Download The Charter Oath was promulgated at the enthronement of Emperor

The Charter Oath was promulgated at the enthronement of Emperor Meijiof Japan on 7 April 1868.[1] The Oath
outlined the main aims and the course of action to be followed during Emperor Meiji's reign, setting the legal stage for
Japan's modernization. This also set up a process of urbanization as people of all classes were free to move jobs so
people went to the city for better work. It remained influential, if less for governing than inspiring, throughout
the Meiji era and into the twentieth century, and can be considered the first constitutionof modern Japan.
The Xinhai Revolution, or the Hsin-hai Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese
Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, and established
the Republic of China. The revolution was named Xinhai (Hsin-hai) because it occurred in 1911, the year of the Xinhai
stem-branch in the sexagenary cycle of the Chinese calendar.[1] The revolution consisted of many revolts and uprisings.
The turning point was the Wuchang Uprising on October 10, 1911, that was a result of the mishandling of the Railway
Protection Movement. The revolution ended with the abdication of the "Last Emperor" Puyi on February 12, 1912, that
marked the end of over 2,000 years of imperial rule and the beginning of China's republican era.[2] The revolution arose
mainly in response to the decline of the Qing state, which had proven ineffective in its efforts to modernize China and
confront new challenges presented by foreign powers, and was exacerbated by ethnic resentment against the
ruling Manchu minority. Many underground anti-Qing groups, with the support of Chinese revolutionaries in exile, tried
to overthrow the Qing. The brief civil war that ensued was ended through a political compromise between Yuan Shikai,
the late Qing military strongman, and Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the Tongmenghui (United League). After the Qing
court transferred power to the newly founded republic, a provisional coalition governmentwas created along with
the National Assembly. However, political power of the new national government in Beijing was soon thereafter
monopolized by Yuan and led to decades of political division and warlordism, including several attempts at imperial
restoration.
The Manchu conquest of China was a long period of war between the Qing Dynasty, established
by Manchu clan Aisin Gioro in Manchuria (contemporary Northeastern China), and the Ming Dynasty of China in the
south. In 1618, Aisin Gioro leader Nurhacicommissioned a document entitled the Seven Grievances in which he
enumerated seven grievances against the Ming and began to rebel against the domination of the Ming Dynasty. Many
of the grievances dealt with conflicts against Yehe, which was a major Manchu clan, and Ming favoritism of
Yehe. Nurhaci demanded the Ming pay tribute to him to redress the seven grievances and this was effectively a
declaration of war, as the Ming were not about to pay money to a former tributary. Shortly afterwards Nurhaci began
forcing the Ming out ofLiaoning in southern Manchuria.
The First Anglo-Chinese War (1839–42), known popularly as the First Opium War or simply the Opium War, was
fought between theUnited Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty of China over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic
relations, trade, and the administration of justice.[3] Chinese officials wished to control the spread of opium, and
confiscated supplies of opium from British traders. The British government, although not officially denying China's
right to control imports, objected to this seizure and used its military power to violently enforce redress. [3] In 1842,
the Treaty of Nanking—the first of what the Chinese later called the unequal treaties—granted an indemnity to Britain,
the opening of five treaty ports, and the cession of Hong Kong Island, thereby ending the trade monopoly of the Canton
System. The failure of the treaty to satisfy British goals of improved trade and diplomatic relations led to the Second
Opium War (1856–60).[4] The war is now considered in China as the beginning of modern Chinese history
Li Shizhen was one of the greatest Chinese herbalists and acupuncturists in history. His major contribution to medicine
was his 27-year work, which is found in his epic book the Bencao Gangmu (本草纲目 "Compendium of Materia
Medica"). He is also considered to be the greatest naturalist of China, and was very interested in the proper classification
of herb components. The book has details about more than 1,800 drugs (Chinese Medicine), including 1,100
illustrations and 11,000 prescriptions. It also described the type, form, flavor, nature and application in disease
treatments of 1,094 herbs.
Confucianism, The core of Confucianism is humanism,[2] the belief that human beings are teachable, improvable and
perfectible through personal and communal endeavour especially including self-cultivation and self-creation.
Confucianism focuses on the cultivation of virtue and maintenance of ethics, the most basic of which are ren, yi,
and li.[3] Ren is an obligation of altruism and humaneness for other individuals within a community, yi is the upholding
of righteousness and the moral disposition to do good, and li is a system of norms and propriety that determines how a
person should properly act within a community.[3] Confucianism holds that one should give up one's life, if necessary,
either passively or actively, for the sake of upholding the cardinal moral values of ren and yi.
The Edo period (江戸時代 Edo jidai?), or Tokugawa period (徳川時代 Tokugawa jidai?) is the period between 1603
to 1868 in the history of Japanwhen Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's
300 regional Daimyo. The period was characterized by economic growth, strict social orders, isolationist foreign
policies, an increase in both environmental protection and popular enjoyment of arts and culture. The shogunate was
officially established in Edo on March 24, 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period came to an end with the Meiji
Restorationon May 3, 1868 after the fall of Edo.
Qing dynasty, over the course of its reign, the Qing became highly integrated with Chinese culture. The imperial
examinations continued and Han civil servants administered the empire alongside Manchu ones. The Qing reached its
height under the Qianlong Emperor in the eighteenth century, expanding beyond China's prior and later boundaries.
Imperial corruption exemplified by the minister Heshen and a series of rebellions, natural disasters, and defeats in wars
against European powers gravely weakened the Qing during the nineteenth century. "Unequal Treaties" provided
for extraterritoriality and removed large areas of treaty ports from Chinese sovereignty. The government attempts to
modernize during the Self-Strengthening Movement in the late 19th century yielded few lasting results. Losing the First
Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895 was a watershed for the Qing government and the result demonstrated that reform had
modernized Japan significantly since the Meiji Restoration in 1867, especially as compared with the Self-Strengthening
Movement in China.
Yuan Shikai was an important Chinese general and politician, famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty,
his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor of China, his autocratic rule as the
second President of the Republic of China (following Sun Yatsen), and his short-lived attempt to revive the Chinese
monarchy, with himself as the "Great Emperor of China."
From 1405 to 1433 large fleets commanded by Admiral Zheng He under the auspices of the Yongle Emperor of
the Ming Dynasty traveled to the Indian Ocean seven times. This attempt did not lead China to global expansion, as the
Ming Voyages, Confucian bureaucracy under next emperor reversed this whole policy and by 1500, it became a capital
offence to build a seagoing junk with more than two masts.[16] Chinese became content trading with already existing
tributary states nearby and abroad. To them, traveling far east into the Pacific Ocean represented entering a broad
wasteland of water with uncertain benefits of trade.
A shogun (将軍 shōgun?) was one of the (usually) hereditary military dictators of Japanfrom 1192 to 1867.[1] In this
period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents (1203–1333), were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally
appointed by the emperor. When Portuguese explorers first came into contact with the Japanese (see Nanban period),
they described Japanese conditions in analogy, likening the emperor, with great symbolic authority but little political
power, to the Pope, and the shogun to secular European rulers, e.g. the King of Spain. In keeping with the analogy, they
even used the term "emperor" in reference to the shogun/regent, e.g. in the case ofToyotomi Hideyoshi, whom
missionaries called "Emperor Taicosama" (from Taiko and the honorific sama) The modern rank of shōgun is
equivalent to a generalissimo. Although the original meaning of "shogun" is simply "a general", as a title, it is used as
the short form of seii taishōgun (征夷大将軍), the governing individual at various times in the history of Japan, ending
when Tokugawa Hideyoshirelinquished the office to the Meiji Emperor in 1867.[2] A shogun's office or administration
is known in English as the "office". In Japanese it was known as bakufu (幕府?) which literally means "tent office", and
originally meant "house of the general", and later also suggested a private government. Bakufu could also mean "tent
government" and was the way the government was run under a shogun.[3] The tent symbolized the field commander but
also denoted that such an office was meant to be temporary. The shogun's officials were as a collective the bakufu, and
were those who carried out the actual duties of administration while the Imperial court retained only nominal authority.
The Warring States period (simplified Chinese: 战国时代; traditional Chinese: 戰國時代; pinyin: Zhànguó Shídài),
also known as the Era of Warring States, is a period in ancient China following the Spring and Autumn period and
concluding with the victory of the state of Qin in 221 BC, creating a unified China under the Qin Dynasty.
The Meiji Restoration (明治維新 Meiji Ishin?), also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a
chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. The goals of the restored government
were expressed by the new emperor in the Charter Oath. The Restoration led to enormous changes in Japan's political
and social structure, and spanned both the late Edo period (often called Late Tokugawa shogunate) and the beginning of
the Meiji period. The period spanned from 1868 to 1912 and was responsible for the emergence of Japan as a
modernised nation in the early twentieth century.
The First Sino-Japanese War (1 August 1894 – 17 April 1895) was fought between Qing
Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea. After more than six months of continuous successes
by the Japanese army and naval forces, as well as the loss of the Chinese port of Weihai, the Qing leadership sued for
peace in February 1895. The war was a clear indication of the failure of the Qing dynasty's attempts to modernize its
military and fend off threats to its sovereignty, especially compared with Japan's successful post-Meiji restoration[1] For
the first time, regional dominance in East Asia shifted from China to Japan; and the prestige of the Qing Dynasty, along
with the classical tradition in China, suffered a major blow. The humiliating loss of Korea as a vassal state sparked an
unprecedented public outcry. Within China, the defeat was a catalyst for a series of revolutions and political changes led
by Sun Yat-Sen and Kang Youwei. These trends would later manifest in the 1911 Revolution. The war is commonly
known in China as the War of Jiawu (simplified Chinese: 甲午战争; traditional Chinese: 甲午戰爭; pinyin: Jiǎwǔ
Zhànzhēng), referring to the year (1894) as named under the traditional sexagenary system of year reckoning. In Japan,
it is commonly known as the Japan-Qing War (Nisshin sensō (日清戦争?)).
The Mandate of Heaven is predicated on the conduct of the ruler in question. The Mandate of Heaven postulates that
heaven (天;Tian) would bless the authority of a just ruler, as defined by the Five Confucian Relationships, but would be
displeased with a despotic ruler and would withdraw its mandate, leading to the overthrow of that ruler. The Mandate of
Heaven would then transfer to those who would rule best. The mere fact of a leader having been overthrown is itself
indication that he has lost the Mandate of Heaven.
The Mandate of Heaven does not require that a legitimate ruler be of noble birth, and dynasties were often founded by
people of modest birth (such as the Han dynasty and Ming dynasty). The concept of the Mandate of Heaven was first
used to support the rule of the kings of the Zhou Dynasty, and their overthrow of the earlier Shang dynasty. It was used
throughout the history of China to support the rule of the Emperors of China, including 'foreign' dynasties such as
the Qing Dynasty.
The Mandate of Heaven is a well-accepted and popular idea among the people of China, as it argues for the removal of
incompetent or despotic rulers, and provided an incentive for rulers to rule well and justly. The concept is often invoked
by philosophers and scholars in ancient China as a way to curtail the abuse of power by the ruler, in a system that
otherwise offered no other check to this power. The Mandate of Heaven had no time limitations, instead depending on
the just and able performance of the ruler. In the past, times of poverty and natural disasters were taken as signs that
heaven considered the incumbent ruler unjust and thus in need of replacement.