Throughout most history, Japan has been heavily influenced by China in terms of culture,
philosophy, law, to name a few. Well, this all changed after the Meiji restoration when
Japan came to see China as… antiquated and weak against Western powers. Back in 1894,
the small power of Japan faced the colossal
Chinese empire in the Sino-Japanese war. Fought over the Korean peninsula,
this war would be the ultimate test between the two powers and their respective modernisation
projects. And trust me… it was an absolute steamroll campaign for one side of the conflict.
Tonghak Peasant Revolution
During the 1880s, the bond between Japan and Korea's Chosun dynasty worsened as Korea
leaned more and more towards its conservatism. In 1894, the pro-Japanese Korean leader Kim Ok-Kyun,
who was involved with the Gapsin Coup a decade previous, was assassinated in Shanghai.
The aftermath was a bit of a gruesome affair, as authorities in Shanghai decided laws
against extradition did not apply to corpses. His body was subsequently
shipped to Korea and paraded around its provinces, serving
as an example of what would happen to those that dared support Japanese influence. Just to
give you an impression of the domestic hostility between the pro-Chinese and pro-Japanese camps.
There even was a senior post, created by the Qing in Seoul, held by General Yuan Shikai, furthering
Chinese presence on the peninsula. Yuan's primary objective was to uphold China's privileged status
in Korea and ensure that Japan did not gain a foothold. After all, historically speaking,
Korea was China's most crucial tributary state. Throughout the 90s, Japan's influence on the
peninsula became more prevalent, and tensions kept rising. And then... the Tonghak Peasant Revolution
broke out and swept over Korea. This revolt, induced by a religious sect, directly threatened
the Korean monarchy and its King Gojong. Now, Tonghak was an ultra-conservative sect
that opposed anything Westernized. The uprising started as such: Anti-Japanese and Anti-Western
in its aim. But… it quickly deteriorated into an all-out civil war. Several areas of Korea became
rebel-controlled, and the rebels advanced onto Seoul. The government of King Gojong,
rather frightened, immediately requested military aid from their ally, the Qing Dynasty.
The Qing sent around 2700 soldiers to the peninsula in order to protect the
royal family. Now, suppose you've watched my video about the geopolitical situation
preceding the Sino-Japanese War. In that case, you might remember that ten years ago,
an event very similar to this one occurred on the peninsula, namely the Gapsin coup. Both China
and Japan sent troops to the Korean peninsula following this failed coup, but they eventually
agreed that both countries had to withdraw all their troops. They were only allowed to send
their troops to Korea if they notified the other party first. It seems like a clear agreement,
right? Well… the Qing sent their troops without notifying Japan, violating this Tientsin treaty.
When Japanese prime minister Ito Hirobumi got wind of this, he called a special meeting.
There it was decided Japan would send a much larger force: the Oshima Composite Brigade. Japan
was able to mobilise and transport troops faster, rendering China's time advantage useless. Around
4000 Japanese troops landed on the Korean coast in early June, only two days after the Qing troops
landed. Skirmishes erupted around the countryside, though nothing too serious yet. The Japanese
troops appeared to enjoy momentum and managed to move up to Seoul, Korea's capital, quickly.
And the Tonghak rebellion? The reason China and Japan sent their troops to Korea? Well, it was
rather quickly suppressed by a mixture of Korean and Qing troops under Yuan Shikai's command.
That wasn't the end of the fighting, though. Actually, it was just the beginning. The
Japanese commander in Korea, Otori Keisuke, received explicit orders to remain in Korea
for as long as possible. Li Hung-chang, the prominent Chinese statesman, attempted to resolve
the conflict with diplomacy but to no avail. When the Japanese troops in Korea presented King
Gojong with a list of reforms they demanded, the King instead demanded the Japanese withdraw their
force from Korea altogether. It would take less than a month for the Japanese to seize King Gojong
after refusing to carry out reforms multiple more times. Japanese troops captured the Korean palace
in Seoul on July 21st and installed a "regent" loyal to their interests (Spence, 222-223).
Still, officially it was only on August 1st, 1894, that Japan declared war on China.
That did not mean that there was an absence of skirmishes and hostility, however. Jonathan Spence
writes that on the same day the pro-Japanese government was installed, July 21st, Japanese
ships fired on a British transport containing Qing soldiers to Korea. Few Qing soldiers survived,
and many skirmishes on land would follow before both parties officially declared war!
The First Sino-Japanese war would be the definitive test regarding the results
of the Chinese self-strengthening movement and Japanese modernisation.
It makes an interesting case for the comparative analysis between both countries, both embarking on
their respective modernisation paths. However, one would turn out to be far superior to the other.
The First Sino-Japanese War
On July 25th, The Japanese and Qing fought the first naval battle of Pungdo. Under the command
of Captain Togo Heihachiro, the Japanese Naniwa, a protected cruiser, sunk three ships and caused
over one thousand casualties. The number of losses had something to do with the Japanese refusal to
rescue the Chinese sailors after they sank their boat. Four days later, they fought the battle of
Asan on Korean soil. It was the first overseas battle Japan fought in over three hundred years.
Although most Chinese soldiers managed to escape and meet up with the rest of the Chinese army
at Pyongyang, Japan was once again victorious. Meanwhile, soldiers from both sides were still
pouring on the peninsula. China had dispatched over 20.000 Chinese soldiers into Korea,
and the Japanese under General Aritomo Yamagata had landed on Inchon with
their goal to speed through the Korean land. On September 16th, the two armies met at Pyongyang
for the first time since the official declaration of war. The Japanese attacked Pyongyang from
several directions, overrunning the Chinese defenders under General Ye Zhichao. The Chinese
suffered hefty losses compared to the Japanese: five hundred to seven thousand casualties.
Japan decisively defeated Qing forces in a series of battles around Seoul and Pyongyang.
The Japanese were able to advance northward. Not much later, they again met Qing forces
at the Battle of the Yalu River. Japan emerged victorious once again, now officially entering
Qing territory. It had been a steamroll campaign no one had expected, with Qing forces suffering
defeat after defeat. Yamagata's First Army crossed the Yalu River undetected during the night,
routing Chinese guards on outposts in Manchuria. While part of Yamagata's army under General
Katsura Taro pursued the routed Chinese forces, the other part under General Nozu
Michitsura advanced towards the city of Mukden. While Yamagata asserted his dominance in Northern
Korea, a second army corps under Oyama Iwao landed on the Liaodong Peninsula, capturing the
last strongholds of the Chinese army and laying siege on Lushunkou, better known as Port Arthur.
Within four weeks, they captured it. What followed was the infamous Port Arthur
massacre, where Japanese soldiers wreaked havoc on citizens and soldiers still residing in the
port. Though challenging to estimate the amount of Chinese slaughtered, it is thought these number in
thousands, if not tens of thousands. In effect, it meant that Japan had asserted its complete control
over Korean territory within two months. Japan's land forces could now enter China proper...
As a historical footnote, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, the same one now facing humiliating
defeat after defeat, was established nearly two and a half centuries before by Prince Dorgon,
who had entered China and captured Beijing via the exact same route.
Hopefully, the irony is not lost on many.
Beiyang and Weihawei
The Qing's last hope was the famed Beiyang fleet. The decade previous,
they embarked on a modernisation process for their naval power, investing enormous funds in it.
Well… the Qing government was pestered by extreme institutional corruption as well.
What transpired with its fleet makes that all too clear.
Under Ito Sukeyuki and Tsuboi Kozo, the Japanese fleet first faced the Chinese Beiyang fleet,
under admiral Ding Ruchang and Liu Buchan at the Yalu River.
The Beiyang fleet was in a dreadful condition due to extreme corruption among its leadership.
It consisted of at least two battleships, ten cruisers and two torpedo boats. Suffering losses
of five protected cruisers, though no extremely fatal wounds, the fleet retreated to the heavily
fortified port of Weihaiwei. There the fleet laid dormant, behind a curtain of protective mines,
not participating in any battles…. It ensured the Japanese gained control
over the Yellow Sea and boosted the morale of Japanese troops and the homefront even more.
It also severely upset the balance of power in the region, in China and internationally. The
poor performance of the Beiyang fleet, which was expected to be China's chip to victory,
inspired a rivalry among imperialist powers competing to encroach on China's periphery. This
wasn't too rare, as it is something we will see enough of in Chinese history in the years to come.
The Beiyang fleet lay dormant in the port of Weihaiwei, but on land, the Qing forces were
beaten back by the advancing Japanese. The land forces retreated to Weihaiwei as well,
but, according to Jonathan Spence, surprised by the rapid advancement of the Japanese, they were
outflanked by a manoeuvre of Japanese forces on land and by the fleet under Admiral Ito Sukeyuki.
The siege of Weihaiwei followed. The Japanese suffered minor losses, although a Japanese Major
General, Odera Yasuzumi, did die during the fighting. After 23 days of siege,
the Japanese forces seized the Weihaiwei defensive forts from the landward side.
As Japanese troops entered the town of Weihaiwei, several Chinese sailors mutinied.
The Chinese Admiral Ding Ruchang took his own life, together with his deputy Liu Buchan
and the senior Qing commandants of the forts. Turning the guns on the Chinese fleet whilst
penetrating the minefields with torpedo boats, the Japanese destroyed whatever was leftover
of the Beiyang Fleet, although admittedly, this was barely anything.
The Battle of Weihaiwei was the last major battle of the war. China simply did
not have a fleet anymore. They truly suffered defeat upon defeat. It was total chaos. Peace
negotiations were instigated. Throughout the talks, there were several skirmishes between
Japanese and Chinese troops, although none noteworthy. China indeed was a beaten nation….
Treaty of Shimonoseki
On April 17th, 1895, China could do nothing but sign the peace treaty of Shimonoseki.
The disgraced Prince Gong was approached by the Qing court, just as he had 35 years before,
after the Second Opium War when the summer palace had been burned. He is noted as lamenting to a
Western diplomat that "he had been given the job of piecing together the cup
which the present ministers have smashed to the floor". I don't think he was too wrong about that.
Assisting prince Gong was Li Hung-chang, sent as the Chinese envoy to Japan, tasked with signing
the treaty acknowledging the independence of Korea. Korea instantly became a de-facto
Japanese protectorate. Now, this treaty of Shimonoseki was absolutely disastrous for China.
Interestingly, these terms would have been even worse had a Japanese assassin not shot at Li while
the Chinese diplomat was negotiating the treaty in Japan. The Japanese government was embarrassed
not just to China but the entire world. Aside from Korea's independence, China ceded
"in perpetuity" the Pescadores, Taiwan, which now would remain a colony of Japan until 1945
and the Liaodong Peninsula of southern Manchuria. China had to pay an indemnity of two-hundred
million silver taels and grant Japan commercial and industrial privileges on its territory,
a right that was reserved only for European powers up until now. It had to open four ports and allow
the Japanese to manufacture locally in China. Japan suddenly gained access to an enormous
market and could invest even more capital into the modernisation of its industries.
Due to the shift in the balance of power, Russia feared for its sphere of influence because Japan
suddenly gained the Liaodong Peninsula, harbouring the very strategically located Port Arthur.
Russia had set its own eyes on this peninsula, and it managed to get Germany and France to
support its protests. Together they managed to force Japan to relinquish its claim. Under this
Triple Intervention, they twisted Japan's arm into retroceding the Liaodong peninsula back to China.
Port Arthur would be the crucial port during the Russo-Japanese war ten years later. But, for now,
it would cost China an additional thirty million silver taels. In order to pay off these debts,
China had to borrow money from foreign powers against terrible rates. Russia got Russian and
French banks to loan China half about half the amount required to pay its indemnity to Japan.
A year later, in 1896, Russia managed to get a concession from the Chinese to
build the trans-Siberian railway through Manchuria to Vladivostok, which was more
efficient than building it through Russia's own territory… the fact that China allowed
Russia to build a railroad through Manchuria would have far-reaching consequences, however.
In the end, the Sino-Japanese war and China's humiliating defeat
marked the dark conclusion of China's hopeful attempt at self-strengthening.
Geopolitical aftermath
After Russia gained permission to build their Trans-Siberian Railway across Manchuria,
they negotiated a secret Russo-Chinese treaty of alliance, also known a the Li-Lobanov Treaty.
In short, this meant both countries had to come
to each other's aid in the case of Japanese aggression.
A year later, Russia took it upon themselves to send a naval squadron into Port Arthur.
In 1898, they received a 25-year lease for the entire Liaodong Peninsula,
which would be vital during the Russo-Japanese war, only seven years away. They basically
abused their newfound "alliance" with China. The war had exposed the Qing dynasty's weakness.
The fact that Russia obtained her ice-free port, and managed to connect it via railway to Europe,
convinced the other European powers they had to act quickly to maintain their own
sphere of influence. France, Britain and Germany started encroaching onto the Chinese periphery
and sometimes straight-up seized ports and trading posts. The practice was pretty much in line with
modern imperialism common during that time. And as for domestic politics in China? The
defeat was highly humiliating and caused a rift between the conservatives and progressives. There
was no way around it: China, once the 'centre of the world' was on the backfoot. In Beijing,
China's brightest young scholars had gathered, unanimously denouncing the treaty of Shimonoseki
and demanded a new, modernised and more robust program of economic growth and governmental
reform. The defeat encouraged movements for reform and revolution. A domestic reform
movement was initiated by Chinese scholars, most noteworthy K'ang Yu-Wei, who gained the patronage
of the Guanzhong emperor. What followed were the one-hundred days of radical reforms.
These hundred days did not end well, however. These events deserve an entire video on its own,
and can be found on my channel or in an end-card on-screen. Thank you for watching this video
and what is an event or person from Chinese or Japanese history that you would like to
know more about, and perhaps see a video of? Let me know your thoughts in the comments and
if you enjoyed the video, consider subscribing to my channel. See you next time!