The First Sino-Japanese War (Simplified Chinese: 中日甲午战争; Traditional Chinese: 中日甲午戰爭; pinyin: Zhōngrì Jiawu Zhànzhēng; Japanese: 日清戦争 Romaji: Nisshin Sensō) (1 August 1894–17 April 1895) was a war fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan over the control of Korea. The Sino-Japanese War would come to symbolize the degeneration and enfeeblement of the Qing Dynasty and demonstrate how successful modernization had been in Japan since the Meiji Restoration as compared with the Self-Strengthening Movement in China. The principal results were a shift in regional dominance in Asia from China to Japan and a fatal blow to the Qing Dynasty and the Chinese classical tradition. These trends would result later in the 1911 Revolution

Most Europeans expected China to defeat Japan, since the Chinese navy looked stronger on paper cartoon from Punch 1894

As a newly emergent country, Japan turned its attention towards Korea. It was vital for Japan, in order to protect its own interests and security, to either annex Korea before it fell prey (or was annexed) to another power or to insure its effective independence by opening its resources and reforming its administration. As one Japanese statesman put it, Korea was "an arrow pointed at the heart of Japan". Japan felt that another power having a military presence on the Korean peninsula would have been detrimental to Japanese national security, and so Japan resolved to end the centuries-old Chinese suzerainty over Korea. Moreover, Japan realized that Korea’s coal and iron ore deposits would benefit Japan's increasingly-expanding industrial base.

A factory in Meiji-era Japan. Japan was able to modernize much faster than China

Korea had traditionally been a tributary state and continued to be so under the influence of China's Qing dynasty, which exerted large influence over the conservative Korean officials gathered around the royal family of the Joseon Dynasty. Opinion in Korea itself was split; conservatives wanted to retain the traditional subservient relationship with China, while reformists wanted to establish closer ties with Japan and western nations. After two Opium Wars and the Sino-French War, China had become weak and was unable to resist western intervention and encroachment (see Unequal Treaties). Japan saw this as an opportunity to replace Chinese influence in Korea with its own.

On February 26, 1876, after certain incidents and confrontations involving Korean isolationists and the Japanese, Japan imposed the Treaty of Ganghwa on Korea, forcing Korea to open itself to Japanese and foreign trade and to proclaim its independence from China in its foreign relations.

Korean queen Min who was assassinated  by Japanese agents

In 1884 a group of pro-Japanese reformers briefly overthrew the pro-Chinese conservative Korean government in a bloody coup d'état. However, the pro-Chinese faction, with assistance from Chinese troops under General Yuan Shikai, succeeded in regaining control with an equally bloody counter-coup which resulted not only in the deaths of a number of the reformers, but also in the burning of the Japanese legation and the deaths of several legation guards and citizens in the process. This caused an incident between Japan and China, but was eventually settled by the Sino-Japanese Convention of Tientsin of 1885 in which the two sides agreed to (a) pull their expeditionary forces out of Korea simultaneously; (b) not send military instructors for the training of the Korean military; and (c) notify the other side beforehand should one decide to send troops to Korea. The Japanese, however, were frustrated by repeated Chinese attempts to undermine their influence in Korea.

the German-built Zhenyuan of the Beiyang fleet

The Beiyang Fleet was one of the four modernised Chinese navies in the late Qing Dynasty. The navies were heavily sponsored by Li Hongzhang, who was the Viceroy of Zhili. The Beiyang Fleet was the dominant navy in East Asia before the First Sino-Japanese War. The Beiyang Fleet was said to be the "Best in Asia" and "The 8th best in the world" during the late 1880s.

On 25 July 1894, the cruisers Yoshino, Naniwa and Akitsushima of the Japanese flying squadron, which had been patrolling off of Asan, encountered the Chinese cruiser Tsi-yuan and gunboat Kwang-yi . These vessels had steamed out of Asan in order to meet another Chinese gunboat, the Tsao-kiang, which was convoying a transport toward Asan. After a brief, one hour engagement, the cruiser Tsi-yuan escaped while the Kwang-yi became stranded on rocks, where its powder-magazine exploded.

Sinking of the Kow-shing

The Kow-shing was a 2,134-ton British merchant vessel owned by the Indochina Steam Navigation Company of London, commanded by Captain T. R. Galsworthy and crewed by 64 men. The ship was chartered by the Qing government to ferry troops to Korea, the Kow-shing and the gunboat Tsao-kiang were on their way to Asan to reinforce Chinese forces there - 1200 troops plus supplies and equipment were onboard the vessel. A German artillery officer, Major von Hanneken, acting as an advisor to the Chinese was also onboard, the ship was due to arrive on 25 July.

The cruiser Naniwa(under the command of Captain Togo Heihachiro) intercepted the two ships. The gunboat was eventually captured, the Japanese then ordered the Kow-shing to follow the Naniwa and requested that the Europeans onboard be transferred to the Naniwa. However the 1200 Chinese on board desired to return to Taku, and threatened to kill the English captain, Galsworthy and his crew. After four hours of negotiations, Captain Togo gave the order to fire upon the vessel. The Europeans jumped overboard only to be fired upon by the Chinese, the Japanese managed to rescue many of the crew. The sinking of the Kow-shing almost caused a diplomatic incident between Japan and Great Britain, but the action was ruled in conformity with International Law regarding the treatment of mutineers.

Conflict in Korea

Commissioned by the new pro-Japanese Korean government to expel the Chinese forces from Korean territory by force, Major-General Oshima Yoshimasa led mixed Japanese brigades numbering about 4,000 on a rapid forced march from Seoul south toward Asan Bay to face 3,500 Chinese troops garrisoned at Seonghwan Station east of Asan and Kongju

Battle of the Yalu River (1894)

The Imperial Japanese Navy destroyed 8 out of 10 warships of the Chinese Beiyang Fleet off the mouth of the Yalu River on 17 September 1894. Japan's command of the sea was assured. The Chinese however were able to land 4,500 troops near the Yalu River.

Invasion Of Manchuria

Crossing the Yalu River

With the defeat at Pyongyang, the Chinese abandoned northern Korea and instead took up defensive positions in fortifications along their side of the Yalu River near Jiuliangcheng. After receiving reinforcements, the Japanese 10 October then quickly pushed north towards Manchuria. On the night of 24 October 1894, the Japanese successfully crossed the Yalu undetected, by erecting a pontoon bridge. The following afternoon of 25 October at 5.00pm, they assaulted the outpost of Hushan east of Jiuliangcheng. At 10.30pm the defenders deserted their positions and by the next day they were in full retreat from Jiuliangcheng. With the capture of Jiuliangcheng, General Yamagata's 1st Army Corps preceded to occupy the nearby city of Dandong while to the north, elements of the retreating Beiyang Army set fire to the city of Fengcheng. The Japanese had established a firm foothold on Chinese territory with the loss of only 4 killed and 140 wounded.

The Chinese fleet subsequently retreated behind the Weihaiwei fortifications. However, they were then surprised by Japanese ground forces, who outflanked the harbor's defenses. Battle of Weihaiwei would be a 23 day siege with a major land and naval components taking place between 20 January and 12 February 1895.

After Weihaiwei's fall on 12 February 1895 and an easing of harsh winter conditions, Japanese troops pressed further into southern Manchuria and northern China. By March 1895 the Japanese had fortified posts that commanded the sea approaches to Beijing. This would be the last major battle to be fought, however numerous skirmishes would occur.

Battle of Yingkou

The Battle of Yinkou fought outside the port town of Yingkou, Manchuria On 5 March 1895.

Japanese Invasion of Formosa(Taiwan) and the Pescadores

    Main article: Japanese Invasion of Taiwan (1895)

On 26 March 1895 Japanese forces invade and occupy the Pescadores Islands off of Taiwan without casualties and 29 March 1895 Japanese forces under Admiral Motonori Kabayama land in northern Taiwan and precede to occupy it.