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| Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) - the Jiawu
War |
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Located in the easternmost region of China in Shandong Province, the
Liugong Island witnessed one of the fiercest battles of the Jiawu
War, which happened in 1894-1895.
In 1894, Japan launched a war against China in the Yellow Sea area.
The Yellow Sea Battle is viewed as the beginning of the Sino-Japanese
war. The powerful invaders met the resistance of the patriotic generals
and soldiers in the Northern navy of the Qing Dynasty. After the Yellow
sea battle, the Japanese navy continued to invade China's sea area,
until the Northern Navy was completely destroyed in the Liugong Island
battle in 1895. According to the old calendar of China, the year of
1894 was also called the year of Jiawu, which was then used to name
the two-year war.
During the war, nearly all the Chinese navy soldiers sacrificed their
lives, including the highest governor of the Chinese navy, Ding Ruchang.
Though defeated, the heroes were honoured and remembered by Chinese
people of one generation after another. Their heroic deeds of fighting
a bloody battle and dedicating their lives to the country's cause
will go down in the splendid annals of Chinese history.
Established in 1888, the Chinese navy was the 4th in the world and
the 1st in Asia at that time.
And because of its important geographical location, the Liugong Island
was set as the base of the Northern navy at that time. The navy headquarters,
or popularly known as the Navy Yamen-the navy governor's office, was
established there.
However, their unpredictable defeat in the Yellow Sea Battle frightened
the corrupt Qing government and it ordered the Northern navy to stay
in the harbor of Weihai to defend the base of their headquarters.
This conservative strategy contributed to their loss in the Jiawu
War.
Today, the old war field has been turned into a museum to memorialize
the heroes. |
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