For what reason did the Qing Dynasty directly give up its jurisdiction over Ryukyu?

Ryukyu, which originally belonged to the Qing Dynasty, was finally taken away by Japan because of diplomatic failure. But in fact, the decline of national strength during the Qing dynasty led to the lack of confidence and being bullied at that time.

Ryukyu is now Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. But in history, Ryukyu was once an independent kingdom, consisting of more than 30 small islands, spanning Kyushu Island and Taiwan Province Island in China, and the imperial city was Ryukyu Village. During the Ming Dynasty, Ryukyu officials overseas belonged to the Ming Dynasty and became a part of China's suzerain-vassal system.

After the Meiji Restoration, Japan carried out a large-scale reform in China, initially established a capitalist system, and its national strength improved rapidly. It actively planned to expand its troops and prepare for war, and set its eyes on the Ryukyu Kingdom in the southwest, but it was hard to find a suitable excuse.

187 1 year, a ship full of Miyakojima islanders from Ryukyu drifted to the southeast of Taiwan Province Island due to a storm, and 54 people were killed by the aborigines on the island. 12 people fled back to Ryukyu, which is called "Ryukyu drifting incident" in history.

Seeing the opportunity, the Emperor of Japan conferred the title of King of Ryukyu on 1872, and listed it as a native of China to show that Ryukyu was his Japanese. 1873, Japanese envoy Nakajima sent envoys to the Qing Dynasty to inquire about this matter. Mao Yunxi, Dong Yao and other upright officials did not understand this, and thought that this was Japan's trouble. "The two islands belong to the soil, and the people who belong to the soil kill each other. The ruling belongs to me. I sympathize with the people of Ryukyu, and I have my own way of dealing with it. Why bother to ask questions about your country? "

However, Deputy Island Minister argued that Ryukyu was a vassal state of Japan, and the Qing Dynasty should punish those who killed Ryukyu people. Mao Changxi and Dong Yao, on the other hand, shirked their responsibilities and said, "You were born as foreigners, and it is up to your country to ask if you are guilty."

So1In May, 874, the Japanese sent more than 3,000 people to invade Taiwan Province Island. Due to the pressure of Qing dynasty and the outbreak of plague, the Japanese army hesitated and planned to retreat. In order to save face, Japan wants to solve this matter through diplomatic means. The Qing dynasty did not want the situation to continue to expand, so it started negotiations with Japan.

China and Japan signed the "Beijing Special Article" on June1874+1October 65438. According to the treaty, the Japanese army withdrew from Taiwan Province Province, and the Qing government compensated 502,000 silver for military expenses. Although the Qing Dynasty stopped Japanese aggression against Taiwan Province Province, the Qing government made a serious mistake. The Qing government stated in the treaty that "Taiwan Province province indiscriminately killed Japanese nationals and others" and that "Japan's current action was originally a just move to protect the people". Among them, the word "protecting the people" recognizes that Ryukyu is a subordinate country of Japan in disguise, which provides an excuse for Japan to occupy Ryukyu.

Later, Japan took advantage of this topic, because at that time, the national strength of the Qing Dynasty was weak, and international help was repeatedly frustrated. Finally, unknown so was snatched by the Japanese.