| Date | May 2017 | Marks available | 15 | Reference code | 17M.3op3.HL.TZ0.17 |
| Level | Higher level only | Paper | Paper 3 (History of Asia and Oceania) | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | Compare and contrast | Question number | 17 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Compare and contrast the attempts at modernization in China and Japan in the period up to 1895.
Markscheme
Candidates will give an account of the similarities and differences between the attempts at modernization in China and Japan in the given timeframe by referring to both throughout the response. Candidates may address the similarities and differences chronologically and note that each country had phases in the modernization process with varying degrees of success at different times. Or they may identify the similarities and the differences separately. Alternatively, candidates may adopt a thematic approach and consider both in areas such as the problems posed by western demands for trade, the philosophy of self-strengthening, the challenges of population and geography, the issues of political structure and leadership, the way modernization was implemented, financial investment, industrialization and economic outcomes, the attempts at social and cultural change, and military developments.
