A hundred years after Ryukyu was lost to the Qing Dynasty, why do the Ryukyu people still hold canonization ceremonies every year?

Ryukyu has been a vassal state of China since ancient times. However, due to various historical reasons, it has now become Okinawa Prefecture of Japan. However, until now, we can still see many relics of Chinese civilization in Okinawa. We can feel the influence of Chinese civilization on Ryukyu in all aspects of the local area. This is the result of many years of exchanges between Ryukyu and China.

To this day, there is still a popular ceremony in Ryukyu, which is the canonization ceremony of Ryukyu by the Qing Dynasty. This ceremony has become a mass event in Okinawa and is called the Shuri Castle Festival. So why is it that today, even though the Qing Dynasty has been destroyed for many years, the people of Ryukyu are still holding this ancient ceremony?

1. Attachment to traditional culture.

Ryukyu had already become a vassal state during the Ming Dynasty. Ryukyu claimed vassal status to the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty canonized the king of Ryukyu. Due to its special geographical location and sparse population, the Ming Dynasty did not pose any substantial threat to the Ming Dynasty, so the Ming Dynasty adopted a policy of support. Under the support of the Ming Dynasty, Ryukyu achieved rapid development in culture, economy and other aspects.

Culturally, Ryukyu considers itself a student of Chinese culture and earnestly learns from China in all aspects. The Ryukyu people have created their own unique culture by combining the characteristics of the Ryukyu nation.

However, all this was interrupted with Japan's invasion. Ryukyu is very close to Japan and has long been considered fat in the eyes of the Japanese. The Satsuma Domain of Japan invaded Ryukyu in 1609 and captured the Ryukyu King. Under force, Ryukyu was forced to surrender to the Satsuma Domain. However, at this time, Ryukyu still adhered to its status as a vassal state towards the Ming Dynasty, and Japan also acquiesced to this.

When the Qing Dynasty was established, Ryukyu continued to claim vassal status to the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty accepted the tribute from Ryukyu and enthroned the Ryukyu King. During the period when the Qing Dynasty was strong and Japan was closed to the outside world, Ryukyu, the Qing Dynasty, and Japan were relatively peaceful.

However, everything changed after Japan's Meiji Restoration, and Japan decided to annex Ryukyu. Japan first promoted Ryukyu as a vassal of Japan and negotiated with the Qing government on legal grounds. Then they used the "Peony Society" incident to force the Qing Dynasty to express its stance. Because the Qing government was weak and incompetent, it finally negotiated a peace settlement with Japan, which was tantamount to a disguised recognition of Japan's ownership of Ryukyu.

In the end, the helpless Ryukyu was occupied and annexed by Japan. After Japan annexed Ryukyu, it adopted an assimilation policy towards the Ryukyu people. Japan is a country that does not recognize ethnic minorities. There is only one ethnic minority in the whole of Japan. Regarding Ryukyu, Japan took measures in terms of culture and ideology to wipe out the national culture of the Ryukyu people.

After long-term efforts, Japan’s measures have achieved certain results. During the Battle of Tsushima, it was Ryukyu fishermen who discovered and immediately reported it to the Japanese government. However, in the eyes of the so-called orthodox Japanese, the status of Ryukyu people is still very low.

During the Battle of Okinawa during the Pacific War, the Ryukyu people were regarded as cannon fodder by the Japanese government. In addition to recruiting troops and organizing civil defense teams, Ryukyu's cultural monuments were extensively destroyed in order to build fortifications. During the war, Ryukyu people were killed at will in order to compete for supplies and space for survival. By the end of the war, as many as 260,000 Ryukyu people had died, far exceeding the death toll of the Japanese army. All this taught Ryukyu people a profound lesson.

In addition, after the Pacific War, the Ryukyu Islands were occupied by the US military. This gives the locals of Ryukyu a certain degree of freedom. They can have a certain degree of freedom in thinking about the history and culture of their own nation. This makes them feel attached to their culture. Therefore, regaining the memories of the past has become an expression of the Ryukyu people's attachment to their own culture.

2. For reasons of economic development.

Ryukyu itself lacks natural resources, but in history, Ryukyu has had a glorious past. At that time, Ryukyu was a hub of maritime trade and was very wealthy and prosperous.

All this is mainly caused by trade from mainland China. Today, as China becomes increasingly powerful, China's influence is also gradually increasing. The Chinese who travel to Japan every year bring a lot of wealth to Japan.

Ryukyu, which has unique conditions in this regard, will certainly not lag behind. Attracting Chinese people to travel and invest in Ryukyu can drive local economic development in Ryukyu. Grasping the psychology of the Chinese people and playing the Chinese element card has become a marketing tool for the Ryukyu people, and the canonization ceremony came into being.

Through the canonization ceremony, you can bring yourself closer to China, and through the inheritance of history, you can strengthen the sense of identity of both parties. As China becomes increasingly powerful today, allowing the Chinese people to relive that period of history can arouse the Chinese people's sense of pride. In this way, it will also be more able to attract Chinese people to come for tourism investment and stimulate local economic development.

Conclusion:

Today, many years after the demise of the Qing Dynasty, the Ryukyu people still carry out the canonization ceremony of the Qing Dynasty every year. This is mainly due to the occupation of the U.S. military after World War II. Because of the U.S. military on the island, the Japanese government does not have very strong control over the area.

The Ryukyus perform this kind of ceremony to express their grief for their ancestors and their longing for their own national history. At the same time, there is also the inheritance of one’s own culture.

The second is to develop the local economy, play the card of Chinese elements to draw closer the sense of identity of the Chinese people, use the pride of the Chinese people to attract Chinese people to travel and invest, and stimulate the local economy.