The Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), was a conflict between the Japanese Empire and the Qing dynasty. This war was part of a long history of tensions between the two countries, and would ultimately lead to the fall of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of a Japanese protectorate over China until 1945. While there were several causes for the conflict, the predominant factors leading up to the war can be divided into two categories: economic tensions and military expansion.
Economic Tensions
Prior to the Sino-Japanese War, Japan and China had a long history of diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties. This relationship soured in the late 19th century, however, due to a variety of economic factors. The Chinese government had been engaged in a belligerent monetary policy since the late 1860s, imposing high tariffs on foreign goods and restricting foreign investment opportunities within the country. This created a climate of mistrust between the Chinese and other countries, particularly Japan.
Japan’s economy was also experiencing challenges at this time, with its traditional agriculture-based economy proving increasingly inadequate to meet the needs of its rapidly-developing population. To fuel its economic growth, Japan looked to the natural resources in the Korean peninsula and began to invest in Korean development projects. This caused alarm within the Qing court, as it saw these investments as a form of economic imperialism.
Adding to this rising economic tension was the issue of foreign concessions in China. In 1876, China lost the Treaty of Kanagawa, which opened four Japanese ports to foreign trade. This put Japan on equal footing with other Western powers in the region and allowed it to gain unusual privileges within the Chinese treaty port system. These privileges granted preferential treatment to Japanese goods, increased their access to Chinese markets, and allowed them to establish trading enclaves within Chinese ports. Such privileges aroused resentment among Chinese merchants, who felt their economic interests were being compromised by their foreign rivals.
Finally, the issue of the Opium Wars in the 1850s and 1860s damaged Sino-Japanese relations. The wars had stoked anti-Western sentiment in China, creating a wariness of any close relations with Western countries, including Japan. This caused mistrust between the two nations, and any perceived insult or slight became a source of disagreement and tension.
Military Expansion
The second major factor contributing to the Sino-Japanese War was the rapid militarization of both countries since the Meiji Reformation of 1868. As both Japan and China attempted to modernize their nations and increase their clout abroad, they began to build their respective militaries and expand their imperial reach. This race to modernize and expand militarily led to a number of disputes between the two countries.
The most significant of these disputes was the status of Korea. In 1876, Japan annexed the Ryukyu islands and then sought to influence Korean politics. This made the Qing court concerned about Japanese intentions in the region, and in 1885, it declared Korea a vassal state in order to counter Japanese ambitions. This declaration sparked a war scare in 1894, which would eventually lead to the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War.
Another major factor contributing to the war was the growing Japanese presence in Manchuria. As part of its modernization process, Japan had secured a concession for the development of the South Manchurian Railway and had begun constructing a network of railways from Korea to the Chinese mainland. This threatened Chinese control of the region, and led to a series of clashes between the Chinese and Japanese forces throughout the 1890s.
Finally, the growing number of naval engagements between the two countries and the increasing militarization of their navies further escalated tensions in the region. In April 1894, the Japanese navy launched a surprise attack on the Chinese fleet near the island of Pescadores, devastating the Chinese ships and causing great embarrassment to the Qing court. This incident dealt a major blow to Chinese prestige and increased animosity between the two countries, leading to the escalation of the tensions and eventual war.
Conclusion
The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895 was the result of a long history of tensions between the two countries. While there were many factors that led to the conflict, the two most prominent were economic tensions caused by China’s hostile monetary policy and Japanese investments in the Korean peninsula, as well as military expansion as both countries sought to modernize and extend their imperial reach. These two issues, combined with other incidents such as the surprise attack on the Chinese fleet, served to create an environment of mistrust and hostility between China and Japan that eventually led to a full-scale war.