Questions on Asian History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Questions on Asian History - Essay ExampleThe Nipponese aspirations for Chinese territories culminated in 1920, when lacquer invaded Manchuria and finally in 1931, established the state of Manchukuo (Thomas). The establishment of Manchukuo was only a historical precedent, which marked the beginning of the Japanese onslaught of China, culminating in 1937. The relations between Japan and the United States between 1900 and 1931 are much more controversial, than the ones with China. Up until WWI, the relations between the 2 countries were marked by political balance and mutual trade agreements. Until 1930 Japan and the US enjoyed a tradition of good and peaceful relations. During the Meiji dynasty and the modernization of Japan, the country imported knowledge and technology, as well its political ideas from the developed democracies in Europe, but also from the United States. The tradition of acquaintance and support however was broken after the Japanese onslaught of Manchuria in 1 930. This act was perceived by the United States as an act of territorial aggression, and it was controversial to the ideas of universal human rights and liberal institutionalism, which the country was fervently promoting. Japanese human rights violations in China were the main reasons for the rapid deterioration of the Japanese US relations in the early twentieth century. The relations between Japan and China and Japan and the US between 1900 and 1931 are contrasting. The Japan-Chinese relations were historically marked by hostility not only because of the different paths of modernization that the two countries chose at the end of the nineteenth century, but because of the Japanese imperial ambitions and expansionist policies. The Japanese American relations however were marked by traditional friendship until 1931. This changed dramatically with the Japanese invasion of Northern China (Manchuria). The invasion was considered by the US as a major violation of the general tendency towards a universal human rights agenda, which was gaining momentum after WWI. How did the Nationalist Party unify China during the 1920s? The unification of China in the 1920s was largely influenced by the ideological platform of the Nationalist Party (the Kuomintang - KMT) which was founded in 1912. This platform professed a unique blend of Chinese subject fieldism, ethnicity and national unification. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, China was tatterdemalion by a series of riots and civil wars between warlords. The popular demand for social and political reforms was growing. Although China did not fight many wars with foreigners, Chinese national identity is based on the ideal of national superiority and the spiritual uniqueness of the Chinese nation, compared to other nations (Hsu, Murphy). This historical perception of Chinese identity became the ideological base of the Chinese Nationalist Party. It was embraced and implemented as such by the first leader of the Chi nese Nationalist Party - Dr.Sun Yat-sen. His vision of a greater Chinese society, bound by the idea of the state, became the political mechanism for the unification of the country in 1928. It was also transformed into a military strategy, resulting in the so-called Northern expedition, which unified China under