Figure 1.--Modernizing Japan first brought in growing power to bear in the First Sino-Japanese War (1984-95). The War was largely fought for control of the Korean Peninsula, although the Japanese wiukd then jave to fight the Russians as well. Japan would also acquire Formosa (Taiwan), another territory that had for centuruies been cionsidered withon the Chinese area of influence. Here is a Japanese view of the fighting. We can not read the Japanese inspription, hopefully one of our Japanese readers will translate. Click on the image to see the full battle scene.

Japan began using it rising military power to build an overseas empire. The Japanese shocked the Chinese when they emerged victorious in the First Sino-Japanese War. Tension between China and Japan over interests in Korea broke out in war (1894). The War highlighted the decline of the Qing dynasty. It also highlighted the weakness of the Chinese military and the success of the modernization process in Japan. The Yi dynasty in Korea attempted continue its traditional seclusion. Korea had a tributary relationship with China which in exchange had provided military protection. China allowed Japan to recognize Korea as an independent state (1875). Subsequently the situation in Korea became complicated. China attempted to maintain its influence while Japan attempted to expand its influence. The Koreans divided between conservative traditionalists and reformists, many of who supported the Japanese. After the assassination of a reformer, a Korean religious sect, the Tonghak, launched a rebellion. The traditionalist Korean Government asked for Chinese military support. A Japanese military expedition reached Seoul (June 8, 1894), ostensibly to support the reformers. China declared war (August 1) after both land and naval engagements had occurred. The War was a disaster for China. The Japanese Arny mauled the Chinese in battles around Seoul and Pyóngyang. The Chinese retreated north and suffered another defeat at Liaoning. The Japanese then took Port Arthur (Luda) (November 21). The Chinese fared even worse at sea. China's northern fleet was devastated by the Japanese Navy in a battle at the mouth of the Yalu River. The Yalu forms part of the border between China and Korea. The Japanese sank 8 of 12 Chinese ships engaged. The surviving 4 ships withdrew behind the fortifications of the naval base at Weihaiwei. There they were destroyed when the Japanese attacked by land across the Liaodong Peninsula. Japan took Weihaiwei (February 2, 1895). After the harsh Winter weather passed, The Japanese drove into Manchuria. The Chinese finally sued for peace. The Treaty of Shimonoseki ended the War (April 1895). Korea was recognized as a sovereign state, but effectively became a Japanese protectorate. China ceded Formosa (Taiwan), the Liaodong Peninsula, and the Pescadores Islands to Japan. The Japanese set out on a comprehensive program of imposing the Japanese language and culture. China was required to pay an indemnity of 200 million taels. Even more humiliating for China, they were forced to open four more treaty ports to external trade. The outcome of the War, however, was modified by the Triple Intervention (Russia, France, and Germany). They forced Japan to return the Liaodong Peninsula, but China was required to pay an additional 30 million taels to mollify the Japanese. China's defeat outraged Chinese students and strengthened the reform movement in China. Sun Yat-sen founded the revolutionary republican movement which evolved into the Kuomintang.

Korea

Tension between China and Japan over interests in Korea broke out in war (1894). The Yi dynasty in Korea attempted continue its traditional seclusion. Korea had a tributary relationship with China which in exchange had provided military protection. China allowed Japan to recognize Korea as an independent state (1875). Subsequently the situation in Korea became complicated. China attempted to maintain its influence while Japan attempted to expand its influence. The Koreans divided between conservative traditionalists and reformists, many of who supported the Japanese. After the assassination of a reformer, a Korean religious sect, the Tonghak, launched a rebellion. The traditionalist Korean Government asked for Chinese military support. A Japanese military expedition reached Seoul (June 8, 1894), ostensibly to support the reformers.

Declaration of War

The Japanese claimed that the small force China dispatched to Korea violated the agreement Sino-Japanese Agreement of 1885. This required the two countries to consult prior to any interventions. As a consequence Japan declared war (????). China declared war (August 1) after both land and naval engagements had occurred.

Engagements

The War was a disaster for China. The Japanese Arny mauled the Chinese in battles around Seoul and Pyóngyang. The Chinese retreated north and suffered another defeat at Liaoning. The Japanese then took Port Arthur (Luda) (November 21). The Chinese fared even worse at sea. China's northern fleet was devastated by the Japanese Navy in a battle at the mouth of the Yalu River. The Yalu forms part of the border between China and Korea. The Japanese sank 8 of 12 Chinese ships engaged. The surviving 4 ships withdrew behind the fortifications of the naval base at Weihaiwei. There they were destroyed when the Japanese attacked by land across the Liaodong Peninsula. Japan took Weihaiwei (February 2, 1895). After the harsh Winter weather passed, The Japanese drove into Manchuria. The Chinese finally sued for peace.

Atrocities

The Japanese seized the city of Lüshun, formerly Russian Port Arthur, it is now part of Dalian in northeastern China. Japanese forces seized the city early in the First Sino-Japanese War and began killing Chinese soldiers and civilians in large numbers (November 21-23, 1894). The action is known as the Port Arthur/ Lüshun massacre. The Japanese mercilessly slaughter Chinese civilians over a several days reign of terror. Forward elements of the First Division of the Japanese Second Army commanded by General Yamaji Motoharu (1841–97) entered Lüshun. What transpired is not altogether clear, except that the Japanese troops began killing Chinese soldiers and civilians in large numbers. Reports vary considerably, ranging between 1,000 - 20,000 Chinese people. One report suggests only 26 Chinese were left alive to bury the bodies. [Villiers, p. 330.] The higher estimates seem unlikely as contemporary account reports that the total population was only 13,000 people (6,000 civilians and 7,000 soldiers). [Northrop] The Japanese subsequently attempted to conceal what they had done. They buried the bodies of their victims. The event is notable for both the barbarity of the Japanese and the fact that their subsequent largely correct treatment of Europeans in Russo-Japanese War. The Japanese clearly different in how they viewed and treated Chinese and Europeans. The later Rape of Nanking (1937) is well known, largely because of the greater presence of foreigners and the power of photo-journalism. The Lushun Massacre was essentially the same, albeit on a much smaller scale. .

Treaty of Shimonoseki (April 1895)

The Treaty of Shimonoseki ended the War (April 1895). Korea was recognized as a sovereign state, but effectively became a Japanese protectorate. China ceded Formosa (Taiwan), the Liaodong Peninsula, and the Pescadores Islands to Japan. China was required to pay an indemnity of 200 million taels. Even more humiliating for China, they were forced to open four more treaty ports to external trade.

The Triple Intervention

The outcome of the War was modified by the Triple Intervention (Russia, France, and Germany). Russia objected to ceding part of the Asian mainland to Japan. Both France and Germany supported Russia. They forced Japan to return the Liaodong Peninsula, but China was required to pay an additional 30 million taels to mollify the Japanese. The Japanese were outraged when the Russians obtained a lease to much of the territory that Japan had claimed. The British French and Russians pursued other demands for more concessions from China. Japan's diplomatic isolation made it clear to the Japanese that they needed a European ally. Thus it was a major factor leading to the Anglo-Japanese Naval Treaty (1901).

Impact on China

The War highlighted the decline of the Qing dynasty. It also highlighted the weakness of the Chinese military and the success of the modernization process in Japan. China's defeat outraged Chinese students and strengthened the reform movement in China. Sun Yat-sen founded the revolutionary republican movement which evolved into the Kuomintang.

Japanese Colonial Formosa (Taiwan)

The Japanese set out on a comprehensive program of imposing the Japanese language and culture.

Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-45)

Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) strengthened its influence in Manchuria. The Japanese Kwantung Army occupied Manchuria, a Chinese province, using as a pretext a faked incident on the main railroad (1931). Japan then declared "Manchukuo" an independent state, setting up Pu Yi, the last Manchu Emperor of China as puppet Emperor (1932). Anti-Japanese disturbances broke out in Shanghai. The Japanese bombed the unprotected city to quell the disturbances. There was no effort to hit military targets. This was the first of many Japanese terror bombings of civilian populations. Japan withdrew from the League of Nations as a resulted of the criticism of her military operations in Manchuria and China (1933). Japan invaded China proper in July 1937, launching the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese Kwantung Army turned a small incident into a full scale war. The well equipped Japanese forces rapidly occupied almost the entire Chinese coast of China and ten moved up rivers and railroad lines into the interior. The Japanese in the process committed war atrocities on an unprecedented level against the Chinese civilian population. The most savage of these explosions of barbarity was the Rape of Nanking, after the fall of the capital Nanking. Here European diplomats and missionaries witnessed the brutality of the Japanese. It should be noted that these atrocities were not inherent in the Japanese character. The Japanese conduct and treatment of both military prisoners and civilians during the Russo-Japanese War and World War I had been correct and in accordance with accepted international standards. The Japanese military invading China behaved very differently. Despite the Japanese onslaught, the Chinese government never surrendered. America even before entering the war against Japan funneled supplies to the Chinese through Burma. A covert operation set up the Flying Tigers to provide the Chinese a creditable air capability. The Chinese achieved no real military victories, but the Japanese were never able to defeat them. They moved further inland, setting up a new capital Kumintang. The War continued on a lower scale, but involved the continued deployment of the bulk of the Japanese Army.

Sources

Northrop, Henry Davenport. Flowery Kingdom and The Land of Mikado or China, Japan and Corea: Graphic Account of the War between China and Japan-Its Causes, Land and Naval Battles (1894).

Sanpsom, G.B. The Western World and Japan (London, 1950).

Villiers, Frederic. The Truth About Port Arthur (Cornell University).

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Created: 12:20 AM 9/21/2005
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