Diplomacy and the Appointment of officials in Late Qing China: He Ruzhang and Japan’s Annexation Of Ryukyu

Abstract

The Ryukyu Kingdom was annexed by Meiji Japan in late 1879. Past scholarly works have focused on Li Hongzhang and the Zongli Yamen, the stewards of affairs relating to foreigners, in examining the Qing court’s responses to Japan’s annexation of its tributary state. By incorporating the latest arguments of Western and especially Chinese scholarship, this article investigates the attempts by He Ruzhang, China’s first minister to Japan, to reestablish Ryukyu’s tributary relationship with China and maintain Ryukyu’s independence. It reassesses the Ryukyu issue by contextualizing it in late Qing bureaucratic culture and institutional innovations. Although the Qing state’s system of appointments enabled He Ruzhang to serve as minister to Japan, factionalism, political rivalry, and a lack of coordination among the new institutions and personnel tasked to manage foreign affairs ultimately frustrated his attempts as a traditional scholar-official to uphold the Chinese tributary system.