Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Maps
- Acknowledgments
- Part I The Clash of Two Orders: The Far East on the Eve of the War
- 1 The Reversal in the Far Eastern Balance of Power
- 2 The Decline of the Old Order in China and Korea
- 3 The Rise of a New Order in Russia and Japan
- Part II The War: The Dividing Line Between Two Eras
- Part III The Settlement: The Modern Era in Far Eastern Diplomacy
- Epilogue: Perceptions, Power, and War
- Bibliographic Essay
- Bibliography
- Index
3 - The Rise of a New Order in Russia and Japan
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Maps
- Acknowledgments
- Part I The Clash of Two Orders: The Far East on the Eve of the War
- 1 The Reversal in the Far Eastern Balance of Power
- 2 The Decline of the Old Order in China and Korea
- 3 The Rise of a New Order in Russia and Japan
- Part II The War: The Dividing Line Between Two Eras
- Part III The Settlement: The Modern Era in Far Eastern Diplomacy
- Epilogue: Perceptions, Power, and War
- Bibliographic Essay
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
[When Tsesarevich Nicholas] reached his majority …it was decided to send him abroad to round out his political development. At this point Emperor Alexander III had the idea of sending the Tsesarevich to the Far East …In addition to leaving him with a hostile feeling toward the Japanese, the journey produced in him an unreal sense about the East …This journey would put its stamp on Emperor Nicholas II's reign.
Minister of Finance Sergei Iul'evich WitteThe political objective of the Russians has always been focused on taking land that belonged to other people. They would seize an opportunity and employ a stratagem, offer a favor and win over the person who was in power, or use whatever other means necessary to place a piece of land, however small, under their influence. They would then establish permanent control over the land.
Syngman Rhee, future president of South Korea, 1904The Western challenge proved highly disruptive not only for China and Korea, but also for Russia and Japan. The Industrial Revolution was an epochal change in human history. Prior to it, economies were comparatively static: They did not grow much, if at all. In the first half of the eighteenth century, English industry grew at only 0.7 percent per annum. Per capita standards of living did not change much either. Similarly, technological change was minimal. This meant that people's lives varied little from generation to generation. Once the Industrial Revolution hit, England started to grow at about 3 percent per year.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895Perceptions, Power, and Primacy, pp. 62 - 106Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2002