The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy (Hardcover)

by S. C. M. Paine (Author) "Japan has leaped, almost at one bound, to a place among the great nations of the earth..." (more)
Key Phrases: yellow riding jacket, naval funds, banner forces, The North-China Herald, The Japan Weekly Mail, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"...an important (and) engaging book...that delights and informs." David Curtis Wright, The International History Review

"This is a very welcome book that promises to become the standard work on a strangely neglected topic in English. It is a tour de force, employing primary sources in an abundance of languages (English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, German, and French). It is meticulous, well reasoned, and convincingly argued." Journal of Japanese Studies

"...well constructed, researched, and argued...This book is highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the events and the region in which the Sino-Japanese war took place and especially for those with a professional interest in the topic." -China Review International, Katherine K. Reist, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

"Arguably the first comprehensive treatment of the subject in English ever, this work provides a political, diplomatic, cultural, and military survey of the dramatic confrontation between Japan and China that overturned the entire balance of power in the Far East." - The NYMAS Review

Product Description
This book examines the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-5, a significant event in world history virtually ignored in Western literature. Japan so rapidly defeated China that citizens of Europe suddenly perceived Japan, not only as the dominant power of Asia, but also as a key international player. Western disgust with Chinese military performance led to their rapidly growing intrusions on Chinese sovereignty while Japan soon became an ally of the ruling superpower, Great Britain. To the present day, China is still struggling to reverse the judgment of this war and restore its regional dominance.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 424 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (November 18, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521817145
• ISBN-13: 978-0521817141
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #128,293 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Japan on top now, but will China be next?, March 11, 2003

By A Customer

Paine's book shows how Japan used Westernizing reforms and the emerging International System to defeat China and become the dominant Great Power in East Asia. Almost immediately, the perception of Japan as a poor and weak island nation changed. The European powers and the United States began to treat Japan as an equal. Within ten years, Japan went on to defeat Imperial Russia, the first time an Asian power had beaten a Western nation since the Mongol invasion.

In this well-research and provocative book, Paine shows how Japan's victories were not so much due to her own strengths--which were considerable--but to her enemy's weaknesses; this led Japan to misjudge American power during World War II. Today, China strives to undo the consequences of the Sino-Japanese War by challenging Japan and reinserting itself on the top of the Asian pyramid. The big question is whether it will do so economically or militarily. Either way, the Asian status quo introduced after the Sino-Japanese War is likely to change.

Although designed for a general audience, specialists in Asian history could easily cut the introductory chapters and head straight for the "meat." The concluding chapters, in particular, provide an excellent summary of how and why Japan successfully modernized, as well as a highly relevant discussion of why China was--until recently that is--unable to do so. This book is required reading for all students of Asian history.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The change of the balance of power.., September 23, 2005

By	Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy (Paperback)

Before the Sino-Japanese War China was thought of as the Middle Kingdom. Even the European powers respected it up to a point. And before the war Japan...well, Japan wasn't even a blip on the radar. After the war China was nothing but a corpse to be sliced up and Japan had become THE Asian nation to respect.
The book explains, in great detail, how Europe, America and Asia reacted to the war - how it not only changed perceptions but also foreign policy.
But did Japan win the war or was it China who lost the war? Would Japan learn all the WRONG lessons and how would such nations as Russia, Germany, and England respond to a non-European power in the Far East?
The book allowed me to understand the history of events that helped bring about the Russo-Japanese War and also made me feel sorry for Korea.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sino-Japanese War, March 1, 2007

By	Christopher J. King, Jr. (Davisburg, MI; USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy (Paperback)

Paine has done an excellent job on a topic that is important yet almost arcane. Using numerous newspaper accounts as no other sources are available does not weaken the work, but strengthens it insofar as it provides perspectives from multiple observers, especially Russia, France, England and the US none of whom were strictly speaking participating in the conflict. Anyone who wants to understand the emergence of Japan as a power in the Far East should read this. There are few other available books in English on this. The extensive bibliography attests to the scholarship of this work.