Vol. 286 | Revisiting the Jiawu War: A War in the Balance, A Long Shadow | Guest: Sha Qingqing
In this episode, we invited researcher of modern East Asian history, Mr. Sha Qingqing, to discuss the Jiawu War, which is very familiar to Chinese people. This war in 1895 was actually the starting point of the 20th century in East Asia. It ended the old tributary system and connected the Korean Peninsula, Northeast China, and the subsequent Russo-Japanese War and the September 18th Incident into a long line. More than a decade before the war, Japan had already established a sophisticated intelligence network in China. Army Lieutenant Arao Sei established an intelligence base in Hankou relying on the Rakuzendo pharmacy. Spies such as Munakata Kotaro shaved their heads, changed their clothes, disguised themselves as Chinese, traveled through nine northern provinces, and infiltrated the Weihaiwei naval base to probe the strengths and weaknesses of the Beiyang Fleet. The Qing Dynasty knew almost nothing about this. With hindsight, the defeat of the Qing Dynasty seems to have been an inevitable outcome, but both Japan and the Qing Dynasty were in a state of uncertainty before the outbreak of the war. Japan was not certain about starting the war, and within the Qing court, there was repeated tug-of-war between the pro-war and pro-peace factions, and between Li Hongzhang and the imperial court.
