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Essay on Compare The Perceptions Of The Outside World In Traditional Japan And In China
Introduction
China
Chinese civilization is one of the great achievements of the human spirit. Although many of its ancient forms and traditions are gone, the people most touched by it -- Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, and Vietnamese -- continue to show remarkable vitality in comparison with most non-Western societies. The grandeur and pretensions of the Confucian Way have crumbled, and the Confucian family system is no more, but the basic cast of personality that made China great still exists.
To the extent that the character of the Chinese has persisted, China's potential for greatness has been continuous.
The puzzle that has been China grows more perplexing with the decades. Yet China in all its various forms has much to teach the rest of the world. Traditional China may reveal more about social order and political stability than any other society. The Chinese imperial system was the most enduring major political system in world history.
For more than two millennia, from the second century B.C. until 1911, the Chinese essentially adhered to one form of government and, with only modest modifications, one political philosophy. Why did this amazing system of public order persist for so long?
In contrast to the theme of stability that characterized traditional China, the story of modern China is that of revolution -profound, intense, violent, and protracted. Like most non-European countries, China has been caught up in the complex problems of modernization, but the challenge has been more massive for the Chinese.
For more than one hundred years they have been experiencing profound social change, and for decades they have lived through violence -- political upheavals, civil wars, and foreign conquests. Behind the political and military turmoil lie deep intellectual and moral issues: The Chinese have grappled with the perplexing questions of how they should relate their traditions to....
