Russia, Japan And The Plague In Period Of Emperor Xuantong’s Reign

The first case of plague patient was discovered in Manchuria in October1910. Theplague was from the Russian border town named Man-Zhou-li, andthe epidemic disasterspread quickly to the entire northeast region along the railway line，then to the Beijing,Tianjin, Shandong and other places. In few months, the plague caused nearly60,000people died. The spread has a close relationship with the Russian, Japanese, and theQing government‘s preventive measures.At the beginning of the epidemic, Because the government did not attach importance toit, exacerbated by the limit of medical standards at that time limit, the plague began tospread. The Russian force which occupied the northern part of northeast chinaespecially Manchuria, Harbin, adopted the policy of taking the mandatory diseaseprevention in the occupied land, and expelled the infected Chinese laborers down thesouth, resulting in the spread of the plague along the Chinese Eastern Railway toChangchun, Shenyang and other places. Japan which was Occupying Changchun,Shenyang, and the southern parts of northeast of china, follow the example of Russia,expelled the infected persons from their territories. The laborers were expelled again toflee along the railway to Tianjin and other places, which bringing about the outbreak ofplague in large scale, This paper argues that the Russo-Japanese compulsory diseaseprevention is the main reason for the spread of plague in a large area in the Northeast.The lag of the Qing government’s epidemic prevention gave the Russia and Japanand other foreign powers the excuse to meddle in China’s internal affairs. The Russiaand Japan used the epidemic prevention as an excuse, sent more troops to the northeast, encroached along the railway territory, and burned their homes, and set off theanti-Chinese movement. During the meeting of General conference against the plague,Japan and Russia spared no effort to interfere in order to dominate the meeting so as toexert political pressure on the Qing government, hoping to make the false facts that thenortheast belongs to Russia and Japan. Although Russia and Japan established theprevention institutions in the disease prevention process and took some preventionmeasures, but which can not hide the truth of its aggression on China’s sovereignty.In the face of the natural and political disaster it brings, the Qing government madeevery effort to fight against the plague. The Qing government took the methods ofisolating the populations, cutting off traffic, establishing disease prevention office,organizing epidemic prevention team and hiring Chinese and foreign doctors, raisingepidemic prevention fund to control the epidemic potential. For the inhibition of theRussian, Japanese ambitions to encroach on the sovereignty of China by the excuse ofepidemic prevention, the Qing government set up the immunization team leaded by WuLiande and held a Conference of the prevention of general assembly nations. Thisconference ended successfully. To some degree, it is a victory of Qing government toboycott the Russia-Japan aggression. Plague was ultimately extinguished with theassistance of the different countries, but the huge immunization funding gave a heavyblow to the Qing government which was already in a precarious state. To pay fordisease prevention funding, the Qing government had to borrow money from othercountries. On the borrowing of Russia and Japanese, the two countries once againinvolved in Chinese affairs, deepening of China’s intervention.Keng-hsin plague brought an unprecedented natural disaster to china and causedenormous loss of lives and property. The measures that Qing government has taken andinternational joint epidemic prevention action is a historical and social progress.6. Butfrom the point of view that the evolution of the Northeast political landscape in late Qing Dynasty, the dispute epidemic prevention and quarantine behind Japan and Russiaon the rights and interests in the Northeast is no doubt accelerated the process of powersplundered the northeast, deepened the crisis of the whole of China’s sovereignty, makingthe political disaster.