History & Society

Treaty of Shimonoseki

1895, China-Japan
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Treaty of Shimonoseki
Treaty of Shimonoseki
Chinese (Pinyin):
Maguan Tiaoyue
Date:
April 17, 1895(Anniversary in 6 days)
Participants:
China
Japan
Context:
unequal treaty
Key People:
Li Hongzhang

Treaty of Shimonoseki, (April 17, 1895), agreement that concluded the first Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), which ended in China’s defeat. By the terms of the treaty, China was obliged to recognize the independence of Korea, over which it had traditionally held suzerainty; to cede Taiwan, the Pescadores Islands, and the Liaodong (south Manchurian) Peninsula to Japan; to pay an indemnity of 200,000,000 taels to Japan; and to open the ports of Shashi, Chongqing, Suzhou, and Hangzhou to Japanese trade. The Triple Intervention (1895), secured by Russia, France, and Germany, subsequently required Japan to retrocede the Liaodong Peninsula to China in return for an additional indemnity of 30,000,000 taels.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.