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And thus for a very long time, and even today to some extent, the Japanese (or their cultural theorists at any rate!) have viewed themselves as the inheritors o

And thus for a very long time, and even today to some extent, the Japanese (or their cultural theorists at any rate!) have viewed themselves as the inheritors of "true" Ancient Chinese culture -- unsullied by Mongol/Manchu/Communist influence. There's some truth to this. The Japanese preserved certain Tang Dynasty customs which were lost to China, and they have some of the best collections of Tang-era artifacts. This line of thought was, however, used in very unfortunate WWII-era propaganda, like "we have to invade China to rescue its civilization, only we can do this!"

samudrijan 2mo ago
They resent our freedoms!
- toast0 2mo ago
  That was nice of them. I don't know if everyone would have sent them again!
geokon 2mo ago
In my experience the Chinese very much think this as well. Though it can be framed in a more derogatory way as "derivative" or "they just copied us" I'd argue its difficult to find major aspects of Japanese culture that don't trace back to ancient China (maybe the language, eating raw food and sumo)
- einichi 2mo ago
  Shinto is a big one
- IAmBroom 2mo ago
  Sushi is exceedingly modern. It's "derived" from a fish preservation method... which relies on salting and fermenting, so not really "raw" (more like sauerkraut than shredded cabbage).
  - geokon 2mo ago
    I had no idea! Very interesting. Even though it's so central to people's regional identity and general culture, a lot of Chinese food also has surprisingly recent origins. It's especially surprising b/c people generally are quite orthodox about their cooking and are rarely "experimental" (as in the west) - like the high brow seriousness surrounding sushi with it's standards and traditions. So it gives it a sense of historical gravity that's not actually there
    - IAmBroom 2mo ago
      That's a great point! The ritualistic "dressing" of sushi makes it seem ancient and enshrined.

samudrijan 2mo ago

They resent our freedoms!

toast0 2mo ago
That was nice of them. I don't know if everyone would have sent them again!

geokon 2mo ago

In my experience the Chinese very much think this as well. Though it can be framed in a more derogatory way as "derivative" or "they just copied us" I'd argue its difficult to find major aspects of Japanese culture that don't trace back to ancient China (maybe the language, eating raw food and sumo)

einichi 2mo ago
Shinto is a big one
IAmBroom 2mo ago
Sushi is exceedingly modern. It's "derived" from a fish preservation method... which relies on salting and fermenting, so not really "raw" (more like sauerkraut than shredded cabbage).
- geokon 2mo ago
  I had no idea! Very interesting. Even though it's so central to people's regional identity and general culture, a lot of Chinese food also has surprisingly recent origins. It's especially surprising b/c people generally are quite orthodox about their cooking and are rarely "experimental" (as in the west) - like the high brow seriousness surrounding sushi with it's standards and traditions. So it gives it a sense of historical gravity that's not actually there
  - IAmBroom 2mo ago
    That's a great point! The ritualistic "dressing" of sushi makes it seem ancient and enshrined.