Фукузава Юкитидің "Азиядан Бездік" мақаласы

An essay by Fukuzawa Yukichi in 1885
"Datsu A Ron" (Japanese Kyūjitai: 脫亞論, Shinjitai: 脱亜論) was an editorial published in the Japanese newspaper Jiji Shimpo on March 16, 1885 arguing that Meiji Japan should abandon the "conservative governments" of Qing China and Joseon Korea and align itself with the West. The title "Datsu A Ron" has been translated in a variety of ways, including "Goodbye Asia" and "Leaving Asia". As such an idea was controversial at the time, it was written anonymously to avoid possible backlash, probably by author and educator Fukuzawa Yukichi. This is due to the fact that the editorial was included in the second volume of Fukuzawa's complete works in 1933. Even so, the editorial was generally ignored and did not attract any comment upon its publication.

"Datsu A Ron" has been said to be Fukuzawa's response to a failed attempt by Koreans to organize an effective reform faction, an attempt he had supported. He had invited young Korean aristocrats to his school. He supported Yu Giljun who is the first foreign student of Korea, and one of his disciples, Kim Okgyun, attempted a coup d'état in 1884 but failed. These failures pushed Fukuzawa to develop his "leaving Asia" ideology. Nevertheless, the assistance provided to radical Koreans during this era was generally not intended to lead to complete independence for the peninsula, but rather sought to expand Japanese influence in Korea even further. This culminated in the cynical power plays undertaken in Korea by Koreans supported by Fukuzawa and by the Japanese Imperial Army during the First Sino Japanese War. Fukuzawa's enthusiastic support of the war had much to do with his opinions about modernization. Like many of his peers in the government, Fukuzawa ultimately believed modernization in Asia could best be achieved at the point of a gun. He believed that China suffered from archaic and unchanging principles. At the time of the war, foot binding was still a common practice in China, opium usage was widespread, and the Qing government was failing to fend off exploitative foreign incursions. Railroads and taxation were sold to pay debt. Japan, similarly, suffered the humiliation of having to endure unequal treaties with the Western powers, and Fukuzawa hoped a display of military prowess would sway opinion in the West towards treaty revision. In his hopes for a strong Japan, Fukuzawa saw the Asian countries around Japan as potential deterrents in need of guidance.