Interaction between different civilizations is known as cross-cultural interaction. Different societies have distinctive ethnicities, races, genders, and even classes. Cross-cultural variations can have an impact on how people interact with one another. The shared institutions, norms, and customs of a community are considered to be a part of that society's culture. It is simply how they choose to live. African cultures are primarily where the idea of harmony and unity in variety is applied. The evolution of culture is recognized as a normal process. The way individuals treat one another is primarily influenced by the aspect of culture and whether they are of the same gender, class, and race or share the same ethnicity. The following essay will comprehensively present an explanation of a concept regarding cross-cultural interactions and the consequences caused by such interactions. It will describe the principle using three selected incidences including but not limited to opium wars that took place in China.
Opium Wars
The opium wars are identified as two wars that occurred in the mid-19th century. It involved Anglo-Chinese conflicts over British trade that was happening in China together with China’s tyranny. The controversy involved two phases’ the initial opium war which occurred between 1839 and 1842 and the final opium war which took place between 1856 and 1860.The combats and phenomena between them enfeebled the Qing genealogy. In addition, it coerced China to carry out merchandising with other parts of the globe.
The first opium combat (180-1842), involved conflicting perspectives on diplomatic associations, trade together with the dispensation of judicial proceedings in China. In both the 17th and 18th centuries, desire for Chinese merchandise in Europe formed a trade disparity between Qing Imperial China and the Great Britain. Eventually, European Silver proceeded into China via the Canton model, which cramped incoming remote market to the southern dock city of Canton. To counter the disparity, the British East India Company commenced to carry out auctioning of opium that was grown in India to unconventional outside merchandisers in exchange for silver. This nourished its merchandising impact in Asia. The opium was conveyed to Chinese coast. The local middlemen in Chinese made huge profits from selling the drug in China. It made an increment in the number of addicts. The results were frustrating to the Chinese administrators.
The first combat thereafter was as a result of resistance from the Cantons to Britain’s independent-trade desires and practices. The legal market in opium was identified as the only controversial cause. In an attempt to put a halt to the trade, Chinese instituted high import charges and a variety of restrictions on the aspect of distance trading. For this reason, the British sought a pretext for a dispute when China illegalized importation of opium and also confiscated shipment of opium by the British. In regard to this, the Britain’s denied the legitimate affairs of China regarding its ban of opium.
After the treaty identified as Nanjing was signed, China and Britain experienced disagreements as they were in a dilemma whether foreigners were permitted to make entry into the walled city, Guangzhou. This was the beginning of the second war. The city was opened in July 1843, however the British still faced opposition from the Cantonese. It is in 1847 when there was the start of trouble. The British were officially allowed into the city in 1849 but troubles and conflicts became more intense.
It is evident that the opium wars that existed between the British and Chinese empire was as a result cultural-interaction aspect. The first opium combat emerged as a result of differences in cultural beliefs and values between the two nations. The number of addicts was growing rapidly and it did not please the Chinese Cantons and therefore ordered a ban on the importation of opium. On the other hand, the second opium war was contributed by differences in ethnicity and race. The Cantonese did not want the British trespassing the Guangzhou city. It was because of the distinction in their races. In addition, class has a way of bringing about influence to those individuals who are considered to be lower in the social classes. The gentry living in Guangdong commenced to construct a more-formalized anti-foreign model which promoted militarization of the village community. The Guangzhou was taken to be a center of transmission of xenophobia since the scholars found at the town’s great academics made proclamations on the Confucian approach that stated that uncultured barbarians ought to be excluded.
Meiji Restoration
The Meiji Restoration is identified as a political and social revolt that occurred in Japan between 1866 and 1869. It is associated with ending the competence involving the Tokugawa Shogun and embarked the emperor to an intermediate position in the aspect of Japanese diplomacy and discernment. It is named after the Meiji emperor who acted as the figurehead for the revolution. In the occasion when prominent Commodore Perry of U.S steamed into identified Edo Bay in the year 1853 and made demands on the allowance of foreign administrator’s access to the market by the Tokugawa Japan, he unwittingly commenced a series of activities which enhanced Japan’s establishment as a modernized imperial administrator.
Japan’s political associated elites perceived that the U.S together with other nations were ahead of Japan when it came to their level of military technology. They felt threatened and at risk in their relations with the Western Imperialism. Powerful Qing China had been sabotaged by Britain fourteen years priory during the occurrence of the First opium combat. It was evident it would experience a bitter challenge in the second opium war that would lead to their loss.
Rather than experience suffering from a similar fate, some of the elites in Japan sought to lock the doors even firmer against the influence from the foreign nations. However, the higher foresighted Japan commenced organizing a modernization focus. They felt the essence of possessing strong emperors at the middle of Japan’s political institution to project Japanese strength and also fend off imperialism from the West.
The Japanese government made reforms since it was saddened by the prevailing incident. It learnt a lesson that for it to enhance maintenance of its independence and attain equal treatment, it was essential to empower its military. By 1904, the moment when Russians were threatening to overpower Korea, Japan was prepared and much stronger. It conquered Russia and overcame them in 1905.It, therefore, established itself as a colonial administrator in East Asia.
The Meiji reformations led to massive changes both inside and outside Japan in global affairs; this happened because of the binding charter oath number 2 which required the members regardless of their class to come together in administering to the state. Japan empowered itself to remain adamant as a sovereign country in the face of all Western colonizing administrators. It eventually became a colonizing controller. Japanese individuals commenced asking for more value in the state and requested for more social rights and freedoms. At that time, the Japanese society together with the political system was bolder than ever. Japan experienced a fatal economic depression at the final seasons of the World War Limits political party was filled with acts of corruption. On the other hand, its government and military forces grew more powerful. The developed industrial sector eventually became increasingly administered by minority great businesses. Japan’s international association was affected by trade associated tensions together with advancing international disapproval of its activities that were progressing in China. Its success in their competition with other European administrators in East Asia empowered the ideology that Japan could further enlarge its effect on the Asian land by the utility of military force.
The necessity for Japan regarding the natural resources and the regular rebuffs from the powers of the West to Japan’s strive to enlarge its control in Asia paved a better way for the military to gain more power. Insecurity in a variety of international relations enhanced a right-wing militarist element to administer initial foreign then later domestic approach. In 1941, Japan successfully bombed Pearl Harbor.
The most vital element associated with the Meiji Restoration concept was the struggle of Japan to attain recognition involving its considerable attainment and also to gain equality and fairness with Western countries. Japan was massively successful in planning an industrial and capitalist state on the identified western models. However, when Japan also started to utilize the lessons it gained from the European imperialism, there were adverse reactions from the West. In that essence, Japan’s principal handicap was that it made an entrance into the identified Western dominated universe order at a later stage. Colonialism together with the racist idea that tangled along with it, were taken to be too entrenched in Western states to enhance an ‘upstart,’ nonwhite nation to make their way into the race concerning natural resources and trades at a fair level. Most of the disparities that existed between the western nations and Japan came from the sense of separation of Japan by the West. The West dealt with the European countries at a different standard than it did with Japan which was in the process of rising.
Scramble for Africa, India and South-East Asia
The principal justification given by the European nations for colonizing Asia, Africa and South East Asia was because of the moral together with the technological superiority involving the Western parts. The European countries perceived it as a way to spread their way of life and consequent increase the living standards of the places they colonized. The European nations had motives involving the welfare of the country they colonized. In accordance to most of the instruments and documents instituted, assimilation into the universe enhanced the economy of the colonized country. Therefore, it made an increment in the overall well-being of that particular nation. Also, the colonized state would transfer the current technology and other aspects of medicine to other parts of the country. The colonized country usually utilized the technology under administration of the colonizer. An excellent example of such a scenario is that of India. India advanced massively and benefited widely from the art of industrialization that was introduced to them by the British. However, in the realization that India was intelligent and wise regarding industrialization by the British and that there will be reduced availability of valuable raw resources for them, they stopped the process of manufacturing. They left India to suffer and in distortion.
The European superpowers scrambled for Africa merely because they had a clear understanding that Africa had a lot of raw materials that were suitable for their industries and would enhance their industrialization process in their homeland. Also, they felt that assimilation of African cultures as they considered African way of living as dull and inferior to theirs which was sophisticated. Also, they colonized Africa, India and South-East Asia in the approach of mortal transfer. They claimed to spread Christianity and came as missionaries.
It is therefore evident that the main reason as to why European nations scrambled over Africa, India and South-East Asia is because they discriminated the nations by their social class. The superpowers felt that they were superior to the mentioned nations and therefore made a decision to colonize them to be at level with them regarding gentry. Also, their social class led them to believe that they were more powerful than the nations they colonized and gave them enough confidence to subjugate such nations. It is for the same reason that the effect of racism has forever been inexistence and is difficult to change. Stereotypes emerged from that colonization period and on the other hand, make different attempts to gain equality after long years of experiencing oppression due to the difference in social classes.
Conclusion
Culture interprets the way of life as carried out by a particular group belonging to a specific society. Each society upholds a different set of cultural values, norms, practices, customs and beliefs. What is taken to be right and just in a specific community may be wrong and immoral in another due to differences in culture. At one point, there is an occurrence of cross-cultural interactions, and they take place because of a series of reasons like travelling, work, education, games and sports or even comic dentally. Cross-cultural interactions may have both positive and negative implications. Gender, race, ethnicity and class are significant factors that influence cross-cultural interactions. For example, racism is widespread as whites never want to get associated with the Blacks. It is essential to mobilize movements that yearn for equality and also preach the importance of harmony and unity despite cultural differences among groups.
Bibliography
Baumler, Alan, 1965, Modern China and Opium: A Reader, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 2001. https://catalog.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/find/Record/.b2546951/TOC#tabnav (accessed December 4, 2017)
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Crystal, David. Crystal: english as a global language. Cambridge University Press, 2012
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Wu, Qingyun. Female rule in Chinese and English literary utopias. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse Univ. Press, 1995.
The Meiji Government. The Charter Oath (of the Meiji restoration), 1968. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/charter_oath_1868.pdf (accessed December 4, 2017)
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