Yip remarks that the West has been the strongest cultural entity in the world since the 19th century, not only influencing thought and culture around the world, but even arbitrarily taking the lead across a broad spectrum of fields to interpret other people's cultures. China, much weaker, has followed the logic of Western concepts, becoming an object of interpretation, which has caused Chinese people's understanding of themselves to waver.
葉錦添認為，19 世紀起，西方成了世界上最強大的文化實體，不但影響世人的思想文化，甚至可以在廣泛領域中任意詮釋別人的文化，積弱萎靡的中國則順理成章地成為被詮釋的對象，進而動搖中國人對自我的理解。