The concession is well known for being regarded as a product of the invasion of China by the great powers. However, what few people know is that the poor and weak government of the late Qing Dynasty once owned a number of concessions on the Korean Peninsula and enjoyed various privileges in them, as if it were one of the great powers. The Incheon Concession was even maintained until 1913, after the founding of the Republic of China. So, how did these miraculous "Qingguo Concessions" come into being?
I. The Opportunity for the Qing Dynasty to Strengthen Its Presence in korea - the NoonDay Mutiny
After the mid-19th century, Korea, like the suzerainty of The Great Qing, was in a state of internal and external troubles. Neighboring Japan has been eager to attack Korea since the Meiji Restoration, and in 1876 Japan forced Korea to sign the Ganghwa Treaty, which forced Korea to open its country, allowing foreign capital to pour into Korea, and a large number of peasants and craftsmen lost their jobs. Xenophobic xenophobia is gradually brewing in society.
During this period, there was a long-term struggle between the two factions in Korea, led by The Great King and the Queen Min. In 1864, Chogjong Lee Seung of Joseon died without heirs, and Lee Hee, as a side branch of the royal family, entered the imperial family (Gojong of Joseon). Due to Emperor Gaozong's young age, his father Li Yan (李昰), the prince of the Xingxuan Compound, took charge. Ten years later, Queen Min launched a palace coup on the grounds that Emperor Gaozong was pro-government, and seized real power. After Min came to power, he began to emulate the New Deal of Foreign Affairs of the Great Qing Dynasty and implemented a series of "self-improvement" policies. The "Min's New Deal" was most notable for the formation of the "Other Technical Army", and it was this new army that became the catalyst for the "Noon Mutiny".
A special army equipped with new weapons
Film and television image of Empress Mingcheng (Min).
This mutiny showed the characteristics of "internal anti-Min and external anti-Japanese" characteristics. During the rebellion, min fled to Chungju for refuge, while Li Yunying, a prince who had been in hiding for nearly eight years, took the opportunity to regain control of the imperial government. In addition, the Beji army killed the Japanese instructor of the beetsu army and attacked the Japanese consulate. Since then, Japan has used this as an excuse to send troops to the DPRK, and further interference between China and Japan in the DPRK has also begun.
Second, the Sino-Japanese game - the internal motivation for the establishment of the Qing concession
The rivalry between the Qing and Japanese for North Korea has been particularly striking in the history of the modern korean peninsula great power game. Since the Meiji Restoration, Japan has continuously challenged the qing dynasty's central position in the East Asian international system, especially after the Ryukyu Incident in 1874 and the signing of the Ganghwa Treaty in 1876, Japan began to infiltrate the DPRK, and Korea gradually became the main battlefield for China and Japan to compete for the status of "suzerainty" in East Asia. In response to Japan's challenge, the Qing Dynasty began to adjust its traditional tributary system policy of non-interference in Korea's internal affairs, actively seeking opportunities to strengthen its dominance in Korea. The Noonday Mutiny provided an opportunity for the two countries to strengthen their presence in the DPRK.
Japan was the first to react. On July 29, the Japanese minister to the DPRK, Yoshitomo Hanabo, fled back to Nagasaki and immediately reported to Japanese Foreign Secretary Inoue on the situation of the Noonday Mutiny. From July 30 to 31, the Cabinet of Ministers of Japan held two emergency cabinet meetings (the Emperor of Japan attended the second meeting). On July 31, Japan decided to intervene militarily against North Korea. On the same day, Japan sent the "Measures for Handling the Incident concerning the Riot in the Capital of Korea" to the embassies of various countries in order to seek the understanding of all countries, and quickly transferred an army brigade and the navy "Kongo," "Kiyohui," "Nisshin," and "Hiei" to Incheon in an attempt to negotiate with the DPRK by force to meet its demands for aggression.
Japan's swift action caught the North Korean government off guard, and Daewon-jun expressed difficulty in accepting Japan's unreasonable demands, repeatedly rejecting Japan's demands for negotiations. However, given that North Korea's strength is not good enough to compete with Japan, it can only adopt a delaying strategy and wait for China to intervene and mediate.
Head of state of Japan: Emperor Meiji of Japan
The Chinese did not know of the North Korean mutiny until July 31 through the report of the embassy in Japan. A few days later, we received information on Japan's dispatch of troops to Korea, and the urgency of the situation is self-evident. On August 4, Zhang Shusheng, the acting governor of Beiyang, sent three warships, Ding Ruchang and Ma Jianzhong, the viceroys of Beiyang, to incheon to observe the situation. On August 7, with the approval of Prime Minister Yamen, Wu Changqing and Yuan Shikai were ordered to lead 3,000 Huai troops to North Korea. Ding and Ma arrived in Korea on the 10th, and Wu and Yuan and their party also assembled at Inchon on the 21st.
Head of the Chinese side: The Guangxu Emperor in Towards the Republic
During the period when the Qing army was assembling in Korea (10-21), a new situation emerged in Japan's negotiations with the DPRK. First of all, on August 16, Hanbo Yoshitomo, who could not bear the delaying policy of Korea, led 1,500 Japanese troops to Seoul, and made seven demands such as reparations and apologies to Gojong of Korea, and issued an ultimatum that must be replied to by the 23rd, but the Daewonjun still refused to reply. On the 23rd, Huafang Yoshitoshi withdrew the Japanese troops stationed in Seoul to Inchon to join the large troops, preparing to gather all his forces to launch a large-scale attack. Hua Fang did not expect that his retreat in anger just gave the Qing army an opportunity to take advantage of it.
Qing army stationed in Korea
The main purpose of the Qing Dynasty's dispatch of troops was to help the DPRK put down the rebellion, resist Japanese interference in the DPRK, and consolidate its position as the suzerainty of the DPRK. Earlier, in order to understand the situation in the DPRK, Zhang Shusheng had assigned Zhou Fu to hold talks with kim yoon-sik and Yu Yoon-sik, the DPRK's consular envoys in China ( equivalent to ministers ) . Jin and Yu, who were members of the Min clique, insisted that the coup was initiated by the conspiracy of The Great Courtyard Jun, and exaggerated the image of the Great Courtyard Jun's blind xenophobia, so that the Qing side regarded the Great Courtyard King as an obstacle to the infiltration of the Dynasty. On August 23, taking advantage of the withdrawal of the Japanese army from Seoul, the Qing army quickly entered the army, and on August 26, they trapped the unsuspecting Dayuanjun (who was then placed under house arrest in Baoding and was not released back to Korea until 1885), helping the Min clan regain control of the government and quickly quell the rebellion, and the Noon Mutiny was put to rest.
3. Aftermath of the Noon Mutiny and the acquisition of consular jurisdiction
Due to the house arrest of the strong-line Dayuan Jun, coupled with the Qing side's "gentle" policy toward Japan, it mediated the conflict between Japan and North Korea. On August 28, negotiations between the DPRK and Japan resumed, and the two sides signed the Treaty of Jiwupu and the Renewal of the TREATY on the DPRK-Japan Amendment. Through the treaty, Japan gained consular jurisdiction and the right to garrison troops in Seoul, and further expanded its ports in Busan and Incheon.
Japanese society after the Meiji Restoration
In a weak position, North Korea had no choice but to turn to the Qing dynasty to counterbalance Japan. The Qing side signed the "Statute of Water and Land Trade between Chinese and Korean Merchants and North Koreans", which stipulates that "
If Chinese merchants make their own accusations at the DPRK ports, they shall be judged by the Chinese Commission of Commerce
”“
Merchants and citizens of the two countries went to each other's ports of trade, and if they were in accordance with the law, they were allowed to rent land and build houses
”。 As a result, the Qing Dynasty officially gained consular jurisdiction and land lease power in the DPRK, and had independent judicial power (including police power) and land lease power, which was only one step away from the establishment of the concession.
4. The Dexing Incident and the formal establishment of the Qing Concession
The so-called "Dexing" is a trade semicolon that Chinese businessman Huang Yaodong plans to open in the DPRK. In October 1883, Hwang Yao-dong sent his staff, Jeong Wei-sang and Brother Jeong Yizhi, to open the Deok Hing in the Central Cave of the Japanese Concession in Busan to deal in grocery trade. The Japanese consul refused to allow it, but the Zheng brothers ignored it, and the Japanese consul mobilized Japanese merchants to prevent the dexing from opening.
After the incident, Chen Shutang, a Qing official who was then a member of the "General Office of the DPRK Commercial Committee," protested against the DPRK, holding that the root cause of the incident was that the Qing side did not have a concession in the DPRK, and took the opportunity to formally propose to the DPRK Government the requirement of establishing a Chinese concession so that overseas Chinese and Japanese people could enjoy equal treatment. After negotiations between the two sides, in April 1884, China and North Korea signed the "Incheon KouHua Commercial Land Boundary Charter", and the Incheon Concession was formally established.
Yuan Shikai in "Toward the Republic": Yuan Shikai's control over Korea reached its peak when Yuan Shikai "supervised the country" of Korea
Since then, with the continuous development of Sino-Korean trade, the Qing Concession has been expanding. By the time of the Sino-Japanese War, the Qing Dynasty already had several "exclusive concessions" on the Korean Peninsula, such as Inchon, Busan, and Wonsan. Due to a series of comprehensive intervention policies, including Yuan Shikai's control of North Korea's internal affairs and monopoly of loan rights to the DPRK, the Qing state in this period was absolutely dominant in Korea. The Qing Concession was also very prosperous during this period, as praised by the American Bede."
The Chinese concession was solid, with beautiful yamen and guild hall buildings, and rows of thriving shops filled with goods. With the busy and noisy sound of firecrackers and the beating of gongs and drums, Chinese clearly left the Japanese far behind in terms of trade
。 ”
Today's bustling Incheon Chinatown, formerly known as the "Incheon Concession" of the Qing Dynasty
After the Sino-Japanese War, Japan replaced the Qing Dynasty in Korea. After that, Japan formally annexed Korea in 1910, demanding that the Qing Dynasty abolish the concession in Korea on the pretext that Korea had become part of Japan. However, the large number of Chinese businessmen gathered in the Qing Concession was, after all, a force to be reckoned with, and Japan did not dare to act rashly. Subsequently, the two sides began long negotiations over the issue of the concession, and it was not until April 1913 that the Qing concession was officially abolished. Before that, the Qing Empire had long since collapsed under the cannon fire of the Xinhai Revolution.
Literature and history
：
In the late Qing Dynasty, China and Japan fought fiercely on the Korean Peninsula, and the Qing Dynasty used its traditional advantages in Korea and its enhanced national strength during the Foreign Affairs Movement to gain the upper hand in Korea, and the Qing Concession on the Korean Peninsula was the result of the victory of the Qing Dynasty's policy toward Korea during this period. However, we should also realize that the fundamental purpose of the struggle between Japan and The Qing Dynasty over the DPRK and the nature of the "Qing Concession" and the concession of the great powers in China are fundamentally different. The fundamental purpose of the Qing Dynasty was to use the rules of modern international law to transform the traditional Sino-Korean clan relations in order to gain international recognition and resist further intrusions by Western forces, so that the "Qing Concession" can be regarded as a certain continuation of the clan system in modern times, which is defensive in nature and fundamentally different from the concessions established by Japan and the West for the fundamental purpose of colonial plunder.
bibliography
[1]????? [Japanese] Makoto Kawashima (author) Tian Jianguo (translation) Tian Jianhua (School): The Formation of Modern Chinese Diplomacy, Peking University Press, 2012.
[2]????? Song Nana, "Comparison of Qing Policies Toward Korea Before and After the Korean Mutiny", Heilongjiang Chronicle, 2008.
[3]????? Jiang Bo, "On the Sino-Japanese Policy toward North Korea during the Noon-Noon Mutiny and Its Impact", Master's Thesis of Yanbian University, 2017.
[4]????? He Jiangfeng, "The Chinese Concession on the Korean Peninsula: A Case Study of the Chinese Concession in Incheon from 1884 to 1894", Shi Lin, 2012.
(Author: Haoran Wenshi Jianyan)
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