They Were Thus Able To Dominate The Court, Although
It Was In Entire Sympathy With China.
The Pekin government now made the
mistake of reviving its pretensions to regard the Hermit Kingdom as a
vassal state.
These pretensions Japan refused to tolerate, on the ground,
first, that she had never admitted them, and, secondly, that the Tientsin
Convention recognized an equality of rights in the two states. The
Japanese also called attention to the misrule that prevailed in Corea, and
proposed that the Chinese should join them in carrying out needful
reforms. To this proposal, China could not accede, being hampered by her
alliance with the reactionary party at Seoul; consequently, Japan
undertook the execution of the task alone. As a first step in that
direction, the Japanese got possession of the person of the Corean ruler,
and compelled him to act as the instrument of his captors. The initial
document which he was constrained to sign was an order that the Chinese
troops, who had come at his invitation, should leave the country. The
seizure of the king's person, which occurred on July 23, 1894, was
followed by two successful acts of aggression. On the 25th, the Japanese
squadron attacked the Chinese transport "Kowshing," conveying fresh
soldiers to Asan, and its escort of warships. In the engagement, one
Chinese man-of-war was sunk, one was disabled, and 1,200 soldiers were
destroyed on the "Kowshing," which was torpedoed. On July 29, the Japanese
general Oshima, at the head of a small force, made a night attack upon the
Chinese fortified camp at Song Hwang, and carried the place with a loss to
their opponents of 500 killed and wounded.
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