Japan

Most Chinese despise the Japanese. This may seem like a bit of an over generalization, but really, it's true. Especially here in Shandong province, where the Japanese did commit some horrible acts on the locals during the 20th century, the Japanese are hated. (A ship converted into a museum now sits in the main harbor in Weihai; the museum contains mostly pictures of the torture and atrocities performed on the locals at the time. It seems, however, to serve the purpose of stoking animosity towards the Japanese rather than respectfully honoring the victims.) This hatred is somewhat forgivable for the generation that lived through such horror, but I can't forgive the younger generations for harboring such hatred. A similar situation occurs when people today associate all Germans with Nazis; most of the people alive in Germany today had nothing to do with WWII and weren't even born when it occurred.

Here, the Chinese have been virtually taught to hate the Japanese, even if they have not directly experienced anything to warrant such hate. Sure, Japan does add fuel to the fire by honoring its war heroes that committed the acts, but that doesn't justify extending the hostilities between the countries.

I was having dinner with a student of mine a few days ago and we were discussing which second language he should begin in the spring. (English majors are required to learn a second language, be it French, German, or Japanese, starting their sophomore year.) I was encouraging him to learn either German or Japanese: German for its literature, or Japanese because of its relative usefulness in business and improving the relations between the two countries. He seemed to have little desire to improve the relations, which is surprising because he is generally one of my more reflective students. It seems that this issue is immune to much rationality. Though other issues are open to be explored, this one is already decided by the curriculum, by the government, by society. He then told me that another one of my students indeed "hates the Japanese," to quote. I asked why, and he replied that this student hates them solely because he is from Shandong province. No other reason but that.

A few days later, I was attending the English department's welcome celebration/performance for the new freshman, which featured songs, choreographed dances, skits, and martial arts. During one of the martial arts routines, a student with nunchucks broke through a wooden board that roughly translated to "The Chinese are the weakness of the East Nation," which was meant to recall the audience's distaste for the Japanese. It worked, and the crowd cheered.

It's scary that such a large mass of people can be convinced so thoroughly of a belief, especially one based solely on the complete hatred of another. Then again, look at politics in America and the division between right and left. How different is this situation, with each party incessantly demonizing the other until only hatred remains the common bond?


Below, a different performance given by some of my students.