Asian Responses to Imperialism 

Introduction

Middle East and Asia are affected by European Imperialism

-Affects millions of people (especially workers); only some wrote records of their experience (mainly intellectuals)

-Mishra’s book, “The Ruins of the Empire…”

-Derived from 3 Asian thinkers: Sayyid…Al-Afghan, Liang Qichao, Rabindran Tagore from India, they imagined their role in this new world

Start of European Imperialism in Asia

-China: the Opium wars destroys Summer Palace in 1860

-Muslims: Al-Afghani, “chain up… servitude… humiliate insult… call them savages… consider them insane animals.”

-Asians realize Europe’s ability to dominate was due to superior industrial technology and organization

Responses in the Sense of Reform

-Ottoman Empire: Tanzimat calls to study more science and philosophy

-Ends up being expelled from Istanbul

-Chinese intellectual attempt to adopt western education way

-They praise wisdom, while westerners relied on human strength

-Kang Youwei: Chinese reformers, attempts to update Confucianism for the modern world

What to take from Europeans?

-Asians found Europe’s strength to base from political organization; particularly into nation-states

-1879: Al- Afghani encourages Muslims to begin to see themselves as a nation

-to be specifics, Culturally unified people

-India’s views on nationalism: some wanted a state organized around the concept of Hinduism; but it includes the ideas of caste divisions so therefore it would not assist with political unity

-Some worried that the adoption of too many European ideas would lead to it “losing its soul”

Japan Adopts Nationalism

-Japan shows a great example of European nationalism through industrialization, centralized power, and a little liberal constitutionalism

-Set out their own imperial expansion, to build a strong nation-state

Intellectuals Take On

-By early 20^th century, Asians look beyond western models, instead they look to movements: Pan-Asianism, and pan-Arabism

-The 3 intellectuals end up looking to their traditional as a source of power and strength

-Loss belief in the idea of a liberal democracy

-Al- Afghani claims the best shield from the west was Islam

-Attacking religions weakens the tie that holds communities together

-He also believe that Quran had their own reformation calls, in other words, transformation of the society is internal

-Lian Qichao: Source of reformation was through state

-Chinese are to allow authoritarian rules, which meant no freedom for the people

-Visits to Untied States made Qichao more convinced that he made the right choice

Indian Views

-Mahatma Gandhi: claims western modernism lacks spiritual freedom and social peace, as well as rejection of industrial revolution

- Rabindranath Tagore ( Bengali poet, writer, and composer), his message to the west: “Modern civilization, built upon the cult of money and power was inherently destructive and needed to be tempered by the spiritual wisdom of the East.”

-But on the contrary says that “the age belongs to the west and humanity must be grateful.”

Conclusion

-We look at the failure of Asian reformation and see them as unfit of the use they could make of the west

-Asia thinks we’re critical of the west

-Asians are no victims of imperialism’s ideology, as they continue to influence the west