Patriotic education is a Chinese people's request for reply.

page views:1 Publication date:2023-03-24

I grew up in Harbin, in Northeast China. Although I sang "The big sword is going to chop off the heads of the Japanese devils..." from a young age, heard my history teacher angrily call the Japanese "Wokou" and "Devils," and saw reports and exhibitions about things like Unit 731, this didn't affect my childhood view of Japan. I remember that in my yearbook, under the "most longed-for place" section, I always wrote "Japan."
Back then, I thought Japanese anime was great, Japanese appliances were useful, and even Japanese ninjas and kendo masters were my idols. I still vividly remember the experience of imitating Japanese swordsmen with a wooden stick when I was a child. Gradually, I grew up and had the opportunity to hear and see more about Japan. This included its not-so-short history, Japanese public opinion about China, Japan's economic strength, and the frequent propaganda about "friendly neighbors" and "separated only by a strip of water."
It can be said that for a considerable period of time, I didn't have any psychological wariness or hostility towards Japan; in fact, I could even say I had a somewhat fawning longing for it. Of course, I had heard about the Nanjing Massacre, Unit 731, the Port Arthur Massacre, and countless other atrocities committed by the Japanese during their invasion; however, I always believed that those things were in the past, and it was enough to remember them. Why hold onto them? Isn't it good that the two countries are friendly? These things have nothing to do with this generation of Japanese people… and so on.

In 2000, I came to Shanghai from Harbin in Northeast China. Living in a foreign land gave me more opportunities to meet different people and experience different things, and also allowed me to think more deeply about some issues.
When I first arrived in Shanghai, people would often ask me, "Do you hate Japan?" when they heard I was from Harbin. At that time, I would tell them, as a Northeasterner, "Northeasterners all hate Japan; they invaded us." But if you asked me to explain specifically what I hated about them, I couldn't say. Because in my mind at that time, I didn't have any emotional attachment to them; I only said these things out of a sense of duty and what was right.

Until that day.

It was a winter night in 2000. A few close friends and I spent the night at a comic book pub near Fudan University (a comic book bar opened by Le Jingyi). That pub is quite well-known in Shanghai, filled with Japanese comics and other books, and has a great atmosphere.
Just then, a waiter with a headscarf approached us and respectfully asked, "Sir, may we chat?" We happily welcomed him, and of course, our first polite question was, "Where are you from?" His reply was clever: "Where I'm from isn't important. I'm from wherever I am. What do you think I'm from?" Then he asked in Shanghainese, "How would you know?" Hearing my friend say he was from Guangdong, he replied in Cantonese, "You know what I mean?" Then, in Mandarin with a Beijing accent, he said to me, "What do you mean?" Based on his appearance and demeanor, we all guessed he was Japanese. He neither confirmed nor denied it, just smiled and said, "That's not important. May I ask you a question?" He borrowed a pen and paper from us, then looked at me very seriously and said, "You're from Northeast China. Do you know this place?" He then fluently wrote two beautiful Chinese characters on the paper: "Fengtian." After writing it, he looked up at me and said, "This place could have been the capital, but unfortunately..." I immediately sensed something was amiss. Perhaps because I was facing a foreigner, it stirred my emotions. I said to him very seriously, "Sir, you've written it wrong. There's no city called Fengtian anymore. Fengtian is now called Shenyang. The era of Fengtian is gone forever."
He smiled and said, "That's not necessarily true."
Then he drew a world map on the paper and said, "This is the world. What do you think of the world? No, because you are an unambitious people. We are not. Our goal is not just Fengtian, the Northeast, or even China. Our goal is—" He drew a large circle on the map and then said powerfully, "The whole world!!!"
I smiled and said, "Who the world belongs to isn't for you to define; everything has its own rules. What makes you think Chinese people aren't ambitious? What makes you look down on a nation with such a rich cultural heritage?"
"You always talk about culture. I deeply respect Chinese culture; I feel I could never fully understand even a tiny fraction of it in my lifetime, which is why I've always studied Chinese culture. But what about you? How much do you Chinese know about your own culture? I could even say that Chinese people understand Chinese culture far less than we Japanese do. What is Confucianism? Why are Confucius and Mencius revered to such a high position? Can any of you explain it?" "
The Doctrine of the Mean and Benevolence—these are the essence of Confucianism." I laid down my limited knowledge of Chinese culture at the time. My feelings were quite complex. Yes, what more could he ask? Could I possibly know? Few of us in this generation were seriously interested in or even studied Chinese culture. How could someone who didn't understand their own culture be qualified to discuss cultural issues with others?
We immediately asked him many questions about China to see if he truly understood Chinese culture. To our surprise, he could clearly and thoroughly explain the process and impact of everything: the first unification of China, the Tang Dynasty's golden age, the minority rule of the Yuan and Qing dynasties, even the "Spring Story." He proudly said, "A nation that doesn't study its own culture is backward and ignorant! It's looked down upon by others!"
I immediately retorted, "Are you Japanese looked down upon? Don't forget the status of Asians in America!"
"Have you been to America? Do you understand America? If not, please don't make judgments. I lived in America for two years, and I think I have more authority to speak on how Asians are treated there than you." "
I was speechless.
'Once I went to buy jewelry and spent a long time choosing, the service staff were all very rude; but when I told her I was Japanese, she immediately helped me choose very respectfully, and even apologized, saying: 'Sorry, I thought you were from Hong Kong. This is respect, the kind of respect you will never enjoy.'
'Do you think they really respect you? It's just because of Japanese money.'
'Even if it's for money, so what? The fact is that people respect Japanese people, not just because of money, but also because Japan is powerful, and because Japanese people have higher standards of conduct than Chinese people.'
'Why do you say Chinese people have low standards of conduct? How many places have you been to?'
'I've been to more than a dozen provinces, definitely more than you've been to. If you want me to explain why, I won't cite other places. I'm currently in Shanghai, which is considered one of the best cities in China, but what do I see? People cross the street like blind people, shoving and jostling like madmen on public transport, spitting everywhere, and younger people verbally abusing their elders in the street. Isn't that true?'
I was speechless again, and my friend chimed in: 'Some people are like that, but that doesn't mean everyone is.'" " We Shenzhen people don't jaywalk or grab seats recklessly."
"Oh? Is that so? I'm sorry, I've never been to Shenzhen. If I have the chance, I'll definitely go and see it." His expression became respectful. This was closer to my past impressions of the Japanese. However, this didn't last long.
"Manners, what are manners? Your children are all kept at home by their parents, afraid they'll suffer. When I was little, my dad made me get up at four every morning to run. At the time, I didn't understand and even resented him a little, but now I'm grateful to my dad because that kind of training forged my willpower and instilled in me the Japanese spirit. How can a strong nation possibly have such a poor foundation?"
"I used to work as a hotel manager in the US. Two people were laid off, one Japanese and one Chinese. They were both under my supervision, and both came to me begging for my help, saying they could handle the job. I didn't favor the Japanese one because he was Japanese. I had them do the same work, and whoever did it best would stay. Unfortunately, neither of them were very skilled. I taught them how to do it and told them to keep doing it well. The Japanese one listened very carefully to everything I said and did a great job, while the Chinese one was lazy and didn't work hard. I had no idea what he was doing. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I yelled at him, 'Get out!'"
"Undeniably, there are people with poor manners, but that doesn't represent everyone. Are you implying that all Chinese people are like that? Many of us work very hard and are very dedicated. Haven't you seen that?"
"Work? You Chinese are best at excluding each other. Do you even know what a team is? You people from two different places look down on each other, let alone a team composed of people from different regions. Chinese people are the most disgusting race; everywhere you look, people from one place look down on people from another."
Actually, much of what he said was what I had always wanted to say, but as a Chinese person, I could only continue arguing with him with mixed feelings.
"What right do you have to say these things? How much do you know about the different regions of China?"
"I've studied both Southern and Northern Chinese people, and I've even done similar reports for the Japanese government." He looked at me and said, "The Japanese have a higher opinion of you. You're like the Japanese, real men, and you unite to fight back when faced with invasion. This has caused us a lot of suffering; while Southern Chinese people are smarter, they're not willing to get involved in sacrifice and effort; so they prefer to develop the economy. But once war breaks out, they will be the easiest to subdue, subjugated slaves."
"You're not allowed to slander my compatriots!" I told him righteously.
"Don't think that Chinese people are so united and great. When South Koreans face national difficulties, the entire nation donates gold to the government. Is that possible in your China???"

I was completely stunned.

Yes, what he said was absolutely true! Is it possible? Everyone can imagine for themselves, would you do it?

"We can leave that aside, everyone has their own thoughts." He returned to the paper, pointed to the map, and said, "Let me introduce you to our 'Great Unification'. This is the world, and in fifteen years, it will belong to us, Japan."
He wrote "Great Unification" in traditional Chinese characters on the paper.
"We don't use traditional characters, sorry sir, please don't write anymore, we can't understand it." We were very angry at his actions.
"It's alright, actually this is also part of your culture. You've even abandoned the characters written by your ancestors." He said with a contemptuous smile.
"Our country has a plan. The whole world watches our cartoons, our TV dramas, uses our appliances, and many people are crazy about Japan. There are quite a few like that in China too, right? You're exposed to foreign cultures, and Chinese people aren't interested in their own. One day you'll wake up and find everything around you belongs to someone else. You won't even have time to regret it! Naturally, one day your land will become ours, because many of you will have already identified with our things, our ideas."

How tragic! What he said is absolutely true. How many people around us are fascinated by Japanese and American products? There are even terms like "Japanophile" and "Koreaophile." In Europe, Big Macs are seen as an invasion of American culture and are boycotted, while a recent survey in China showed that 47% of Chinese children think McDonald's is a Chinese brand. What will the consequences be? Although I verbally retorted, I felt terrible inside. What kind of feeling is that? Can you understand it right now?

"Inferior races shouldn't live so comfortably. We're here to rescue you. There are many like me in Japan, all over the world. We're organized. My father is a veteran, and we all worship the Emperor. I'm not only going to America and China, but also Europe, to spread Japanese culture and ideas throughout the world."
"Come on, you arrogant fool. You keep talking about Chinese culture, but there's one thing you've never learned."
"Oh? What is it? I'd like to ask."
"That's respect. That's something you Japanese will never learn. You think bowing is respect? Absolutely not. A person who doesn't respect others will never earn respect."
"I have no reason to respect you, because you're inferior."

At that moment, I felt a surge of anger inside, but I couldn't express it. I had to maintain the dignity of a Chinese person while enduring a Japanese soldier insulting our entire nation. Using violence would only be barbaric, but what else could we do to him?

"Get out of here! I'm about to hit you!"
"Young man, don't talk nonsense. Hitting me is illegal, but I could kill you and it wouldn't matter. One of our friends did it, and he was safely sent back to Japan. You're already angry enough, so you probably can't listen anymore. Sorry for bothering you."
He left after saying this. On the table were the words "Fengtian, Great Unification" and a hastily drawn but skillfully executed world map.

...After he left, my friends and I fell into deep thought. What he said was so true. Why did it turn out this way?

That night, until dawn, we thought about it a lot.

The next day, I asked the teacher for 20 minutes in class, and I told my classmates from the two majors I was in class with, in a very unskilled but heartfelt way, what I had seen, heard, and thought the day before. (Some of you might remember? 00 Applied Chemistry and 00 Broadcasting) From the moment I stepped onto this stage, I decided: I have no right to change others, but I can tell them that some things are very close to us, some things we need to be wary of, some things we cannot do, and some things we must do!!!
The following year, South Korean youths cut off their fingers in front of the Japanese consulate as a sign of their resolve. Staring at the photo of their pained expressions as they bandaged their fingers afterward, I felt a deep sense of respect.
That same year, a disgraceful Chinese actress was condemned for wearing a robe made from a Japanese military flag. She probably didn't know, and many even sided with her, thinking it was an overreaction. The more I looked at her later, the more disgusted I felt. In August of the same year, Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi visited the Yasukuni Shrine. Seeing Japanese veterans in their WWII uniforms reminded me of many things that Japanese man had said to me.
That winter, I first learned about Wang Xuan's deeds. I wholeheartedly supported this "hero"; in my eyes, she was a heroine. What had the Japanese done to China? At that time, the Japanese department organized a Japanese Culture Week, and I was filled with mixed emotions. Their promotional materials were full of praise for Japan, about how the event strengthened exchanges, and they even held an essay contest. Koizumi had just visited the Yasukuni Shrine, and the Japanese missile threat against China had just occurred. Didn't they know to hold an essay contest about that? Thinking about how some Japanese language students wrote their names in Japanese when adding money to their meal cards, I felt even more infuriated. Did some people learn Japanese just to curry favor with Japan? In front of many people, I tore up all the school's promotional materials—you can be indifferent, but you can't incite others!!!
In the summer of 2002, I went to Shenyang and visited the September 18th Incident Memorial Hall. When I saw the Japanese soldiers' uniforms displayed realistically before me, my heart wept. I really wanted to take them out and burn them, to look at them, and think about what the people who wore those uniforms did decades ago… I simply couldn't bear it!!!
When I left the museum, I left many messages, filling two whole pages. But I felt that no amount of writing could fully express my feelings; it was a true pain! When I have money in the future, I will definitely donate to the September 18th Memorial Hall so that more young people can visit and more people can know that some history cannot be forgotten!!!

Another September 18th has arrived. On this day, in my hometown, Dalian, Shenyang, Harbin, and Changchun, all cars sound their horns for one minute at 10 PM, and all trains in Northeast China sound their whistles. What kind of feeling is it to hear the whistles? It's more like a howl! A howl against all the injustices of the past! —At this moment, I shed tears!!!—An unnamed tear!!!

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