So as not to go off on a tangent, I define “Chinese” as any person who would call themselves “Huaren” in Mandarin.
To people who’ve had a good deal of contact with both peoples, what do you find are the most fundamental differences in attitude and national character between the Chinese and the Japanese?
Here’s the biggest one I’ve noticed: the idea of what constitues a “family”.
In Chinese culture, from what I’ve oberserved, there’s only one concept of a family: the biological one we all know. But the Japanese seem to have extended the definition of “family”. Virtually any group of people in Japanese culture can constitute, and command the loyalties of, a family. Becoming a member of one of these non-kin “families” isn’t done frivolously, and is irreversible. But the interesting thing is that it consists of non-kin who ACT LIKE KIN – a behavior seldom seen outside religion (which is exactly what Japan is, IMHO).
The Japanese conception of a family is much more useful for forming large teams of people to get jobs done, which is why they were able to modernize without Westernizing. The Chinese weren’t – they fundamentally distrust anyone who isn’t kin, and are therefore loathe to form large institutions that aren’t authoritarian.
But I think the Chinese way is much more advantageous for dealing with the outside world. Since family is sacred, and in Japan, the whole country is seen as one “family”, then the Japanese come to think of themselves as holy and worship their nation. Thus, like all deeply religious people, they have trouble meeting people where they are, and dealing with other peoples as true equals, even when given rational reasons for doing so. The Chinese don’t see themselves as one big family, and don’t see their homeland or their race as holy either. Foreigners are just like other Chinese people else outside the house – just another flavor of non-kin. Therefore it’s not hard for Chinese to think of and deal with non-Chinese the same way they deal with local non-kin.
If and when China becomes rich and has an equitable income distribution, I think its societal structure will look more like America than Japan, except with stronger family ties. An “every family for itself” free for all, instead of the “every person for himself” variety that Americans like.