China and Japan: Facing History

A Financial Times "Summer Books" Selection

"Elegantly written...with a confidence that comes from decades of deep research on the topic, illustrating how influence and power have waxed and waned between the two countries."
--Rana Mitter, Financial Times

"Vogel uses the powerful lens of the past to frame contemporary Chinese-Japanese relations... He] suggests that over the centuries―across both the imperial and the modern eras―friction has always dominated their relations."
--Sheila A. Smith, Foreign Affairs

"Will become required reading."
--Alexis Dudden, Times Literary Supplement

China and Japan have cultural and political connections that stretch back fifteen hundred years, but today their relationship is strained. China's military buildup deeply worries Japan, while Japan's brutal occupation of China in World War II remains an open wound. In recent years both countries have insisted that the other side must openly address this contentious history before relations can improve. But what actually happened?

Boldly tackling the most contentious chapters in this long and tangled relationship, Ezra Vogel uses the tools of a master historian to examine key turning points in Sino-Japanese history. Pivoting from past to present, he argues that for the sake of a stable world order, these two Asian giants must reset their relationship, starting with their common interests in scientific research and environmental protection.