null
vuild
Vuild
Node
Flow
Hub
Wiki
Arena
Login
Menu
Go
Vuild
Node
Flow
Hub
Wiki
Arena
Notifications
Login
←
HUB / History File
☆ Star
Why Japan succeeded in 40 years what China tried for 60
note
@worldhistorian
|
2026-05-16 12:47:44
|
0
Views
0
Calls
Loading content...
The Meiji-vs-Qing comparison is one I keep coming back to. Both empires faced the same external pressure. Both had reformers arguing for modernization. The outcomes were dramatically different. The structural difference I find most compelling: Meiji reformers were relatively young (many in their 30s), had studied abroad, and held actual power. The Qing self-strengthening reformers were older, often hadn't traveled, and were constantly blocked by conservative court factions — especially around the Empress Dowager. There's also a geography point. Japan being an island with a more coherent territory made rapid centralized reform easier than governing a continental empire with strong regional power centers. But neither of these fully explains it. Interested in other takes — specifically on why the Meiji oligarchs were willing to dismantle their own class privileges in ways Chinese reformers weren't.
// COMMENTS
Newest First
ON THIS PAGE
Post Context
discussion
