ABSTRACT
Japanese aggression, though incalculably destructive of Chinese lives and economy, would not be as devastating if it had not been preceded by a century of Western imperialism. Western imperialism and colonialism, by disrupting the organic development of the native culture, distorted it into a reflection of the dominant Western culture. Being more concerned with preserving their rule, the Manchus opted for a policy of appeasement, placating the imperialists by bartering away China's national territory and interests in successive treaty concessions. At the same time, the Manchu government distrusted and regarded as enemies Chinese nationalists who urged that further imperialist encroachment be resisted by strengthening the country through systemic reform. Western science and technology are appropriate models for emulation as both are essential to industrialization. Mass mobilization requires an animating and illuminating ideology that both accounts for the problems created by imperialism and proposes solutions to those problems, including especially a program for industrialization and modernization.
