Daily Life

The transition of Japan into a modern society is evident in the evolution of everyday life. Traditional patriarchal households, with multiple generations under the authority of the household head, gave way to the emergence of the nuclear family model, where the husband worked as the breadwinner and the wife as the homemaker. This shift in domestic structure led to increased demand for new domestic goods, family entertainment, and housing options.

In the 1920s, construction companies began offering affordable housing options, requiring a down payment of 200 yen and a monthly installment of 12 yen for ten years. This was significant considering that the monthly salary of a bank employee, typically a person with higher education, was around 40 yen at that time.

Paths to Modernisation Chapter 7 | Class 11 History Notes

Paths to Modernisation | Class 11 History: Paths to Modernisation | Class 11 History throws light on how two major countries in the Asian region Japan, China, and Korea have evolved over the years. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, countries like Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea became independent and modern nations.

In this article, we have talked about the Paths of Modernisation adopted by countries like Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea, Political Systems, the Meiji Restoration and Reforms, Japan’s re-emergence as a Global economic power, China, the Rise of the Communist Party of China, a new democracy being established, Reforms of 1978 Deng Xiaoping, and the Evolution of Korea and Taiwan.

Paths to Modernisation Chapter 7 | Class 11 History

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Paths to Modernisation | Class 11 History

With time, different societies like Japan and China have evolved with their distinctive modernities. Japan succeeded in being free of colonialism and achieved rapid economic and industrial progress. The Chinese resisted colonial exploitation and their own bureaucratic landed elite through a combination of peasant rebellion, reform, and revolution....

Japan

Japan is a string of islands like the Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku and Hokkaido islands. There is no major river system. It is a mountainous region and is situated in a very active earthquake zone....

Political System of Japan

Japan became a modern country from the days of petty daimyo of Japan....

Meiji Restoration

The Meiji restoration is an important event in the Japanese history. There was demands for trade and diplomatic relations. In 1853, the USA demanded Japan that the government sign a treaty that would permit trade and open diplomatic relations....

Meiji Reforms

An uprising forced the shogun from power in 1868, bringing the Emperor to Edo. Let us have a look at the major Meiji Reforms:...

Modernising the Economy

Another crucial aspect of the Meiji reforms involved modernizing the economy. This was financed through an agricultural tax. Japan’s inaugural railway line, connecting Tokyo to Yokohama, was constructed between 1870 and 1872. Textile machinery was imported from Europe, and foreign experts were employed to train workers, teach in educational institutions, and facilitate the education of Japanese students abroad. In 1872, modern banking institutions were established....

Industrial Workers

The number of individuals in manufacturing increased from 700,000 in 1870 to 4 million in 1913, with a majority employed in small-scale units lacking machinery or electric power, particularly women. Women organized the first modern strike in 1886, and although the number of male workers increased after 1900, it wasn’t until the 1930s that they outnumbered women....

Aggressive Nationalism

The Meiji constitution featured a limited franchise and established a Diet with restricted powers, adopting the German term for parliament due to German legal influence. The leaders of the imperial restoration retained power and even formed political parties. From 1918 to 1931, prime ministers were elected by the public and formed cabinets, but later lost authority to national unity cabinets spanning party lines....

Westernisation and Tradition

Successive Japanese intellectuals held varying perspectives on Japan’s relationship with other nations. Fukuzawa Yukichi, a prominent Meiji intellectual, advocated for Japan to adopt Western civilization, famously stating that Japan must “expel Asia” and embrace Western values. He played a key role in promoting Western learning and established Keio University....

Daily Life

The transition of Japan into a modern society is evident in the evolution of everyday life. Traditional patriarchal households, with multiple generations under the authority of the household head, gave way to the emergence of the nuclear family model, where the husband worked as the breadwinner and the wife as the homemaker. This shift in domestic structure led to increased demand for new domestic goods, family entertainment, and housing options....

Overcoming Modernity

State-centered nationalism reached its peak in the 1930s and 1940s as Japan initiated wars to expand its empire in China and other parts of Asia, eventually leading to its involvement in the Second World War after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This era witnessed increased societal controls, the suppression and imprisonment of dissenters, and the emergence of patriotic societies, many of which were women’s organizations, to support the war effort....

Re-emergence of Japan as a Global Economic Power

During the 1930, Japan exercised imperialist policy and invaded China to extend its colonial empire. Under the US-led Occupation (1945-47) Japan was demilitarised and a new constitution was introduced....

China

China is a vast continental country with many climatic zones. A large part of China is mountainous. There are divergent ethnic groups – Han, Uighur, Hui, Manchu and Tibetan. Major languages spoken are Chinese and Cantonese....

Establishing the Republic

The overthrow of the Manchu empire in 1911 led to the establishment of a republic under Sun Yat-sen, considered the founder of modern China. Sun’s Three Principles—nationalism, democracy, and socialism—aimed to remove foreign influence, establish democratic governance, and address social inequalities....

The Rise of the Communist Party Of China

When the Japanese invaded China in 1937, the Guomindang retreated. The long and exhausting war weakened China. Prices rose 30 per cent per month between 1945 and 1949, and utterly destroyed the lives of ordinary people....

Establishing the New Democracy

The Peoples Republic of China government, established in 1949 was based on the principles of the ‘New Democracy’ which was an alliance of all social classes....

Conflicting Visions: 1965-78

The conflict between Maoists advocating for the creation of a ‘Socialist Man’ and those opposing Mao’s ideological focus over expertise led to the launch of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in 1965. Utilizing the Red Guards, comprised mainly of students and the military, Mao initiated a campaign against traditional culture, customs, and habits. This period saw the prioritization of Communist ideology over professional knowledge, with denunciations and slogans replacing rational debate....

Reforms of 1978 Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping kept the party control strong while introducing a socialist market economy. In 1978, the Party declared its goal as the Four Modernisations  –  science, industry, agriculture and defence....

Taiwan

Taiwan had been a Japanese colony since the Chinese ceded it after the 1894-95 war with Japan. The Cairo Declaration (1943) and the Potsdam Proclamation (1949) restored sovereignty to China....

The Story of Korea

Beginnings of Modernisation...

Conclusion

Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea became independent and modern nations by the late 19th and 20th centuries. Led by its elite, Japan’s modernisation resulted in aggressive nationalism and a colonial empire was put up. A highly centralised and modernised state was developed. China’s modernisation hindered by foreign imperialism and there was internal political and social instability. The Communist Party’s efforts to modernise China was successful in terms of economy but there was a repressive political system. Taiwan and Korea also underwent modernisation processes. Taiwan’s was being led by a authoritarian government while Korea had political instability and economic development. Thus we see how Japan, China, Korea and Taiwan’s histories show they became modernised....

FAQs on Paths to Modernisation | Class 11 History

What were the major developments before the Meiji restoration that made it possible for Japan to modernise rapidly?...