| During the Loochow Affair, what was the attitude of Chinese public opinion to Loochow? What was the Chinese attitude towards Japanese invasion into Loochow? Whether did the public realize international background in which Japan had changed it's attitude towards Loochow from the dual-owership to a claim for territory? Which kind of diplomatic idea did the public hold? This thesis focuses its lines on those questions and tries to give some answers by reviewing the reports and critics about the Loochow Affair on HU PAO during the period of 1874 to 1881.Five chapters will be presented.Chapter I, "The Introduction', explains the significance of the topic, the definition of terms, historical materials, study actuality and theories resorted to.Chapter II, 'Relation of China-Loochow and Japan-Loochow before 1879'. Firstly, the thesis narrated that Loochow was not only a Chinese vassal state under suzerain-vassal system, but was a dependency of Japan shogunate. The Qing dynasty didn't concern over the relation of Japan-Loochow with an acquiescence. Secondly, the thesis discussed that some transformation had happened around Loochow after 1870s. With Occident invasion into Asia, the position of Loochow became more and more important. As Japan recepted intensively that Europe was gaining on Asia, Japan government was taking measures to swollow up Loochow. Meanwhile, the Qing dynasty didn't realize these changes, regarding Loochow as a vassal state. That showed that as the Loochow Affair happened, China and Japan went on two different diplomatic tracks.Chapter HI, 'Initial Responses of the Public about Japan Covetting Loochow (1875-1879.3)'. Japan prevented Loochow from paying tribute to China, while the public merely condemned Japan ritually, and didn't realize that Japanese action was striding forward diplomatic modernization. Loochow's political position attracted unprecedented public attention, some people regarded Loochow as a independent state, some thought it belonged to China, and others thought it belonged to both China and Japan. All those opinions just indicated that suzerain-vassal system was incompatible to the modern international system.Chapter IV, 'the Attitudes of Chinese Public Opinion after Japan Had Swallowed up Loochow (1879.3-1880.3)'. There were two major contents in HU PAO: one was whether China should strive for Loochow with Japan or not, and the other was that Chinese government should tighten dominion on Loochow. Theopinion of striving for Loochow embodied an extremeness of employing a punitive expedition, while abandoning just embodied the other extremeness of indifference. Both were confined by the suzerain-vassal system, then it was impossible that China took some flexible and eclectic measures based on the Chinese and international reality. Meanwhile, there were some voices suggested the government should tighten dominion on vassal state, but these suggestions were deviated from Chinese situations. So it couldn't have any factual effects.Chapter V, 'How did the Public Think about Loochow after Sino-Russia Crisis Broke Out'. First, the public claimed abnegate Loochow in order to ally with Japan, avoiding Japan being on the side of Russia. When the crisis settled down, the treaty which was signed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Japan brought the government and the public into an uproar. The public claimed war agaist Japan in order to saving Loochow. The public standpoint had no inconsistency in abnegating and saving: the premise of forwardly abnegating was that China had suzerainty. The public abnegated just a vassal state, but not the whole suzerain-vassal system, until then, the public hadn't awaked that suzerain-vassal system in the existing international system was just like a fish out of water. The voices of saving Loochow in HU PAO was more intensive than that of government, it just reflected universality of suzerain-vassal system in China society.During the Loochow Affair, what Japan strived for was the dominion, but China the suzerainty. They were in different thinking p... |
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