Why China Initially Supported Japan - Sarah Paine

Why It Matters

Understanding this early pro-Japanese sentiment clarifies why Chinese reformers initially looked to Japan as a template for modernization and national liberation, a dynamic that complicates later Sino-Japanese hostility and regional memory politics.

Summary

Sarah Paine explains that early Chinese revolutionaries, including Sun Yat-sen, celebrated Japan’s 1905 victory over Russia as an “east over west” triumph and a model to emulate. Japanese success was seen as proof that an Asian power could modernize and defeat a waning Manchu-led Qing dynasty, aligning with Han nationalist aspirations. That admiration grew from Japan’s rapid modernization and its decisive military action, not from any endorsement of future aggression. Paine notes the later second Sino-Japanese war would shatter this view as Japan’s invasion produced widespread brutality and mass Chinese casualties.