Chapter 6 Chapter 4 The Confucian world during the expansion of the West

Corresponding to the Muslim world in the Middle East and South Asia is the Confucian world in East Asia.Just as the Muslim world was ruled by the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires, the Confucian world was ruled by China; the peripheral Koreas and Japan existed independently.The two worlds are similar in one fundamental respect: they are both agriculture-based, inward-facing societies.Their changes are limited to the basic structure inherited from earlier times, and the rate of change is slow.On the other hand, the Confucian world is very different from the Muslim world because of its unparalleled unity.This unity was achieved because China was exceptional in all fields—cultural, political, and military.Moreover, China itself has a kind of cohesion that cannot be compared with any Muslim empire.Inexplicable minorities like the various Balkan Christian groups in the Ottoman Empire, or religious discord between Hindus and Muslims in the Mughal Empire, did not exist in China.This kind of cohesion in China was not a new phenomenon at that time. It has existed since the early stages of Chinese civilization thousands of years ago, and it has existed until today.In fact, Chinese civilization is the oldest continuous civilization in the world.This fact has considerable significance; it helps explain why China and Japan reacted very differently to Western aggression.

Why does China have the oldest continuous civilization in the world?One reason is geography - its isolation from the rest of humanity's great civilizations is unparalleled.The Mediterranean Sea connects Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and the Indian Ocean enables India to interact with the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia; however, China does not have geographical conditions comparable to the Mediterranean Sea or the Indian Ocean.Instead, China has been effectively cut off on four sides for most of its history.To its southwest and west are the highest mountain ranges in the world; to its east is the Pacific Ocean, which could not be crossed until modern times; to its north and northwest are deserts and prairie, which play a great protective role— This protective effect was further strengthened by the Chinese; in order to prevent the invasion of dangerous and terrible nomadic tribes, they built a 1400-mile-long Great Wall there.The significance of this isolation is that it enabled the Chinese to develop their civilization with less exposure to foreign invasion than the peoples of the Middle East or India.Their civilizations were thus more continuous and more unique—China was more fundamentally different from the other great civilizations of Eurasia than they were from each other.

The sheer size of China's population also contributes to the continuity of civilization.China has been able to support a considerable population from the very beginning, because the soil and climate are so well combined.During the warmer months of the year, the monsoon rains allow crops to be harvested twice a year; this situation is very different from that in the Middle East and Europe.Moreover, the yield per mu of rice in China is much higher than that of wheat or barley grown in most of Eurasia.Thus, a second-century census found that the Chinese Han Dynasty had a population of 59.5 million—more than the Roman Empire had at the full extent of its borders. At the beginning of the 16th century, when the Portuguese first arrived in China, the population of China was more than 100 million, more than the population of the whole of Europe.By the time the West forced its way open with gunboats in the mid-19th century, China's population had swelled to more than 400 million; this was partly because China imported food crops such as peanuts, corn and sweet potatoes from the Americas. The 1953 census revealed that the population of mainland China was 583 million; since then, China's population has been increasing at an annual rate of 13 million to 20 million.Today, the Chinese population has reached about 700 million, accounting for a quarter of all human beings!

Such huge and incomparable human resources enable the Chinese to maintain their own characteristics regardless of the development of the situation.They were conquered and ruled by the Mongols and Manchus, and suffered repeated blows and destructions from the West, but in the end, due to their numerical and cultural advantages, they could always assimilate or drive out the invaders, and they could always choose certain aspects of foreign cultures. Changes to make it suitable for their own traditional culture.China was never forced to accept massive change from outside, as Europe was when it was invaded by the Germans, or the Middle East and India when it was invaded by Muslims.

Contributing to the continuity of Chinese civilization is also the Chinese agricultural way of life.Agriculture was the foundation of Chinese society; the suitability of the land for cultivation determined the extent of Chinese civilization.Where agriculture is suitable, Chinese civilization develops; where it is not, a pastoral way of life, whether it be Mongol, Manchu or Turkic, is practiced.In the agricultural areas, you can see typical Chinese farmers, wearing straw hats, toiling in wheat or rice fields; while in the north and west, due to insufficient rainfall, there are non-Chinese nomads, riding horses , grazing the flock.Like the Muslim world, China has experienced a commercial revolution and an industrial revolution.On the contrary, villages are still the foundation of China's support; and farmers always account for at least four-fifths of the total population. They use their generous backs to bear the burden of supporting city residents, courtiers and soldiers.

Another important factor in China's cohesion is the existence of a written language dating back thousands of years, the oldest of which is the Shang Dynasty.This written language has a special significance, because the Chinese in various regions understand it, although the dialects they speak are quite different from each other, as Italian is to Spanish, Swedish is to German.The reason for this is that it consists of Chinese characters that represent meaning or objects.These Chinese characters are pronounced in different ways in different regions of China; however, any Chinese character, no matter how it is pronounced, has the same meaning.It is as if an Italian, a Swede, and an Englishman had written down the numbers and pronounced them in their respective languages; the meaning of 8 would still be the same for each of them.This common written language was an important force in providing unity and historical continuity to China.In fact, it did so for all of East Asia, as Chinese writing methods were adopted in whole or in part by most of the surrounding peoples, including the Japanese, Koreans, and parts of Southeast Asia.

Associated with the common written language is the extraordinary system of national examinations.This system has been implemented in China for nearly 2,000 years; they pass examinations, judge the quality of talents, and assign civil servants to government agencies. "If a person survives, his government will act; if a person dies, his government will die." This sentence is quoted from the Confucian classic --- "The Doctrine of the Mean". It expresses the basic creed of the Chinese people: recruiting talented people Legal and institutional reforms unique to the West can better solve various problems in the country.The system, at its full development, consists of a series of examinations.The first is the district and county examinations, which are held every two or three years.About 2% of candidates pass the regional exam and take the state exam a few weeks later.Those lucky enough to pass the exam (approximately half of the candidates) were eligible for smaller official positions and could go on to take the provincial exam held every three years in the provincial capital.Winners have the right to participate in the test held in the capital.Only 6% of people can cross this barrier and are qualified to hold higher official positions; among these people, usually only one-third can pass the final palace examination presided over by the emperor himself, and be absorbed into the most noble academic group in China —Members of the Imperial Academy; historians and other high officials in charge of literature were drawn from the Imperial Academy.

The original exam was entirely comprehensive, with a strong emphasis on the Confucian classics but also included other subjects such as law, mathematics and political current affairs.Gradually, however, these examinations began to focus on literary genres and Confucian orthodoxy.The end result was a system in which office was theoretically open to all talents, but in practice favored those classes who had the means to spend years of study and preparation.This does not mean that China was ruled by a hereditary aristocracy, but rather by a ruling group of scholars, the literati, who provided China with an effective and stable administration that earned the respect and admiration of Europeans.On the other hand, it is this system that stifles creativity and fosters obedience.As long as China remains relatively isolated in East Asia, it will continue to provide stability and continuity.However, with the encroachment of the vigorous West, it in turn served to prevent the Chinese from adjusting and responding effectively until it was finally abolished outright in 1905.

But perhaps the most important factor contributing to the cohesion of Chinese civilization was the moral code and literary and intellectual legacy commonly known as Confucianism.It mainly consists of the teachings of Confucius modified and embellished by later generations.According to legend, Confucius (551-479 BC)—his English name Confucius is a Latinized form of K'ung-fu-tzu, "Mr. Kong"—was originally a minor official, His reputation as a scholar attracted many students.Confucius traveled around China with his disciples in search of a ruler who would practice his political principles and appoint him a position commensurate with his talents.After the search failed, he returned to his hometown and continued to run a private school until his death.Confucius utterly failed as the practical statesman he loved, but as an incidental teacher he achieved an eternal, but belated, success.

Like most Chinese thinkers, Confucius was primarily concerned with creating a well-organized and happy society in the world.Although he believed in ghosts and gods, he was not very interested in metaphysics or speculation about the afterlife.When someone asked about the meaning of death, Confucius replied, "If you don't know life, how can you know death?" This indifference to the afterlife later led to an agnostic tendency in Confucianism; Earth's interest in God is in stark contrast. The first principle of Confucius is "rectification of names" - "junjun, ministers, father and son, son and son." Confucius explained the social relationship that should exist between people of different social status.If everyone acts according to their own identities, there will be order in the family; when there is order in the family, the country will be peaceful, and everything under the rule of the Emperor of Heaven can coexist harmoniously.

Confucius also provided a political philosophy for China.His innovation lay in the notion that politics was fundamentally an ethical issue.Since social harmony depends on virtuous rulers providing welfare and happiness to their subjects, he makes no distinction between politics and ethics.Just as the individual should obey the family, so the family should obey the emperor.However, the emperor should also be an example of a loving father; this can only be done by following Confucian ethics rather than a certain legal system.Before Confucius, the Chinese people had always been centered on divination and offering sacrifices. In essence, there was no moral code; Confucius' views represented a fundamental new starting point in Chinese thinking.He is thus the founder of a great ethical tradition that began to focus on moral values ​​unprecedented in Chinese civilization. Confucianism has achieved extraordinary success.One reason, its moral justification for authority and social inequality, is popular with the rulers and the wealthy.Moreover, its high moral principles provide a more solid foundation for the status quo than purely hereditary power, thereby continuously promoting the improvement of political and social relations.Confucianism succeeded also because it was well timed.It provides guidelines for the Confucian way of life for most of China and East Asia, and makes a rationale.As a result, it served as the foundation of Chinese civilization for more than two thousand years.By the middle of the 20th century, Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek tried his best to advocate the restoration of Confucian moral standards in order to support his nationalist regime against the Communists! Chinese civilization began around 1500 BC.All of these factors may be necessary to explain the continuity of Chinese civilization since then.The history of the Middle East is markedly different: the conquests of Alexander the Great spread the emerging Hellenistic culture; the conquests of the Muslims brought about radical changes in race, language, culture, and religion.The same is true for India: about 1500 BC, it was invaded by the Aryans, and after 1000 AD, it was invaded by the Muslims.Both of these invasions brought about fundamental changes in India.The development of Chinese history has never been shaken by such earthquake-like upheavals.Although the entire country was invaded several times and came under the rule of foreign dynasties for a second time, these invasions disturbed rather than changed China.What China has experienced in history is only the rise and fall of dynasties limited to the traditional framework, rather than large-scale fragmentation and new beginnings. In the 19th century, an observant Westerner named Thomas Meadows commented: "Of all peoples who have attained some degree of civilization, the Chinese are the least revolutionary and the most rebellious. What he said was that the rise and fall of dynasties has become a feature of Chinese history; what it caused was not revolution, but only the replacement of the ruling family.This cyclical pattern of dynastic change can be explained by certain recurring tendencies that lead to dynastic decline. Each new dynasty usually starts out effectively ruling the country, ushering in a period of relative peace and prosperity.The new dynasty promoted intellectual and cultural life and protected the country by sending expeditionary armies against the nomads and extending the empire's borders.But gradually, the dynasty was weakened by the corruption of individual rulers themselves and court struggles between noble groups and court eunuchs.This corruption and factionalism undermines central power and encourages bureaucratic corruption.Corruption, combined with the increasing luxury of court life, meant that the peasants, who after all supported the entire imperial organization with productive labor, were more heavily taxed.Taxes tended to increase, also because foreign wars were costly, and the emperor adopted the practice of granting tax exemptions to most nobles, Buddhist temples, and temples.As a result, irrigation systems and other public works essential to agriculture were often neglected amidst political uncertainty. As a result, increasingly impoverished farmers had to bear an ever-increasing tax burden.When crop failure and famine also inevitably arrived, the breaking point came: uprisings broke out against government tax collectors and landowner rent-collecting agents.These partial uprisings expanded into general riots over time.General insurrection, and especially the imperial army itself, had by this stage been reduced to eke out, which in turn invited invasions by nomads.Internal rebellion and external aggression combined.Usually heralds the beginning of a new cycle - the old dynasty is dying and a new dynasty is approaching. The first dynasty was the Shang Dynasty (1523-1028 BC), which arose in the northern part of the Yellow River Basin.By then, the Chinese had learned to weave silk, had invented their own unique writing system, had mastered the art of making beautiful pottery and bronze, and had begun to clearly distinguish between "Chinese" and "Chinese" on the basis of cultural rather than racial superiority. "Barbarian". The Shang Dynasty was followed by the Zhou Dynasty (1028-221 BC): although it lasted for a long time, it failed to establish a stable central government.Zhou's political structure was somewhat similar to that of medieval Europe.Zhou had many feudal states; they fought against each other in spite of Zhou's nominal co-lord status.However, this turbulent political situation has caused Chinese intellectuals to reflect urgently.Their thinking on the nature of human nature and society eventually became the great philosophical systems and literary classics of Chinese civilization.The two schools of Confucianism and Taoism developed at this time; therefore, the hundreds of years of the Zhou Dynasty, which was as long as the entire Middle Ages in Europe, still attract attention as the era in which the foundation of Chinese culture was laid. The Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) after Zhou, although short-lived, replaced Zhou's feudal system with a well-organized imperial structure; this imperial structure lasted until 1912 when the last dynasty was It ended when it was overthrown.It included a monopoly emperor, a well-ordered and efficient bureaucracy, a network of military galleys, and the Great Wall in the north; all of which made China the most stable and durable rule in the world. The Han Dynasty (6 BC-220 AD), which succeeded the Qin Dynasty, is famous for expanding China's territory in all directions—from Central Asia in the west, Manchuria in the north, and Indochina in the south.This Han empire was at least comparable in size, population, wealth, and cultural achievement to the Roman Empire of its time.At that time, Chinese silk was very popular among the rich in Rome; the excellent Chinese glazed pottery was already well-known abroad and was called "China"; Chinese paper and printing began to slowly spread to the West. The Han Empire, like the Roman Empire, collapsed due to internal decay and invasion from the north.In the West, however, the chaos and turmoil caused by the fall of Rome lasted for centuries until a fundamentally different type of society emerged.Europe in AD 1000 was very different from Europe in Roman times; at this point, invasions of all kinds had finally petered out.The new Europe was a fusion of Germanic, Christian, and Roman elements, with a new religion, several new ethnic origins, new Germanic and Latin languages, and Some new nation-states.In China, the situation is reversed.After the Han Dynasty, after a period of chaos, the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the Song Dynasty (960-1279) came into being; Influenced by Buddhism introduced from India, it still represents the continuation of traditional civilization. The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) following the Song Dynasty was unique in that it was a Mongol rather than a Chinese dynasty.Before that time, nomads also invaded China from time to time, but only occasionally controlled individual areas.At that time, a barbarian invasion team successfully conquered and ruled the whole of China for the first time.In fact, these Mongols had occupied most of Eurasia at that time, and China at that time was only a part of a huge empire stretching from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Black Sea in the west.However, these Mongolian rulers were pitifully small in number compared with their millions of Chinese subjects, and they did not enjoy the support of Chinese nobles and peasants.They ruled as conquerors, making few concessions to Chinese institutions or the Chinese way of life.They used foreigners to participate in the administration, advocated the declining Buddhism rather than Confucianism, and generally exploited the people.Thus, when their military power waned, their regime was wiped out by rebellious peasants and disaffected scholar-bureaucrats. After the expulsion of the Mongols, China was ruled by two other dynasties, the Chinese Ming Dynasty (368-1644) and the Manchu Qing Dynasty (644-1912).The Manchus, like the Mongols, were aliens, yet managed to rule China because they gave the Chinese literati prominence and political opportunity while maintaining control over the government apparatus.They respect and use the Chinese system, but at the same time, create a system of control to protect their own position.On the one hand, the local government is still basically in the hands of the Chinese; on the other hand, only a very small number of Chinese can actually serve in the supreme ruling body of the empire.Therefore, the transition from Ming to Qing is relatively easy.Although uprisings and banditry activities were inevitable when the regime changed, it was insignificant compared with the massacre and destruction during the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) in Europe at the same time. Therefore, from the middle of the 14th century to the time when the Europeans really invaded China in the 19th century, this entire era was one of the great eras of political clarity and social stability in human history; The system of examinations for government officials and the respected rule of the emperor in Peking—had been carried on smoothly and satisfactorily. In ordinary times such order and persistence might have been considered a blessing.But during these centuries a vibrant new Europe was emerging—the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Commercial and Industrial Revolutions, the French Revolution, and the rise of powerful nation-states rapidly expanding their dominion across the globe. Happened in these centuries.In an age like this, stability has become a curse, not a blessing.Relatively speaking, China not only looks but is actually static and backward.The idea of ​​constant change and "progress," while taken for granted in the West at the time, still did not fit the Chinese mind.Change is acceptable only within the confines of the traditional order. In an era of revolutionary change on a global scale, the comfortable and contented Chinese stare intently at the past. During the Ming Dynasty, the Chinese decided to stop their expeditions on an astonishing scale (see Chapter 2, Section 7); this clearly shows that the Chinese and Europeans had very different attitudes towards the world around them.The Chinese Empire was an agricultural country, so the Ming and Manchus, like the Mughals, were not interested in the possibility of profit from undertaking overseas ventures, and left the seas to the Arabs and Europeans. The tribute system that China uses to regulate its relations with foreign countries is another evidence of this difference.As early as the Shang Dynasty, the Chinese regarded foreigners as barbarians with low culture.Later, they applied Confucian family ethics to their relations with other nations.A family composed of various countries must naturally be headed by the Son of Heaven.China, the dominant "China," was surrounded by disadvantaged tributary states; these tributary states were all considered children.Just as children are expected to obey and respect their parents, so should small countries treat China.Specifically, this manifests itself in the fact that small countries regularly send tribute missions to offer gifts and pay homage to the Chinese emperor, which also includes kowtow, that is, kneeling three times and prostrating nine times.The frequency of such missions varies from country to country, depending on proximity to China, ranging from a few times a year in North Korea to once every 10 years in Myanmar or Laos. The main purpose of this tribute system was to ensure peace and order along China's long frontier; in practice it was usually successful.The smaller states accepted this system because of the prestige they gained from association with the Chinese court; the cultural benefits they gained from the great center of civilization; more expensive gifts than they gave, and, moreover, certain trade franchises were granted to them.But, on the other hand, it was precisely this success of the Chinese that contributed to their ruin.This success has reinforced their belief that China is at the center of a world system without competing states or governments.Tributary relations were the only form of international relations they recognized.The idea of ​​legal equality among nations is incomprehensible to them.Therefore, the Chinese concept of international relations directly contradicts the original European international law.China and the Western world have no common ground on which to base their relationship. The relationship between China and the West did not continue until the overseas expansion of Europe following the voyages of Columbus and Portuguese navigators.Before that time, the mutual influence between the eastern and western ends of Eurasia was sporadic and usually indirect.The earliest interaction was the silk trade with Rome.This trade was conducted by merchants in the Middle East.It had reached a very large scale, and because the Chinese were not interested in importing goods from Rome or any other country, Rome's gold and silver had to go out continuously, and its economy was affected.This situation was essentially characteristic of China's economic relations with the outside world before the nineteenth century; it reflected not Chinese prejudice but rather the wealth and technological superiority of the Chinese during most of those centuries. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Persian and Arab merchants established some large commercial groups in the coastal ports of southern China and the ports in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.Among them, some foreign business families lived in China for five generations.They married local women, and some of their children even became scholars, passed exams, and entered the Chinese bureaucracy; they were completely Sinicized. During the Mongol period, the mutual influence between China and the countries to the west was much greater than before.Traveling safely between China and Europe became possible for the first time in the century after 1240, as the Mongols conquered the entire continent.At that time, a considerable number of Europeans traveled east.Some of them were priests, hoping to convert the Mongols to Christianity; others, like the Polos, were merchants, attracted by new and dizzying business opportunities.However, with the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Muslims once again blocked the passage between East and West; thus, direct communication ceased (see Chapter 2, Section 7). In 1514, Portuguese merchants established trade with Guangzhou, and in 1577 they established a permanent commercial base in Macau; at this time, China began to directly feel the influence of a vibrant new Europe.These Portuguese bought silks, woodcuts, porcelain, lacquerware, and gold from China; at the same time, in return, they sold nutmeg, cloves, and dried nutmeg from the East Indies, sandalwood from Timor, and medicinal materials from Java. and dyes, and Indian cinnamon, pepper and ginger.None of the European goods were involved; the reason was simply that they had no market in China.These Portuguese acted as shippers and middlemen in purely intra-Asian trade. The Dutch and the British finally came to challenge Portugal's monopoly on Chinese trade.Agents of the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company arrived in Guangzhou in 1604 and 1637, respectively.None of them had the official Chinese permission for trade. Therefore, in the next few decades, the Dutch and the British plundered the Portuguese ships along the southern coast of China and carried out illegal trade.By the middle of the 18th century, the Chinese had opened up sea trade to all countries, but the trading locations were limited to Guangzhou and Macau.The English were soon to acquire the greatest part of this trade; partly because of their growing commercial and industrial superiority, and partly because of their incomparable base of activity in India. It is worth noting that while Europe was winning control of Asia's maritime trade, the Chinese ruling circles were actively opposing overseas undertakings.Long before the arrival of Europeans, Chinese immigrants had slowly migrated to Southeast Asia.In the Philippine Islands, there may never have been as many Spaniards as there were Chinese. In 1603, when Manila was established as a Spanish colony for 32 years, there were about 20,000 Chinese residents there, and there were probably only 1,000 Spaniards.These Chinese thus effectively controlled the economic life of the colonies and were extending their control to other islands in the archipelago. In that year, 1603, there was a massacre of the Chinese in Manila; this massacre.It is what they and their compatriots in Southeast Asia have to endure at intervals to this day.However, an official in Fujian province in the nearby mainland at that time was forgiving, and condemned all overseas Chinese as rebellious sons who were ashamed of their ancestral graves and unworthy of His Majesty's concern.Similarly, in 1712, the emperor issued an edict prohibiting Chinese from doing business and settling in Southeast Asia. Five years later, another edict allowed Chinese who had left the country to return to their hometown without fear of punishment; in 1729, another edict set a date for overseas Chinese to return to China, and they would not be returned after the deadline.What a stark and startling contrast this was with the Western countries, which were soon active in establishing overseas colonies and trading companies, and were always ready to defend these enterprises by force against any threat. At that time, the Russians in Siberia were also trying to develop trade relations with China.The Chinese responded in the same way: tightly controlling and restricting trade.The Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689) and the Treaty of Kyakhta (1727) stipulated that the Russians could do business in the three neighboring points of the two countries, and they could only send caravans to Beijing every three years.The Chinese allowed them to build a church in Beijing with a pastor and three associate pastors, but the congregation in the Chinese capital was limited to 300 members.Under these conditions a few goods were exchanged—Russian furs, leather goods, textiles, cattle, horses, and glass for Chinese silk, tea, lacquerware, and porcelain (see Chapter VIII, Section 4). The cultural interaction between China and the West in these earlier centuries was limited to the efforts of the Jesuits to spread Catholicism.The Jesuits realized that in a country as advanced as China, the usual means of preaching among the people to convert them would not work, and they devoted themselves exclusively to making friends. , Said the court and the bureaucracy to work hard. Matteo Ricci settled in Guangzhou with permission in 1582, and moved to Beijing 20 years later; during his stay, he impressed Chinese officials and intellectuals with his knowledge of mathematics and astronomy.When he finally dared to debate religious issues, he sought to demonstrate that Christian teachings were compatible with Confucianism.Later Jesuit priests continued the practice; they served as technical experts, mentors, and diplomatic representatives, making themselves useful to Ming and Manchu emperors.Jesuit priests helped the Chinese forge their first cannon and negotiate their first treaty with Russia.These practices did not lead to mass conversions to Catholicism, but they did win respect for Western Christianity and science; by the eighteenth century, more than 300,000 Chinese had joined Catholicism. Unfortunately for the Christian cause, the Jesuits' accommodation of Confucianism led to disputes with other Catholic orders and their final disaster.The main issue at the time was the "Ritual Controversy," that is, whether Chinese ancestor worship was compatible with Christianity.The Jesuits maintain that ancestor worship is a mere secular ritual designed to preserve the continuity of family traditions.The Dominicans and the Franciscans, on the contrary, considered it a pagan religious ritual incompatible with Christianity. In 1745, the Pope finally ruled against the Jesuits; at this time, the Chinese Emperor, already hostile to this long quarrel and the insolence of the papal envoys who occasionally came to his court, retaliated by banning all Christian missions. Activity.Since then, Christianity has declined rapidly in China. The final results of centuries of Jesuit missionary activity have proved insignificant.In fact, at that time, China's examination system and Confucian ethics left a much deeper impression on Europe than Europe's science and mathematics on China.A European traveler of this period referred to the Chinese as Di nostra qualita - "people with our merits".The Chinese probably never thought of reciprocating such compliments from others. In the century following the papal ruling, there was no exchange of ideas between China and the West.The Chinese remained supremely confident and independent after their first conflict with Europe.They restricted Western merchants to a few seaports and frontier trading posts; they recognized tribute relations with only some exceptions in international affairs; What they have abandoned and forgotten.In history, no nation has ever been so confident in the future, yet so unfounded. Japan was even more isolated from the rest of Eurasia than China was.Few travelers ever reached the shores of Japan, so it gave rise to much speculation and myth.For example, Marco Polo, although he traveled extensively and had many official relations, when he mentioned Japan, he could only repeat a few rumors."The people of this great island of Japan," he wrote, "are white, civilized, and handsome; idolaters who depend on no one, and possess untold amounts of gold." Compared with China, Japan was obviously a marginal country and a marginal civilization when Europeans first arrived in the 16th century.This does not mean that the Japanese are primitive; in fact, they have developed a complex and vibrant society.When the Europeans first arrived, the Japanese initially responded positively, with many converting to Christianity.But then, like the Chinese, they rebelled against these "insolent barbarians" and virtually severed all ties with them.However, the Japanese finally realized that the policy of seclusion was not feasible, so they began to study the Western methods and change them to suit their own needs.Because of their unique historical and cultural background, the Japanese achieved extraordinary success, quickly leaving the Chinese, who had long been their mentors and friends, far behind. In terms of Japanese history, the importance of geographical location is particularly evident.In this respect, the Japanese archipelago is very similar to the British Isles on the other side of Eurasia.However, the former is more isolated than the latter; the waters separating the Japanese archipelago from the mainland are 115 miles wide, while the English Channel is only 21 miles wide.所以，日本人到近代为美国所败之前，仅遭受过一次外来入侵的严重威胁，那是在13世纪。因此，就日本离大陆的距离来说，近到日本人可以从伟大的中国文明中受益，然而。又远到他们能够随意地对外界事物进行选择和抵制。事实上，日本人对他们从国外输入的东西具有异乎寻常的敏感性和警觉性。他们虽然被普遍地看作是个借用者民族，但由于它与世隔绝，比起其他任何人口和发展水平大体相似的民族，已独立地发展起一种其更大部分属于他们自己的文化。 日本人基本上属于从东北亚移来的蒙古人种，不过，其种族的形成也得力于原先居住日本岛北部的多毛的高加索人种的虾夷人，可能还得力于来自南洋群岛的马来人和波利尼西亚人。早期的日本社会由许多部族组成，各部族均由一位世袭的祭司酋长统治。将近公元1世纪末时，邪马台部族征服其他部族，建立起一个松散的政治和宗教霸权。其首领成为皇帝，其部族之神被奉为民族之神。 6 世纪，中国文明开始大规模地传入日本，破坏了这种部族组织。自朝鲜传入的佛教是文化变革的媒介，在这里起了同基督教在欧洲德意志人和斯拉夫人中间所起的一样的作用。由大陆渡海而来的学生、教师、匠人和僧侣，不仅随身携来了新的宗教，还带来了新的生活方式。要求变革的动力最终导致大化改新；大化改新始于645年，试图仿照中国唐朝，把日本改变成一个中央集权制国家。按照中国模式，全国划分成若干国和郡，分别由国司和郡司治理；国司和郡司皆由天皇及其国家议会任命。此外，以天皇的名义，将全部土地收归国有，分配给农户。新的自耕农有义务向中央政府纳田赋和为国家服徭役；前者取稻米的形式，后者常包括服兵役。 筹划这些和其他一些改革，是为了加强天皇的权力；而且，是在将它们与前部族结构相比较后才付诸实践的。但实际上，日本天皇远非一个中央高度集权的国家的当然首脑。强大的世袭贵族强行对这种最终导致世袭贵族垮台的中国式管理施行某些调整。虽然任命官员大概同中国一样，是在举行考试、任人唯贤的基础上进行，但实际上，旧贵族成功地获取了重要地位和权力。同样，他们还保留了许多大地产；这些大地产通常是免税的，成为政府行政体制以外的庄园。这一时期里，藤原家族彻底实现了两头政治即双重政府体制。他们向天皇提供配偶，担任高级行政、军事职务，把持朝政，成为实际统治者。而天皇则过着淫靡奢侈的隐居生活，既不为国家大事所扰，也不接触平民百姓，以致降低自己身价。他的主要责任是保证皇位后继有人，传之无穷。这种两重政府体制是中国所没有的，它在日本一直以原来的格局持续到19世纪国门被欧洲人打开为止。 在文化方面，同样是对中国的模式加以更改。日本人借用了汉字，但发展起自己的文字系统。他们借来了儒家学说，但修改了其道德标准、调整了其政治学说，以适合自己的社会结构。他们接受了佛教，但又加以改变，以满足自己的精神需要；同时，还保留了日本本土的神道教。他们以唐都长安为榜样，在奈良和京都先后建立了新的京城，但无论寺院、楼阁、神龛或庭园，都确实无误地具有日本特征。天皇宫廷成为高度发展的文化、艺术的中心。11 世纪紫式部女士在其著名小说中对宫廷生活作了可喜的描绘，不过，这部小说也展现了一个愈益骄奢淫逸、几乎完全耽于美妙享受和声色肉欲的社会。这种腐化堕落在后一世纪中更为严重，促成了新的封建制时代的到来；在封建制时代，政治权力从天皇朝廷转入强有力的乡村武士手中。 645 年大化改新所引进的中国的帝国组织体制明显地生效了很长一段时期。不过，到12世纪，它已为日本种种封建制所破坏和取代。一个原因是，国司们过于喜欢京都的优美，往往将自己的权力、职责委托给地方部属。另一原因是，强大的地方家族和佛教团体总是渴求着土地，并常以暴力夺取土地。只要免税达一刺激性因素依然存在，他们便乐于耕种新的土地。这些趋向使纳税土地的数量减少，也就是说，使自耕农的税收负担增加。于是，自耕农们或者逃亡北部边境地区，用武力驱走那里的虾夷人，或者将自身连同土地寄托给庄园主。这使他们免除赋税，得到保护，可付出的代价是自己转沦为农奴。这一过程的最后结果是，到12世纪末，纳税土地仅占全部耕地的10％甚或10%以下，地方政权已由新兴的农村贵族接管。 同时，由于帝国军队瓦解，农村贵族还成为居支配地位的军事力量。大化改新规定，凡20 至60岁之间的男性国民，都须服兵役。但是，应征土兵得自备武器和给养，而且，其固定赋税不予减免。这一规定证明是难以实行的，于739年被废弃。政府军职成为通常由颓靡的宫廷贵族担任的挂名职务。给果，对虾夷人的战争由农村贵族指挥。他们成为骑马武士，并逐渐增强自己的军事力量，直到完全超越帝国军队。这时，一种封建关系在农村贵族和他们的随从即“侍”（字意上是“为人服务者”）之间发展起来。这种关系以一种理想化的道德规范即“武士道”为基础。侍享有一些特殊的法定权利和礼仪上的权利，作为回报，他们须绝对服从其主子的调遣。 到12 世纪，日本为一些相互竞争的封建领主集团所控制。有一段时间，藤原氏通过利用自己的力量支持一方或另一方，尚能保持势力均衡。最后，大封建主源赖朝起兵获胜。1192年，他从天皇那里取得征夷大将军称号，并有权指定自己的继承人。作为幕府首领，赖朝是所有军事力量的总司令，负责国家的内外防御。他在镰仓扎下大本营，以天皇的名义统制全国，而天皇继续在京都过着隐居生活。在赖朝幕府时期，蒙古人曾分别于1274和1281年两次试国侵入日本。蒙古人两次登陆时，均遭到日本人的奋力抵抗，并为随后的大风暴所击溃，团为大风暴给了远征军以毁灭性的破坏。日本人相信，他们的得救是由于神灵的干预，故称这些大风暴为“神风”。 1333 年，主要由于天皇朝廷的密谋以及武士阶层中日益增长的不满，赖朝幕府覆灭。其时，足利家族获得幕府将军称号，不过，他们的权力从未远远超出京都近郊。在日本其余地区，地方封建主们在竭力控制尽可能多的土地。结果，出现了各持一方的大地主，称为“大名”。16世纪初，大名有数百之多，个个都在试图获得对整个日本的霸权。将近这一世纪末，织田信长（1532-1582年）经过对相竞争的大名和独立的佛教团体的长期征战，统一了大约半个日本，置于自己统治之下。 继承织田的是其最能干的部下大将丰臣秀吉（1536-1598年）。丰臣原为农夫的儿子，步兵出身；是日本历史上最杰出的军事领袖之一。他不仅统一全国，还分别于1592和1597年两次派远征军入侵大陆，旨在征服中国。1598年，丰臣去世，使第二次远征撤兵告退。经过短期争斗，德川家康继承丰臣，于1603年被天皇任命为幕府将军。这标志着伟大的德川幕府的开端；德川幕府对全国的统治一直继续到1868年王政复古和明治维新开始。 德川家康及其直系继承者制定了一系列旨在使其家族统治永存的政策。德川政权的物质基础在于幕府直辖领地。它占全部可耕地的四分之一至三分之一，由分布在全国诸形胜要地的大庄园组成；这些大庄园构成了防范有可能心怀敌意的大名的控制点。幕府最高级职务均由德川家族成员或其家臣担任。天皇从幕府得到的财政收入能维持其本人及一小群宫廷贵族的日常用度，但天皇没有政治职责或政治权力。幕府大本营先建在江户，后设于东京。大名须定期到大本营所在地居住；返回自己领地时，要留下妻、子，作为人质。德川幕府还限制大名修筑城堡，对每个大名所能保留的家臣的数目，也加以限制。 使严格、世袭的等级结构永存，是德川幕府为防止任何可能破坏其统治的变化而作出的部分努力。居这一等级结构之首的，是占人口百分之六的贵族。它包括宫廷贵族和封建贵族。前者拥有优越的社会地位，但无权力或财产，故靠幕府将军供养；后者则重要得多，它以幕府将军为首，包括大名及武士家臣。 绝大多数日本人是农民，为第二等级；它包括无地的佃农以及拥有1 1/4至85英亩不等土地的地主。不管其地位如何，这些农民生产了稻米，归根到底，供养了贵族。实际上，地主也是用稻米来衡量其收入的。 德川幕府确认的最后两个等级，依次为手工业者和商人。德川幕府时，长期的和平与安定使城市居民的人口、财富大大增加。货币日益成为支付媒介，稻米中间人和货币兑换商成为最重要的商人。他们处理封建贵族的剩余产品，提供高利信用贷款，这种贷款通常以借贷人次年的收入作抵押。许多大名，有时连幕府将军本人，都成为这些商业资本家的债户。一个原因是，要在江户维持落实人质制度所需要的大第宅，得付出大笔开支。由于稻米价格跟不上其他商品价格的上涨，农村阶级亦受到损害。因此，国家财富愈来愈流入商人的银柜。商人在江户和大阪这样的大城市里，过着奢靡的生活，并产生了自己的文化形成，如歌舞伎、木版画和描绘奢华生活的小说。 德川幕府通过提倡儒家朱熹学派。为其政权奠立思想基础，因为儒家强调孝顺长者、忠于上级的美德，认为任何社会集团里都该如此。在理想的日本家庭中，父权是绝对的、无可争辩的；这一点甚至比在中国得到更为明确的表达。对德川幕府来说，尤具吸引力的是，儒家还强调了政治上的合法正统地位的伦理基础和一切守旧的品德。德川家康本人在他颁发的《武家诸法度》中，为武士规定了着重于个人尽忠、尚节制、守俭朴和接受等级区别的行为准则。这种意识形态带来的一个结果是，日本的家庭制度，尤其是武士制度，由于服从于幕府将军或大名的利益而与社会紧密地合为一体。家庭和国家之间的协调远远超过中国，因而，为民族团结和民族活动提供了根本基础，便利了日本19世纪的明治维新。 德川幕府维持现状的政策，一度因西欧人的闯入而受到威胁。最早来的是一伙葡萄牙水手，他们因船只失事而漂抵日本岛，时间在1542年，即德川幕府创立前约半个世纪时。当地大名对葡萄牙人的火器印象极深，学习了枪械和火药的制造；这也是日本人的特点。 继最初的接触之后，葡萄牙商人经常来说他们发现，经营中、日两国间的中介贸易可牟取厚利。由于倭寇的骚扰抢劫，明朝皇帝禁止与日本的一切贸易交往。葡萄牙人迅速地乘隙而入，用中国的黄金和丝绸交换日本的白银和铜，使生意大为兴隆。这一运输业的范围和获利的性质可由澳门和长崎这两个终点港的迅速发展得到说明。16世纪中叶葡萄牙人首次来访时，它们还是默默无闻的小渔村，到这一世纪末，却已加入亚洲最繁荣的港口之列。 葡萄牙人将传教事业和贸易活动结合起来。方济各·沙勿略和耶稣会其他神父于1549 年抵达日本，经许可到民众中间传道说教。他们取得了罕见的成功，原因显然在于，他们的福音传教士的改宗方法满足了当地内战时期遭蹂躏的农民的感情上的需要。织田信长允许这一新的宗教信仰兴旺，欢迎它与独立的佛教团体相抗衡，因为后者正在给他增添麻烦。到1582年丰臣秀吉继承织田时，皈依天主教者已达15万，大半在日本西部。 丰臣对这新贸易和新宗教颇为担忧。例如，葡萄牙人当时正在要求管理长崎市的权力，并威胁道，如果他们遭到拒绝，便予罢市。同样，外国传教土的富有战斗性的活动在这位新上任的幕府将军看来，似在颠覆传统的日本社会。1587年丰臣下令所有传教士都须离境，但这个命令没有严格执行，因为担心这样会影响有利可图的贸易。 到1603 年德川幕府建立时，荷兰商人，还有少数英国商人，与葡萄牙人并肩活跃于日本。这些欧洲人之间的剧烈竞争使日本人获得了新的行动自由。他们此时能对传教士来取行动而无须担心失却贸易。而且，欧洲人为了讨好日本人、争取贸易特许权，互相极力捣鬼。例如，荷兰人曾向幕府将军告发，说葡萄牙人密谋武装对他不满的大名，以推翻他的统治。1614年，德川家康颁布命令：所有传教士都必须离境，他们的信徒（这时已达30万）必须放弃自己的宗教信仰。这个命令得到了无情的执行。作为一种控制手段，德川幕府还强迫天主教徒隶属某一佛寺；许多教徒因拒绝而被处死。传教士也遭到杀害，但是，区别商业活动和宗教活动往往是很困难的。因此，日本人采取了进一步的行动。1624年，驱逐所有西班牙人；西班牙人以往最目中无人，看去最富有侵略性。1637年，强迫所有葡萄牙人离境，仅留下了荷兰人；荷兰人对传布天主教从未表示过兴趣。此后，只有荷兰人和中国人得到通商的许可，不过通商仅限于长崎港的弟子麻小岛上，并受到严格的限制。这一孤立主义政策到1636年被进一步扩大到日本臣民中，禁止日本人出国，违者处死刑。为了加强这一禁令，幕府还对造船业加以限制，仅允许建造适于沿海贸易的小船。这样，开始了日本长达二个多世纪的闭关自守时期。 制定这一排斥所有外来影响、保持国内现状一尘不变的政策，是为了使德川幕府的统治永存。实际上，这一政策是非常有效的。日本再度统一，并象法国大革命以前任何欧洲国家那样，受到中央集权制政府的彻底、有效的政治控制。但是，为了这种安全和稳定，日本付出了沉重代价。日本没有经历到西欧在这一时期中所经历的种种使自己充满活力的历史变革运动；在日本，封建制度仍在继续，没有宗教改革运动或反宗教改革，没有海外扩张，也没有商业革命。对日本人来说。和中国人一样，两个世纪的令人宽慰的闭关自守的代价是，制度和科学技术方面落后了。这一点，在19世纪中叶欧洲人强行闯入与世隔绝的东亚世界时，变得非常明显；而且，这种明显对日本人来说，较之对中国人来得更快。