COMPARISON BETWEEN JAPANESE AND CHINESE TRADITIONS
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COMPARISON BETWEEN JAPANESE AND CHINESE TRADITIONS Other than their geographical nearness, the countries of Japan and China share many similarities. Both countries have established excellent senses of national identity and extremely rich cultures. Since both countries have existed for quite some time, their histories have crossed during several periods. These nations also share similar value systems and religions, which have influenced each other. However, the Chinese civilization was older than the Japanese one, and since they had commercial and cultural relations, the Chinese culture influenced the Japanese culture in various ways (Brown and John). The Chinese culture is present in the Japanese culture in various fronts like language system and government. The aim of this paper is to compare the Japanese tradition with the Chinese one. Chinese and Chinese cultures have various similarities; yet, they are totally different from each other. Before the two countries had differences, they had various similarities. The main reason for these two cultures to have similarities is because of the Chinese culture having such a huge influence on the Japanese one. One such similarity could be the language used by both countries. Many years back, the Japanese people never had a written language (Morton). However, Japan would acquire a written language after they had interacted with the Japanese people. The written languages of the Japanese and Chinese people are quite similar. This is because the origin of Japan’s Kanji was Chinese symbols. During that time, the use of Chinese written language to create their language proved important for the country’s political unification under their emperor.
The writing system of Chinese people was introduced to Japan around the 5th century AD, but viable adaptation for putting Japanese in written form took place in the 8th century. After acquiring Chinese literacy, Japanese elites got access to over a
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COMPARISON BETWEEN JAPANESE AND CHINESE TRADITIONS Other than their geographical nearness, the countries of Japan and China share many similarities. Both countries have established excellent senses of national identity and extremely rich cultures. Since both countries have existed for quite some time, their histories have crossed during several periods. These nations also share similar value systems and religions, which have influenced each other. However, the Chinese civilization was older than the Japanese one, and since they had commercial and cultural relations, the Chinese culture influenced the Japanese culture in various ways (Brown and John). The Chinese culture is present in the Japanese culture in various fronts like language system and government. The aim of this paper is to compare the Japanese tradition with the Chinese one. Chinese and Chinese cultures have various similarities; yet, they are totally different from each other. Before the two countries had differences, they had various similarities. The main reason for these two cultures to have similarities is because of the Chinese culture having such a huge influence on the Japanese one. One such similarity could be the language used by both countries. Many years back, the Japanese people never had a written language (Morton). However, Japan would acquire a written language after they had interacted with the Japanese people. The written languages of the Japanese and Chinese people are quite similar. This is because the origin of Japan’s Kanji was Chinese symbols. During that time, the use of Chinese written language to create their language proved important for the country’s political unification under their emperor.
The writing system of Chinese people was introduced to Japan around the 5th century AD, but viable adaptation for putting Japanese in written form took place in the 8th century. After acquiring Chinese literacy, Japanese elites got access to over a
Cited: Columbia University Press, 2001. Print. Doctoroff, T. Brown, Ju, and John Brown. China, Japan, Korea: Culture and Customs. North Charleston, South Carolina: BookSurge, 2006 Morton, William S, and J K. Olenik. Japan: Its History and Culture. New York [u.a.: McGraw- Hill, 2005 Schirokauer, Conrad. A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013