The Sinking of the Sino-Japanese War: Beiyang Elegy and the Great Defeat of the Late Qing Dynasty

The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894 was a war in modern history that changed China's destiny and had far-reaching influence. On the battlefield, China has many soldiers who are willing to shed their blood for the country. Unfortunately, this cannot make up for the disadvantages caused by the decline of military, political, economic and other aspects in the late Qing Dynasty, nor can it restore the already predetermined failure results due to backward national strength and mistakes in combat strategies. Why did the Qing court fail? Who is responsible? What's the lesson? These historical questions are still inspiring today. This book takes the chronological order of the Sino-Japanese War as its general context, cites a large number of original archives, and relevant figures' anthologies, diaries, memoirs and other materials to detail the three stages of the Sino-Japanese War - the Battle of Pyongyang and the Battle of the Yellow Sea on the Korean Peninsula and the northern part of the Yellow Sea, and the The Battle of Yalu River and the Battle of Jinlu in the Liaodong Peninsula, and the Battle of Weihaiwei, the last battle of the Beiyang Fleet, clearly present key issues such as the important commanding generals of the Qing court, details of the battles, and the debates about strategy and tactics among various factions within the Qing court. The book provides an in-depth description of many historical details, especially the entire process of the naval battle and the command situation at the front and rear. It also openly analyzes special events such as counterintelligence operations during the war and special figures such as Sheng Jun commander Wei Rugui and Sheng Xinghuai. The book analyzes the underlying reasons for the defeat in the Sino-Japanese War from a more objective perspective, and reveals the cruel reality that the Qing Dynasty was bound to fail in this war.