The Chinese and Japanese states in the 19th century

This chapter highlights the additional role of the state as a developmental instrument for latecomers in the new international settings since the first Industrial Revolution and the importance of the state institutions in determining the developmental capability of the state. It compares the Chinese and Japanese states in the 19th century and investigates the historical evolutions of the state institutions in the two countries. The Chinese state, being semi-bureaucratic, was entrenched in the propertied class, while the Japanese state as a full bureaucracy had complete autonomy. Also, the Chinese state relied much more on personal relations in government administration than the Japanese state. The Chinese state institutions had both resilience in keeping good social and economic order for some time and the intrinsic weakness that inevitably led to the decay of the state in the end, as evidenced by the dynamic cycles in history.