Article 4: Isolation Policies in China and Japan

            From becoming one of the most dominant places in Asia to becoming isolated, China’s development began to slow down. China once had the most advance technology in Asia. Their Junks (Chinese ships) were huge allowing for a lot of goods to be carried. Each ship had an army. They also had gunpowder, which allowed them to fight in wars by creating explosions. China had Civil Service Exams that made it easier for people to work by letting them see what jobs were suited for them. The Ming emperor changed China drastically. When Zheng He explored the Indian Ocean, he set up trade there. When he finally returned to China, Zheng He brought cultural diffusion to China from all the different trades. This caused the Ming emperor to stop Zhen He’s voyages and other voyages to other places because he believed in keeping Chinese traditional culture. Chinese traditional culture focused on family, literature, and religion. Cultural diffusion was changing that by bringing different ideas into Chinese tradition. After that China kept its traditional values and didn’t focus on anything else. When the Qing emperor came in, he decided to restrict trade with the Europeans because the Europeans were trying to gain power in coastal cities. China and Europe could now only trade in Canton, leaving China in isolation.

            Unlike China, Japan was able to stay strong after isolation. While they were isolated, Japanese art grew. They started to develop their own unique arts such as Kabuki Theatre. Kabuki Theatre was plays where everyone painted their face white. Other arts such as Haiku (a poem), landscape paintings and Geisha (when women known as concubines entertained the rich) developed. Japan’s isolation lasted nearly 200 years thanks to Emperor Tokagawa Shogunate. Tokagawa Shogunate was a shogun who became emperor around 1600. After seeing how the Europeans took over the Philippines and tried to overpower itself over China, Tokagawa decided to create the National Seclusion Policy in 1635. The isolation policy led to the execution of foreign merchants and Christian missionaries who tried to trade with Japan. The isolation policy also prohibited people from leaving Japan. Merchants and traders became the lowest class in Japan’s feudal system because of this.