A comparison of the Westernization Movement and the Meiji Restoration and their successes and failures

Abstract

In the 19th century, two significant and historic reforms took place in China and Japan. Dramatically, the reform in Japan eventually succeeded and helped recover the domestic economy and the political stability, while the one in China failed, and did not manage to prevent the further invasions of foreign powers against this country. This study majorly focuses on the analysis of the impacts of the two reforms in terms of economics, politics and military. Furthermore, the comparisons of the two reforms are made from the three perspectives which have been mentioned above, in order to highlight the main differences between them and provide crucial inspiration for the development of the contemporary world by learning lessons from the historical events. The methods used in the study involve the literature analysis, historical evidence and comparative analysis.