The Outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War and the Issue of Suzerain-Vassal as Viewed from the Standpoint of Chosŏn

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The Outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War and the Issue of Suzerain-Vassal as Viewed from the Standpoint of Chosŏn

Journal Title: International Journal of Korean History - Year 2012, Vol 17, Issue 1

Abstract

The Sino-Japanese War was a watershed incident in the history of modern East Asia. Two different orders coexisted in East Asia prior to the Sino-Japanese War. One was the Sinocentric order centering on the Qing dynasty and the other was the treaty-based order rooted in international law. However, the former collapsed after the Sino-Japanese War and was in effect amalgamated into the latter. In this regard, attention should be focused on how the suzerain-vassal relationship between Chosŏn (Joseon) and Qing, which collapsed as a result of the Sino-Japanese War, was discussed during the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War. This study analyzes this issue from the standpoint of Chosŏn. The present study focuses only on events within Chosŏn. To be more specific, the present study focuses on the Japanese Legation in Chosŏn and the Chosŏn government. Although the Convention of Tianjin reached in 1885 outwardly expressed the equality of Qing and Japan, Japan experienced a slight lowering of its status. Meanwhile Qing saw its international status within East Asia heightened after 1885. Buoyed by its enhanced standing, Qing proceeded to strengthen its interference in the internal affairs of Chosŏn. Chosŏn responded to this by implementing a foreign policy that was based on the notion of its independence in its capacity as an independent vassal state. For its part, Japan refused to accept the suzerain-vassal relationship between Qing and Chosŏn. However, as its priority was to amend the unequal treaty with Great Britain, it did not want to create a conflict with Qing by openly questioning the suzerain-vassal relationship. As such, Japan could not overtly put an end to the talk about independence that was taking place within Chosŏn. The international order in East Asia after 1885 was one in which a balance was maintained through the interaction of factors such as Qing-Chosŏn relations that were based on the independence of the vassal state, the superficially equal Qing-Japan relations stipulated by the Convention of Tianjin of 1885, and Chosŏn-Japan relations that resulted in the delaying of the independence of Chosŏn, prior to the Sino-Japanese War. However, the assassination of Kim Okkyun and the dispatch of the Qing army to Chosŏn to suppress the Tonghak (Donghak) Peasant Uprising in 1894 had the effect of spurring the Japanese government to lean toward war. Weary of the Western powers, the Japanese government avoided mentioning the suzerainvassal issue during the process that led up to the outbreak of the war, and instead highlighted the fact that its focus was on internal reform within Chosŏn. Meanwhile, the Japanese Legation in Chosŏn sought to induce war by raising the suzerain-vassal issue and highlighting the independence of Chosŏn. However, the disruption of their communication networks ensured that the Japanese government and Japanese Legation could not air out the differences in their respective positions. Eventually, the Japanese Legation fired the proverbial shot that led to the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War by proceeding to use the discretionary rights it had been granted by the Japanese government as its cover to occupy the royal palace. This study also analyzes the Chosŏn government’s responses during the same period. The Sino-Japanese War was set off by the Chosŏn government’s request that, in accordance with the suzerain-vassal relationship that existed between the two, Qing dispatch troops in order to quell the Tonghak Peasant Uprising. In accordance with the tenets of the Convention of Tianjin, Japan responded to Qing’s dispatch of troops to Chosŏn by sending in its own troops. The two armies continued to be stationed in Chosŏn even after the Tonghak Peasant Uprising had been suppressed. Desiring to induce the support of Qing based on the suzerainvassal relationship, the Chosŏn government opened a line of communication that ran from the Governor of P　yŏngan (Pyeongyang) province to the Ambassador to Qing and the Tianjin Customs (and Li Hongzhang). At the same time, based on the articles pertaining to intervention found in the treaties it had signed with the Western powers, the Chosŏn government implored the representatives of both countries to withdraw their troops from Chosŏn. But, the Chosŏn government's attempts failed to prevent the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War. However, the Chosŏn government’s desire to maintain the dual international order composed of suzerain-vassal relations and the treaty-based system right shortly before the outbreak of the war implies that Chosŏn’s foreign policy cannot be understood solely from the standpoint of the modernization of diplomacy.

Authors and Affiliations

Mori Mayuko

Keywords

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Recent world history has witnessed three wars, the Sino-Japanese War, Russo-Japanese War and the Korean War, that unfolded in and around the Korean peninsula that were ostensibly launched under the premise of preservi...

EP ID EP26370
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