청일전쟁 - 중국 남방의 한 사인(士人)의 관찰과 사고

Abstract

Through the diary of Pi Xirui(皮錫瑞), a late Qing scholar living between Hunan(湖南) and Jiangxi (江西), we can examine the understanding and feelings of a scholar in southern China about the Sino Japanese War of 1894-1895 .Pi Xirui first learned about the Sino Japanese War two to three months after the outbreak of the Korean War. He was not familiar with the background of the war, which also reflected the ignorance of Chinese literati about the world situation and the situation in Japan at that time.There are two main channels for Pi Xirui to obtain war information: friendship and interpersonal networks; Read newspapers and magazines, mainly ‘Shenbao’(『申報』). In the early stages of the war, Officials of the main battle faction launched a massive attack on Li Hongzhang(李鴻章) and the Huai clique forces. As the Huai army(淮軍) was defeated, they made every effort to win over the generals and officials outside the Huai army, especially the Hunan army(湘軍) generals, placing their hopes on the Hunan army.This political atmosphere has influenced Chinese public opinion, and Pi Xirui is one of the people affected by it. Pi Xirui, a scholar from Hunan, naturally had a strong prejudice against the Huai clique led by Li Hongzhang and expressed strong dissatisfaction.At the same time, Pi Xirui also hoped that the generals of the Hunan Army, especially Liu Kunyi(劉坤一)and others, would pay attention to their marching and battle situation.The defeat in the Sino Japanese War of 1894-1895, the cession of land and compensation, and the cries of the people deeply reflected the pain of defeat in Pi Xirui’s diary, which also prompted Pi Xirui to learn more about Japan and the world.The psychological upheaval among Chinese scholars triggered by the defeat in the Sino Japanese War of 1894-1895 triggered a series of changes in China thereafter.