HIST 3760 Lecture : HIST 3760A Modern Japan- Western Learning and Nativism in the Tokugawa Period
Document Summary
Western learning and nativism in the tokugawa period: nativism is also called national learning . In the eyes of the chinese, the more foreigners adopted the views of. Confucianism, the more they were seen highly by the chinese. Japanese had a long tradition of borrowing from the mainland asia: accepted china as their cultural mentor, but not as a political hegemony, this helps explain why japan was more open to western knowledge. China was not ruling japan: chinese were more inclined to reject western notions of knowledge- for example, Ricci"s finding that china was not the biggest or at the center of the world. Jesuits were advanced troops of westernized civilization- they were given the very best that they could offer to the chinese. Jesuits have translated texts to the chinese language: chinese was not interested in learning latin or portuguese- they figured that if it was important enough, it would be translated into chinese.
