ABSTRACT
The Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) was China’s third anti-imperialist war after Ili and Annam. The war took place in Korea-a Chinese tributary state-and in Manchuria and Taiwan-contiguous colonies of the Chinese Empire-and so shared many characteristics with these two previous conflicts. Even though China possessed armies equipped with modern weapons and navies composed of top-of-the-line western warships, it lost the Sino-Japanese War, and thereby lost control over Korea, Taiwan, and-for a time-parts of Manchuria’s Liaodong Peninsula. China’s defeat can be attributed to poor training and to an inadequate understanding of modern strategy and tactical organization, areas in which Japan’s newly modernized army and navy excelled.
