First Sino-Japanese War and the Treaty of Shimonoseki
- Date
- 1894–1895 (Treaty of Shimonoseki, 17 April 1895)
- Category
- Military & conflict
- Region
- East Asia (Korea, Manchuria, Yellow Sea)
- Era
- Modern
- Significance
The First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) was fought between Qing China and the Empire of Japan, primarily for influence over Korea, long a Chinese tributary.
War was declared on 1 August 1894, and Japan's modernised army and navy won swift, decisive victories on land in Korea and Manchuria and at sea, notably at the Battle of the Yalu River. The conflict ended with the Treaty of Shimonoseki on 17 April 1895, by which China recognised the full independence of Korea, ceded Taiwan, the Pescadores and the Liaodong Peninsula to Japan, paid an indemnity of 200 million taels, and opened further ports to Japanese trade. The war stunned international observers, who had expected the larger Chinese state to prevail, and signalled a historic reversal: Japan, not China, was now the rising power of East Asia. The Triple Intervention by Russia, France and Germany soon forced Japan to return Liaodong in exchange for additional indemnity, sowing resentment that fed later conflict with Russia. China's defeat accelerated the scramble for foreign concessions, spurred domestic reform movements, and deepened the crisis that would bring down the Qing.
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Empires active in 1894–1895 (Treaty of Shimonoseki, 17 April 1895)
- German Empire1871 CE – 1918 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- Empire of Japan1868 CE – 1947 CE
- Russian Empire1721 CE – 1917 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Qing Dynasty1636 CE – 1912 CE
Related military & conflict events
- Russo-Japanese War and Japan's Rise as a Great Power1904–1905
- Assassination of Franz Ferdinand and the outbreak of World War I28 June – 4 August 1914
- The Franco-Prussian War, German unification and the Paris Commune19 July 1870 – 10 May 1871; German Empire proclaimed 18 January 1871
- American Civil War and the abolition of slavery1861–1865 (Emancipation Proclamation 1 January 1863; 13th Amendment ratified 6 December 1865)
- Italy Invades Ethiopia1935–1936
- Second Sino-Japanese War and the Nanjing Massacre7 July 1937 – 2 September 1945
Further reading
The wider story
China's Last Empire: The Great Qing
Readable synthesis of the Qing (Harvard History of Imperial China).
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