Grand Kabuki

In May of last year, Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso made a comment which revealed a startling difference in perceptions of history between China and Japan. During a visit to India he said, "For the past 1,500 years and more, there has never been a history when our relations with China went extremely smoothly."

I wonder how many Chinese people still remember this declaration. The statement is affirmed by the facts of history. Of course, the Chinese public, under the Communist Party's education, have believed that the history of diplomacy between China and Japan has largely been embodied by friendliness, and that only in the past century have ties been damaged by bitterness and barbarism. Aso held up a mirror view of this illusion, which for years shined on in the Chinese public's consciousness through misinformation.