Change And Continuity in Canadian Society Over Time

The world had witnessed major changes in East Asia from their society, economy, and political aspects. Concurrently, they also reserve their culture values and fundamental ideologies or belief systems from their pasts. The twentieth century is an era fulfilled with the revolution, war, and reform. These footsteps create the diversity mixture and paint today’s East Asia with its unique color worldwide map.

In the twentieth century, China experienced wars, revolutions, rising cultural criticisms, and social movements form the unique landscape of this era and permeate into the daily lives of people. Modern women have a strong sense of individual liberation. They have new ideas of freedom, inequality, and democracy. Before the twentieth century, education for the traditional Chinese women was restricted by the feudal society. Therefore, their visions were naturally narrow and conservative. However, by the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century, women were being encouraged by western cultures, and their emancipation began to unfold. They stepped out of the concepts and restrictions that were instilled in them by the feudal society, leading to the search for freedom and the desire for education. The May 4th movement is a stage that cannot be neglected in Chinese women's modernization. Women felt the impact of the new culture and directly participated in the May 4th movement. This experience is valuable and shows the transformation of the new and the old centuries. Women were from foot binding to now have the right to choose any designs of the shoes, also and from no occupation control to an extensive employment options. Whether the motive of women’s liberation is to strengthen the people and protect China or for their long-term benefits, the value of the new generation for women has been realized by the public.

Aside from the women’s liberation, the most persuasive change during the twentieth century was the eradication of the drug epidemic that had plagued the country from the Qing dynasty to the early twentieth century. It changes the image of “sick man of East Asia” in the eyes of the world, to prevent becoming today’s Mexico and lay a good foundation for China to build their nation. It is well known that the opium is rampant in the Qing dynasty and invaded all levels of the society from government officials to common people. The opium was not only a scourge to individual health, but concurrently, it affected the politics, diplomacy, military, and economy of the whole country. At the end of the nineteenth century, the Qing dynasty developed from a pure consumer of opium into a drug power that produced, sold and smoked opium and treated opium as a main national revenue. It was only in 1949 that opium cultivation and consumption were thoroughly addressed by the government. Relying on the power of the people, China launched an unprecedented contest with a drug issue. About three years, it solved the problem that has plagued China for centuries. Chinese government persuades people to stop using the opium and farmers to stop growing the poppy, and also includes forced eradication of plants. The government cut off the communication link between buyers and consumers. Through this method, the farmers do not gain any profit. Also, people cannot buy opium, so the price of the opium tumbled after all. Up to now, China has maintained a serious altitude towards drugs and will never tolerate any drug smuggling and purchase.

It was not just China that experienced great changes in the twentieth century, but also Japan. In the early postwar period at the beginning of the twentieth century, Japan had no power oversea and in its nation. The goal for Japan’s foreign strategy by that time was to rejoin the international community and relied on the United stated for supports, which allows the U.S. military to remain in Japan without time-limited. Japan fully accepted the request form the United States and formed an anti-communist military alliance with them. In the mid-1950s, Japan created a favorable international environment for domestic economic development. They also promoted their economic return to the international community and actively carried out economic diplomacy. The purpose of the pursuit of diplomatic independence is to maintain a close relationship with the United States, but not fully bound by them, which will help Japan to improve its international status. The change in Japan is most evident in its economy because Japan has used the fruits of their technological revolution effectively. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Japan experienced an economic boom. Japanese economy experienced second rapid growth in the late twentieth century. At that time, Japan has a huge success in the textile and gaming industries. the United States became their number one consumer.

Although there have been many major changes in East Asia, the respect and inheritance of the culture in the eyes of China, Japan and Korea are unified. They have successfully passed on and publicized the culture of their own countries. Japan retains and continues most of the culture and aesthetics of China’s Tang and Song dynasties, while Korea preserved the most culture and aesthetics from China’s Ming dynasty. In terms of education, China has always maintained its examination policy. Before the twentieth century, “Jingshi” was selected as senior officials in the government based on their test scores in the imperial examinations. After the twentieth century, universities were determined by the results of the Gaokao”, which will determine whether you can get the job you want. Particularly, Japan and China have great continuities in their languages and cultures. They preserve their languages from the nineteenth century. Whereas, Korea was very close to Chinese due to previous governed by the central plain dynasty before the twentieth century. In the twentieth century, Korea began to limit sinicization in their languages to emphasize its own culture.

Those changes and continuities in East Asia in the twentieth century have shaped East Asia today. Each country has its own story, and it is this that will be recorded in history so that prosperity can see the evolution from each century. Events that happened in the past have their values and deserve to be remembered.