In terms of space, the first two are the internal problems of the East Asian continent, while the latter is the island country to play against the gods. As far as civilization is concerned, the former two are a contest between the Central Plains civilization and the grassland civilization, while the latter is a large-scale invasion of the marine civilization or western civilization. In terms of era, the first two are the internal reconstruction of traditional empires, while the latter is a war of aggression of the nation-state.
So, there is an essential difference between the two. The Japanese attack on the Qing Dynasty and the subsequent Sino-Japanese War were completely incomparable to the Mongol attack on the Song And the Qing attack on the Ming. Therefore, Japan's ambition to establish a greater East Asian co-prosperity sphere is to use the traditional imperial method to solve the problem of modern nationalism. In the end, aggression is aggression, and it can only kill itself.
The destruction of the Song by the Mongol Yuan and the Ming by the Manchu Qing were only a matter of reconstruction within the empire. Japan's invasion of the Qing Dynasty was already a contest of nation-states.
01. The Mongolian attack on the Song Dynasty and the Qing Attack on the Ming Dynasty are both an old problem
This old problem is a contest between the Central Plains and the steppes in terms of space; a contest between agricultural civilization and nomadic civilization in terms of civilization. These problems can all be attributed to the contradiction between the Central Plains and the steppe, and all within the spatial scope of the East Asian continent.
Empire is a civilized order, and it requires that this civilized order be exported to the outside world. However, there must be a closure before the output, that is, it is locked at one source for civilization. This source was originally in the Central Plains, called China. After that, it was upgraded from a regional culture to a civilized order. Moreover, this civilized order has a strong expansiveness, extending from the Central Plains to the grasslands. The steppe horse is fast and sharp, and can conquer the Central Plains, but in the end it must be conquered by this civilized order.
After the Mongols attacked the Song Dynasty, it is not possible to say whether they inherited the Jurchen Dajin or the Orthodox Order of the Southern Song Dynasty of the Han Dynasty. However, the Mongol Dayuan is still inheriting this civilized order. The Mongols had their own pioneering nature, which was to incorporate the Tibetan Plateau by means of religious and political marriage. However, the Mongols also have shortcomings, that is, the understanding of this set of civilized order is not deep enough, and they have implemented extensive management of the Central Plains, and they have always been in the Central Plains and their hearts are in the steppes.
The Qing Dynasty had a lot of criticism, especially the people of later generations who were full of infinite sentimentality about the demise of Daming. However, the Manchu Qing who entered the customs also inherited this civilized order, and the Manchu Qing's creativity was stronger, completely linking the plateau, grassland and central plains to the uprising. The Manchus essentially locked in the boundaries of this civilization of China or Empire.
Therefore, the Mongolian attack on the Song Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty on the Ming Dynasty, from the spatial overlook is the East Asian continent to play by itself, from the civilization overlook are all reconstructions within the empire. That's all.
02. When the times are different, the empire is gradually replaced by the nation-state
The first is the 16th-century French Richelieu's national reasoning, the first task of the state is to survive, so it can only think in terms of its own interests. Later, it developed into a sovereign state, proceeding from its own interests rather than from the civilized order, which subverted the concept of empire.
This was followed by the French Revolution of the 18th century, which gave birth to the concept of popular sovereignty, in which the state no longer belonged to a certain king, but to the people within that geographical range. Those who believe in the Declaration of The Rights of Man are members of the French nation.
Then there's nationalism, the national justification is a kingdom story, the Declaration of The Rights of Man is a political story, and nationalism is a cultural story. The French are united through popular sovereignty, what about the Germans? Germans began to tell cultural stories, mainly Grimm's fairy tales, through a kind of cultural self-consciousness, the German nation from the concept into reality. Thus, nationalism and nation-states emerged.
03. The Japanese offensive is a contest of nation-states, although the two are used daily without knowing
The Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War was at the end of the 19th century; after the Japanese invasion of China was in the early 20th century. By this time, the civilized order of the empire had long since become incomprehensible. So, what are you talking about? Tell the story of the nation-state.
Empire is a kind of civilization order, so the Yuan Dynasty, Song Dynasty and Qing Dynasty Ming Dynasty are all playing in this civilization order, and everyone is often a conflict of interests. Although it is a contest between the grassland civilization and the Central Plains civilization, in the end it must be unified to the Central Plains civilization. But national reasons, popular sovereignty, nationalism, and so on are all matters of consensus, so the struggle between states is a struggle of ideas.
The battle of ideas is troublesome, because the battle of interests is for money but the battle of ideas is fatal, either to kill you or to subdue you, whether to grab money or not is a secondary issue, and beating you is the main problem. The Japanese offensive is a contest in the context of this problem.
In fact, the Qing Dynasty did not understand what nationalism was, so when the Japanese invaded, the people were very indifferent. Even when the Eight-Power Alliance entered Beijing, the people would help the ladder. What about Japan? Japan's response is not much better. In modern Times, when Japan invaded China, they have always been unable to understand a question, that is, the Mongols beat you and you surrendered; the Manchu Qing beat you, and you also surrendered.
Although neither group of people understood it, the general climate was a contest between the nation-states. Although these two countries are "daily use without knowing it", the general climate has been at work. Therefore, it was impossible for Japan to emulate the Mongols and Manchus and take all of China. Because of the different times, the rules of the game have changed completely, but similar things are very different in nature.