I think jp ppl also dislike the cn commie gov., but i dont think they dislike chinese in general(?), or think that gov = ppl.
In cn net, there are a lot anti-japanese stuff. BUT, how many chinese are online? less than 5%. AND in those forums, there are always voices against racism and anti-japanese stuffs. One can also find a lot whites-are-superior-to-all-other-races shit in internet, does it makes all whites a 3K?
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1, The CCP may well teach “simply” children about crimes, but what *exactly* do they teach?
2, There have been about thirty government (PM, Emperor, high govt official etc) apologies since 1990, many of which explicitly use the word お詫び (apology), and almost all of which use 反省, repent.
Note too that Germans generally apologize for trying to wipe out the Jews. Whatever else they did, the Japanese never had a Final Solution.
3, I also know some Chinese who like Japan, but how does one measure anti-Japanese feeling? Number of protest rallies? Book publishing?
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1. I grew up in Kanton, a city near HK. South china is more opened and less CCP controlled.
As i said, CCP put great emphasis on their glorious doing. It means u learn a lot about how loyal commies sacrificing their lives for the goals of the CCP. I would say when it comes to Japan-China war, about 60% are glorification of CCP-soldiers & Mao.
What i learned about Japan: (as far as i can remember)
-they used the weakness of the last dynasty to invade Cn.
-built/modernised the industry/railroad in north Cn.
-set up a fake dynasty.
-stopped the possible modernisation of constitution of Cn.
-slaughtered everybody who was against them. Rewarded ppl who work for them. Jp gov.=oppressive terror regime
-treated chinese like cockroaches or dogs.
-used ppl for horrible mass chemical experiment.
-killed whole villages, because of the commies or as a warnung not to rebel.
-Nanking, killing of civilians, killing of civilians,
killing of civilians …
Take the last 3 points together, well, its not difficult to build up anti-japanese feelings.
2. Yes, Jp didnt have a ‘Final Solution’. But the life of a chinese also didnt had any meaning for them. They killed anybody they wanted. The Jpanese were the equivalent to the worst spanish invaders in the case of Inca. And not the equivalent of the Brits to HK.
Good to know about the apology thing.:-)
3.
- measuring anti-Japanese feeling: My cousin lives in NY. She enconters 1 racist incident(verbal: chink, ching chang chongs, go home blabla and so on )in 2-3days. I live in germany, i experience 1-2 weekly. So, if a japanese enconters 1 daily in Cn, i think its in the range of acceptable. U have to ask some Jpanese for that.
If U know 10 chinese, and 8 of them are indifferent to JP, its pretty much the same what i experience with germans towards their attitude to muslims.
-Number of protest rallies: didnt notice any noteworthy. Actually there were none. ppl r too busy making money.
-Book publishing: The bestseller list in china are full of books about love stories, economy, anti-aging, cooking, how to get rich in 10 days… same shit like everywhere else. There arent much books published about the JP-war crimes bcos they dont sell. There are books about the war, but they r so full of propaganda, they also dont sell well. Youth just dont read it anymore. The ones who read it are over 70 or so. The only history books that do sell well are those about ancient China.
Voilà.
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