日本顾问是产生于晚清时期的特殊事物。它的出现,反映了当时中日关系的不平衡发展。顾问的作用与普通的外籍雇员不同,它更具有“智囊”性质。晚清时期的日本顾问,不仅在“新政”改革中发挥了作用,同时亦充当日本侵略中国的“先行军”。顾问人数的多少、地区分布情况,还体现了晚清政府与世界各国间的外交关系,以及国内政治力量的此消彼长。因此,日本顾问是反映清末国际关系与国内政治力量兴衰的“晴雨表”。 Japanese consultants are special things that originated in the late Qing period. Its appearance reflects the unbalanced development of the Sino-Japanese relations at that time. Unlike ordinary expatriate employees, consultants have a “think tank” nature. Japanese advisers in the late Qing period not only played a role in the “New Deal” reform, but also served as “pioneers” for Japan’s invasion of China. The number of consultants, their geographical distribution, and the diplomatic relations between the government of the late Qing Dynasty and the rest of the world, as well as the change of the political forces in the country. Therefore, Japanese consultants are “barometers” reflecting the rise and fall of international relations and political power in the late Qing Dynasty.