A comparative examination on educational reforms in the Ottoman and Chinese Empires (1808-1911)

As the oldest and glorious empire ever in Asia, the Ottoman Empire and the Qing Dynasty clearly lag behind Western countries after entering the 19th century. The successive defeats in the war with Western powers, especially with Russia, seriously threatened the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire had to transform its weak army by absorbing advanced European technology. After the Opium War, the Qing Empire, which was occupied by Britain, France and other countries, began to learn Western technology and took important measures to achieve Westernization. Although the Westernization reform of the Ottoman Empire preceded Qing Dynasty, the background, content and results of the educational system reforms of the two countries are similar. This research attempts to determine the similarities and differences by comparing the background, content and results of the educational system reforms of the two empires in the 19th century. The first part studies the traditional education system before the reforms of the Ottoman Empire and the Qing Dynasty. The second part analyzes the content and process of educational reform in the Ottoman Empire and the Chinese Empire. The third chapter aims to compare and evaluate the background, content and results of the two countries' implementation of educational reforms. Although the education reforms of the two empires cannot save the country from collapse, it has cultivated intellectuals, developed the country, and established a modern education system.