You might be interested in threads from the FAQ section on "Comparing the Modernizations of Qing Chian and Meiji Japan":

##Meiji Japan and Qing China

-o- "What allowed Japan to so effectively modernize and remain independent, while other Asian countries were controlled by European powers?" (12 comments | 1 year old)

• The commenters forgo comparisons and instead summarize how and why Meiji Japan was able to modernize.

-o- "Why was 19th century modernization so successful in Japan and less so in other Asian countries?" ( 4 comments | 7 months old)

• In this thread a flaired user goes into great detail about the cultural, political, and geographical reasons for why Meiji Japan modernized successfully.

-o- "Why, in the 19th century, did Japan modernize so rapidly and successfully but China did not?" (20 comments | 1 year old)

• The commenters in this thread discuss the state of technology, industry, and politics in Late Qing China while drawing a few comparisons with their Japanese contemporaries.

-o- "Why did China fail to effectively modernise itself during the 19th c. to catch up to the West, whereas Japan was exceptionally successful?" (4 comments | 2 years old)

• The commenters summarize the situations of both countries and also link to a large number of Wikipedia articles (mostly on the Chinese side of the matter).

-o- In "Wednesday AMA: I am AsiaExpert, one stop shop for all things Asia. Ask me anything about Asia!" (thread: 1570 comments | 2 years ago) , there was a question asked about the Qing side of this issue (comment thread: 6 comments)

• This concerns the the use of Civil Service Exams and the state of Qing bureaucracy in the late 19th century with some discussion of a counterfactual involving modernization success on par with Meiji Japan.

Other Comparisons

-o- "Why was the Japanese attempt at modernization so successful compared to places like the Ottoman Empire, Khedival Egypt or China?" (14 comments | over 1 year old)

• Multiple flaired users of various specialties come together to compare and contrast the modernization attempts of the Ottoman Empire and Egypt with that of Japan, with a few references to Qing China thrown in.

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##Followup Questions

If, after looking through the above threads, there are major questions that have been left unanswered or specific topics given insufficient detail, feel free to ask followup questions. Liberal quoting from these threads are encouraged to both allow for clearer answers and to prevent users from wasting time repeating points already addressed.

The following users are flaired on the topic and/or have answered questions on it in the past, and would likely be able to answer these followup questions:

-o- /u/TheWalrus5

-o- /u/lukeweiss

-o- /u/diana_mn