Active Resistance of Asia in Globalization Process

刘经纬

Abstract：The purpose of this journal is to indicate the important and role of China， India and Japan in the process of Globalization in the 19th and 20th centuries. Inthe face of colonial invasion of European empires， these three Asian countries showed us an impressive way in resisting globalization and colonization when they were in a weak position. Combining with historian John Darwins book After Tamerlane， the author deeply analyzes how China， India and Japan got rid of “Europe-centred” power control in the process of globalization in their own way.

Key Words：History； Asian；European empires； resistance；globalization

In the historical context of global trend in modern world economy and politics， John Darwins attacks on “Europe-centred world history” give audiences a new perspective which emphasizes the collision and interactions among Eurasiancountries by putting the history of Europe and Asia in a whole framework. In his book， After Tamerlane， Darwin introduces the background of thenew “world economy” and “world politics” which produces Eurocentric world order and colonialism. （257） I will argue that the failed attempts of colonization of Western world in 20th centuryhighlights the importance of China， India and Japan in taking the initiative reform as a way to fight again the colonial invasion of European empires. In other words， China， India and Japan got involved in contemporary world in a motivating process.

First of all， the consolidation of the regime and culture inthe Qing dynasty between late 17thto 18th century did strengthen Chinas ability against European expansion in 19th century. It is worth to mention that the political environment of the Qing dynasty was unfavorable to Manchus authority. It faced the double pressure from internal and external power. Based on the map “Ching expansion to 1760”， the missing territory of South China indicated the rebellion of Feudatories. （129） If the Qing dynasty continued threatening by Feudatories inside and foreign power outside， there is no doubt that the Dalai Lama empire in Tibet would take advantage of the mess to seize the land of the Qing dynasty， then the collapse of this new born dynasty would come soon. In this case， maintaining territorial integrityis particularly important to the Manchus survival. Therefore， the Emperor Kang-hsis success in suppressing dominant rebellion and expelling foreign powers on the border in the late 17thcentury has significant meaning for China to maintain the equilibrium with Europe. On the other hand， securing a unified territory was also an essential requisite of the series of political reform. The stronger centralism system allowed the Qing emperors disarmed the local power and controlled the Manchus army ‘bannermen by themselves. The innovation of Grand Council and ‘palace memorial system strengthened this centralized-power system. Darwin criticizes that the Qing emperor had found a “formula for external security and internal peace”. （130） Thus， the stability of politics brought good chance to economic development.During 1723-1796， Chinas population increased three fold； a lot of wastelands were reclaimed； the mainland trade also expanded. （130） The series of developments of politics and culture represent a period of great prosperity has come. Indeed， Darwin concluded that the internal trade of the Qing dynasty in the late 17thcentury should be the same or even larger than contemporary Europe （130）， and its power reached the peak in second half of the 18thcentury for Chinas manufactures had high reputation in the western world. （105） In my point of view， the continuous accumulations of wealth and the mature centralization system laid foundation of “social solidarity” which just strengthened the Qing dynasty for the crisis years after 1890. （276） Moreover， another important solidarity is about culture. At the beginning of the Qing dynasty， the main contradiction between Manchus and Han Chinese was around the Confucian system. After solved the territorial crisis， one of the most important things that Kang-hsi did was promoting Confucian culture. Darwin specifically explains that the Confucian was a kind of gentry culture to the Qing dynasty which emphasized the importance of hierarchy and ritual in order to maintain social order and cohesion. （131） I think this cultural reform is very crucial in regard to keep social cohesion during the crisis of China after 1890. The persistence in Confucian culture was finally embodied in national cohesion of Tung-chih restoration， which Darwin interprets that Chinese people were unwilling to change to Western model. （275） On the one hand， the reforms of politics and culture did make the Qing dynasty become the super power in Asian area before the violent confrontation with Europeans. （131）On the other hand， the reforms are key factors which strengthen Chinas power to resist Europeans. Especially， although the empires wealth lost greatly since the Opium War in 1840， Chinese got the foundation from vast territory and strong border closureswhich discouraged Europeans aggression in turn. While Darwin emphasizes the influence of European side that forciblymade China integrate into the Europeansinternational system through the unequal treaties， the social cohesion of China actually stopped Europeansinvasion at semi-colonial state.

From another perspective， the function of the stable politics and well-developed economy to the Qing dynasty in the 19thcenturyjust corresponds to Darwins statement of the key factors that Afro-Asia really needed to resist Europeans. He argues that “security zone” and “network” are two essentials for survival. （259） A large enough land which does not have internal competition and external threat could secure the stability of political authority； and an elaborate network made it possible for movement of people， goods and information. （259） After suppressed the rebellion of the Feudatories， the Southern part also controlled by Manchus. Plus the strict restrictions on border trade ports， the Chinas policy of seclusion had been realized. Certainly， the implement of the seclusion policy is a proof for Chinas elaborate “network” as well. It is impossible for the Qing dynasty to close the door and refuse to trade with Westerns if they did not have an elaborate network allowing collection and distribution of taxes， food， luxury goods and essentials. The “security zone” and “network” which was shaped in the early period of the Qing dynasty did create a good condition for China to resist European commercial and diplomatic commands in the 19th century.

Different from Chinas rebellion in simple sense， the kind of push-pull relation between India and the British Empire indicates how India colony utilized the advantage of British to complete its transformation from the imperialist system. At the very beginning， the Mughal Empire also achieved the equilibrium with Europe in the middle of 17thcentury. Darwin describe India in this period as the centre of textile trade which exported cotton cloth to the Middle East， West Africa and Europe. （144） However， this great empire was the first one fall under European domination after 1750. The declining of the Mughal Empire again proved Darwins argument of the importance of the “security zone” and “network” in regard to resist European conquest. Those were what India just lacked in this period.The wealth and well-developed economy of the Mughal Empire were first coveted by internal forces like Maratha，and soon turned into a disintegrated state by the predatory behavior of Maratha， Rohilla （Afghan） and Pindari （mercenary） in 1739. （146） Relate this period of India to the beginning of the Qing dynasty， Kang-hsi was lucky for precisely avoided the simultaneous attack from both sides. However， Darwin states that the British intervention after 1765 actually rescued India in a sense. （146） His comment is reasonable because the British Empire restored the the stability of integrity of India from the struggle. The British extraction of benefits in India colony is obvious. On the one hand， India provided funds and military resources to the British Empire for supporting British army and funding new Wars. The “land taxation” that the British received from Bengal is a good example. Moreover， the colony made it possible for the English East India Company to recruit a loyal and professional army as a “battering ram”. （264） In other words， British Empire can easily get benefits without undertaking great price. Darwin named this colonial approach as “self-propelling colonialism”. （264） On the other hand， India was soon turned into “bridgehead” which provided the advantage condition for British Empire to open Chinas ports and further protect British trade in South East Asia. （266） However， relations between the British Empire and India are nothing like ties between ally， but there were all kinds of interests there. This relation reflects the weakness of the tiewhich could be broken at any time due to external changes. Indeed， according to what Darwin wrote， the British Empire was forced to admit the independence of India in the crisis of 1942 due to the economic crisis. （435） This surprising reversal depended on the revolt of Indian military and persisting of nationalism which worked together to leave the British Empire a much-troubled situation. Although the military rebellion， which was caused by the dissatisfaction to the British officers and fewer benefits，ended in failure； it truly effected Britishs views of Indian empire， thereby deteriorating the relation between the British Empire and India. If we see India and the British Empire as clearly-divided camps in the rebellion of Indian soldiers， then the bloodless cultural revolution was a smart innovation which intertwined with Western model.Gandhis theory is a typical example. He precisely noticed that the essence of British rule is a mental hegemony. Darwin also states that it is really hard for colonists to displace the local culture， therefore， the cooperation between colonists and native people conducted by a kind of “cultural conduct” which means Westerns infiltratedtheir culture through “print media， cheap travel and educational institutions”. （347） Thus， once Indian people rejected to admit the rule of British， then colonial rule of the British Empire would collapse. Not only get inspired by Western model， India also took advantage of Western modeland used it to develop itself. In other words， the Indian elites did not only resist colonial rule by their native culture， they but also incorporated British model to promote the cultural resistance. For this case， Darwin raised Bengal as an example. The intellectuals were committed to strengthen the cultural elements of Bengal while embracing English education. （343）Specifically， they even adapted Western-style history to propagate native cultural and political awareness. （343） In the case of how the colonized region politically and culturally to resist European invasion， Indians showed us a new model. They provided land and funds for British plunder in Asia as a bridgehead； yet， they in turn absorbed the British model and got rid of the colonial rule at the appropriate time through cultural and internal resistance. This relatively complicated struggle process compare to China is actually helpless. It is because the disintegrated state of Mughal Empire in 1700s did not allow it have strong and unified cultural and military force to against Western power. However， from another perspective， British colonists actually saved India and helped it achieve domestic peace， which again proved Darwins statement of “British rescued India” to some extent.

As for Japan， while the clear geostrategic advantage helped it achieve equilibrium with Europe in the 17thand early 18th century； the series of European-style modernization reforms in 1800s quickly made Japan stand out from the complicated colonial struggles inAsia. Both of these two factors lay the foundation for its advanced expansion in China in 1900s as a powerful force in Eurasian context. In early modern time， Japans geopolitical advantage was shown by the development of economy. Since Japan is an island which made it possible to decline the outside influence to minimum level. Therefore， I think the seclusion policy contributes to economic growth in this period. Although Darwin argues that the seclusion policy of Japan was partly caused by the fear of “bullionist” and partly motivated by Chinas denial to the position of Japan. （134） However， in a positive sense， I also believe that the seclusionpolicy is a perfect chance for Japanese to create its “mercantilist self-sufficiency” which did not rely on foreign trade. （135） Except its tremendous success in developing commercial economy depending on the rich nature， I personally think the self-sufficiency combined with Japans geopolitical advance were important reasons to Japan to avoid the risk of being colonized in 1900s. Moreover， Darwins statement of “network” once again provides strong theoretical basis this point. In the short term， the seclusion and geostrategic advantage promoted Japans equilibrium position in Eurasia； yet， in the long term， the geostrategic advantage kept Japan out of Europeans colonization blueprint. Just like what Darwin explains， no matter from which angle， the continental mainland is comparatively remote to Japan. Another key factor which contributed to the rapid development of Japan was the success of Meiji restoration in 1895. While there is a general belief that states Tung-chih restoration of China as a reaction to the invasion of Western powers， then I think the Meiji restoration was a more drastic reform which achieved modernization ahead of Westerns. Besides， taking place of China and becoming the new super power of Asia were benefited from stepping ahead of modernization， which further was an important prerequisite for the Datsua-ron （‘Leave Asia， enter Europe） theory. （355） Japan， as an Asian country which achieved a new equilibriumwith Europe through its victory in the Sino-Japanese War， soon stated its standpoint. Darwin interpreted that Japan did not want to be “little brother” to the Western imperialists. （354） Japan did not aim to ally with the Western powers； instead， Japan desired the leadership of Asia. （355） On the one hand， the theory of Datsua-ron represented the political ambitious of Japan； yet， from a more interesting perspective， this theory once again proved Europeans failure of incorporatingAsia in contemporary world forcibly. Instead， Japan did not only get rid of the colonization； it but also soon got equal position with Western powers. The developments of Japan from 1700s to 1900s are great example to prove how it got involved in contemporary world by initiativereforms.

In his book， Darwin illustrates that the European way of treating other countries people and culture was no longer an “authorized version”， and Europe should be regarded neither the pivot of change， nor the agent that caused the series of passive civilization in the non-Western world. （14） To some extent， Darwins statement reflectsa version of globalization. Under the framework of Eurasia， the resistances of China， India and Japan are particularly valuable since they used the active reforms to against the Europeanscommercial and diplomatic invasion. Therefore， although violence is the main way of Europeans to enter in Asia， the thrust of active reforms was far greater than the pull that Europe brought.

[Work Cited]

[1]Darwin， John. After Tamerlane： How Empires Rise and Fall. Penguin， 2008.

（作者單位系丹佛大学）