As we all know, the Ming and Qing dynasties formed a tributary system centered on China in the East Asian world, and many East Asian countries and Southeast Asian countries were vassal states of China, such as Korea, Ryukyu, Annam and other countries.
At the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties, some countries were anxious about cultural and ethnic identity, and did not agree with the Qing Empire that flourished in the white mountains and black waters, believing that it was a "jianfu", and Korea regarded itself as a small China and did not look up to the Manchu Qing Dynasty. However, later, in the face of the strong military pressure of the Qing Dynasty, it had to admit the facts and became a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty.
East Asian tributary system
In modern China, the Qing Dynasty was beaten by the Western powers, and the traditional vassal states were also divided and eroded by the great powers. The Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War, which broke out in 1894, was due to the conflict between Japan's aggression and expansion in Korea and the qing Dynasty's traditional suzerainty in Korea, and the contradictions were irreconcilable, so they had to fight a war!
The outbreak of the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War also meant that China was fighting to protect the Kingdom of Korea. However, the Koreans do not think so, and they have always believed that the subordination to the Qing Dynasty for more than two hundred years is a disgrace to the country and a symbol of the country's lack of independence. At a time when China and Japan were about to go to war, the Kingdom of Korea went so far as to privately sign an offensive and defensive alliance agreement with the Japanese government, and the Sino-Japanese War was actually a war between China and Japan and Korea!
Korean Palace Gwanghwamun
Before the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese minister to Korea, Keisuke Otori, and the Korean Foreign Minister Kim Yoon-sik signed an offensive and defensive alliance, which actually contained the following text:
Here the Qing Dynasty government wants to plan a war against Japan, which can also be regarded as resisting Japan and aiding Korea, and the Korean government over there has secretly reached a secret agreement with Japan.
Japanese Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu
On January 7, 1895, before the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War had officially ended, King Lee Hee of Joseon could not wait to take shizi and hundreds of officials of the clan to visit the Temple of the Jongmyo, enshrine the Oath of Independence and the Fourteen Articles of Hongfan, declare that he would "cut off the idea of relying on the Qing Dynasty and truly build a foundation for independence and independence", and would also emulate Japan and carry out modernization reforms.
In the past, Korea was a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, and the titles of the kings and queens of the Korean royal family should be "His Royal Highness the King of Joseon" and "His Royal Highness the Princess of Korea", and now they should also be renamed "His Majesty the Great Monarch" and "His Majesty the Queen", and "Under the Residence of the Prince of The King" should also be renamed "His Highness the Crown Prince", in short, "according to the honorific title used by the country of the Son of Heaven to show independence and autonomy." ”
King Lee Hee of Joseon
On April 17, 1895, after the signing of the Treaty of Maguan, Korea finally gained "independence". But this "independence" was a form of superficial independence, and the pro-Japanese government established during the Sino-Japanese War gave Japan control of the Korean regime. However, Korea hoped to gain a real independence, and the weak Korea wanted to introduce Russian forces to resist the Japanese, so the Japanese simply launched a coup in October 1895, killing the pro-Russian Concubine Min for the "Yiwei coup".
The wife was killed, and King Li Xi, no, it should be His Majesty the Great Monarch Li Xi, who fled into the Russian Embassy and hid, staying for more than a year, this time called "Russian Pavilion Broadcasting".
Princess Image
Since it is independent, some people in Korea say that they want to change the name of the country and call it empire! On November 15, 1895, the Joseon government announced that it would switch to the Year of the Common Era, with the era name jianyang and 1896 as the first year of Jianyang.
It was not until October 12, 1897, that His Majesty Lee Hee, the Grand Monarch of Joseon, held a ceremony to proclaim himself emperor, and at the same time posthumously honored Consort Min as Empress Myeongseong and crowned crown prince as crown prince. After becoming emperor, Li Xi also changed the name of the country, and he found a source from the history of the historical Goryeo Dynasty's annexation of "Chenhan, Mahan, and Benhan, which is the unification of the three Koreas", announced the abolition of "Korea", which has the color of a vassal state, changed the name of the country to the Korean Empire, and changed the name of the country to "Guangwu".
The Korean Empire
Why do you say that the name of "Korea" has the color of a vassal state? "Joseon" was originally an ancient country name, the earliest was in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Jizi was used when he was knighted, and later Zhu Yuanzhang sealed Li Chenggui, and also chose the name of "Korea", so it was a bit of a vassal state color.
In the face of the Korean Kingdom becoming the Korean Empire, the Qing government was certainly very reluctant, but it could only gradually accept the fact, and in November 1898, the Qing government also sent envoys to the Korean Empire, which was considered to recognize their independence. Of course, everyone knows that this independence is too unreal!
Empress Mingcheng
In the 20th century, we know that the Boxer Rebellion occurred in China, which led to further invasions of China by the great powers, and the external troubles were really more serious than ever. At this time, many people knew that Tsarist Russia took the opportunity to encroach on territory in northeast China, but few people knew that the so-called "Korean Empire" also took the opportunity to do things in northeast China!
North Korea borders northeast China, and for hundreds of years, North Korean border residents have crossed the border to reclaim land, and there have been many disputes between China and North Korea, including territorial disputes.
Dae'anmun, Seoul, of the Korean Empire
From 1900 onwards, the Korean Empire took advantage of the aggression of the great powers against China, frequently created incidents on the border, and also signed secret agreements with Tsarist Russia, openly regarded the Chinese border areas on the north bank of the Yalu River and the Tumen River as its own territory, and illegally appointed officials in charge of the Korean settlers in this part of China. These officials recruited Zhuang Ding, organized armed forces, levied rents and taxes on Korean settlers in China, and wantonly burned and looted the local Chinese people, attacking the Chinese local government and army. On this issue, we will talk about it later, to see how vicious this Korean Empire was in history!