Academic Significance and Contemporary Value of Comparative Study on the Reform of China, Japan and Choson Dynasty in the Late 19th Century

Abstract

In the middle and late 19th century, East Asian countries gradually embarked on the road of modernization after the hit of the West. China, Japan and Choson Dynasty, as representatives among those countries, had adopted corresponding reform measures. Among them, the Chinese Westernization Movement and the Japanese Meiji Restoration have been much examined in terms of historical facts, but the analysis of Eo Yun-jung reform of Choson Dynasty and the comparison of the reforms of China, Japan and Choson Dynasty in the late 19th century is slightly insufficient. Thus this paper attempts to make a preliminary interpretation of the academic significance and contemporary value of those reforms through the review of academic history and the theoretical discussions, looking forward to arousing more attention and leading more profound researches on this topic.