The First Sino-Japanese War - Essay Example

The First Sino-Japanese War Introduction The First Sino-Japanese War was battled fora period of 9 months from August 1 1894 to April 17 1895 between the Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan over the governorship and influence over Korea. In China, the war is known as the War of Jiawu, which denotes the period it was fought in which is 1848 under the traditional Chinese calendar. The war proceeded for five years with the Japanese troops and navy triumphant over their Chinese adversaries until the capture of Weihaiwei after which the Chinese called for a ceasefire and peace in February 1895. Through the war, it could be seen that the Qing Dynasty had become a spent force after fighting in the Opium Wars in the nineteenth century. However, Japan under the Meijin Restoration had reformed considerably for the better and after the war; it exerted its superiority in all over East Asia to the detriment of the Self-Strengthening of the Qing Dynasty in China. After several years of being excluded from international affairs of states, the Japanese opened up to trade with the Americans in 1854. It also marked the transformation of the Japanese government from a feudal system of governance to that of an industrial state governed by modern ideals. The students from Japan had also been sent to international schools in the Western world so that they could come back and adopt the Western ways of living and the running of states (Jansen, 335). With the continued development, there arose the need for Japan to protect its own interests and security amongst the surrounding nations. In order to protect its interests and security, Japan deemed it fit to take over Korea and maintain an influence over it or alternatively strive at reforming its administrative system so that it can run effectively and independently. This set Japan on a collision course with China, which had hitherto controlled the Korean peninsula. Moreover, there was competition for the coal and iron in Korea, which was much needed for the industrial revolution taking place within Japan as well as the prospect of benefiting from agricultural produce imported from Korea to feed its population. This led to the signing of the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1876 which opened trade between Korea and Japan enabling the Japanese to exert a certain level of influence over Korea. This irked the Qing Dynasty of China, which had controlled Korea and the ruling Joseon Dyanasty leaving Korea split on whether to reform and trade with Japan or remains conservatively leaning towards China (Hong, 314). When famine struck Korea in 1882, there was citizen unrest leading to the attack of Japanese installations in Korea especially in Seoul. This led to Japan deploying war ships in Seoul of which China responded by sending troops to counter them. A treaty known as the Treaty of Chemulpo was however signed to forestall the conflict from degenerating into a fully-fledged war with the treaty favoring Japan and its installations. Conflict over Korea In 1884, citizens of Korea that support Japan organized a coup known as the Gaspin Coup against the conservatives who were supporting the Chinese, but were repulsed through the help of Chinese troops. This led to a conflict between the Japanese and the Chinese troops but was settled by the Convention of Tientsin of 1885, which agreed that both Japan and China must remove their troops from Korea. The treaty also stipulated that they would not send military instructors to train the military in Korea without consultation while also emphasizing that their activities in Korea would only be for peaceful purposes. After this, diplomatic relations and trade were restored in Korea with the antagonists pursuing their interests for peaceful means though they still undermined each other (Gordon). Later there was the Nagasaki Riots after the Qing Dynasty soldiers docked by the city leading to massive casualties especially the police officers. Instead of the rulers of China apologizing for what had happened, they emphasized their superiority over the Japanese in terms of war hardware. In 1889, there was poor harvest of beans in Korea and therefore Japan that depended on its produce greatly suffered leading it to ask for compensation which it was paid by Korea. The killing of a Pro-Japanese revolutionary of Korean origin in Shanghai China and the display of his body in Korea as a warning to rebels angered Japan and it prepared to retaliate. Starting June 1894, a rebellion, which later came to be known as Tonghak Rebellion made the king of Korea to request for Chinese, who sent in troops without consulting Japan as had been required of the earlier treaty. The Japanese also sent in troops, took the Korean king captive, and installed a new government supportive of Japanese interests but this was rejected by the Chinese. This marked the beginning of serious hostilities between Japan and China over Korea as a place they each wanted to exert their influence. At the beginning, the Chinese troops were very much outnumbered by the Japanese troops and they fought at the Bay of Asan which led to the sinking of ships and blockade. The official war began on 1 August 1894 with the Japanese Imperial Army exerting the initial casualties on the Chinese who retreated to Pyongyang. The Japanese eventually drove off the remaining Chinese troops out of Pyongyang and captured it on September 16th 1894. The following day there was a confrontation whereby the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyed much of the Chinese Beiyang Fleet (Paine, 179). There were later battles in Manchuria, Hushan, Dandong and Fengcheng amongst other towns and cities with the Japanese still victorious over the Chinese. Later, the Japanese took over the cities of Lushunkou and massacred citizens of Chinese origin and Weihaiwei on 20 January and 12 February 1895. This was followed by the attack and occupation of the Pescadores Islands by the Japanese forces against the wishes of the Qing Dynasty of China culminating in the Treaty of Shimonoseki in April 1895. End of the War With the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki on April 17 1895, China recognized the independence of Korea and left occupation of Liadong Peninsula, Taiwan and Penghu Islands to Japan as a way of surrender in the war. Though the islands of Senkaku were not covered by the treaty, Japan took possession of them and made them part of Okinawa in 1895. This has been a source of dispute between China and Japan to the present day as both claim ownership of these islands and whether the treaty covered them. As part of the treaty, China was to repatriate Japan 200 million Kuping taels as well as allow Japanese vessels to use Yangtze River for foreign trade. In what is known as the Tripple Intervention, Japan later gave up Liaodong Peninsula to China in exchange for a further 30 million Kuping taels (New World Encyclopedia). Conclusion The triumph of Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War can be attributed to its modern fleets as well as superior war tactics made possible through strategy, foresight and proper organization. The Chinese had an ineffective regime led by the inefficient and corrupt Qing Dynasty, which led to its defeat in the war. Japan therefore managed to reduce the influence of the Chinese in Korea with prosperity registered after the overthrow of the Korean king and a friendly Japanese government. Through this, the trade by Japan flourished thus making its economy to grow in bounds. However, the divisions created in Korea would later lead to the splitting of Korea into North and South Korea, each with an attachment to either Japan or China. The pro-Chinese Conservatives congregated around China forming North Korea while the pro-Japanese formed South Korea that leans towards Japan. Works Cited Top of Form Hong, Wontack. Korea and Japan in East Asian History: A Tripolar Approach to East Asian History. Seoul: Kudara International, 2006. Print. Bottom of Form Jansen, Marius. The Making of Modern Japan. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000. Print. Paine, Sarah. The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Print. Gordon, Bill. Explanations of Japan’s Imperialistic Expression 1894-1910. 2003. Web. 24 April 2014 New World Encyclopedia. First Sino-Japanese War. October 24, 2013. 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