Re-Understanding Japan

"To many Chinese, the rise and expansion of Japanese power during the years between the two Sino-Japanese wars (1895-1945) presented a paradox: With its successful modernization, Japan became a model to be emulated; yet as the country's imperial ambitions on the continent grew, it posed an ever-increasing threat. Drawing on an extraordinary array of source materials, Lu Yan shows that this attraction to and apprehension of Japan prompted the Chinese to engage in a variety of long-term relationships with the Japanese." "At the center of Lu Yan's study are four diverse yet significant case studies: military strategist Jiang Baili, literary critic and essayist Zhou Zuoren, Guomindang leader Dai Jitao, and romantic poet turned Communist Guo Moruo. In their public and private lives, these influential Chinese formed lasting ties with Japan and the Japanese. While their writings reached the Chinese public through the print mass media and served to enhance popular understanding of Japan and its culture, their activities in political, cultural, and diplomatic affairs paralleled significant turns in Sino-Japanese relations." "Based on archival documents, personal memoirs, correspondence, interviews, and contemporary literary works, Re-understanding Japan delineates diverse approaches in Chinese efforts to engage Japan in China's modern reforms. Although they recognized the importance of Japan, these Chinese nevertheless could not agree on which Japanese model to emulate or what approach to take to deal with the Japanese threat. Regardless of whether their experiments succeeded or failed, however, the thoughts and actions of these men, as recounted in this analysis, illustrate the different paths taken by Chinese to rediscover and re-understand Japan in modern times."--Jacket.