The Meiji RestorationDuring the period 1868-1912, young western-educated Meiji leaders in Japan started to realize that they needed to start modernizing Japan in order to avoid colonization by the West. This urge to modernize led to the Meiji Restoration in Japan that ultimately led to its rise technologically, academically, industrially, and militarily. By the end of the Meiji in 1912, Japan had established and obtained a centralized bureaucratic government, a fast and efficient transport/communication system, a highly educated population, advanced technology, and a powerful army and navy. The slogan of the Meiji period, "Enrich the country, strengthen the military", had been accomplished and even surpassed in many ways.
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(This picture shows the "New fighting the Old in early Meiji Japan".
The western influence through the new western inventions and clothing/fashion clashing with the old traditional Japanese customs. You can even see the train powered by coal on the top left that symbolizes the beginning of Japan's westernization and industrial growth.(1870) |
Meanwhile in china
While Japan began to modernize and flourish China began a new challenge due to the fast expanding population which doubled and caused farmers and peasants to lack land for farming or to migrate to. China had also been weakened previously due to the Opium War and the unequal treaties that had come with their defeat. Due to their defeat, western powers started to establish "spheres of influence" in China. Although Japan was not a western power, they were also able to establish "spheres of influence" in China due to their recent growth in power.To add onto the havoc, a series of natural catastrophes ranging from drought, famine, and floods weakened China's economy in the late 1800s. Even worse, a series of rebellions sprouted such as the Taiping rebellion(1851-1864), the Moslem rebellion(1855-1873), and the Boxer rebellion(1898-1901). So while Japan's government was highly centralized and was stronger than ever, rebellions such as the Taiping rebellion caused China to split up and weakened the power of the central government.
The May 4th Movement
The May 4th movement was a student(mostly students) uprising in Beijing on May 4, 1919 where students grouped together to protest against the Chinese government because of how easily China's government accepted the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles gave Japan the Shandong peninsula of China. This caused anger throughout the country as it caused the displacement of many Chinese people. This caused the relationship between Japan and the Chinese people to become bitter during this time period.
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