Compare And Contrast Industrialization And China's Response To Westernization
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Japan’s and China’s Response to Westernization
The respective leaders of China and Japan each responded differently to the growth of European and American imperialism in the nineteenth century. The industrial revolution in Europe and the United States in the nineteenth century created a barrier between them and the west; leaving both nations pressured to modernize and industrialize and to open to foreign trade and relations. Thus, both nations had the disadvantage of being behind technology and military advances. Both China and Japan neither had the power to resist the pressure that the Western nations bestowed upon them. As a result, both countries signed unequal treaties that ultimately forced them to open their ports and cities to foreign…show more content… While Japan realized the importance behind modernizing and industrializing, China never completely understood the importance that both modernizing and industrializing affects their nation, especially economically.
Japan was well aware that they were behind the imperialistic world when Europe and American tried to issue an inequitable treaty that would allow them to open Japanese ports to merchants for trade. The Japanese nation was military weak, was primarily agricultural, and had little to no technological development. Revolutionary changes were carried out with several rebellions against the government primarily being led by former restoration hero Saigo Takamori. The Japanese were very successful in modernizing and industrializing through the Meiji Restoration also known as the “enlightened rule restoration”. In 1868, a group of reformers were determined to set in motion the process of modernizing Japan through imperial power. By obtaining new knowledge and revolutionary ideas from European political institutes and economic systems, they were able to reform Japan into a modern military, industrial, and commercial power. Ito Hirobumi, the prime minister of Japan was assigned with the…show more content… The British merchants unlawfully brought the opium into China from India, against Chinese laws, in order to pay for the trade good they wanted. The Chinese did want to sell their Porcelain and silk but they had no desire to "Trade" with the foreigners. The Qing rulers enforced limitation on foreign trade and contact through the canton system. This placed restrictions on who foreigners could deal with, however these restrictions were unsuccessful. The Chinese produced everything they needed themselves and considered foreign products to be of inferior quality. Overwhelmed by the Western military response, By the end of the eighteenth century, foreign powers moved into China, establishing spheres of influence to further there industrial and economic interest. Thus, leaving the Qing humiliated and weakened by the Western powers that successfully denied them control over their own country. The Qing rulers retained their rule of the national government, although much of China was under foreign control. Unfortunately the Qing rulers were unable to prevent or resist this process of forceful modernization. To make matters worse, China found itself at war with Japan in 1894, better known as “The First Sino-Japanese War”. This war was the result of a dispute on territorial control of the Korean peninsula, in which resulted