First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing China and Japan, mainly over influence in Korea, then ruled by the Joseon dynasty. It began in the summer of 1894 after both countries sent troops to Korea to deal with the Donghak peasant rebellion. Japan's modernised army and navy won most of the fighting, including the battles of Pyongyang and the Yalu River and the capture of Port Arthur, and destroyed the Chinese Beiyang Fleet. In the Treaty of Shimonoseki in April 1895, China recognised Korea's independence, ceded Taiwan and the Penghu islands to Japan, paid an indemnity, and agreed to cede the Liaodong Peninsula, though Russia, Germany and France forced Japan to return the peninsula. The war revealed the weakness of Qing China and made Japan a leading power in Asia.

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