A Study On The Civilian Officials In The Late Qing Dynasty

The defeat of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, had greatly stimulated the Qing dynasty. How did Japan transform from an agricultural small country to a military superpower in East Asia, had attracted more and more officials to be sent to Japan to investigate Japanese military and seek the ways of "Rich Nation, Strong Army". Many investigators of insight wrote diaries about what they saw and heard in Japan, which can be named "Japanese Military Investigation Records". Having a systematic and deep research on them are helpful to know the focuses and the psychology of countrymen in that time, it also help to know the introduction of the new words and other questions which involving the Sino-Japanese relations and Sino-Japanese Cultural Exchange of Modern China. This study is a case analysis by selecting two representative diaries, Ding Hongchen’s Japanese Militaty Investigation Diary and Shen Yiqing’s Travels of Japan.In 1899, Kui Jun, the viceroy of Si Chuan, dispatched Ding Hongchen and Shen Yiqing to Japan. During the time in Japan, Ding and Shen had visited all kinds of schools, parts of militaries and arsenals, and also make contact with Japanese politicians. As the first investigation group from Si Chuan after the Sino-Japanese War in 1894, the officer levels of these investigators were very high, that they were treated specially and highly, far more than cotemporary other groups. Ding was the captain general and Shen was the Taotai. In the process of investigation, the difference between civil officer and military officer made them unconsciously formed specific division of labor which mainly reflected on the goal and the concept understanding. This investigation, actually, was the product of the interests of Chinese local government and needs of Japanese government. It was the result that China and Japan came closer each other to solve each own problems. This study mainly used method of comparative:the comparation of the three versions of Ding’s Japanese Militaty Investigation Diary, and the comparison of this two diaries and other Japanese Military Investigation Records in the same period.