Diplomacy of the Korean Empire

The relationship between the Korean Empire and the Qing Dynasty was an equal modern diplomatic relationship. Diplomatic relations between the two countries began with the signing of the China-Korea Commerce Treaty in September 1899, and ended in February 1906 when Japan deprived South Korea of ??its diplomatic rights and the Qing government withdrew its minister to South Korea. The Joseon Dynasty used to be a vassal state of the Ming and Qing dynasties of China. In July 1894, during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, Japan instigated North Korea's Kim Hongji Cabinet to declare a severance of diplomatic relations with the Qing Dynasty, its suzerain country. In January 1895, Emperor Gaozong Li Xi led his crown prince and hundreds of civil and military officials to visit the ancestral temple and swear an oath to the "Fourteen Articles of Hong Fan". The first article stated that "cut off attachment to the Qing Dynasty and establish a foundation for independence and independence." This ended the thousand-year suzerainty-vassal relationship between the Korean Peninsula and the Chinese Empire.

After the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki between China and Japan in 1895, although the Qing government recognized North Korea's "complete independence", after all, North Korea had been a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty for more than two hundred years and an enemy country during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. , therefore the Qing government had reservations about the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and North Korea, and was also dissatisfied with North Korea's pro-Japanese regime. The process of normalizing diplomatic relations between the two countries was relatively slow. Despite this, China and North Korea are separated by a strip of water and are closely related to each other economically and culturally. After the "Russian Embassy Relocation" in February 1896, North Korea was replaced by a pro-Russian regime and a pro-Japanese regime. In June of the same year, Qing Dynasty Minister Li Hongzhang signed an agreement in Russia. With the "Secret Treaty between China and Russia", both countries have the political basis for "alliance with Russia to control Japan". In this way, the conditions for the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and North Korea are already in place, which is a matter of course. North Korea repeatedly requested the Qing Dynasty to establish equal diplomatic relations with it, but the Qing government still could not let go of its pretentiousness as a superior country, saying that "Britain, France, and Germany all have consuls general in Korea, and South America such as Peru, Bolivia, etc. As a small country, Russia, Austria, and Germany also sent consuls general. ""If the king of Korea must want to live in an independent country...China will send a consul general to station in Seoul to act as envoys to preserve the status of the country." They only agreed to set up consuls. On November 24, 1896, Tang Shaoyi was appointed Consul General in North Korea. Although China and North Korea did not formally establish diplomatic relations, they took an important step towards the normalization of relations between the two countries.

After the establishment of the Korean Empire, it still actively sought to establish diplomatic relations with the Qing Dynasty. But the Qing government still refused to bow its head. When Min Zhongmo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea, visited the Chinese Consul General Tang Shaoyi, announcing the establishment of the Korean Empire and imploring China and South Korea to establish diplomatic relations, Tang Shaoyi said: "After the Sino-Japanese War, our country did not recognize North Korea as a parallel and independent country, so why does it regard the king as the emperor? ...And this matter is related to the old system, and our government will definitely not want to hear about it." He also refused to establish diplomatic relations: "...But where does (South Korea) have the right to make a treaty with our country? It’s just conjecture!” However, the two countries are connected by mountains and rivers, have been in contact for a long time, and have the same national interests, so the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea cannot be delayed for too long. South Korea planned to send an envoy to China, and the Qing government gradually softened its attitude, lowered its dignity, contacted South Korea, and decided to establish equal diplomatic relations. In August of the second year of Guangwu (1898, the twenty-fourth year of Guangxu), the Qing government sent Anhui Inspector Xu Shoupeng as the first minister to South Korea, and initiated negotiations on amending and concluding the treaty between China and South Korea. It is worth mentioning that Qing Dezong (Emperor Guangxu) personally changed the "Lord of Korea" in the certificate of credence to "Emperor of Korea" and rebuked the officials of the General Administration for their rigid thinking. In September of the third year of Guangwu (1899, the twenty-fifth year of Guangxu), the Qing government and the Korean government formally signed the "China-Korea Trade Treaty" in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. After five years of severing diplomatic relations and twists and turns, the Korean Empire and the Qing Dynasty were finally established. established diplomatic relations at the ministerial level. During the Korean Empire, the most important diplomatic affairs with the Qing Dynasty of China were border disputes, known as the Jiandao issue. The so-called "Jiandao" here is not an island, but refers to the Korean-inhabited area in today's Yanbian, China, north of the Tumen River and south of the Hailan River, including the four counties and cities of Yanji, Wangqing, Helong and Hunchun. This area has always been Chinese territory. However, due to the large number of "Vietnam Reclamation" immigrants from northern North Korea since the end of the 19th century, it has become a "troublesome place" in border affairs between China and South Korea.

According to the provisions of paragraph 12 of the "China-Korea Trade Treaty" signed on September 11, the third year of Guangwu (1899, the twenty-fifth year of Guangxu), China and South Korea should " "Reformulate the land trade regulations and tariffs" in order to determine the land border between the two countries and reopen border trade. On September 23 of the same year, Xu Shoupeng, the first minister of the Qing government to Korea, drafted 24 articles of land trade charter and submitted it to the Prime Minister's Office. However, the Prime Minister's Office decided to "temporarily shelve" it on the grounds that other countries might require "licensing assistance."

In October of the fourth year of Guangwu (1900, the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu) after Tsarist Russia sent troops to occupy the northeastern region, South Korea, with the support of Russia, took the opportunity to step up its encroachment and encroachment on the west bank of the Tumen River. The infringement activities have caused increasing tension on the China-South Korea border. Lee Beom-yun, who was successively appointed by the South Korean government as "Inspection Envoy" and "Northern Reclamation Island Management Envoy", first investigated the population and living conditions of the "Vietnam Reclamation Koreans" in China's Yanbian area on the west bank of the Tumen River, and then ignored China's territorial sovereignty. They organized illegal armed forces in the Yanbian area, levied taxes, and even attacked Chinese local officials and troops. The Chinese government has repeatedly lodged protests with South Korea and requested an end to Li Fanyun's illegal activities in the Yanbian area, but has been rejected.

As a result, from the fourth year of Guangwu (1900, the 26th year of Guangxu) to April of the eighth year of Guangwu (1904, the 30th year of Guangxu), borders appeared repeatedly in the Sino-South Korean border area in Yanbian area Disputes and even armed conflicts have led to the most serious confrontation and conflict in the modern history of China-South Korea border.

In early February of the eighth year of Guangwu (1904, the 30th year of Guangxu) when the Russo-Japanese War broke out, the Qing government decided to "delay land regulations and demarcate the border first" between China and South Korea, and issued a note to South Korea on March 15. The government officially proposed that the border between the two countries be dispatched today to "jointly re-examine and quickly determine the border, and then discuss the land regulations with a view to long-term compliance."

However, the Korean Imperial Government, which has been controlled by Japanese force due to the "Japan-Korea Protocol" on February 23, has lost its independent decision-making power on major diplomatic issues such as boundary surveys, so there is no Provide a formal reply to this proposal. At that time, those directly affected and harmed by the border conflict and tension between China and South Korea were the local authorities in Jilin, which was only separated from South Korea by the Tumen River. In March of the eighth year of Guangwu (1904, the 30th year of Guangxu), Fushun, the nursing general of Jilin, based on the report of Chen Zuoyan, the acting Yanji Department magistrate, reported that "Korean soldiers had crossed the border and burned and looted" since the fifth year of Guangwu (1901, the 27th year of Guangxu). Chen Zuoyan reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Qing government and the Minister to Korea Xu Taishen in detail, and recommended that the Korean government demand compensation and punish the "officers who led the troops". At the same time, he also proposed the "Charter for the aftermath of the Sino-Korean border" drafted by Chen Zuoyan. "The draft mainly includes four items: heavy river defense, prohibition of submersible crossing, nuclear leasing, and Dulema. However, the Qing government did not issue clear instructions in a timely manner, nor did it make further representation requests to South Korea accordingly. It can be seen that it was precisely because of the refusal of the Korean government and the weak stance of the Qing government that the Sino-South Korean border issue could not be negotiated and resolved in a timely and effective manner at the level of the two central governments. The aggression and aggression of the Japanese and Russian imperialists Interference makes it even more difficult to carry out such negotiations. On June 15 of the same year, China and South Korea signed 12 articles of the "Regulations on the aftermath of the China-South Korea Boundary Conference", but this charter did not make a final judgment on the boundary between the two countries.

After the end of the Russo-Japanese War, South Korea became an actual colony of Japan, and South Korea completely lost its diplomatic rights in the "Japan-Korea Protection Agreement" (Eulsi Treaty). The original border dispute between China and South Korea has become a negotiation between China and Japan. Thanks to the efforts of Chinese officials and scholars (including Wu Luzhen, the martyr of the Revolution of 1911), Japan was forced to give up its unreasonable claims to Chinese territory. In September of the third year of Longxi (1909, the first year of Xuantong), representatives from China and Japan signed the "Tumen River Sino-Korean Boundary Affairs Clauses" in the capital (today's Beijing, China), also known as the "Jiandao Agreement", confirming that Jiandao was Chinese territory.

The dispute between China and South Korea over Jiandao has come to an end