I've heard this before, but I don't know whether this is true.....?

Question:

I've heard this before, but I don't know whether this is true.....?

That a while back in history, the Japanese stole their culture and language from the Chinese, then gradually changed certain aspects....? Does this have any truth to it?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: They did not "Steal" the culture, but did borrow heavily and synthesized it with their existing Culture. Take their adoption of Kanji writing as an example. Just as English borrowed Greek Letters to write English, so too did the Japanese use Chinese Kanji to write their own, only modifying it to better suit their unique language.

On a grander scale, no civilization has ever grown up in a vacuum. They have all borrowed from those around them. This is what Anthropology calls cultural drift and interdependency.