Friendly Statement: This article only reviews the "B Wei War" that broke out in the process of Japan's reception of Taiwan in the second half of 1895 from the perspective of history lovers, and does not involve today's current affairs and politics, nor does it contain any political metaphors.
Seeing today's headline, you might ask:
Old Feng, did you take the wrong medicine? Taiwan was ceded to Japan by our Great Qing Dynasty, not from Japan, so why is it said that "Japan hit Taiwan"?
The answer is this: Old Feng really did not take the wrong medicine,
Taiwan was really fought by Japan
It is a fact that the Qing Dynasty ceded Taiwan to Japan, but Japan accepted Taiwan, not peacefully, because the people of Taiwan at that time disobeyed the Japanese, they organized themselves to resist, so war broke out, because it broke out in 1895, so history called the "B Wei War", this war, both sides died a lot of people.
Below, Lao Feng uses plain and easy to understand the vernacular, probably to tell you about the ins and outs of this war in those years.
In fact, as early as the spring of 1895, when Maguan was negotiating, he heard Ito Hirobumi say that he wanted Taiwan, and Li Hongzhang asked Ito Hirobumi at that time: Do you Japanese want Taiwan? Are you sure? The local Hakka people in Taiwan, the People of Zhangzhou, and the Fan People, are very fierce, they must not obey you Japanese, are you sure you can get them?
Li
At that time, Ito Hirobumi replied to Li Hongzhang categorically:
That's us
Japan's business
Don't worry about it
Hirobumi Ito
So, did Li Hongzhang scare Ito Hirobumi?
Were the Hakka people who made a living in Taiwan and the People of Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, really fierce?
The answer is: Li Hongzhang did not scare Ito Hirobumi, the Hakka, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, and Fan people who made a living in Taiwan at that time were indeed very fierce and aggressive, and they had been fighting each other for more than a hundred years on the island of Taiwan.
Classification of armoured buckets
Ancient Chinese Classification Weapon Fighting (Stills)
Yes, classified weapon fighting, dividing people into several categories, fighting with each other, called "classification weapon fighting", Zhangzhou people, Quanzhou people, Hakka people who lived in Taiwan at that time... Between multiple ethnic groups, large-scale armed struggles often broke out, starting in the 1750s, fighting intermittently, this generation did not finish fighting, the next generation continued to fight, machetes, hoes, muskets... Cold weapons, hot weapons, all on the field, dead people, spread over the mountains, very bloody.
How long has it been playing?
Until the end of the 19th century, on the eve of the Sino-Japanese War, sporadically, it was still fighting. Therefore, Li Hongzhang knows this, he is not scaring Ito Hirobumi, he is just telling the truth.
At that time, Taiwan's "classified weapon fighting", under the subdivision, was divided into "Zhangquan weapon fighting" (fighting between those born in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou), "Fujian-Cantonese weapon fighting" (fighting between those born in Fujian and those from Guangdong), and "Tuke weapon fighting" (Hakka and non-Hakka fighting)... Wait a minute.
So why did these Han Chinese who were begging for a living in Taiwan fight with weapons?
In the War of B, Japanese officers took a group photo
In fact, it is all caused by things such as water irrigating farmland, fighting for land reclamation, building ancestral halls and temples, etc., and generations of vendettas are killed, and if they do not agree, they will fight.
In fact, this is not to count, in Taiwan, there was also the "original Han conflict", that is, the conflict between the aborigines and the Han people, the aborigines often cut off the heads of the Han people for no reason, which was called "out of the grass" at that time, why? Because the aborigines believed that cutting off a stranger's head meant that he was an adult man, he could be rewarded for returning to the tribe.
In short, before Japan took over Taiwan, Taiwan was not a peaceful place, and the people here, whether Hakka, Minnan, or indigenous, were not easy to mess with, almost all of them were fierce, and they had rich combat experience, and many of them grew up participating in armed fighting.
So we break the sand pot and ask the end, why did the people who immigrated from the mainland to Taiwan have a fierce personality? In fact, it was because, at that time, from Fujian to Taiwan, the Taiwan Strait was a very dangerous ghost gate, when the sea was crossed to Taiwan to make a living, it was a bold and brave person, so almost all those who arrived in Taiwan were brave and fierce genes, and they fought without a word, this phenomenon has an academic term in sociology, called "frontier atmosphere", popularly speaking: not a raptor but a river.
Japanese military attire in 1895
Good. Let's get back to business.
So did Li Hongzhang say that the people of Taiwan were fierce, did he scare the Japanese? Of course not.
At that time, the Japanese experienced the Meiji Restoration, its army and navy have been modernized, and they have just defeated the Qing army in the Sino-Japanese War.
Therefore, after the signing of the Treaty of Maguan on April 17, 1895, the Japanese began to plan to take over Taiwan.
Then, after signing the contract, the 24-year-old Guangxu Emperor issued a holy decree to Tang Jingsong, the then governor of Taiwan, asking him to return to Beijing as soon as possible, meet the emperor, and arrange for Taiwan's civil and military officials to cross the sea back to the mainland as soon as possible. Because the Japanese are coming to receive it.
Inspector Tang Jingsong of Taiwan
When Tang Jingsong received the Guangxu Emperor's holy decree, his heart was filled with sorrow and indignation, but at the same time, letters written by officials, squires, xiucai, landlords, and readers from all over Taiwan also flew into Tang Jingsong's hands like snowflakes, and the letters of these people had only one cry:
We would rather die than be Japanese
In particular, at that time, there was a very prestigious gentry in Taiwan named Qiu Fengjia, who had a regimental training (civil armed force) in his hands, and he encouraged Tang Jingsong: Do not return to the mainland, stay in Taiwan, raise an army against the Japanese, as long as the Japanese are driven away, Taiwan will still be ours.
Anti-Japanese gentry Hill Fengjia
There was also a famous general named Liu Yongfu, who also supported Tang Jingsong, and he said to Tang Jingsong, I have soldiers, Qiu Fengjia also has soldiers, plus other types of township braves, we are worth fighting with the Japanese, so Tang Jingsong You don't want to go back to the mainland, we will resist on the spot.
Speaking of this, you may ask: Is Liu Yongfu, the leader of this "Black Flag Army", the same Liu Yongfu who fought the French (Sino-French War) on the battlefield of Vietnam? How did he get from Vietnam to Taiwan, thousands of kilometers away? Where is this all about? What the hell is going on? Many readers have not understood this.
Liu Yongfu, the leader of the Black Flag Army
Old Feng told you. The thing, it turned out to be like this:
This Liu Yongfu was indeed the leader of the "Black Flag Army" who fought the French in Vietnam ten years ago, but later, the Sino-French War ended, the Sino-Japanese War broke out, and the Qing government ordered Liu Yongfu to lead his "Black Flag Army" across the sea to Taiwan to assist in defense. It was to assist the Qing army in Taiwan and prevent the Japanese from landing.
Black Flag Army
That's why, Liu Yongfu and his Black Flag Army, at this time, will appear on the island of Taiwan.
Well, let's get back to the point, at this time, not only Did Liu Yongfu and Qiu Fengjia encourage Tang Jingsong to resist the Japanese army, but at this time, many official, semi-official, and civilian armed forces on the island of Taiwan expressed their support for Tang Jingsong and fought together against the Japanese boys, these armed forces were: Dong Jun, Guang Yong, Xinchu Army, Tai Yong, Rebel Army, New Miao Army, Preparation Camp, Dare Zi Battalion... And so on (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "rebels"), these Taiwanese men, who grew up in armed struggles since childhood, are not afraid of death, are accustomed to bloodshed, they say, they would rather die than be Japanese, so everyone should unite and fight Japanese boys together.
Some of the familiar Fans (Fan people who treated the Han people friendly) joined the Han people in rebelling against the Japanese army
Tang Jingsong calculated at this time that there were as many as 35,000 people on the entire island of Taiwan who were willing to unite to resist the Japanese, and there were people, guns and cannons, plus Qiu Fengjia and Liu Yongfu cheering on the side.
Therefore, Tang Jingsong, Qiu Fengjia, and Li Yongfu began to recruit troops, sharpen their knives, exercise, deploy, and prepare for war on the whole island of Taiwan.
On the Japanese side, a man named Shigeki Birchyama was appointed to be Japan's first governor of Taiwan, who originally intended to peacefully take over Taiwan, but sent detectives to Taiwan for a walk and came back to report that the entire island of Taiwan, with more than 35,000 troops, had been deployed and trained to resist Japan in various parts of the island.
Birch Mountain Chronicles
When He heard the detective report and peacefully accepted the plan, he threw it in the trash, and at this time he remembered Li Hongzhang's warm warning to Ito Hirobumi: Taiwanese people are not good. So Huashan Ziji finally believed that Li Hongzhang was right. Unexpectedly, ming and qing signed a contract, Japan took over Taiwan, or inevitably have to fight another war.
Therefore, Huashan Ziji gave up the idea of peaceful reception, he took the Japanese army, landed, before landing, Huashan Ziji ordered the Japanese army: After landing on the island, once it encounters the resistance of the Taiwanese people, whether it is Han or Fan, all of them will be killed.
Rebels mobilized for battle
On May 29, 1895, the Japanese Guards Division, the 2nd Division, the Mixed Fourth Brigade, the Mixed Detachment and other units, a total of 37,000 troops, landed from the north and south of Taiwan Island, and soon after landing, they were fiercely resisted by the Taiwanese rebels everywhere.
Of note is this "Guards Division". What is the "Guards Division"? In layman's terms, it is Japan's "Forbidden Army" and "Imperial Forest Army" that directly defend Emperor Meiji's personal units, and the head of this unit is Emperor Meiji's uncle, called "Prince Nohisa of Kita-Shirakawa Palace", look, the Japanese really laid down blood in order to fight Taiwan, and by the way, this Prince Norihisa of Kita-Shirakawa Palace, that is, the uncle of Emperor Meiji, this person later died on the battlefield of Taiwan.
Prince Nohisa of Kita-Shirakawa Palace
Well, back to the point, then after the Japanese landing, in Keelung, Taichung, Bagua Mountain, Changhua, Chiayi, Taipei... And other places, almost the entire island of Taiwan from north to south, have encountered fierce resistance from the rebels, for the sake of length, the details of each battle, Lao Feng I will not elaborate, in short, the rebels with artillery, muskets, large knives, spears, and heavily armed Japanese troops in their hands, launched a bloody battle everywhere.
The war situation was very tragic, the Japanese army in this war, but also slaughtered civilians, including in July, killed the red-eyed Japanese army, in the vast area between Taipei and Hsinchu, the implementation of indiscriminate "burn out" and "kill light" policy, along the way of the minnan villagers and Hakka villagers, kill people, set fire to the house, for a while the corpses are all over the field, blood flowing into the river.
This war, before and after a total of half a year, after the war statistics, the total casualties of the Japanese army more than 10,000 people (some of them died of dysentery and cholera), the rebel side only died more than 10,000, if you add the casualties of the common people, the total casualty number is close to 100,000, but there is no accurate statistics, so these figures may not be accurate, but in short, very tragic.
End
One of the epilogues: The taiwan people's fierce resistance to the Japanese army made the Japanese rethink how to treat Taiwan, so after the end of the war, the Japanese diet appeared "Taiwan selling but not theory", believing: The Taiwan people are too fierce, such people, too difficult to govern, suggested that Japan sell Taiwan to Britain or France for a price of 100 million yen, at that time, the Japanese said that Japan got Taiwan "like a man named Huazi to get a horse, neither can ride, but also afraid of being kicked by horses", thinking that Taiwan is a "hot potato", but, The idea was fiercely opposed by Hirobumi Ito and ultimately failed to become a National Policy for Japan.
Epilogue 2: Tang Jingsong, the governor of Taiwan, after the fall of Keelung, fled to take refuge with German merchants, and then took a German merchant ship back to Xiamen, where he died of illness in his hometown of Guilin in 1903.
The rebels of the Taiwan Anti-Japanese War in 1895
Epilogue Three: Liu Yongfu, the leader of the Black Flag Army, after the fall of Tainan, fled to the British merchant ship, returned to Xiamen, the ship sailed out to sea, the Japanese army received a tip-off, sent a warship to intercept the merchant ship at sea, got on the ship to search for Liu Yongfu, the British captain said to the Japanese, we are British ships, flying the British flag, equivalent to British territory, you Japanese have no right to arrest people on our British ships, the Japanese understand international public law, have nothing to say, helpless, let Liu Yongfu go. In 1917, Liu Yongfu died of illness in his hometown in Guangxi.
Epilogue 4: Anti-Japanese gentleman Qiu Fengjia, when Keelung fell, after Tang Jingsong fled, Qiu Fengjia also fled, he crossed the sea by boat, returned to the mainland, and died of illness in Meizhou, Guangdong in 1912.
Taiwan rebels
Epilogue Five: After the Japanese killed the most rebellious part of the Taiwan Han people, they temporarily calmed down the situation and began to carry out colonial rule in Taiwan, moreover, the Japanese relied on their strong control ability and rich experience in governance, and wanted to incorporate the Fan people (indigenous people) in the mountains of eastern Taiwan into the urban and rural management system of the modern country. Later, it took the Japanese nearly 40 years to finally tame the People of Taiwan.
Epilogue No. 6: In order to eliminate the spirit of resistance, the Japanese decided to reverse the national identity of the Han and Fan people in Taiwan, so during the Japanese rule in Taiwan, they gradually promoted the Japanese language and encouraged the Han and Fan people on the island to change their Japanese names.