Speaking of the famous reform movements in modern Asian history, many people will think of Japan's Meiji Restoration , because the Meiji Restoration brought Japanese society into a new direction. In Southeast Asia, there is a country whose reform is as famous as Japan's Meiji Restoration , and that is Thailand's Chulalongkorn Reform . Thailand's Chulalongkorn and Japan's Emperor Meiji were figures of the same era. They both succeeded to the throne as teenagers and implemented top-down reform movements in the face of the invasion of Western powers. The difference is that Chulalongkorn's reforms did not stop the penetration of Western powers into Thailand. In the end, Chulalongkorn exchanged land cession and compensation for the extraterritorial rights of Britain and France in Thailand, and could only barely maintain the country's independence; while Japan's The Meiji Restoration enabled Japan to get rid of the aggression of foreign powers and instead move towards the path of militarism.
Chulalongkorn was the fifth monarch of the Bangkok Dynasty in Thailand. Before and after he succeeded to the throne, Chulalongkorn often visited foreign countries, especially under the influence of his father. Therefore, Chulalongkorn succeeded to the throne at the age of fifteen and faced internal and external troubles. In this situation, Chulalongkorn decisively chose reform. First, Chulalongkorn abolished slavery, and then established a modern education system and military system. Chulalongkorn introduced a large number of Western ideas into the country. However, although Chulalongkorn introduced Western education, he did not vigorously promote it. In addition, Chulalongkorn himself was a devout Buddhist. Therefore, the basic education in Thailand after Chulalongkorn's death remained temple education and remained unchanged. The country lacks access to modern education. This may be the difference with Japan's Meiji Restoration, which vigorously developed modern education and then promoted militaristic ideas.
Although Chulalongkorn’s reforms did not significantly change Thailand’s current situation of being invaded by Western powers, Chulalongkorn’s reforms promoted Thailand’s modernization, and Chulalongkorn is known as the father of Thailand’s modernization. Chulalongkorn has always been the presence of the great emperor in Thai society today. The most famous university in Thailand Chulalongkorn University was built by Chulalongkorn's reforms, but it was the successor king Rama VI who implemented this project. World .
