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To mark the 120th anniversary of the First Sino-Japanese War, an exhibition entitled "Conflict and War: China and Japan 1894-95" will be staged at the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence from tomorrow (August 22) until March 11 next year. The exhibition will showcase invaluable artefacts and historical photographs to cover the origins of the war and its far-reaching impacts on the development of modern China.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the exhibition today (August 21), the Under Secretary for Home Affairs, Ms Florence Hui, said that the First Sino-Japanese War was a watershed in modern Chinese history. As early as the 1860s, the Qing government actively promoted the Self-Strengthening Movement to build a modern naval system, including the establishment of the Beiyang Fleet, to enhance the national defence. However, the war ended with the defeat of the Qing court and the signing of the humiliating Treaty of Shimonoseki, ceding territories and leading to the payment of huge war indemnities.
Ms Hui said she is delighted to collaborate with the Shandong Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau and the Museum of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 in organising this exhibition. Featuring around 90 valuable artefacts and more than 50 historical photographs, this exhibition will allow visitors to learn more about the establishment of the Beiyang Fleet, the course of the war and its impacts on the development of modern China. Some of the exhibits are being showcased in a place outside the Museum of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 for the first time.
China's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War not only symbolised the failure of the Self-Strengthening Movement of the late Qing period, but also marked the onset of a scramble among foreign powers for concessions from China. In distinct contrast, Japan rose to the level of a military superpower in the Far East, upsetting the status quo in East Asia. Faced with a national crisis, the imperial court and the people of China shouted the battle cry of revenge and reform to save the nation. Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao advocated reforms and modernisation, while Dr Sun Yat-sen and Yeung Ku-wan established the Revive China Society to herald the revolution that would subsequently change the fate of China. As a result, the First Sino-Japanese War has been viewed as transformative in the development of modern Chinese history.
The exhibition is jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Shandong Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, and co-organised by the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence and the Museum of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Among the exhibits are telescopes used by the generals of the Beiyang Fleet, letters of appointment, war maps produced by Japan, military uniforms, propaganda materials, funeral orations for both Chinese and Japanese military officers killed in action, and medals of merit.
Other officiating guests at the opening ceremony were the Director of the Liugong Island Administrative Committee of Weihai, Mr Wang Jingwei; the Consultant-Director of the General Affairs Division of the Shandong Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, Mr Zhou Cheng; the Deputy Director of the Museum of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Mr Wang Jihua; and the Museum Director of the Hong Kong Museum of History, Ms Susanna Siu.
For details of the exhibition, please visit the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence's website at hk.coastaldefence.museum/en_US/web/mcd/exhibition/special.html, or call 2569 1500.
Ends/Thursday, August 21, 2014
Issued at HKT 19:08
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