Nationalism as a Boundary Between China and the West Liang Qichao’s writings regarding his journey to North America provide insight to the dissimilarities between the principles of culture found in his homeland of China, and those in the West—particularly in the United States. Among the many discrepancies Qichao found on his trip, the sense of Nationalism he encountered in America greatly differed from the clan-oriented outlook of the Chinese. While 20th century Chinese people generally saw themselves primarily as members of a particular group or family, citizens of the United States saw themselves, predominately, as Americans. The implications of the differing mindsets range from factors of society, such as efficient public amenities, all the way to different, large-scale economic tendencies. The Chinese viewpoint, as Qichao describes: “Our character is that of clansmen rather than citizens. Chinese social organization is based on family and clan… Chinese [people] can be clansmen but cannot be citizens” (Liang Qichao On His Trip to America 338). In other words, Qichao believes that Chinese people are unable to see themselves as citizens because they are focused on the well being of their small group, rather than that of the larger community. …show more content…
Qichao was surprised at the citizen’s morality and willingness to return books when there was little regulation (338). In China, this system would not work because people would be less focused on the good of the community, and more so on his or her own clan, and be less likely to return the books. This is harmful because by using the system properly, American citizens have access to a wealth of information, while in China, citizens would have to purchase their own books and, unless he or she was abnormally wealthy, be very