Japan: A Mirror to China

Japan: A Mirror to China (1)

Lying across the Huang Sea and the Dong Sea, geologically facing west to China, Japan acts as a mirror to China.

Historically, Japan has learnt a lot from the Central Kingdom of China. Especially during the time of Sui and Tang Dynasty, a thousand years ago. They send Qian-Tang-Shi to China, a delegation of pupil and emissary in studying and learning. Equally, Tang also had some people going to Japan, Jian-Zhen, a very respected Buddhist, brought Buddhism to Japan.

Even mush before Tang, in Dynasty of Qin, the first unified empire in the history of China, about 220 BC, legend says the emperor sent 500 boys and girl sailing to east, in search of unknown drug for an eternal life. This bunch of people are well known as XuFu's people both in China and Japan, as they are led by a man called XuFu- they never came back to the Central Kingdom again, rumor says that they have make their come across Japan the settled themselves down there since after. The is a "XuFu Convention" in Taiwan, Japan or some Southeast Asia countries every year, many people from Japan and China will show up the meeting- they are XuFu's people.

Since 1200 AC, the bilateral relationship turned hostile. China was totally controlled by Mongolian at the time. Yuan Dynasty encouraged an expansion policy to launched an army in conquest of Japan. After defeating the Yuan fleet in a windy day, Japan kept an important custom of celebration on this very anniversary. I suppose they became very concerning on the big neighbor and have been on constant alert about China. Japan were quite aware of the fact: had the Storm not arrived to the coast where Mongolia fleet harbored, they may have been prisoned in a cage, or maybe worse- as Mongolian usually raze the city or country who rebelled.

Since then, the two countries kept virtually no contact with each other. When Japanese showed their face in China again, time had shifted to the late Ming Dynasty- an interval of 400 years or so. Warlords seize the power in Japan, and Samuel or rangers began to loot China's Southeast coast areas as pirate. The infestation sometimes traumatized the whole South part of China involving 6,7 provinces, constituting a fatal threat to Ming Empire. Chinese Government deployed a "door-shut" policy in closing the whole seaside area in Southeast, relocating people inland on a colossal scale. Fortresses even seaside "great wall" were made facing the oncoming "East-Ocean Japes"from the sea.

This is the first negative impression they left to Chinese, the image of barbarian, greedy and brutal.