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The 1895 Taiwan Republic: A Significant Episode in Modern Chinese History

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2011

Harry J. Lamley
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On May 25, 1895, amid a festive atmosphere at the governor's yamen in Taipei, China's island province of Taiwan (Formosa) was declared a republic. News of this extraordinary event was received in Peking and elsewhere with reactions of dismay and skepticism. Most Ch'ing authorities and foreign observers suspected that the creation of a republic was merely a desperate scheme to keep Taiwan from being ceded to Japan as an outcome of the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95. Nevertheless, to a few witnesses the unprecedented move of establishing a republic in an area of imperial China suggested at first more hopeful signs for the future. James W. Davidson, then a Taipei news correspondent, initially surmised, “If it has been conceived and carried out altogether by Celestial minds we are emboldened to believe that there is, after all, a new China in the nursery from whom great things may eventually be expected.”

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The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 27 , Issue 4 , August 1968 , pp. 739 - 762
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Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 1968

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References

Abbreviations used in footnotes:

CCTTW Tseng Nai-shih, “Chang Chih-tung yü T'ai-wan i-wei k'ang-Jih chih kuan-hsi” (The involvement of Chang Chih-tung with the Taiwan resistance to Japan in 1895), T'ai-wan wen-hsien, X, 2 (June, 1959), 25–39.

CJCC Chung-kuo shih-hsüeh hui (Chinese Academy of Historical Studies), ed., Chung-Jih chan-cheng (The Sino-Japanese War) (Shanghai, 1956), 7 vols.

CJCSSL Pei-p'ing ku-kuan po-wu-yüan (Peiping Palace Museum), comp., Ch'ing Kuang-hsü ch'ao Chung-Jih chiao-she shih-liao (Historical sources of the Sino-Japanese negotiations during the Kuang-hsü reign of the Ch'ing dynasty) (Taipei, 1963, reprint), 2 vols.

NCH The North China Herald and Supreme Court and Consular Gazette (Shanghai), new series.

TTSLHC T'ai-wan yin-hang ching-chi shih (Bank of Taiwan Bureau of Economics), comp., Ch'ing Te-tsung shih-lu hsüan-chi (Selections from the shih-lu of the Ch'ing Emperor Te-tsung) (Taipei, 1964), 2 vols.

WCSL Wang Yen-wei, comp., Ch'ing-chi wai-chiao shih-liao (Historical sources concerning foreign relations at the end of the Ch'ing period) (Taipei, 1963, reprint), 9 vols.

1 NCH, LIV, 812 (may 31, 1895)Google Scholar. This remark by Davidson is contained in his article, entitled “The Independence of Formosa,” dated “27th May.”

2 Soon after the republic was established, in fact, Davidson began to downgrade the whole resistance effort. See his reports on the inauguration of the republic, NCH, LIV, 863–64 (june 7, 1895)Google Scholar. Other negative attitudes towards the republic on the part of Western observers may be found in “Del Kemper, U.S. Consul, Amoy, to Edwin F. Uhl, Acting Secretary of State, June 21, 1895,” U.S. Consular Despatches, Amoy; and Gérard, A., Ma Mission en Chine (1893–1897) (Paris, 1918), II, 102Google Scholar. The scorn registered by Chinese in Peking is noted in NCH, LIV, 915 (june 14, 1895)Google Scholar. Meanwhile, important Ch'ing authorities, such as Li Hung-chang and Weng T'ung-ho who disagreed over both the war policy and peace settlement, referred to the republic as “strange” or “strange language.” See “Li Wen-chung-kung ch'üan-chi” (Complete writings of Li Hung-chang) and “Weng Wen-kung-kung jih-chi” (Diary of Weng T'ung-ho), in CJCC, IV, p. 361 and p. 560Google Scholar, respectively.

3 Contained in the sixth and final letter of Liang's “Yu T'ai-wan shu-tu” (Letters of travel in Taiwan), written during his short Taiwan trip beginning on March 24, 1911, when he left Japan. Ch'i-ch'ao, Liang, Yin-ping-shih ho-chi (Complete collection of the Yin-ping Studio) (Shanghai, 1936), chuan chi, V, 205.Google Scholar

4 Two articles concerning the Taiwan Republic that suggest such a limited and negative approach to this event are those by a writer styled Ch'en-feng and more recently, Chang Hsiung-ch'ao. The former deals with the collapse of the republic in Taipei, while the latter concentrates on what he terms T'ang Ching-sung's “pitiable position” and “excusable intentions.” See Ch'en-feng, , “I-pa-chiu-wu nien T'ai-wan min-chu yün-tung shih-pai chih yüan-yin” (Causes of the failure of Taiwan's 1895 republican movement), Ling-nan hsüeh-pao, VII, 1 (january, 1947), 59–71Google Scholar; and Hsiung-ch'ao, Chang, “T'ang Ching-sung k'ang-Jih chih hsin-chi chi ch'i tsou-tien ts'un kao” (T'ang Ching-sung's sentiments of resisting Japan and preserved drafts of his telegraphed memorials), T'ai-wan wen-hsien, XVI, 1 (march 1965), 78–88.Google Scholar

5 It has been judged unlikely that the initial members of the Honolulu and Hong Kong branches of the Hsing-Chung hui, founded in 1894 and 1895 respectively, took oaths to establish a republican form of government. Chün-tu, Hsüeh, Huang Hsing and the Chinese Revolution (Stanford, 1961), pp. 28–30.Google Scholar

6 Davidson, for example, intimated that Westerners must have been behind the idea of a republic. NCH, LIV, 812Google Scholar. The source that best shows the rise of the republic as purely a Chinese venture is the exchange of telegraphed messages between T'ang Ching-sung and Chang Chih-tung during April and May, 1895. These messages have been assembled in chronological order by Tseng Nai-shih in his piece, CCTTW.

7 See, for instance, Hosea Ballou Morse, Letter-books (1886–1907) MS (Houghton Library, Harvard), III, letter 1298 (may 27, 1895)Google Scholar; and Davidson, James W., The Island of Formosa Past and Present (Yokohama, 1903), pp. 278–79Google Scholar. Morse and Davidson have left first-hand accounts of the Taiwan Republic, yet both seem to have been misinformed concerning its origins. Governor T'ang and his associates let on as though the initiative behind the republican movement came from Peking. Morse's report, stating the Tsungli Yamen telegraphed T'ang to the effect that Taiwan was to be independent, is completely false, as this article will demonstrate. Allegations that the court and provinces were behind the creation of an island-state in Taiwan also were spread by the English and German legations. TTSLHC, II, 302.Google Scholar

8 Biographical accounts of T'ang and Liu are to be found in Heng, Lien, T'ai-wan t'ung-shih (General history of Taiwan) (Taipei, 1955, reprint), pp. 781–85Google Scholar; and Chao Erh-hsün, comp., Ch'ing-shih kao (Mukden, rev. ed., ca. 1937), chüan 463, pp. 1a–4aGoogle Scholar. Short accounts of T'ang's efforts in Annam are contained in Hsiang-lin, Lo, ed., Liu Yung-fu li-shih ts'ao (Draft history of Liu Yung-fu) (Taipei, 1957, reprint), p. 160 ff.Google Scholar; and Woodside, A. B., “T'ang Ching-sung and the Rise of the 1895 Taiwan Republic,” Papers on China (Cambridge: East Asian Research Center, Harvard), XVII (december, 1963), 166–67.Google Scholar

9 TTSLHC, II, 275, october 13, 1894Google Scholar (KH20/9/15).

10 This was the Li Wen-k'uei incident of April 22. Lien Heng, p. 783; Morse, III, letter 1290 (May 2, 1895); and Yao Hsi-kuang, “Tung-fang ping-shih chi-lüeh” (General record of Eastern military affairs), in CJCC, I, 92.Google Scholar

11 Ch'i-sheng, Hung, Ying-hai hsieh-wang chi (Record of those deserted in the great ocean) (Taipei: Bank of Taiwan reprint, 1959), p. 2.Google Scholar

12 See T'ang's references to the Li Wen-k'uei incident, and the radical steps taken to strengthen the resistance effort at the bid of those whom he termed “the army and the people.” Yü Ming-chen, “T'ai wan pa-jih chi” (Eight-day record of Taiwan), in T'ai-wan yin-hang ching-chi shih, comp., Ke T'ai san-chi (Three records of the cession of Taiwan) (Taipei, 1959), p. 22.Google Scholar

13 The day after the April 22 incident, Governor T'ang invited the consular representatives to a conference and admitted his inability to control the troops on the island. At that time it was evident his so-called popular support oftentimes consisted of mutinous crowds. “Kemper to Uhl, May 14, 1895,” U.S. Consular Despatches, Amoy. For a comment on the “inaction of the governor” following this see Morse, III, letter 1290.

14 Many distraught Chinese of the time vainly hoped for a “turning point.” T'ang and Chang often used this expression. A few instances may be found in: CCTTW, p. 30, april 20, 1895Google Scholar (KH21/3/26); p. 31, April 27 (4/3); and p. 34, May 21 (4/27).

15 On April 28, T'ang approached the local English consul. CCTTW, p. 31Google Scholar (4/4). Later, on May 17, he contacted the German consul in the Taipei area. Ibid., p. 33 (4/23).

16 CCTTW, p. 31Google Scholar, April 30 (4/6).

17 Both devised schemes whereby Taiwan might be leased to one or another of the Western powers, or the island's resources mortgaged to foreign interests. Chang first mentioned the idea of such types of “bribes” to Tang on April 17, the day the treaty was signed. CCTTW, p. 30Google Scholar (3/23). For a brief account of their schemes and efforts to attract the various Western powers, see Yiin-sheng, Wang, Liu-shih-nien lai Chung-tyo yü Jih-pen (China and Japan during the preceding sixty years) (Tientsin, 2nd printing, 1932–1934), chüan 3, 28–36.Google Scholar

18 CCTTW, p. 34Google Scholar. May 21 (4/27).

19 See T'ang's letter to Li Hung-ts'ao, quoted in part by Ch'en-feng, , p. 63.Google Scholar

20 Hsiang-lin, Lo, pp. 238–40Google Scholar. For a brief interpretation of the strained relationship between T'ang and Liu dating back to their days in Annam, see Chien-erh, Li, Liu Yung-fu chuan (Biography of Liu Yung-fu) (Shanghai, 1940), p. 195.Google Scholar

21 Nai-shih, Tseng, “I-wei chih i Ch'iu Feng-chia shih-chi k'ao-cheng” (Investigation of traces of Ch'iu Feng-chia during the 1895 war), T'ai-wan wen-hsien, VII, 3–4 (december, 1956), 67–8Google Scholar; and Ch'iu Lin, comp., “Ch'iu Feng-chia hsin-kao” (Drafts of Ch'iu Feng-chia's letters), Chin-tai-shih tzu-liao, 3 (june, 1958), pp. 36–48.Google Scholar

22 The news that Ch'iu had been proclaimed “king” is reported in NCH, LIV, 779 (may 24, 1895)Google Scholar. Here Ch'iu is referred to as the “Hakka chief, Ku Hung-kuk.” See also Shu-yüan, Ch'iu, “Hui-chen shih-i” (Fragments of scattered dust), in Ah-ying, comp., Chia-wu Chung-Jih chan-cheng wen-hsüeh chi (Collection of the literature of the 1894–95 Sino-Japanese War) (Peking, 1958 edition), p. 548.Google Scholar

23 TTSLHC, II, 275.Google Scholar

24 On that day Chang telegraphed his last message of advice to T'ang. CCTTW, p. 37Google Scholar (5/13).

25 Heng, Lien, p. 783Google Scholar. T'ang's later brief reference to this incident is to be found in a public an nouncement, dated June 2 (5/10). Ch'en Hsin-te, trans., “T'ai-wan k'ang-chan Jih-fang tzu-liao” (Japanese sources of the Taiwan war of resistance), in CJCC, VI, 454–55.Google Scholar

26 Morse, III, letter 1298.

27 CJCSSL, I, 861Google Scholar, doc. 3203.

28 After this affair, T'ang frequently intimated that he had been forced to stay on in Taiwan. Although this was an excuse on his part, there undoubtedly was some truth in it as well. See, for example, his remarks to Chang Chih-tung. CCTTW, p. 33Google Scholar, May 20 (4/26).

29 CJCSSL, I, 863Google Scholar, doc. 3219, May 19, 1895 (KH21/4/25); and CCTTW, p. 35Google Scholar, May 24 (5/1).

30 TTSLHC, II, 300Google Scholar (KH21/4/24).

31 TTSLHC, II, 301Google Scholar (KH21/4/26).

32 CCTTW, p. 33Google Scholar, May 17 (4/23).

33 Chang, then as well as later, found the idea of popular rule in China a disturbing notion. See his pleas to T'ang to avoid the use of such “misleading terms” in CCTTW, p. 33, May 19 (4/25); and P. 35. May 24 (5/1).

34 CCTTW, p. 33Google Scholar (4/26).

35 Hsin-te, Ch'en, pp. 454–35.Google Scholar

36 Te-kung, Wu, “Jang T'ai chi” (Record of the surrender of Taiwan), in Ke T'ai san-chi, p. 35Google Scholar; and Hsin-te, Ch'en, pp. 454–55.Google Scholar

37 An English translation of this announcement exists in Davidson, pp. 279–80; and Morse, III, letter 1298.

38 NCH, LIV, 863–64 (june 7, 1895)Google Scholar; Davidson, , p. 283.Google Scholar

39 Te-kung, Wu, pp. 34–5.Google Scholar

40 Ch'en's biography is included in Yen, Ch'en, Fu-chien t'ung-chih lieh-chuan hsüan (Selection of biographies from the Fukien gazetteer) (Taipei: Bank of Taiwan, 1964), II, 304–7.Google Scholar

41 Shu-yüan, Ch'iu, p. 547.Google Scholar

42 See, for example, Ch'iu's biography by Chiang Ch'üan, entitled “Ch'iu Ts'ang-hai chuan,” reprinted in the T'ai-wan feng-wu, IX, 4 (october, 1959), 35Google Scholar. Among contemporaries of the period who attributed the idea of a republic to Ch'en are Te-kung, Wu, p. 35Google Scholar; and Sung, Wang, T'ai-yang shih-hua (T'ai-yang poetry talks) (Taipei: Bank of Taiwan reprint, 1959), pp. 26, 55.Google Scholar

43 Te-kung, Wu, pp. 34–5Google Scholar; Han-ch'en, Liao, “T'ai-wan min-chu-kuo tsai T'ai-pei” (The Taiwan Republic in Taipei), T'ai-nan wen-hua, II, 3 (september, 1952), 20.Google Scholar

44 WCSL, chüan 109Google Scholar, 5a-b.

45 The idea of being abandoned also was stressed by Hung Ch'i-sheng in his preface, pp. 3–4.

46 This “petition written in blood” (hsieh-shu ch'eng) is the petition that Ch'iu circulated among prominent members of the local gentry throughout the island after the terms of the peace treaty became known. See T'ang's memorial, WCSL, chüan no, 140–153.

47 WCSL, chüan 110Google Scholar, 14b. The international law reference was simply cited as the Kung-fa hui-t'ung (Institutes of international law), chang (section) 286. Previously China's special envoy to Russia, Wang Chih-ch'ün, then in Paris, had telegraphed Chang Chih-tung concerning the idea of a plebiscite as sanctioned by international law. Chang passed on this suggestion to T'ang on April 21. CCTTW, p. 30Google Scholar (3/27). T'ang, in turn, apparently circulated the idea to Ch'iu and others on the island.

48 CJCSSL, I, 861Google Scholar, doc. 3203.

49 This short telegram is cited in full and in several slight variations in T'ai-wan sheng wen-hsien wei-yüan-hui (Taiwan Provincial Historical Commission), comp., T'ai-wan sheng t'ung-chih kao (Draft gazetteer of Taiwan province), chüan 3, Cheng-shih chih; Fang-shu p'ien (Records of political affairs; Section on defense) (Taipei, 1959), p. 215Google Scholar. It is also translated in a misleading manner in Davidson, , p. 278.Google Scholar

50 CCTTW, p. 33Google Scholar, May 17 (4/23).

51 Ibid.

52 Te-kung, Wu, p. 35Google Scholar; Sung, Wang, p. 26Google Scholar; and Davidson, , pp. 278–79Google Scholar. The latter writer believes that “Ch'en arrived with apparently definite orders,” but this is difficult to substantiate and seems erroneous.

53 See T'ang's telegram to Chang Chih-tung, dated May 4. CCTTW, p. 32Google Scholar (4/10). However, both Tang and Chang became pessimistic about French help until May 21, when a long expected French warship finally arrived in Taiwan. Ibid., p. 34 (4/27).

54 According to T'ang's report to the Tsungli Yamen, the commanders of two such French warships paid him a visit. CJCSSL, II, 870Google Scholar, doc. 3247. This mistake in T'ang's report is pointed out, and the question raised whether the officers of the French ship, the Beautemp-Beaupré, actually did visit T'ang, in the article: Germain, G. and Kien-long, Kao, “En Marge Du Traite De Shimonoseki: Tractions du sujet de Formose (Avril-Mai 1895),” Bulletin de l'Université l'Aurore, 3rd series, VI, 3 (1945), 510–12Google Scholar. T'ang seems to have more accurately described this brief contact with the French officers to Chang Chih-tung. CCTTW, p. 34Google Scholar, May 21 and 23 (4/27 and 4/29).

55 See Ch'en's secret telegram to his family on the mainland, cited by Li Ching-fang in a wire to Li Hung-chang, dated May 26 (5/3)1 in the latter's “Li Wen-chung-kung ch'üan-chi,” p. 364.

56 Ch'iu Ts'ung, “Hu huai lu,” contained in his compilation of Ch'ien T'ai-wan min-chu-kuo i-chün ta-chiang-chün Ts'ang-hai hsien-sheng Ch'iu kung Feng-chia shih-hsüan (Selections of poetry of the former commander-in-chief of the Taiwan Republic's volunteer army, Mr. Ts'ang-hai Ch'iu Feng-chia) (Shanghai, 1935), pp. 151–52.

57 Nai-shih, Tseng, pp. 65–69.Google Scholar

58 Hsiang-lin, Lo, pp. 238–40.Google Scholar

59 See T'ang's telegram to the Tsungli Yamen, dated May 26 (5/3), in CJCSSL, II, 871Google Scholar, doc. 3259.

60 Translations that have termed the announcement of the republic a “Declaration of Independence” have helped to perpetuate this idea. See Davidson, , pp. 279–81Google Scholar; and Clark, J. D., comp., Formosa (Shanghai, 1896), p. 186.Google Scholar

61 Actually, the term “tzu-li,” as employed by T'ang, denoted that Taiwan was autonomous, and had derived its autonomy when the people in public council created the republic. See T'ang's version of the establishment of the republic in CJCSSL, II, 871Google Scholar, doc. 3259. This usage suggests the usual more general meaning of “self-sufficient” which was then assigned to the term, but falls short of indicating that the province of Taiwan had broken away from China.

62 However, subsequent Chinese writers have sometimes used tu-li in the place of tzu-li to make it seem that the founders were seeking independence. For example, Ts'ung, Ch'iu, p. 159Google Scholar; and Lien Heng in his chapter entitled “Tu-li chi,” pp. 66–76Google Scholar. A more proper use of the term “tu-li” to denote political independence may be found in the first article of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, where China is made to recognize the full and complete “independence and autonomy” (tu-li tzu-chu) of Korea.

63 Heng, Lien, p. 68.Google Scholar

64 Brief descriptions of the tiger-flag are to be found in NCH, LIV, 863 (june 7, 1895)Google Scholar; Morse, III, letter 1298; Davidson, , p. 282Google Scholar; and Hsi-kuang, Yao, p. 94.Google Scholar

65 CJCSSL, II, 872Google Scholar, doc. 3264, May 29, 1895 (KH21/5/6).

66 Morse, Hosea B., “A Short Lived Republic (Formosa, May 24th to June 3rd, 1895),” The New China Review, I, 1 (1919), 28.Google Scholar

67 CJCSSL, II, 872Google Scholar, doc. 3264.

68 CCTTW, p. 36Google Scholar, May 25 (5/2).

69 Such rumors have been preserved in the literature of the period. For instance, a poem by a young local scholar, Huang Tsan-chün, described T'ang's government as a “confused three-day petty dynasty.” Lien Hsiao-ch'ing, “Huang Tsan-chün ch'i jen ch'i shih ch'i shih” (Huang Tsan-chün, his self, his affairs, his poetry), T'ai-pei wen-wu, III, 1 (may, 1954), 103Google Scholar. A more recent work has preserved poetry and stories concerning T'ang, his wife, and Ch'en Chi-t'ung which suggest that the governor aspired to become an emperor, if not a king, of Taiwan. Mao-tun (Lu Tun), T'ai-wan min-chu-kuo ti liang-wei ta tsung-t'ung (Two presidents of the Taiwan Republic) (Hong Kong, 1949), pp. 14–15.Google Scholar

70 Ch'uan, Hu, T'ai-wan chi-lu liang-chung (Two recorded accounts of Taiwan) (Taipei, 1951, reprint), I, 90a-b.Google Scholar

71 Heng, Lien, 69Google Scholar. Morse (“A Short Lived Republic …,” p. 28Google Scholar) claims a parliament was already in session. This may have been the so-called “public council” meetings held in Taipei prior to the formal establishment of the republic.

72 Hsiang-lin, Lo, p. 240Google Scholar; Chien-erh, Li, p. 196.Google Scholar

73 Te-kung, Wu, p. 51Google Scholar. Such accounts as this one by Wu represent more the Taiwan gentry viewpoint.

74 Hsiang-lin, Lo, pp. 246, 249Google Scholar; Te-kung, Wu, p. 50Google Scholar. The latter source indicates that the Taiwan intendant, then the highest ranking civil authority left in Tainan, handed over his seals of office to Liu and departed in late June, when he found he could not work in harmony with Liu.

75 NCH, LV, 729 (november 1, 1895)Google Scholar; and Chih-ch'ing, Wu, “T'ai-wan chan-cheng chi” (Record of the Taiwan war), Chin-tai-shih tzu-liao, 3 (1962), pp. 91–2Google Scholar. The latter reference is to Wu's diary.

76 For accounts of the issuance of stamps and currency in Tainan, see Chih-ch'ing, Wu, p. 92Google Scholar; NCH, LV, 909–11 (november 29, 1895)Google Scholar; and Chien-ming, Lai, “T'ai-wan min-chu-kuo yu-p'iao” (Stamps of the Taiwan Republic), T'ai-nan wen-hua, II, 3 (september, 1952), 34–46.Google Scholar

77 Hsiang-lin, Lo, pp. 249–50.Google Scholar

78 See the introduction to the oath Liu administered to representatives of the Tainan inhabitants (discussed below). Hsin-te, Ch'en, pp. 450–51Google Scholar. Liu also consistently adherred to his Ch'ing military titles, and was addressed as “Ch'in Shuai” (Imperial commissioned commander), since in 1894 he had been appointed by the emperor to assist in the defense preparations in Taiwan. I Shun-ting, Hun nan chi (Taipei: Bank of Taiwan reprint, 1965), p. 6.Google Scholar

79 Chih-ch'ing, Wu, p. 92.Google Scholar

80 I Shun-ting, p. 16; and Chih-ch'ing, Wu, p. 92Google Scholar. Both of these witnesses were critical of the parliament and its members.

81 Hsin-te, Ch'en, pp. 450–54.Google Scholar

82 Hsiang-lin, Lo, p. 242.Google Scholar

83 Hsin-te, Ch'en, p. 451.Google Scholar

84 Te-kung, Wu, p. 53.Google Scholar

85 I Shun-ting, pp. 19–21. This group also wished to make I Shun-ting, a native of Hunan, the vice-president under Liu.

86 Nai-shih, Tseng, “Chung-hua min-tsu i-wei k'ang-Jih shih tao-lun—chien wei ‘min-chu-kuo’ chu-shuo cheng-wu”Google Scholar (Instructive remarks concerning the Chinese people's 1895 resistance to Japan—together with corrections of what has been said about the “Republic”), T'ai-wan wen-hsien, VI, 3 (september, 1955), 20–23.Google Scholar

87 CCTTW, p. 33Google Scholar, May 17 (4/23) and May 19 (4/25); p. 35, May 24 (5/1).

88 See fn. 69 above. Liu Yung-fu may have been one of those who alleged that T'ang wished to become a king. At least, in later years Liu charged that T'ang had desired to become an “autocratic monarch.” Hsiang-lin, Lo, p. 242.Google Scholar

89 CCTTW, p. 37Google Scholar, June 5 (5/13).

90 I Shun-ting, p. 20.

91 Hsüeh-yü, Hsieh, “I-wei k'ang-Jih tsa-chi” (Miscellaneous records of the 1895 resistance to Japan), T'ai-pei wen-wu, IX, 1 (march, 1960), 75.Google Scholar

92 Hsüeh-yü, Hsieh, p. 78.Google Scholar

93 Nan-ying, Hsü, K'uei-yüan liu ts'ao (Remaining drafts of K'uei-yüan) (Taipei: Bank of Taiwan reprint, 1962), p. 30Google Scholar. For a biography of Hsü by his well-known son, Hsü Ti-shan, see pp. 233–48 of this work.

94 Li Hung-chang, on the other hand, argued that due to strong Japanese military influence autonomy could not be attained for Taiwan under international law. He did so as soon as he learned that Wang Chih-chiin had suggested such an idea from Paris in April. See his remarks in “Li Wen-chung-kung ch'üan-chi,” p. 347Google Scholar, April 22 (3/28). Thus the notion of autonomy for Taiwan under international law became another factor involved in the enmity between Li Hung-chang and the founders in Taiwan who looked to Chang Chih-tung for support.

95 A Western editorial of the time noted the rising interest in parliamentary bodies. Officials in Peking were said to be discussing the nature of such representative institutions. NCH, LIV, 816 (may 31, 1895).Google Scholar

96 Ch'en stressed this “representation without election” idea when discussing the formation and influence of public opinion in imperial China. His discussion is contained in his most widely read book, Les Chinois Peints Par Eux-Memes (Paris, 1884)Google Scholar. The phrases cited here are taken from the English translation of this work: Millington, James, trans., The Chinese Painted by Themselves (London, n.d.), pp. 79–80.Google Scholar

97 T'ang's proclamation, dated June 2 (5/10), in Hsin-te, Ch'en, p. 455.Google Scholar

98 CCTTW, p. 33Google Scholar, May 17 (4/23).

99 Ts'ung, Ch'iu, p. 152Google Scholar. Ch'iu Feng-chia, as well as T'ang Ching-sung, had been influenced by reforms carried out in Taiwan by the first governor, Liu Ming-ch'uan, under the self-strengthening label. Liu's reforms, though limited in nature, made Taiwan for a time one of China's leading provinces in modernization attempts. See Chu, Samuel C., “Liu Ming-ch'uan and Modernization of Taiwan,” JAS, XXIII, 1 (november, 1963), 37–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

100 Ch'iu supposedly was termed “Tung-tu Ta Wang” (King of the Eastern Capital), a title that the Ming loyalist, Cheng Ch'eng-kung, used in Taiwan when resisting the Manchu take-over of China. Ch'iu Shu-yüan, p. 548. Meanwhile, by the latter part of April Ch'iu's estate in the Miao-li district had become a shelter for many anxious residents, including local officials and their retinue. See Ch'iu's letter to T'ang Ching-sung, dated April 21 (3/27), in Ch'iu Lin, p. 44.

101 CJCSSL, II, 871Google Scholar, doc. 3259, May 26 (5/3). T'ang also telegraphed Liu Yung-fu on one occasion, and stated that he would pass the seals of his presidential office to the latter when affairs became more peaceful. Lo Hsiang-lin, p. 242.

102 CJCSSL, I, 861Google Scholar, doc. 3203; Ts'ung, Ch'iu, p. 152.Google Scholar

103 In fact, according to Article V of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, the inhabitants of ceded territory had two years to make such a decision. Thus in the long run the backers of the short-lived republic faced the ultimate decision of whether to remain in Japanese-occupied Taiwan or move to the mainland and continue to be subjects of China.

104 One such outburst directed against Li Hung-chang, as well as Sun Yü-wen and Hsü Yung-i at court, is to be found in a wall placard, dated the fourth lunar month, and posted at the Chang-hua district yamen. Hsin-te, Ch'en, pp. 449–50.Google Scholar

105 According to his younger brother's account, Ch'iu Feng-chia, even before 1895, entertained racial sentiments and refused to hold office under the Manchus. This information may be discounted, though, since this brother was writing in 1912, when anti-Manchu feelings were strong. Ch'iu Jui-chia, “Hsien-hsiung Ts'ang-hai hsing-chuang” (Deportment of a deceased elder brother, Ts'ang-hai), reprinted in T'ai-wan feng-wu, IX, 4 (october, 1959), 39Google Scholar. Racial sentiments and concern for the affairs of China are definitely evident in the poetry written by members of the Taiwan gentry in 1895, however. See, for instance, Hung Ch'i-sheng's piece, entitled “Yang-ping hsing” (Ballad of foreign troops), where he reveals marked anti-English and anti-Japanese feelings, declaring the Japanese to have “yellow color and white-skinned principles.” P'eng Kuo-tung, comp., Kuang T'ai-wan shih ch'eng (Extended record of Taiwan poetry) (Taipei, 1956), p. 190.Google Scholar