Treaty of Shimonoseki
The Treaty of Shimonoseki (Japanese: 下関条約, "Shimonoseki Jōyaku"), known as the Treaty of Maguan (Traditional Chinese: 馬關條約; Simplified Chinese: 马关条约; pinyin: Mǎguān tiáoyuē) in China, was signed at the Shunpanrō hall on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing Empire of China, ending the First Sino-Japanese War. The peace conference took place from March 20 to April 17, 1895. The treaty solidified Japan's place as the winner of the war, as China was forced to concede much in the way of territory, including Korea and Taiwan, as well as large sums of silver and currency.
The treaty also cemented Japan's place as an Empire and a power to be reckoned with. The Meiji government's radical reforms and industrialization was transforming Japan, and the First Sino-Japanese War was seen as proof of the nation's sphere of influence. Indeed, it was the interference of Russia, France, and Germany only six days after the treaty went into effect that convinced Japan to pursue a more aggressive stance when it came to foreign policy. This, in many ways, helped pave the way for the later Japanese defeat of Russia and its involvement in World War II.
Overview
The Treaty of Shimonoseki ended the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, giving Japan a clear victory. The war was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan over control of Korea. The treaty recognizes the independence of Korea and forced China to renounce any claim to that country. It also ceded the Liaodong peninsula, the islands of Taiwan, and the Pescadores Islands to Japan. China also paid Japan a war indemnity of 200 million Kuping taels over seven years. A commercial treaty, similar to ones previously signed by China with various Western powers after the Opium Wars, was also signed, confirming the opening of various ports and rivers to Japanese trade.
The treaty was signed on July 17, 1895, after four months of negotiations. The treaty was signed by Ito Hirobumi for Japan and Li Hongzhang for China. It was enforced on May 8, 1895.[1] It provided a wealth of new economic opportunities for Japan, and merchants were even given the right to open up factories, rent warehouses and transport goods without the payment of any taxes to the Chinese government.[2] What started for China as a Korean rebellion ended in ruin, but for Japan it was the beginning of an Asian Empire.
Articles
The Treaty of Shimonoseki is comprised of eleven articles. These articles were based upon the agreed Armistice that came before it. Three articles were added later, relating specifically to Weihaiwei. A few of the most important articles are listed below. Article 1
China recognizes definitively the full and complete independence and autonomy of Korea, and, in consequence, the payment of tribute and the performance of ceremonies and formalities by Korea to China, in derogation of such independence and autonomy, shall wholly cease for the future.
Article 2
China cedes to Japan in perpetuity and full sovereignty the following territories, together with all fortifications, arsenals, and public property thereon:—
(a) The southern portion of the province of Fêngtien within the following boundaries1:
The line of demarcation begins at the mouth of the River Yalu and ascends that stream to the mouth of the River An-ping, from thence the line runs to Fêng-huang, from thence to Hai-cheng, from thence to Ying-kow, forming a line which describes the southern portion of the territory. The places above named are included in the ceded territory. When the line reaches the River Liao at Ying-kow, it follows the course of the stream to its mouth, where it terminates. The mid-channel of the River Liao shall be taken as the line of demarcation.
This cession also includes all islands appertaining or belonging to the province of Fêngtien situated in the eastern portion of the Bay of Liao-tung and the northern portion of the Yellow Sea.
(b) The island of Formosa, together with all islands appertaining or belonging to the said island of Formosa.
(c) The Pescadores Group, that is to say, all islands lying between the 119th and 120th degrees of longitude east of Greenwich and the 23rd and 24th degrees of north latitude.
Article 32
The alignment of the frontiers described in the preceding Article, and shown on the annexed map, shall be subject to verification and demarcation on the spot by a Joint Commission of Delimitation, consisting of two or more Japanese and two or more Chinese delegates, to be appointed immediately after the exchange of the ratifications of this Act. In case the boundaries laid down in this Act are found to be defective at any point, either on account of topography or in consideration of good administration, it shall also be the duty of the Delimitation Commission to rectify the same. The Delimitation Commission will enter upon its duties as soon as possible, and will bring its labors to a conclusion within the period of one year after appointment. The alignments laid down in this Act shall, however, be maintained until the rectifications of the Delimitation Commission, if any are made, shall have received the approval of the Governments of Japan and China.
Article 4
China agrees to pay to Japan as a war indemnity the sum of 200,000,000 Kuping taels; the said sum to be paid in eight installments. The first installment of 50,000,000 taels to be paid within six months, and the second installment of 50,000,000 to be paid within twelve months, after the exchange of the ratifications of this Act. The remaining sum to be paid in six equal installments as follows: the first of such equal annual installments to be paid within two years, the second within three years, the third within four years, the fourth within five years, the fifth within six years, and the sixth within seven years, after the exchange of the ratifications of this Act. Interest at the rate of 5 per centum per annum shall begin to run on all unpaid portions of the said indemnity from the date the first installment falls due. China shall, however, have the right to pay by anticipation at any time any or all of the said installments. In case the whole amount of the said indemnity is paid within three years after the exchange of the ratifications of the present Act all interest shall be waived, and the interest for two years and a half or for any less period, if any already paid, shall be included as part of the principal amount of the indemnity.
Article 5
The inhabitants of the territories ceded to Japan who wish to take up their residence outside the ceded districts shall be at liberty to sell their real property and retire. For this purpose a period of two years from the date of the exchange of ratifications of the present Act shall be granted. At the expiration of that period those of the inhabitants who shall not have left such territories shall, at the option of Japan, be deemed to be Japanese subjects. Each of the two Governments shall, immediately upon the exchange of the ratifications of the present Act, send one or more Commissioners to Formosa to effect a final transfer of that province, and within the space of two months after the exchange of the ratifications of this Act such transfer shall be completed.
Article 6
All Treaties between Japan and China having come to an end as a consequence of war, China engages, immediately upon the exchange of the ratifications of this Act, to appoint Plenipotentiaries to conclude with the Japanese Plenipotentiaries, a Treaty of Commerce and Navigation and a Convention to regulate Frontier Intercourse and Trade. The Treaties, Conventions, and Regulations now subsisting between China and the European Powers shall serve as a basis for the said Treaty and Convention between Japan and China. From the date of the exchange of ratifications of this Act until the said Treaty and Convention are brought into actual operation, the Japanese Governments, its officials, commerce, navigation, frontier intercourse and trade, industries, ships, and subjects, shall in every respect be accorded by China most favored nation treatment.
China makes, in addition, the following concessions, to take effect six months after the date of the present Act:—
First.—The following cities, towns, and ports, in addition to those already opened, shall be opened to the trade, residence, industries, and manufactures of Japanese subjects, under the same conditions and with the same privileges and facilities as exist at the present open cities, towns, and ports of China:
Shashih, in the province of Hupeh. Chungking, in the province of Szechwan. Suchow, in the province of Kiangsu. Hangchow, in the province of Chekiang.
The Japanese Government shall have the right to station consuls at any or all of the above named places.
Second.—Steam navigation for vessels under the Japanese flag, for the conveyance of passengers and cargo, shall be extended to the following places:
On the Upper Yangtze River, from Ichang to Chungking. On the Woosung River and the Canal, from Shanghai to Suchow and Hangchow.
The rules and regulations that now govern the navigation of the inland waters of China by Foreign vessels shall, so far as applicable, be enforced, in respect to the above named routes, until new rules and regulations are conjointly agreed to.
Third.—Japanese subjects purchasing goods or produce in the interior of China, or transporting imported merchandise into the interior of China, shall have the right temporarily to rent or hire warehouses for the storage of the articles so purchased or transported without the payment of any taxes or extractions whatever.
Fourth.—Japanese subjects shall be free to engage in all kinds of manufacturing industries in all the open cities, towns, and ports of China, and shall be at liberty to import into China all kinds of machinery, paying only the stipulated import duties thereon.
All articles manufactured by Japanese subjects in China shall, in respect of inland transit and internal taxes, duties, charges, and exactions of all kinds, and also in respect of warehousing and storage facilities in the interior of China, stand upon the same footing and enjoy the same privileges and exemptions as merchandise imported by Japanese subjects into China.
In the event additional rules and regulations are necessary in connection with these concessions, they shall be embodied in the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation provided for by this Article.
Article 7
Subject to the provisions of the next succeeding Article, the evacuation of China by the armies of Japan shall be completely effected within three months after the exchange of the ratifications of the present Act.
Article 8
As a guarantee of the faithful performance of the stipulations of this Act, China consents to the temporary occupation by the military forces of Japan of Weihaiwei, in the province of Shantung. [3] Upon payment of the first two installments of the war indemnity herein stipulated for and the exchange of the ratifications of the Treaty of Commerce and navigation, the said place shall be evacuated by the Japanese forces, provided the Chinese Government consents to pledge, under suitable and sufficient arrangements, the Customs revenue of China as security for the payment of the principal and interest of the remaining installments of the said indemnity. In the event that no such arrangements are concluded, such evacuation shall only take place upon the payment of the final installment of said indemnity. It is, however, expressly understood that no such evacuation shall take place until after the exchange of the ratifications of the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation.
Article 9
Immediately upon the exchange of the ratifications of this Act, all prisoners of war then held shall be restored, and China undertakes not to ill-treat or punish prisoners of war so restored to her by Japan. China also engages to at once release all Japanese subjects accused of being military spies or charged with any other military offences. China further engages not to punish in any manner, nor to allow to be punished, those Chinese subjects who have in any manner been compromised in their relations with the Japanese army during the war.
Article 10
All offensive military operations shall cease upon the exchange of the ratifications of this Act.
Article 11
The present Act shall be ratified by their Majesties the Emperor of Japan and the Emperor of China, and the ratifications shall be exchanged at Chefoo on the 8th day of the 5th month of the 28th year of MEIJI, corresponding to the 14th day of the 4th month of the 21st year of KUANG HSÜ. In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the same and affixed thereto the seal of their arms. Done in Shimonoseki, in duplicate, this 17th day of the fourth month of the 28th year of MEIJI, corresponding to the 23rd day of the 3rd month of the 21st year of KUANG HSÜ.<ref name=exploring>Exploring Chinese History, Treaty of Shimonoseki. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
Value of the indemnity
In the treaty, China had to pay an indemnity of 200 million silver kuping taels to Japan. One kuping (treasury) tael is about 37.3 grams in weight. The 200 million kuping taels is about 7.45 million kg of silver.
Later, when Japan was forced to re-cede the Liaodong peninsula to Russia (for Port Arthur), Japan asked for more money—30 million kuping (1.12 million kg) of silver—from China; the total amount is over 8 million kg of silver.
Signatories and diplomats
The treaty was drafted with John W. Foster, former American Secretary of State, advising the Qing Dynasty. It was signed by Count Ito Hirobumi and Viscount Mutsu Munemitsu for the Emperor of Japan and Li Hongzhang and Li Jingfang on behalf of the Emperor of China. Before the treaty was signed, Li Hongzhang was attacked by a right-wing Japanese extremist on March 24: He was fired at and wounded on his way back to his lodgings at Injoji temple. The public outcry aroused by the assassination attempt caused the Japanese to temper their demands and agree to a temporary armistice. The conference was temporarily adjourned and resumed on April 10.
Aftermath
Entry of the Western powers
The conditions imposed by Japan on China led to the Triple Intervention of Russia, France, and Germany, western powers all active in China, with established enclaves and ports, just three days after its signing. They demanded that Japan withdraw its claim on the Liaodong peninsula, concerned that Lüshun, then called Port Arthur by Westerners, would fall under Japanese control. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (a de jure ally of France) and his imperial advisers, including his cousin, friend, and rival, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, had designs on Port Arthur, which could serve as Russia's long sought-after "ice-free" port.
Under threat of war from three Western political powers, in November 1895, Japan—a weaker emerging nation not yet perceived as even a regional power—receded control of the territory and withdrew its de jure claim on the Liaotung peninsula in return for an increased war indemnity from China (as noted above). At that time, the European powers were not concerned with any of the other conditions, or the free hand Japan had been granted in Korea under the other terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and this would prove to be a diplomatically short sighted error.
Within months after Japan receded the Liaodong peninsula, Russia started construction on the peninsula and a railway to Harbin from Port Arthur, despite a protesting China. Eventually, Russia agreed to offer a diplomatic solution (the Kwantung Leased Territory) to the Chinese Empire, and agreed to a token lease of the region to save face, instead of annexing Manchuria outright, its de-facto effect. Within two years, Germany, France, and Great Britain had similarly taken advantage of the economic and political opportunities in the weak Chinese Empire, each taking control of significant local regions. Japan also took note of how the international community allowed the great powers to treat weaker nation states, and continued its remarkable measures to bootstrap itself into a modern industrial state and military power, with great success as it would demonstrate in the Russo-Japanese War less than a decade later.
In Taiwan, pro-Qing officials and elements of the local gentry declared a Republic of Formosa in 1895, but failed to win international recognition.
In China, the Treaty was considered a national humiliation by the bureaucracy and greatly weakened support for the Qing dynasty. The previous decades of the Self-Strengthening Movement were considered to be a failure, and support grew for more radical changes in China's political and social systems, which led to Hundred Days Reform and the abolition of the bureaucratic examinations followed by the fall of the Qing dynasty itself in 1911.
The Triple Intervention is regarded by many Japanese historians as being a crucial historic turning point in Japanese foreign affairs—from this point on, the nationalist, expansionist, and militant elements began to join ranks and steer Japan from a foreign policy based mainly on economic hegemony toward outright imperialism—a case of the coerced turning increasingly to coercion.
Both the Republic of China on Taiwan and the communist People's Republic of China consider that the provisions of the treaty transferring Taiwan to Japan to have been reversed by the Instrument of Surrender of Japan. On April 28, 1952, the contents of this treaty were formally nullified through what is commonly known as the Treaty of Taipei with the Republic of China on Taiwan, although the People's Republic of China does not recognize this treaty.
Prelude to war
Russia wasted little time after the Triple Intervention to move men and materials down into the Liaodong to start building a railroad from both ends—Port Arthur and Harbin, as it already had railway construction in progress across northern Inner Manchuria to shorten the rail route to Russia's sole Pacific Ocean naval base at Sakhalin Island, a port closed by ice four months of each year. Russia also improved the port facilities at Port Arthur and founded the commercial port town at Dalny (Dalian), before inking the Lease of the territory.
When the de-facto governance of Port Arthur and the Liaodong peninsula was granted de jure to Russia by China, along with an increase in other rights she had obtained in Manchuria (especially those in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces), the construction of the 550 mile Southern spurline of the Manchurian Railway was redoubled. Russia finally seemed to have gotten what the Russian Empire had been wanting in its quest to become a global power since the reign of Peter the Great. This ice-free natural harbor of Port Arthur/Lüshun would serve to make Russia a great sea as well as the largest land power. Russia needed this ice-free port to achieve world power status, as it was tired of being blocked by the Balance of Power politics in Europe (The Ottoman Empire and its allies had repeatedly frustrated Russian power fruition).
However, the omission of the geopolitical reality in ignoring the free hand Japan had been granted by the Treaty of Shimonoseki, with respect to Korea and Japan ,was short-sighted of Russia with respect to its strategic goals; to get to and maintain a strong point in Port Arthur, Russia would have to dominate and control many additional hundreds of miles of Eastern Manchuria (the Fengtian province of Imperial China, modern Jilin and Heilongjiang) up to Harbin. Japan had long considered the lands paralleling the whole Korean border as part of its strategic Sphere of Influence. By leasing Liaodong and railway concessions, Russia crashed its Sphere of Influence squarely into Japan's.
This acted as a further goad to emerging Japanese anger at their disrespectful treatment by all the West. In the immediate fallout of the Triple Intervention, Japanese popular resentment at Russia's deviousness and the perceived weakness of its own government caving in to foreign pressure led to riots in Tokyo. The disturbance almost brought down the government, as well as a strengthening of imperial and expansionist factions within Japan. The Russian spear into the sphere also brought about the ensuing struggle with Russia for dominance in Korea and Manchuria. These events eventually led to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, by a renewed and modernized Japanese military.
See also
- Unequal Treaties
- Triple Intervention
- Kwantung Leased Territory
- Manchurian Railway
- South Manchurian Railway
- Yeongeunmun Gate
- Independence Gate
Notes
- ↑ Exploring Chinese History, Treaty of Shimonoseki. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
- ↑ Lee Taylor, Treaty of Shimonoseki.] Retrieved July 29, 2008.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Chamberlain, William Henry. Japan Over Asia. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1937.
- Cheng, Pei-Kai, and Michael Lestz (eds.). The Search for Modern China: A Documentary Collection. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1999.
- Colliers (ed.). The Russo-Japanese War. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1904.
- Sedwick, F.R. The Russo-Japanese War. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1909.
- Warner, Dennis and Peggy. The Tide At Sunrise. New York: Charterhouse, 1974
External links
All links retrieved July 29, 2008.
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