The+Charter+of+Oath+1868+and+Questions

=**The Charter Oath (of the Meiji Restoration), 1868** By this oath we set up as our aim the establishment of the //national weal// on a broad basis and the framing of a constitution and laws.= =1. Deliberative assemblies shall be widely established and all matters decided by public discussion.= =2. All classes, high and low, shall unite in vigorously carrying out the administration of affairs of state.= =3. The common people, no less than the civil and military officials, shall each be allowed to pursue his own calling so that there may be no discontent.= =4. Evil customs of the past shall be broken off and everything based upon the just laws of Nature.= =5. Knowledge shall be sought throughout the world so as to strengthen the foundations of imperial rule.=

Questions 1. Why did the leaders of the Meiji Restoration feel it necessary to issue the Charter Oath? 2. How would you have reacted to this document as a Japanese samurai at the time? What if you were a warrior from the Tokugawa clan? What if you had been a peasant or urban merchant? 3. What do you think the authors of this document meant by “deliberative assemblies” and “public discussion”? Does this suggest a commitment to democratic rule? 4. What did the authors of the Charter Oath believe to be the “evil customs of the past”? 5. How does the final clause contrast to Qing China's sending Pin Shun (a Qing Court Mandarin that was accompanied by Robert Hart) to Europe?