Intellectuals’ Understanding Of Korea In The Late Qing Dynasty (1872-1911)

After entering modern times,China is getting weaker and weaker,and the border passes are in urgent succession.Korea,as the foreign vassal state with the closest relationship with China and close to the rising place of the Qing Dynasty,has gradually attracted the attention of the Chinese people.Before the First Sino-Japanese War,many intellectuals were very concerned about the situation in Korea,some of them visited Korea in person,and the other part learned about Korea through publications.During this period,they knew Korea as a weak,politically decadent and backward country,and under external threats from Japan and Russia.But because of its close relationship with China and its shielding in northern China,Chinese intellectuals mostly advocated the security of Korea.To this end,they have offered advice.After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 to before the Russo-Japanese War,Chinese intellectuals paid much less attention to their domestic situation,but their impression of being poor and weak did not changed,and the threat from Japan and Russia was more serious than before.In addition,the Sino-Japanese War caused a major change in Chinese intellectuals’ understanding of China-DPRK relations,from a close state to a stranger neighbor,and unwilling to recognize their equal status with China.After the Russo-Japanese War,Korea became a vassal of Japan until it was fully annexed in 1910.At this time,China’s national strength also weakened to the extreme,many intellectuals began to abandon the previous arrogance,try to learn from the demise of Korea,a very similar country with the Chinese cultural system,to save the nation.