A reading guide for pre-1911 Sino-Japanese relations, for anyone interested. By no means an exhaustive list, just a collection of books I've come across in my travels.

General History:

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In the city of Hong Kong, debates over the Chinese influence on the city's democratization is again raging. Want to raise some awareness by showing ppl a chapter of HK's democratization that ended because of Chinese intervention. Today, HK's legislative body is elected by 35 by geographic constituency (western-style proportional democracy) and 30 by functional constituency (rich people who represent companies voting for themselves and employees)

Hong Kong's last governor Baron Patten...

In lieu of doing any actual work myself, I decided to make a companion guide to my previous companion guide. This is a more streamlined timeline, featuring major events, diplomatic missions and other pieces of relevant information. Although not as in-depth as the preceding piece, I think that it's somewhat more accessible.

Link to full-size image

Author's notes:

On Reform...

Originally posted here.

By the end of 1894, the Chinese army was in disarray. After their defeat at Pyongyang in September, they had been in constant retreat, first falling back to the Yalu River and then into Manchuria proper after the battle of Juliancheng in late October. By December, the Chinese army was running out of options. They had given too much ground to the advancing Japanese, allowing the latter to gain momentum, but at the same time, they had their backs to the wall....

The Jesuit Jean-Paul Gozani visited the Kaifeng Jewish community in the early 18th century. He reported what he saw and heard in a letter to his superior. The letter serves as an interesting example of the west's contemporary negative view of foreign culture and religion.

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