Japanese influence on Chinese culture

Japan had a significant influence on Chinese culture, particularly in the 20th century.

Though relations between Japan and China are historically fraught, the popularity of Japanese pop culture in China has been a means for easing tension.

Manhua
The word manhua was originally an 18th-century term used in Chinese literati painting. It became popular in Japan as manga in the late 19th century. Feng Zikai reintroduced the word to Chinese, in the modern sense, with his 1925 series of political cartoons, entitled Zikai Manhua, in Wenxue Zhoubao (Literature Weekly). While terms other than manhua had existed before, this publication took precedence over the many other descriptions for cartoon art, and manhua became a general term for all Chinese comic materials.

Animation
In 2011, Chinese company Vasoon Animation released Kuiba. The film borrows from a Japanese "hot-blooded" style, refreshing the audience's views on Chinese animation. Kuiba was critically acclaimed, however it commercially fell below expectations. It was reported that CEO Wu Hanqing received minority help from a venture capital fund at Tsinghua University to complete Kuiba. This film holds distinction as the first big Chinese animation series to enter the Japanese market.