Observing the War from Beyond East Asia

The First Sino-Japanese War， 120 years ago， remains a major event of human history. Not only did it divide contemporary Chinese history into two parts， but it forced China to give up its westernization movement that began more than three decades earlier and led the country towards no-turning-back radical reform. Moreover， the war resulted in a reshuffle of international political patterns， placing greater attention on Japan， a country that previously had hardly any role internationally.

Chinese-language academic circles hold that China maintained powerful internal discourse throughout the war and its wake， but outwardly remained silent. They had been defeated， after all， and both the government and civilians regretted the outcome and internalized their feelings about it.

The government regretted that it didn’t implement thorough system reform to meet the needs of the time， such as national defense， while intellectual circles interpreted the war in a variety of ways.

Some opined that the war’s failure proved that the Manchurians， or Northeasterners， were not capable of leading the country to modernization because of their selfishness. The only way to realize China’s modernization was to overthrow the Qing court and drive the Manchurians out of power. This was what Dr. Sun Yat-sen meant when describing nationalism against Manchu.

Others insisted that China’s war effort failed mainly because the nation lagged far behind with its military mechanism and command system. Therefore， China should have begun building a modern army like Japan had done earlier.

The Chinese government began heeding advice as the war was ending， and became determined to build a new， modern army and navy with the help of Germany.

Others asserted that China was defeated because it hadn’t fully developed laissez-faire capitalism yet， nor had it seized progress opportunities that had arisen over previous decades， failing to comprehensively reform its social structure， organizational system， educational system， and social management. Soon after the war， the Chinese government began to open society in a wider scope， make its capital system more flexible， and modernize education， following a comprehensive path taken by Japan over previous decades.

It should be noted that over the course of the last century， Chinese people have gained a comprehensive， profound understanding of the process of war， as well as its influence and significance. The nation has learned lessons， restarted from scratch and made necessary changes. China， as an emerging economy full of vigor and vitality， is attracting capital from around the world.

The war was not just between China and Japan. It also relates to East Asia at large and changes in global patterns. Looking back at history， Chinese feelings about the war are only one piece of the puzzle. We should also learn about the feelings of the Japanese. Even still， we should hear voices from the Korean peninsula because the war influenced its destiny as well. Korea was a major factor， and we should not neglect them， especially due to today’s situation.

Major world powers showed great interest in the war， interpreting it in different ways. Some events， such as the Battle of Pungdo， the sinking of the Kowshing， negotiations between China and Japan， and the Three-Country Intervention， happened and were influenced by involvement of major powers. We could get stuck in nationalist mentality and never comprehensively understand the war without learning outside perspectives.

Digitalization makes it easier for interested parties to acquire historical records and conduct research， both in Chinese and other languages， thus enhancing modern interpretations of relatively recent Chinese history and correcting perspectives on history through gathering a variety of viewpoints from around the world.

Historical research is like the “Blind Men and the Elephant” analogy. People often touch one part and assume it’s the whole. What’s gone is gone. Researchers’ efforts in the face of the ambiguity and contradiction of historical records help us better understand history and people of the past. After all， history cannot be replicated like experiments involving natural science， which can repeat identically. Historiography relies heavily on personal subjective judgment. That’s why we believe that every research endeavor represents a step closer to the truth.

To paint a complete， dynamic picture of a“historical elephant，” modern historiography insists on presenting various historical data and contrasting views， so that people can construct a skeleton composed of constants amidst contradictory， complicated statements from every side of an event.

Researchers have continued unremitting efforts， digging through historical records in Chinese， but much research work remains for available data in other languages to create an optimally clear picture of the First Sino-Japanese War – one of the influential events on global progress. Its influential factors are complex， both linguistically and ideologically.

Today， it is possible to interpret the war from multiple angles due to richer historical resources. A picture album， Selected Pictures of the First Sino-Japanese War， for instance， provides diverse visual imagery of the era through compiling photos from dozens of publications from the West and depicts the war through various angles with simple， unadorned frozen moments. There is little doubt as to the origins of these photos， and the album will surely serve as an important source for documenting contemporary Chinese history.

First Sino-Japanese War： 120 Years of Observation by Western Media

By World Newspaper Office， SDX Joint

Publishing Company， August 2014

The book compiles foreign media reports on the First Sino-Japanese War（1894-1895） over a century ago. During the hunt for historical records， special interest group World Newspaper Office， consisting primarily of Chinese media professionals， chose to observe the War from a third-party angle – Western media reports. It took several years for the “hunters” to travel around the world， looking for original 120-year-old reports， which ultimately totaled some 300 pages of old newspapers and periodicals from countries including Britain， France， Germany， United States， and Russia， dated between 1850 and 1900.

The book consists of 12 chapters， based on sequential organization of the war， while taking into account other possibly influential events and figures. These reports are extremely valuable for the study of global media observation of the situation of East Asia， particularly the westernization movement in China and the Meiji Restoration in Japan. Western media’s attention on the Korean peninsula was brand new at that time. Particularly worth mentioning， the media paid great attention to the military strength of both China and Japan， in addition to analyzing reports about their ground forces and navies.

World Newspaper Office’s painstaking efforts have brought to light many historical facts， providing new perspectives while documenting this chapter of history through thorough compilation of photos and reports. For example， James Creelman， a journalist from New York World took a risky angle on the Port Arthur （Lushun） Massacre， a perspective which could be particularly enlightening： He reported that Japan suddenly wrought brutal war with its “liberation” of Korea. The invasion was not a struggle between civilization and savagery. Japan showed its true colors， thoroughly trampling a human civilization in just four days.