In March 1894, on a night of early spring, the lights in the study room of the Forbidden City were not extinguished, and Emperor Guangxu was still reviewing memorials. His personal rule coincided with a rare period of good time in the history of the late Qing Dynasty. The Taiping Rebellion was suppressed, and foreign affairs in various regions flourished. Even diplomacy with Western powers temporarily reconciled. The so-called revival of the Tongguang era brought a glimmer of vitality to this decaying dynasty. On this night, a memorial presented by Li Hongzhang, the Governor General of Zhili, the Minister of Beiyang, appeared on Guangxu’s desk. The Beiyang Navy had just returned from a patrol in the Nanyang, and Li Hongzhang had just returned. The chapter submitted a memorial to the court, lamenting the fact that the ships and equipment of the Beiyang Navy had begun to lag behind. They applied to the naval yamen to install advanced rapid fire guns for the main ships even if they did not purchase fast ships in the short term. Such a memorial was not unfamiliar to Guangxu, After the formation of the Beiyang Navy in 1888, Li Hongzhang wrote several letters requesting updates to the navy’s equipment. However, the court’s financial revenue was tight, and there was a political conflict between the two. During the debate and hesitation over this matter, Emperor Guangxu only gave a five word instruction, which the yamen knew. The memorial sank into the sea, and few people paid attention to the dangerous information it once revealed. The ship styles of Western countries were changing rapidly, even Japan, a small country, could still save money. China added giant ships every year. Since the establishment of the Beiyang Navy in fourteen years, China has not added a ship so far, and it is difficult to continue. In 1894, in the year of the Jiawu lunar calendar, a war to change the national destiny between the Qing Dynasty and its neighboring countries was about to start. One side was preparing to launch, while the other was unaware. On the northwest side of Weihai Bay in Shandong Province, Liugong Island, a huge military ship is anchored on the shore of Weihai Passenger Terminal. The ship has a black body and white walls, which are Victorian style paintings popular in the 19th century. This military ship is a one-to-one replica of the flagship of the Qing Dynasty’s Beiyang Fleet that shook Asia. 120 years ago, the cannon of the Dingyuan was the most terrifying weapon at sea. Starting from 1879, the Qing government began to purchase new types of armored ships from Britain in order to increase coastal defense. Li Hongzhang accepted the strong recommendation of the ambassador to Germany, Li Fengbao, and chose to order two giant armored ships, the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, at the Fukengqiang Shipyard in Germany. The Dingyuan, with a displacement of 7000 tons and equipped with a 305mm rear bore gun produced by Krupp, had astonishing power. On October 29, 1885, Dingyuan raised its dragon flag and officially became the flagship of the Beiyang Navy Fleet. In 1888, the Beiyang Navy was formed in Weihai, Shandong Province. It was China’s first modern navy, representing the highest achievement of the Westernization Movement in the military field. It was also the epitome of the achievements of China’s self-improvement in the 30 years after the Opium War. At this time, the Beiyang Navy was strong, known as the first in Asia, and far ahead of neighboring Japan. There were 25 German made and British made ships, of which only five were Japanese, with a total tonnage of less than 15000 tons. The Beiyang Navy had seven, with a total tonnage of 27000 tons. Who could have expected that such a ship would be on the historical stage The navy that made its grand debut, together with its seemingly incomparably hard ships and powerful guns, was wiped out in just six years, And it was not the European fleet with strong naval strength that destroyed him, but rather the East Asian neighbor Japan, which had always been relatively backward in naval strength and fought hard to catch up with it. This made this war a profound turning point in the entire history of the Qing Dynasty. Chen Yue, Director of the Memorial Hall of the First Sino Japanese War: What was the most negative impact of the First Sino Japanese War on China? It shattered the image of a paper tiger in the Qing Dynasty. Before this war, whether it was the British, French, or Germans, although some countries had attacked me before, they always believed that China was the number one and hegemonic country in East Asia. Until the mid-19th century, due to geographical and cultural radiation, many political entities in East Asia maintained a state relationship with China known as the suzerainty system. East Asian countries, including North Korea, Ryukyu, Annan, and Myanmar, regarded China as their own suzerainty. In this political order that belonged to the same Confucian cultural circle, Japan also became a tribute country of the Ming Dynasty in China. From 1433 to 1549, a total of eleven tribute missions were sent to China. Until the mid-19th century, Japan was still a feudal country, and the Tokugawa shogunate ruled, implementing a policy of isolationism similar to the Qing Dynasty. Prohibition of foreign trade with Japan, but the arrival of a black warship changed everything. In July 1853, US Navy Brigadier General Perry led a fleet to anchor in Edo Bay, Japan. One year later, under the deterrence of giant ships, the Treaty of Kanagawa between Japan and the US was signed, and upon hearing this news, Britain and Russia were forced to open up to the West. However, the Black Boat Incident became an opportunity for Japan’s reform. Chen Yue: They also started to resist the West. Black ships, just the steam ships of the Perry Fleet in the United States, how did Japan react after arriving in Japan? He specifically picked a group of burly sumo wrestlers and Hercules, what did they do? They sent rice and supplies to the United States, not just ordinary women. They all used sumo wrestlers to send them, making foreigners and Americans think that this country is a Hercules country, and everyone was like this. It was like running away quickly, scaring you all. But later on, they realized that this move was actually quite ridiculous. They themselves were quite ridiculous, and their own ideological enlightenment at that time broke the ban. I risked going to prison and boarded an American ship. When I arrived in the United States, I saw Americans with high nose bridges and deep eye sockets, so I knelt down on the ground and kowtowed, Please ask the Americans to take him in. He wants to learn from Americans, and their mindset will change at this moment because I think their sense of survival crisis is too strong. Compared to the island nation of Japan, China’s resources are obviously much more abundant, and the sense of survival crisis is naturally not so strong. Before the emergence of ships, China was like a greenhouse, and it could live well without contact with anyone. Westerners were eager to open up China’s trade market and exchange tea and porcelain, but found that the Chinese people were not rare in what they exchanged. The inertia nurtured in the environment unconsciously made Chinese people react several times slower to the modern development of the West than Japan. In 1868, led by Emperor Meiji, a group of reformers advocating reform and self-improvement presided over the Meiji Restoration. In just a few years, Japan imitated the West and established a modern national system, thus becoming the first country in East Asia to break away from the traditional dynasty model and embark on the path of modernization. History of the Meiji Restoration in Japan: Li Guorong: Since modern times, Japan has always boasted about its so-called mainland policy, which is essentially foreign aggression and expansion. The father of the Meiji Restoration, Yoshida Matsuoyin, put forward this plan of aggression in a very specific way. To the north, it was necessary to cede control of Northeast China, while to the south, it was necessary to occupy Taiwan and Korea. In history, Japan’s militarism aimed to dominate East Asia, which has a long history. Therefore, the Sino Japanese War was a major exposure of Japan’s aggression and expansion. At the beginning of Emperor Meiji’s accession to the throne in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, he issued an edict to explore the vast waves and expand his influence in all directions, and began to focus on developing the navy. China, separated by a sea, has not yet developed its own navy. This is the century old pagoda, the Luo Xing Pagoda, located on the Luo Xing Mountain in Mawei Port, Fuzhou today. It was once internationally recognized as one of the important navigation marks on the sea. There was originally a small window at the top of the tower, which is said to be used for tower watchers to light and navigate. Mawei Shipyard, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, is known as the cradle of China’s shipbuilding industry. As early as 1866, when Zuo Zongtang served as the Governor General of Zhejiang, he established the Fujian Shipyard Bureau, which is now known as Mawei Shipyard. The predecessor of the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau of Baima Dingguang Temple, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, was the first modern naval school in China. It was the first to introduce the Western education system and content, and trained a group of modern Chinese shipbuilding talents and senior generals, many of whom bravely sacrificed themselves in the brutal Battle of the First Sino Japanese War. Cultural Relics in the Collection of the Naval Academy – Ma Yong, Weihai Academy of Social Sciences, Shandong Province: Both China and Japan turned to learn from the West in 1860. The two countries are learning from the West, and what is the biggest difference? Japan is wholeheartedly learning from the West, transitioning from Asia to Europe, and completely learning from the West. China, after the Opium War, opened its doors a bit, symbolically learning. Because China learned after being defeated, China carries a certain kind of meaning. I learned to seek revenge, and I learned from the barbarians to control them. This is one of the biggest differences in the acceptance of the West between China and Japan, and this difference makes China… The contradiction between Japan gradually became prominent after 1860. China is a principle of trade that I have upheld, and Japan is a state in which I must go out. A hundred years ago, the submarine cable was invaded by the Japanese army in 1874. Fujian Shipbuilding Minister Shen Baozhen immediately responded by leading 11000 troops to Taiwan to face the enemy. This is a submarine cable from over a hundred years ago. In 1874, Shen Baozhen, after driving away the Japanese aggressors, laid a telecommunications channel between Fujian and Taiwan to strengthen ties with Taiwan. This cable was one of the sections. In that war, due to the epidemic and poor combat performance of the Japanese army, the Japanese government had to accept negotiations. With the mediation of the British Ambassador to China, Weituoma, a treaty was signed between China and Japan in October 1874. The weakness of the Qing Dynasty not only did not allow Japan to accept negotiations, but also failed to strengthen ties with Taiwan. Being condemned for its invasion behavior and paying the corresponding price, the Qing government instead compensated Japan with 500000 taels of silver for the invasion in exchange for the safety of both sides. Ma Yong: In 1860, after China’s move towards the Western Affairs New Policy, China was unwilling to manage external affairs because we were facing an urgent task of self-development. Therefore, after 1860, China gradually adopted an isolationist policy. Since the Ming Dynasty, our vast feudal system has been unwilling to maintain it. The Ryukyu Kingdom paid tribute to the same vassal state of Ryukyu, but the Qing Dynasty did not protect it. Despite Japan’s step-by-step plan to invade Ryukyu since 1872, the Ryukyu King still insisted on sending tribute missions to the Qing Dynasty to show recognition of the Qing Dynasty’s suzerainty. However, in April 1879, Japan declared the Ryukyu Islands as Okinawa Prefecture and annexed the Ryukyu Kingdom. The last king of Ryukyu, Shang Tai, was sent to Japan for house arrest. The Qing Dynasty was powerless to respond to this and could only allow Japan’s ambition to annex the Ryukyu Kingdom to succeed. In 1875, Japan sent a fleet to invade Korea and also sent envoy Mori to China to test the reaction of the Prime Minister’s Office. Li Hongzhang, who was then the Governor General of Zhili, claimed on behalf of China that although Korea was a vassal state of China, China would not intervene in its internal and foreign affairs. The weak and ignorant attitude of the Qing government was tantamount to agreeing to Japan’s aggression. In 1884, there was a pro Japanese coup in Joseon, planned by the pro Japanese faction. The Joseon king, with the help of the Qing army, quelled the coup and the Japanese government sent Hirobumi Ito to China to demand compensation for Japan’s losses. Li Hongzhang, who was busy with the Sino French War, quickly compromised and signed the “Treaty of the Tianjin Conference between China and Japan” in 1885, which stipulated that if major events occurred in the future, China and Japan must notify each other if they needed to send troops. This agreement actually provided a basis for Japan to send troops to Joseon in 1894. After various maritime powers opened China’s doors from the southeast coast, Russia, an old imperialist country, was also unwilling to fall behind and constantly coveted China’s territory from the northwest and northeast directions. Prince Gong Yiyi once coordinated the overall foreign affairs in 1860 and listed Russia as the biggest threat to external aggression. He referred to Russia as a threat to the elbow and armpit, while countries such as Britain and France were physical threats. Through the campaigns of Peter the Great, Russia obtained a port to the Baltic Sea and a window to understand Europe. In the East, Russia has been committed to gaining a foothold in Europe. China is seizing more land and obtaining an unfrozen port in the Far East region. The portrait of Zuo Zongtang in 1871 was occupied by Russian Governor Kaufman in Ili, Xinjiang. The Qing government had to urgently mobilize Zuo Zongtang, who was busy preparing for coastal defense and Fujian shipping affairs in Fuzhou, to go to the northwest to fight. After the suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the hidden troubles of the Qing Dynasty temporarily disappeared, and the danger from Russia rose to the top priority. However, at the same time, among China’s neighbors, Japan, the first modernized country in East Asia, was increasingly becoming a new concern. However, financially, the Qing Dynasty could not support the plan of both launching a war to recover its territory in the northwest and developing a navy along the southeast coast. This formed the central government’s plan for coastal defense and navy development. The controversy over border defense began to spread to various corners of the empire, even as the Qing government was still embroiled in internal conflicts, as an undercurrent composed of Japanese espionage systems began to spread, The most famous Japanese spy in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, who made contributions to infiltrating the Weihai Guard Port for reconnaissance during the First Sino Japanese War, even received an exceptional audience from the Emperor. The Memorial Hall of the War of 1894-1895 in Weihai City, Shandong Province, shows that as early as before the War of 1894-1895, the Japanese had consciously made full preparations for the war on intelligence. At this time, the Qing Dynasty had no idea of the Japanese government’s step by step, not to mention how the Japanese people spared no effort to develop the navy. The Japanese government not only issued special treasury bond for navy construction, but also put tobacco tax and drug tax into the bottomless hole of the navy, which reached one eighth of the revenue at the highest time. Look at the Qing government at that time. Although China is more abundant than Japan, the national treasury is not full. In 1889, Guangxu The emperor held a grand wedding ceremony, which cost 5.5 million silver vehicles in total, equivalent to the purchase of three Dingyuan ironclad ships of the Beiyang Navy, because the Emperor Guangxu was close to the government during his grand wedding, Empress Dowager Cixi should have retired from the central political stage of the Qing government. In order to provide a retirement home, she decided to rebuild the Summer Palace located in the northwest suburbs of Beijing. The Summer Palace in Beijing is another huge sum of money, and this fund was actually used to train the navy to establish the Kunming Lake Naval Academy in the Summer Palace. The funds originally used for naval construction were openly diverted from the navy office. In order to raise funds for the Summer Palace, the navy office also used the name of coastal defense to attract donations from officials and society. National defense became a sign of wealth. However, the money was still not enough. On June 1, 1891, the Minister of Revenue, Tonghe, suddenly submitted a request to temporarily prohibit the purchase of Western warships and guns by the North and South Seas for two years, citing fiscal austerity. This was for the navy, which was already struggling to support it., it’s like drawing from the bottom of one’s heart. Chen Yue: From Japan’s invasion of Taiwan in 1874 to 1882, they actually caused trouble in Korea. In 1884, the French came to trouble us, and Japan caused trouble in that Korea. The problems continued even further, during the Second Opium War. However, from the establishment of the Navy Office in 1885, and the return of Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, until 1890, our East Asian maritime territory truly remained calm and peaceful. As a result, both the civil and military forces of Manchuria and Korea felt that this power was enough to make us sleep, so they believed that it should be stopped, not stopped, using a single word. Call for a pause in purchasing foreign guns and artillery. The key is that the timing of this pause is too coincidental. In 1890, the Great Revolution of the Western Navy occurred in that year, We stopped at this moment, ready to cry without tears, while the Japanese navy was preparing to accelerate towards us, hitting the mark, while the Chinese navy stopped and they caught up. In the years leading up to the First Sino Japanese War, Japan’s average annual military expenditure was as high as 31% of its total revenue. The navy added eleven new warships, with a total displacement and main battleships surpassing those of the Beiyang Navy. Old ships were also equipped with rapid fire guns. However, the Beiyang Fleet, which had purchased weapons since 1891, did not add any more guns and even had a tight supply of shells. The Qing government established a navy, but did not understand how to build and maintain it, nor did they know how to use it. In late May 1894, in Dalian Bay, the Beiyang Navy was conducting a triennial comprehensive review. Amidst the deafening sound of gunfire, a telegram was handed over to the Beiyang Minister Li Hongzhang. In his hands, the North Korean Dongxue Party rose up, and the Japanese had sent ships to protect their merchants and residents. Looking at the large fleet in front of him, Li Hongzhang felt an unprecedented worry in his heart. He submitted a report to the court two months ago, Applying to purchase fast ships and cannons, attempting to challenge the Ministry of Revenue’s arms ban, was once again put on hold amidst unanimous opposition from the Qing faction. If war were to break out with Japan at this time, the Beiyang Navy would have lost the last opportunity to update its equipment before the war. Ma Yong: Because originally you built a navy, but you didn’t have a modern military organization. Your navy was isolated and not a complete set. In the Meiji Restoration reform in Japan, it was not just military reform, but also a comprehensive headquarters system called the Joint Command System. We didn’t have this thing back then. In the First Sino Japanese War, the entire Japan was a national mobilization, military mobilization, and various armies fought together. What is China? Each theater fought independently, and the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi didn’t care about this matter. The governors of Hubei and Guangxi also didn’t care, leaving only Li Hongzhang, the governor of Zhili, in charge. My article is about a conflict between a region in China and a country in Japan. In 1894, the Dongxue Party Uprising in Korea was launched by the secret organization Dongxue Party. The King of Korea requested China to quell the situation, and the Qing Dynasty’s navy and army entered Korea. Upon learning of this, Japan was overjoyed and believed that it was an excellent opportunity to start a war. The Japanese Cabinet quickly passed a resolution, using the pretext of protecting overseas Chinese and embassies to send troops to Korea and stationed in Seoul. After the uprising was quelled, Japan not only did not withdraw its troops, but also continued to increase troops on the Korean Peninsula. Japanese Foreign Minister Lu Aozong Guang instructed the Ambassador to Korea, Keisuke Ohniao, to facilitate the Sino Japanese conflict, which was an urgent task at the moment. Any means could be taken to implement this matter. On June 5th, the Wanzhong Tomb Memorial Hall in Dalian, Liaoning Province, Japan established a wartime headquarters under the name of the Emperor, composed of elite Japanese soldiers, and formulated a complete combat plan. The overall goal of the Japanese army was to transport the main force of the army from the sea to the Bohai Bay, land at a certain location, engage in a decisive battle with the Chinese army in the Zhili Plain, and then attack Beijing, forcing the formation of an alliance under the city. The key to achieving this goal was the victory or defeat of the navy. Therefore, in the first stage of deployment, the Japanese army dispatched a portion of troops to Korea to contain the Qing army, engage in a decisive battle with the Beiyang Navy at sea, and compete for maritime control. At this time, the Qing Dynasty was caught off guard. Faced with a modernization war, the whole country was at a loss as to whether or not to fight and how to fight. The court was bustling with chaos, Many high-ranking officials in the imperial court still regarded Japan as a vulnerable small country, but never had a clear strategy against the enemy. Li Hongzhang attempted to seek intervention from Russia and Britain to provoke Japan to move troops. However, this time, Li Hongzhang’s diplomatic mediation did not gain substantial support. Under military and public opinion pressure, Li Hongzhang rented a British steamship and increased troops to North Korea under the escort of Beiyang warships. On July 25th, he was suddenly attacked by Japanese ships, and the British merchant ship Gao Sheng was sunk. More than 700 Qing soldiers were buried in the sea. On the same day, the Japanese army also set sail from Seoul and headed south to attack Korea. The Qing army stationed in Yashan declared war on both China and Japan on August 1st, marking the official outbreak of the First Sino Japanese War. After the Gao Sheng incident, domestic public opinion in Britain unanimously condemned Japan’s violation of international justice, and the military also demanded retaliation against Japan. Chen Yue: Japan has been constantly using or playing with international law in maritime wars, such as the Takashi incident. Our troop transport ship was sunk by the Japanese, and it was a British troop transport ship. We were hoping that Britain would quickly attack Japan and end this matter. However, the situation suddenly turned upside down. The Japanese went to England and asked several famous international law experts from Oxford and Cambridge to write an article for him, overturning the nature of this matter. They said it was not the sinking of a British merchant ship, which was previously kidnapped by Chinese soldiers. Well, the Chinese soldiers were holding a knife holder around the captain’s neck, and the British captain provided some testimony in a very timely manner to support this. So good, This matter has overturned. In November of that year, a British court ruled that Japan was not at fault in the Gao Sheng incident, and the Qing government had to compensate for the losses of British merchant ships. Heard, a British person who was then the General Taxation Department of the Qing Dynasty Customs, bluntly stated that all countries sympathized with China’s diplomatic defeat and said that Japan’s destruction was not normal. However, no country has taken any practical action to help China. I do not believe that justice can achieve success, just like I believe that holding a single chopstick cannot eat, we must have a second chopstick and strength. The anchor of the Zhenyuan ship in Weihai City, Shandong Province was the giant anchor of the Beiyang Navy’s Zhenyuan ship at that time. It had witnessed the most magnificent battle of the First Sino Japanese War. On September 17, 1894, at noon, the main force of the Beiyang Navy encountered the Japanese joint fleet in the Yellow Sea while escorting the Qing army. The black coal smoke of the Beiyang Navy led to the discovery of its whereabouts by others one hour in advance. This warship, driven by inferior slag coal, had an old type, low speed, and insufficient ammunition, and engaged in a battle with the Japanese joint fleet that had little chance of winning but was awe inspiring. Due to its slower speed than its opponent, the Beiyang Navy encountered the Japanese. The ships were surrounded and at a disadvantage. Jingyuan and Laiyuan left the battlefield due to serious injuries, while Zhiyuan and Jingyuan were seriously injured and sank. The ironclad ships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan floated alone in the Yellow Sea. In the Battle of the Yellow Sea, The Japanese army successfully seized control of the sea, and at this time, the land warfare began to follow the Japanese plan. The Beiyang Fleet’s desperately protected army was supposed to rush to support Pyongyang, but Pyongyang had already fallen a day ago. The entire territory of North Korea was occupied, and mainland China was quickly breached by the Japanese army. Under the cover of Japanese ships, the Japanese Second Army began to land at Huayuankou on the back road of the Chinese Navy’s important town of Lushun, with the intention of occupying the Lushun Peninsula and establishing a base for the Zhili decisive battle. The Japanese army had 36 personnel carriers, 24000 people, and a large amount of supplies, and successfully landed in more than ten days. Surprisingly, they did not encounter any decent resistance, just as the Japanese army approached. At the moment of Dalian Port, the 60th birthday celebration of Empress Dowager Cixi was being held, and the civil and military officials were calling for longevity. Cixi announced that she would reward the emperor, princes, and ministers with three days of watching the opera, and all military and state affairs would be put on hold. On that day, Dalian fell, and two weeks later, the Japanese army attacked Lushun from Dalian. Li Guorong: On November 22, 1894, the Japanese army captured L ü shun, followed by a brutal massacre in L ü shun. For four consecutive days, the number of people killed reached about 20000. At that time, military officials and journalists in Europe and America saw this tragic situation and wrote some articles in newspapers. The Japanese government was very panicked, claiming that these reports were just exaggerations, but in reality, they were like this. The records in the Qing Palace archives confirmed the fact that L ü shun in Japan caused the massacre. For example, Li Hongzhang had a telegram reporting to the court that on the streets of L ü shun, 267 people were killed. A hundred people were buried in a large pit, and in the mountains around Lushun, more soldiers and civilians were killed, and none of them were buried. The massacre at the Monument of Wanzhong Tomb continued until the 26th, when no one in Lushun could be killed. The songs and dances in the palace were peaceful, and the cruel atrocities of the enemy were staged simultaneously in this country. The lament of the end of the empire still sounded. The passenger ship bound for Liugong Island was about to dock, and a black iron line appeared in sight. The ancient iron dock was located in Weihai Bay, the cradle of the Beiyang Navy, and also the burial ground of the Beiyang Navy. On Liu Gong Island, Weihai City, Shandong Province, the former Beiyang Naval Office, which had been used as the Museum of the Chinese First Sino Japanese War, a mouthless cannon sat silently at the entrance of the former Beiyang Naval Office. This was the earliest underground cannon from an Asian country, produced by the Shanghai Jiangnan Machinery Manufacturing Bureau, and was once the last defense of the Beiyang Navy. On February 2, 1895, the Japanese army invaded Weihai City and used the successively captured North and South Coast Battery to cooperate with the joint fleet, attacking the Beiyang Navy trapped in the harbor. The Beiyang Navy retaliated with the Liu Gong Island Battery and the artillery on board. The artillery battle lasted for nearly ten days, but the Japanese fleet still failed to break into Liu Gong Island. The island defense line, however, suffered damage to the main ships, including Dingyuan, due to shelling and torpedo attacks on the belly and back, and even ran aground and sank, The Battle of Weihaiwei ended with the complete defeat of the Beiyang Fleet. Academy of Social Sciences – Ma Yong: In the process of this offensive and defensive war, China is no longer able to support it, but the war is still being carried out reluctantly. However, China has a basic principle that we will not fight, preserve our strength, and seize the opportunity to reach a compromise negotiation with Japan. As a result, Japan is not willing to give up, Japan is not willing to give up, and Chinese warships have gone to the port as requested by Li Hongzhang. In the end, they cannot get out. Japan landed on the Shandong Peninsula to fight, and suddenly surrounded Weihai. If they cannot break through, Japan will first send this letter of persuasion to surrender. Ding Ruchang quickly transferred it to the court, but the court did not. Provide a response, but did not mention whether you can surrender or not. At this point, when the rescue cannot be reached, what should you do? Breaking through the encirclement is not possible, and in the end, it can only be Ding Ruchang committing suicide, Two deputy generals committed suicide and then ordered their subordinates to make this kind of surrender. On the evening of February 11th, Ding Ruchang committed suicide and died for his country. In order to avoid investing in the enemy, the officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Navy personally ignited explosives on their flagship. With a loud bang, the Dingyuan giant ship finally sank, and the highest achievement of China’s modernization, the Beiyang Fleet, was destroyed. On the land side, after the Japanese drove Li Hongzhang’s Huai army out of Korea, they established a puppet regime led by the Korean Grand Yuan Jun, declared Korean independence, and then fully occupied the Liaodong region of China. From then on, after 30 years of self-improvement movement, China suffered the most devastating failure on land and sea. On March 14, 1895, at the Memorial Hall of the First Sino Japanese War in Weihai City, Shandong Province, the Qing government appointed Li Hongzhang as the First Plenipotentiary Minister to negotiate peace in Japan. On April 17, Li Hongzhang signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which stipulated that the Qing government recognized North Korea’s independence, no longer paid tribute to China, compensated Japan with 200 million taels of silver, ceded Taiwan, the Penghu Islands, and Liaodong to Japan. Six days after the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed, Russia, together with France and Germany, issued a joint note to Japan, claiming that Japan’s occupation of the Liaodong Peninsula would threaten Beijing’s security and make Korea’s independence an empty talk, thereby threatening the peace of the entire Far East. Japan was forced to… Due to the unfavorable international situation, Liaodong had to be returned, but the condition was that an additional redemption fee of 50 million taels of silver would be given, which would be reduced to 30 million taels under the tripartite agreement, The Qing government began to borrow from banks in various countries such as Russia, France, Britain, and Germany in order to obtain huge war reparations and redemption expenses. Chen Yue, the director of the Memorial Hall of the First Sino Japanese War: Where did it go to find 200 million taels of silver? So after the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki and the announcement of the treaty, the European banking industry was boiling. They said that the opportunity to make money had finally arrived, and they came to China to borrow money and lend us money. When the Chinese people felt in danger, it was good to have someone willing to lend you money. After they finished borrowing, they found that there was a problem. This high interest loan scared people to death. We borrowed a total of 200 million taels, and we had to repay him 600 million yuan in the end. When did we repay this loan until 1937, when was the War of Resistance Against Japan, and we were still repaying this thing. After the First Sino Japanese War, the great powers launched a frenzy of dividing China. In 1897, Germany occupied Jiaozhou Bay and obtained the privilege of building two railways in Shandong. Britain then leased Weihaiwei and expanded the Kowloon New Territories, while demanding that the Qing Dynasty’s Yangtze River basin not be ceded to other countries. France also leased Guangzhou Bay and included Yunnan and Guangdong as its sphere of influence. Ma Yong: The First Sino Japanese War caused great suffering to China, but there is one very important thing. It is precisely through this war that the Chinese nation has truly awakened for three thousand years. Whether it is Liang Qichao, Sun Yat sen, or Kang Youwei, people from various factions have emphasized that the First Sino Japanese War was a watershed in the development of Chinese history, and the Chinese people were previously confused. Chen Yue: Chinese people are starting to reflect on their maritime rights, reflecting on the ocean, and reflecting on coastal defense strategies. It’s because the Chinese people wake up, whether the court wakes up or not, that the Xinhai Revolution will follow, and so many students will go to Japan to study. They are all thinking about a goal, which is how to save China. The Royal Naval Academy of the United Kingdom is the Royal Naval Academy of the United Kingdom. It once accepted a group of Chinese students from the Fuzhou Shipbuilding School, including a great thinker who had an impact on later generations and was honored by Kang Youwei as the first person to master Western studies. Two years after the defeat of the First Sino Japanese War, Yan Fu’s translation of the British biologist Huxley’s “Tianyan Lun” was published in the “Guowen Compilation”, causing a huge shock in the intellectual community. Through the humiliation of defeat, the Chinese finally understood the formula of survival of the fittest and its significance in international politics. Since then, through efforts to reform and change the status of the weak to the strong, it has become the goal of the Chinese people. The era of change has arrived. 90 Seconds of History: In the spring of 1895, when the imperial examination was held every three years, thousands of new candidates from various provinces gathered in Beijing. In that year, the 38 year old Kang Youwei and his student Liang Qichao, as Guangdong candidates, went to Beijing together to participate in the examination. On April 17, 1895, Li Hongzhang, on behalf of the Qing government, signed the humiliating Treaty of Shimonoseki with Japan, which stipulated a time limit for ceding Taiwan, the Penghu Islands, and the Liaodong Peninsula to Japan, and compensated them with 200 million taels of silver. On April 22, the indignant Kang and Liang mentors gathered together at the Songyun Temple in Beijing. A ten thousand character book was drafted to protest against the Qing Emperor’s stamping of the jade seal on the treaty, and to call for proposals such as rejection of peace, resistance war, capital relocation, and reform. Eighteen provincial juren rallied in response and received signatures from thousands of juren. Although the ten thousand character book was not sent out on time, But together with the petitions of officials at all levels, a significant public transportation petitioning movement was formed, thus opening the prelude to the reform and reform.
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