War of Jiawu/First Sino-Japanese War
1894-1895
Records in Chinese
PRE-WAR YEARS
Chinese historians attribute the loss of the War of JiaWu to the Qing government’s overlooking of the need to improve its naval forces. Since the Beiyang fleet’s (北洋海军) founding in 1888, its commander Li Hongzhang (李鸿章) asked for funds to improve the navy’s equipment. This was to no avail because the Emperor Guangxu’s (光绪) well-trusted teacher Weng Tonghe (翁同龢) was a bitter enemy of Li’s and was steadfastly against funding the navy.
On the other hand, Chinese records indicate that Japan has been increasing its military spending, using as much as an average of 31% of the country’s annual income for war preparation in the few years leading up to 1894. Thus, just in the readiness for war, China was at a disadvantage.
THE WAR
In 1894, the Kingdom of Korea asked for military aid from China for a rebellion. Japan was unhappy that China sent soldiers over and decided to takeover Korea and invade China with this chance.
On July 25, 1894, the Japanese sunk the ship Kowshing (高升号) that Li borrowed from the British. The ship carried Chinese army reinforcements to Korea. At first, the British military was enraged at the loss, but the Japanese managed to find academics who wrote about the incident to distort it into the Chinese kidnapping the ship. Kowshing’s British captain also provided corroborating testimony. The British courts decided that China must pay for the ship’s losses. This event marked both the British’s priority in protecting its commercial interests and the start of Japanese aggression in Asia.
On August 1, 1894, China and Japan officially declared war on each other. On September 17, Japanese ships and the Chinese Beiyang fleet met at the Yellow Sea (黄海). The Chinese fleet was protecting its army’s landing onto Korea, but its black coal smoke allowed the Japanese to discover and surround it before the commanders’ notice. The Chinese quickly lost the fight and five major ships were sunk. Worse, Pyongyang, the Chinese army’s destination, was already taken over by the Japanese a day before the encounter.
After Korea was taken over by Japan, in October, the Qing army lost in the Battle of the Yalu River (鸭绿江江防之战). The Japanese only had 4 deaths and 140 wounded, while the Chinese had over 2000 deaths. This marked Japan’s entrance to Chinese lands. By November 22, Japan took over Lüshun (旅顺口), an important port in the northeast of China, and massacred 20,000 civilians in the subsequent four days. The Qing government was not responsive, as Empress Dowager Cixi (慈禧) celebrated her 60th birthday on the 22nd, and ordered for a three-day rest of all government and military meetings.
In February 1895, the Japanese launched an assault on Weihaiwei (威海卫), and sent a letter that urged surrender to Ding Ruchang (丁汝昌), the commander of what is left of the Beiyang fleet. Ding gave no response except killing himself, and his two deputies followed suit. The commanders also destroyed the Dingyuan (定远) ship to avoid giving their enemies resources.
RESULTS OF THE WAR
With the loss of this decisive Battle of Weihaiwei (威海卫之战), the Japanese moved on to take over several cities, and the Qing government sought ceasefire negotiations. The two countries’ delegation settled on the Treaty of Maguan (马关条约, also known as the Treaty of Shimonoseki). The treaty mainly stated that 1) Korea is independent and no longer has to pay tributes to China; 2) China must pay 200,000,000 taels of silver of indemnity [See Note 1]; and 3) China must give up Taiwan, Penghu Islands, and the Liaodong region to Japan. While Russia, France, and Germany intervened to let Japan give back the Liaodong region six days later, China had to pay an additional 30,000,000 taels of silver as ransom.
Records in English
LEADUP TO THE WAR
The Kingdom of Korea witnessed the Donghak Rebellion, a peasant uprising, in 1894. The Qing government sent troops upon Korea’s request. This angered Japan, as according to the Convention of Tianjin [See Note 2] (天津条约) signed in 1885, China and Japan must provide written notice to the other party should either send troops to Korea. Japan also sent troops to Korea in the name of protecting its nationals and interests in the land.
On July 23, 1894, after the Donghak Rebellion was suppressed, Japan seized Seoul and replaced the Korean court with its puppet government. Chinese ships stationed in Korea were sunk after the Japanese created a naval blockade, and Chinese reinforcements on the ship Kowshing were also sunk.
THE WAR
Emperor Guangxu (China) and Meiji (Japan) both declared war on August 1. Remaining Chinese forces in Korea eventually joined another Chinese post at Pyongyang. They fought Japanese offenses in September but eventually lost. During the Battle of Pyongyang (平壤之战), the Chinese supposedly suffered tenfold casualties of the Japanese, losing 2,000 men and having 4,000 wounded. While China later sent its modernized Beiyang fleet as reinforcement, the Japanese destroyed most of the fleet and occupied the whole Korean peninsula by the end of 1894.
In 1895, the Japanese navy and army proceeded to occupy Weihaiwei, a harbor in northern China. The commander of the Beiyang fleet Ding Ruchang (丁汝昌) killed himself; his second-in-command followed suit after blowing up his ship to avoid providing resources to the Japanese.
RESULTS OF THE WAR
Eventually, China and Japan signed the Treaty of Maguan (马关条约, also known as the Treaty of Shimonoseki), an equal treaty that required China to 1) give Japan Taiwan, the Penghu Islands, and the Liaodong region; 2) pay 200 million (200,000,000) taels of silver indemnity; and 3) give Japan the most favored nation status. China also had to give up any control over the Kingdom of Korea.
Russia, Germany, and France intervened five days later to let Japan return Liaodong to China in exchange for 30 million (30,000,000) more taels of silver. The island of Taiwan was outraged to be ceded, and supposedly rebelled against the Qing dynasty [See Note 3] and fought against Japan. The Taiwan forces were defeated after five months.