Who led China in the First Sino-Japanese War?
First Sino-Japanese War
The war demonstrated the failure of the Qing Dynasty's attempts to modernize its military and fend off threats to its sovereignty, especially when compared with Japan's successful Meiji Restoration. For the first time, regional dominance in East Asia shifted from China to Japan; the prestige of the Qing Dynasty, along with the classical tradition in China, suffered a major blow. The humiliating loss of Korea as a tributary state sparked an unprecedented public outcry. Within China, the defeat was a catalyst for a series of political upheavals led by Sun Yat-sen and Kang Youwei, culminating in the 1911 Xinhai Revolution.
Convention of Tientsin
The driving out of the Japanese soldiers by Chinese troops greatly increased tension between the two powers. Following extensive negotiations, Itō Hirobumi of Japan and Li Hongzhang of China attempted to defuse tensions by signing an agreement whereby:The Convention effectively eliminated China's claim to exclusive influence over Korea, and made Korea a co-protectorate of both Japan and Qing. Despite negotiations, the Convention was no deterrent to either party, and the next serious confrontation over Korea quickly escalated into the First Sino-Japanese War. The immediate result was a rise in Chinese influence over Korea, which appointed Yuan Shikai as a Resident, a director of Korean affairs (1885-1894).