Two Wars and a New Republic 1894-1912 Flashcards
In this new global order, how do the three East Asian nations interact with each other?
19th Century Developments in Japan and China
Japan’s path: Widespread adoption of modern/Western ideas, practices, technology; combined with establishment of modern state in Meiji era after 1868
China’s path: Limited adoption of modern/Western ideas, practices, technology; with the aim to revive Qing dynasty
Late 19th/Early 20th Century Developments
Meiji Japan: Increasingly establishes itself as imperial power equal to western imperial nations
Qing China: Slowly being ripped apart by imperialist powers
Joseon Korea: Struggle for sovereignty is doomed to fail. Central power succumbs first to China-Japan rivalry, then Russia-Japan rivalry, and then Japanese colonialism
Russia: Far Eastern expansionism leads to encroachment in Manchuria and increased influence in Korea
China late 19th Century: Can Qing Dynasty survive?
Tongzhi Restoration 1862-1874
- Attempt at response to foreign and domestic challenges
- Response not entirely unsuccessful
- Goal: stop dynastic decline of the Qing
Self-Strengthening Movement 1861-1895
Important figures in the late Qing dynasty
- “Empress Dowager” Cixi 1835-1908
- Guangxu Emperor 1871-1908
- Puyi 1906-1967
- Li Hongzhang 1823-1901
Li Hongzhang 1823-1901
- Most important politician in late Qing
- Associated with Self-Strengthening Movement
- Concerned about China’s challenges in new world order
- Came to prominence during Taiping Rebellion
- Encourages western learning and international contacts
- In charge of foreign policy 1860s-1890s
- Military modernisation
- Conflict with conservatives and decentralised bureaucracy
Self-Strengthening Movement 1861-1895
- Probably prolonged Qing Dynasty for decades after humiliation of Opium Wars and Taiping Rebellion, but…
- Despite power of Li Hongzhang, conservatives at court remained opposed to reform
- Disorganized reform: for example only armies controlled by Li Hongzhang modernised
- “Empress Dowager” Cixi main obstruction
- “Self-strengtheners” had little interest in social reform
- Defeat Sino-Japanese War in 1895 means humiliating end for Li Hongzhang
Self-Strengthening Movement 1861-1895
Modernisation of the military:
- Modern Navy: Beiyang Navy
- Modern Army: Beiyang Army
- Important: Beiyang army is part of Qing Army controlled by Li Hongzhang, not whole army!
Industrial enterprises:
- Railways, Coal Mines, Cotton Mills, Ironworks factories, Imperial Telegraph Administration
Tongzhi Restoration v. Meiji Restoration
China
- “Self-Strengthening Movement”: to stop the dynastic decline
- No system change
- Biggest challenge: decentralisation of late Qing
Japan
- Meiji Restoration = overthrow of Tokugawa Shogunate
- Creation of new state
- Biggest asset: centralised state established in few decades
Meiji Restoration 1868
Japan late 19th Century: how will successful modernisation impact the region and the world?
Itō Hirobumi 1841-1909
- One of the Genrō (founding fathers of Modern Japan)
- Prime Minister 1885-1901
- Resident-General of Korea 1905-1909
- Central in crafting Meiji Constitution and devising modern political system
- Associated with first steps of Japanese imperial expansion
- Assassinated by Korean nationalist An Jung-geun in 1909
Fukuzawa Yukichi
- Leaving Asia
1880s National Security Debate in Japan: Increasingly focused on Korea
Two ideas dominate Japanese strategic thinking:
- No third power should control Korea (esp. Russia or China): because of strategic location and resources
- Korean coal and iron ore deposits need to fuel Japanese industrialization
Korea from the 1880s: conservatives and reformers under King Gojong
King Gojong (1852-1919)
Conservatives: cling to China-dominated world order and resist the West. But also: imitate Chinese self-strengthening and gradual reform.
- Slogan: “Eastern Way, Western Technology”
Reformers: more pro-Japanese, follow Meiji Restoration model and more extensive reforms
Korea from the 1880s: Chinese, Japanese, and Russian encroachment
- 1884: Gapsin Coup by pro-Japanese army officers
- Failure reduces Japanese influence
- Outcome: more direct Qing interference from 1884-1894
- Uneasy peace between pro-Japan and pro-China forces in Korea
- This is considered a problem in Japan due to strategic interest
- Russians also beginning to take an interest in the region
Domestic unrest: Donghak Peasant Revolution 1894
- “Donghak” = Eastern Learning
- Followers of Donghak religion (syncretic blend of Confucianism, Christianity, Daoism, and Buddhism) used underground network of churches to revolt against central government
- Donghak rebels occupied most of Jeolla province
- Qing China responded to King Gojong’s pleas for assistance
- Japan sends troop as well “to help”
- Donghak rebels suppressed but fighting between Qing and Meiji forces erupted, resulting in the First Sino-Japanese War
First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 - 17 April 1895)
Expectation: Modernized Chinese army will win
- Army large with provincial units (Beiyang Army)
- Formidable navy
Reality:
- Japanese forces are quickly revealed to be much more effective
Treaty of Shimonoseki 1895
Signed by Li Hongzhang and Ito Hirobumi
- Taiwan ceded to Japan
- Japan now gains privileges in China similar to other imperial powers
- Ends all Qing China influence in Korea
- This cements Japan’s arrival as imperial power
- But annexation of Liaodong peninsula in China is blocked by Western powers (creates resentment in Japan)
Aftermath of the War in China: “Scramble for Concessions” (1896-98)
Qing Dynasty now so weak that the imperialist powers take advantage and divide it in “spheres of influence”
- Germany: Shandong
- Britain: New Territories, Guangdong
- Russia: Liaodong (and large parts of Manchuria after 1901)
- France: Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong
- Japan: Taiwan
- U.S. Open Door Policy: “respect political independence and territorial integrity”
Last Attempts to Save the Qing Dynasty
- Hundred Days Reform 1898:
Guangxu Emperor finally gives free rein to the bright reformers that wanted to change Qing into constitutional monarchy - Boxer Rebellion 1899-1901:
Anti-foreign peasant uprising in any countryside, finally backed by court conservatives around Cixi, official declaration of war to all foreign powers
Hundred Days’ Reform (11 June - 21 September of 1898)
- Guangxu Emperor chooses path of reform
- Led by the “Six Gentlemen” of the Hundred Days’ Reform
- Beyond Self-Strengthening: also institutional and ideological change
- Institutional reform and new educational system to strengthen China’s defense against Western imperialism
- The political system re-organized: greater degree of efficiency
- All this very unpopular among conservatives
