THE MEIJI RESTORATION (1868) AND THE LATE QING REFORM (1898)

The Meiji Restoration (1868) and the Late Qing Reform (1898)

The Meiji Restoration (1868) and the Late Qing Reform (1898)

The Meiji Restoration was period in Japan when massive changes in ancient Japan. The goal of the Meiji Restoration was summarized in their motto, “A rich country, a strong military.” In their quest to do so, the Meiji looked to the western civilizations. The Meiji sent young men to study abroad and learn new traits from the west. Before this drastic move the traditional Japanese society was largely isolated from all other civilizations. By doing this the Japanese managed to strengthen the economy, strengthen the government, and make social reforms.

There have been numerous attempts to reform China in the late 19th century to build up China's strength and make it a world power once again. There have been many prestigious intellectuals and organizations that have attempted to do this. One of these intellectuals who had a great influence on other reformers was Yan Fu. Yan presented his ideas many people throughout China through his series of reform essays. Yan spoke of the foreign powers that invaded China and were controlling and changing the traditional Chinese way of life. Yan said that these changes to China were quite unfortunate but to cope with them and possibly overcome them, China must reform and modernize. This meant that China must learn from the westerners and borrow their ideas.

Meiji leaders made the economy a major priority. They encouraged Japan's business class to adopt western methods. They Japanese built railroads to allow the shipment of goods and transportation of people, a banking system to aid in the expansion of businesses and investors, improved ports to aid in the expansion of trade with other countries, and also organized ...