There is a coastal port that has been forcibly leased for 99 years, and it was successfully recovered before Wen Yiduo wrote "The Song of the Seven Sons", and it is the first concession land in China to be reclaimed. Do you know which place it is?
Wen Yiduo, a famous patriotic poet in modern times, wrote a group of poems "Song of the Seven Sons" in March 1925, of which "The Song of the Seven Sons - Macao" was later adapted into a song. In the poem, Wen Yiduo compares the seven ceded and leased places, including Macao, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Weihaiwei, Guangzhou Bay, Kowloon Island, Lushun and Dalian, to the seven children whose motherland was taken away.
The famous patriotic poet of modern times has heard a lot
In addition to the leased places of the above seven sons, China also has a coastal port that was forcibly leased by the great powers for 99 years. The place had been reclaimed in 1922, so it did not appear among the seven sons.
The defeat of the Sino-Japanese War stimulated the great powers to feverishly carve up China
In July 1894, Japan, which had been planning for a long time, undeclared war attacked the Chinese warships "Jiyuan" and "Guangyi" off the coast of Toshima, Korea, and sank the British merchant ship "Gao Sheng" chartered by the late Qing government to transport troops. The decadent late Qing government rushed to the battle, and the Sino-Japanese War began.
The Sino-Japanese War ended with the total destruction of the Beiyang Naval Division and the defeat of China, and in 1895, the late Qing government was forced to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki with Japan. In addition to paying reparations for land cession, the Treaty of Shimonoseki also allowed the Japanese to invest in factories in China. Other powers, citing the "equal interests" clause, also rushed to open factories in China, greatly deepening China's semi-colonization.
Many places along China's coast have long been coveted by the great powers of the world. The Sino-Japanese War completely exposed the weakness and incompetence of the Qing government, and greatly expanded the ambitions of the great powers to divide China. While the great powers invested in China, they began to set off a wave of forcible division of spheres of influence.
Germany was the first to seize and forcibly lease
Germany, as a rising capitalist power, invaded China late, but was ambitious, trying to occupy a piece of land as its stronghold in the Far East. From 1895 onwards, Germany's repeated requests to the late Qing government were rejected.
Germany was already a prosperous town. The famous German geologist Ferdinand von Richthofen visited China eight times between 1860 and 1872 and recommended that it be occupied. This is the key point of the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea, and the terrain is important. "If you want to develop the forces in the Far East, you must occupy Jiaozhou Bay." After repeated refusals, the German emperor Wilhelm II was extremely angry and planned to find an excuse to forcibly occupy it.
A corner of Jiaozhou Bay at the end of the 19th century
On November 1, 1897, two German missionaries were beaten to death by members of the local Dao Society in Juye County, Caozhou Prefecture, Shandong Province, because they instigated the parishioners to oppress the commoners, which became known as the "Shandong Teaching Case". When the news reached Germany, Wilhelm II was overjoyed and took the incident as a godsend, and under the pretext of the Qing government's poor handling, sent a fleet to arrive outside Jiaozhou Bay on November 13.
In order to cover the invasion, after German Admiral Dillers issued an order to the fleet to occupy Jiaozhou Bay, he sent several officers to land first and visit Zhang Gaoyuan, the commander-in-chief of Dengzhou Town, who was stationed in Dengzhou, falsely claiming to conduct military exercises. On the 14th, a German army of about 500 people climbed the Jiaozhou Bay Pier.
More than 1,500 Qing troops stationed in the garrison were unguarded, watching the German army pass through the General Soldier's Yamen until the armory, ammunition depot, and the location of the shelling of the General Soldier's Yamen were all occupied. The German army forced the Qing army to retreat within 3 hours, and Zhang Gaoyuan was forced to lead his troops to retreat. Cliffs immediately announced the occupation of Jiaozhou Bay and all nearby islands and dependencies.
Some German troops who invaded Jiaozhou Bay took a group photo
The Germans had to push forward and continue to force the Qing army to retreat. Li Bingheng, who had been promoted to governor of Sichuan and had not yet taken up his post, urgently requested the battle, but was rejected by the Qing government. In December, Kaiser Wilhelm II also sent his younger brother Prince Henry to China with the German Second Fleet to intensify his coercion and inducement against the Qing government. By March 1898, Germany forced the Qing government to sign the Sino-German Treaty of Jiaozhou Concession, which forcibly leased Jiaozhou Bay and surrounding islands for 99 years.
In 1899, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered that the new urban area of the Jiao-Macao concession be named Qingdao, and only Europeans would be allowed to live. It was not until after the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, when the Qing princes and nobles fled to Qingdao, that Germany amended its decree to allow Chinese to live.
The Treaty of Jiao-Macao Concession also gave Germany the right to build the Jiaoji Railway and mine within 30 miles along the railway. The Jiaoji Railway was built from Qingdao to Jinan and opened to traffic in 1904. In this way, Shandong became Germany's sphere of influence. On the seashore of today's Qingdao, there are still German-style buildings everywhere.
Japan took advantage of World War I to forcibly occupy and replace it
In 1914, 17 years after Germany occupied Jiaozhou Bay, World War I broke out. Japan, which is ready to move, sees this as a great opportunity for it to further encroach on China. Nippon Zhiyi, who was appointed Japanese minister to China, declared that "war is a great deal" before he took office.
At this time, the late Qing government had long been overthrown by the Xinhai Revolution, and Yuan Shikai usurped the fruits of the revolution and established the Beiyang warlord regime. However, the ruling Beiyang government remained corrupt and incompetent, declaring neutrality on August 6, 1914, and declaring that "the belligerents shall not occupy or engage in belligerent acts in the territory and territorial waters of China" and that "the armaments and heavy goods of the armies of the belligerents shall not pass through the territorial waters of China."
Japan paid no attention to this, and on the third day after the Beiyang warlord government declared its neutrality, it sent warships to the sea of Qingdao. On August 15, Japan issued an ultimatum to Germany, demanding that Germany withdraw all warships and unconditionally hand over the German leased land of Jiaozhou Bay to Japan.
Map of the German army's deployment in Qingdao
On August 23, Japan declared war on Germany and subsequently sent troops to land at Longkou, Shandong. The Beiyang warlord government, citing the precedent of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, ignored its declared policy of neutrality and set aside so-called special areas for the use of the Japanese army. In a note to the ministers, the Beiyang warlord government declared: "In Longkou, Laizhou and the places near Jiaozhou Bay, it is true that the armies of the belligerents must use at least the least, and this government does not assume the responsibility of complete neutrality." ”
But the Japanese were not satisfied. On September 26, more than 400 Japanese troops went beyond the special area and occupied the Weixian station. The Beiyang warlord government asked Japan not to let "the government lose trust in the military and the people", but the Japanese army ignored it and continued to send troops westward on the grounds that the Jiaoji railway was purely an asset of the German government, and also demanded that the Chinese army immediately withdraw from the vicinity of the Jiaoji railway, otherwise it would be regarded as "an act to help Germany and Japan."
The Beiyang warlord government retreated step by step, and the Japanese army arrived at Jinan Station on October 6. The Japanese government openly declared: "The government of its own country has the necessary management of the Shandong Jiaoji Railway, so it occupies it." "On November 7, the Japanese army captured Qingdao, and the Germans stationed in Qingdao surrendered to the Japanese army.
After the end of Japan's war against Germany in China, it should have withdrawn and returned Qingdao and other places to China. However, under the pretext that the war in Europe was not over, the Japanese refused to withdraw, and retained a garrison of 16,000 troops in Shandong.
The Japanese army did not leave, and the Beiyang warlord government did not dare to formally make a request. On December 14, in a telegram to Vice Foreign Minister Cao Rulin, Lu Zongyu, minister to Japan of the Beiyang warlord government, said: "Formally requesting the withdrawal of troops must be delayed for a while. ”
However, on the contrary, Japan pressed step by step, not only did not withdraw its troops, but also further put forward the "21 Articles" that vainly wanted to destroy China. In order to realize the dream of becoming emperor, in May 1915, Yuan Shikai secretly agreed to the "Twenty-One Articles" proposed by Japan. Article 1 stipulates: "The Chinese Government undertakes that the Government of Japan shall hereafter recognize all the dispositions that Germany intends to deal with to the German Government concerning the transfer of all powers and interests of Shandong Province to the Chinese Government by treaty or other relations." At the Paris Peace Conference, Japan used this as a basis to refuse to return Qingdao to China.
The diplomatic failure at the Paris Peace Conference failed uncovered
In August 1917, the Beiyang warlord government declared war on Germany. The following year, World War I ended, Germany and other Allies were defeated, and China became the victorious power, which should have recovered all its rights.
In January 1919, the victorious Allies convened a "peace conference" in Paris, France. The Chinese delegates to the Paris Peace Conference demanded the abrogation of the unequal Treaty "21" between Yuan Shikai and Japan, and the return of Germany's leased land in Shandong, the Jiaoji railway, and other rights to China.
Paris Peace Conference
Due to Japan's strong opposition and the compromise and concessions of the United States, Britain, France and other countries, China's negotiations on the Shandong issue completely failed. The Beiyang warlord government intended to sign the peace treaty, and as soon as this news came out, the whole country was angry, which directly triggered the vigorous "May Fourth Movement".
On the evening of May 3, thousands of student representatives from Peking University and various universities in Beijing gathered at Peking University, and Peking University student Xie Shaomin bit his middle finger on the spot, and wrote four big characters in blood: "Return me Qingdao". On the 4th, more than 3,000 students in Beijing took to the streets to hold demonstrations, demanding that "foreign countries fight for national rights, and domestic punishment of national thieves." People from all walks of life across the country have marched and petitioned, or vigorously supported by strikes, school strikes, and market strikes.
"May Fourth" movement scene
Under the strong pressure of national public opinion, the Beiyang government was forced to instruct the delegation to make reservations on the provisions on the Shandong issue when signing the Paris Peace Treaty, but the great powers refused. On June 28, the Treaty of Versailles was officially signed by the Paris Peace Conference with Germany, and the Chinese delegation finally decided to refuse to sign and issued a statement.
Unyielding finally regained sovereignty
Although diplomacy at the Paris Peace Conference failed, the people of Shandong and even the whole country and people of insight from all sides are still working tenaciously and perseveringly in various forms of struggle.
On November 12, 1921, representatives of the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and China gathered at the Washington Independence Memorial Hall in the United States to begin the "Nine-Power Conference", also known as the "Pacific Conference". This is a continuation of the Paris Conference, the main purpose of which can be seen as resolving the balance of naval power among the imperialist powers and the conflict of interests in the Far Eastern Pacific region, especially in China.
The scene of the meeting of the Nine Nations
At the meeting, the Chinese representative once again demanded that the meeting resolve the Shandong issue, proposed to unconditionally withdraw Qingdao, and opposed direct negotiations with Japan on the issue. Japan, on the other hand, demanded direct talks with China and resisted including the Shandong issue in the Washington meeting. The United States does not want the Shandong issue to affect the implementation of its main strategy, so it has proposed the arrangement of "fringe talks", that is, the talks between Japan are organized separately, an agreement is reached and recorded in the minutes of the G-9 meeting, and the United States and Britain send observers to attend the talks as observers and conduct intermediate mediation.
On December 1, negotiations between China and Japan on the Shandong issue began. Chinese plenipotentiaries Gu Weijun, Shi Zhaoji, Wang Chuanghui, and others made full use of the contradictions between the great powers and the favorable international public opinion situation in more than two months and more than 30 rounds of difficult negotiations, forcing Japan to make some concessions, and the two sides finally reached an agreement on January 31, 1922. On February 4, 1922, China and Japan formally signed the Treaty on the Settlement of the Outstanding Case in Shandong. The treaty stipulated that China would recover the German lease in Jiaozhou Bay and sovereignty over Qingdao Customs, redeem the Jiaoji Railway for 32 million silver dollars, and withdraw Japanese troops from Shandong Province.
Although the treaty was signed, Japan still tried to use delaying tactics. At the beginning of the follow-up negotiations, the Chinese representative adopted a strategy of insisting that the troops be withdrawn first. Through sustained efforts, on March 28, the two sides signed the Agreement on the Withdrawal of Troops along the Jiaoji Railway. By the end of April, the Japanese Jiaoji railway had been restored, and China had finally recovered its sovereignty to protect the road.
On June 2, the two sides exchanged documents in Beijing ratifying the Treaty on the Settlement of the Outstanding Case in Shandong. Article 3 of the treaty stipulates that the transfer of administrative power and public property in Qingdao must be completed within six months. Reception negotiations officially begin after the exchange of letters enters into force. After the vigorous efforts and promotion of Chinese negotiators, by December, China and Japan signed the Agreement on the Detailed Breakdown of Unsolved Cases in Shandong and the Agreement on the Detailed Railway of Shandong Outstanding Cases.
At 12 o'clock on December 10, 1922, the return ceremony of Qingdao was officially held. Qingdao, which had been in the hands of German and Japanese colonialists for 25 years, was eventually reclaimed by China after a difficult struggle, becoming the first leased land reclaimed by China.
Office of the Governor of Commercial Ports of Jiaoao at the time of receipt
After the July Seven Incident, it was occupied by Japan
Japan's ambition to occupy Qingdao did not give up. After the outbreak of the "July Seven" incident, Japan coveted Qingdao. The Japanese government repeatedly instructed its consul in Qingdao, Nishi Haruhiko, to hold secret talks with Qingdao Mayor Shen Honglie, but he tried to lure him down, but he refused. Because it invested in more than 200 factories such as spinning mills in Qingdao, Japan did not dare to easily seize them by force.
In December 1937, the Japanese army occupied most of Shandong, and Qingdao was surrounded on three sides. Chiang Kai-shek sent a secret telegram ordering Shen Honglie to carry out the "Scorched Earth War of Resistance" in Qingdao, blowing up major factories and shipwrecks to block the shipping channel. On December 31, Shen Honglie led the Kuomintang troops and some officials and dependents to leave Qingdao and retreat to the area southwest of Lu.
On January 10, 1938, the Japanese army landed at Laoshan and occupied Qingdao without firing a single shot. Qingdao once again became a colony of Japanese imperialism.
Finally return to the embrace of the motherland and the people
Qingdao was occupied by Japan for more than 7 years until the victory of the Sino-Japanese War. On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender. Since the main force of the Kuomintang army was thousands of miles away from Qingdao, Chiang Kai-shek asked the Americans to help take Qingdao from the Japanese army in order to avoid Qingdao being accepted by the people's army led by the Communist Party.
On October 9, nine U.S. warships entered Qingdao to disarm the Japanese. On the 25th, the surrender ceremony of the Qingdao area was held at the Huiquan Racecourse, and representatives of the Nationalist government accepted the surrender of the Japanese army. Qingdao ended its colonial history.
At that time, Huiquan Racecourse, one of the three major racecourses in the Far East, was famous
After the surrender of the Japanese army, the Nationalist government took over Qingdao, and the American troops not only did not withdraw, but increased. By the end of October, 20,000 US officers and men had arrived in Qingdao. In the years since, Qingdao has become an important military base for the U.S. military in the Asia-Pacific region.
On December 24, 1946, Shen Chong, a female student at Peking University, was raped by two American soldiers, sparking demonstrations across the country. Anti-American sentiment in the domestic population is gradually rising, and there is a strong demand for the United States to withdraw its troops from China. Under various pressures, the US government had to draw up a plan to withdraw its troops from China. The following year, the American troops stationed in Tianjin and Shanghai withdrew, but the American troops stationed in Qingdao did not move at all.
In September 1948, the Chinese People's Liberation Army liberated Jinan. The US side withdrew the main personnel and materials from the shore to the ships, evacuated the families of the accompanying soldiers, and was ready to evacuate at any time. However, in order not to affect the morale of the Kuomintang troops, in January 1949, it was also claimed in the newspaper that "there is no question of retreat, and the United States will maintain sufficient strength in the western Pacific, including Qingdao and other Chinese waters."
Due to the perennial presence of the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Western Pacific in Qingdao, the PLA did not attack Qingdao until Nanjing and other cities in northern China were liberated and the Kuomintang government's rule on the mainland had collapsed. On May 3, PLA troops divided into three routes and launched an attack on the stronghold outside Qingdao. On the 19th, the People's Liberation Army annihilated the Kuomintang defenders outside Qingdao, forming a siege of Qingdao, and all US troops stationed in Qingdao withdrew to the waters outside Qingdao port. On the 25th, the PLA liberated the city of Shanghai, south of Suzhou Creek. At 4 p.m. that day, the US military finally withdrew from Qingdao.
The people of Qingdao took to the streets to welcome the People's Liberation Army into the city
On June 2, Qingdao was liberated, ushering in a new era. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, after more than 70 years of hard work, the people of Qingdao have built Qingdao into a famous coastal tourist destination and a modern international metropolis.
History will not forget, and the people will not forget the ancestors who made efforts and sacrifices to defend and build Qingdao for more than 100 years.