The Sinking of the First Sino-Japanese War: The Beiyang Fleet's Elegy and the Late Qing's Crushing Defeat

The First Sino-Japanese War was a conflict that changed China's fate and had far-reaching consequences. On the battlefield, China had no shortage of soldiers willing to shed their blood for their country. Sadly, their sacrifice could not make up for the disadvantages caused by the late Qing dynasty's decline in military, political, economic, and other spheres. Nor could it reverse the defeat that had already been sealed by the country's weakness and mistaken strategy. Why did the Qing court lose? Who was responsible? What lessons should be learned? Even today, these questions from history still ring out like a thunderclap.

Following the chronology of the war, this book draws on a wealth of original archival records, as well as the collected writings, diaries, and memoirs of people involved, to recount its three stages in detail: the battles of Pyongyang and the Yellow Sea in the Korean Peninsula and the northern Yellow Sea; the Yalu River defense and the Jinzhou and Lushun campaigns on the Liaodong Peninsula; and the Beiyang Fleet's final battle at Weihaiwei. It clearly lays out key issues, including the Qing commanders involved, the details of the fighting, and debates within the court over strategy and tactics. The book closely examines numerous historical details, particularly the full course of the naval battles and command decisions at the front and rear. It also reveals special events such as wartime counterintelligence operations, along with unusual figures such as Sheng Army commander Wei Rugu and Sheng Xuanhuai. Taking a more objective perspective, the book analyzes the deeper causes of the defeat and exposes the harsh reality that the Qing dynasty's loss in this war was inevitable.