He led modernization efforts across the Qing Empire, setting an example through his own Huai Army and the Beiyang (Northern) Fleet. Li Hongzhang, the Chinese scholar, diplomat, and military leader, remains a critical figure in understanding the self-strengthening movement in China. Naval Power and Combat in the Sino-Japanese War Finally, Japan’s unified command, professional officer corps, rigorous training, and use of French Jeune Ecole tactics won the day. Second, corruption and inefficiency in the institutions of the self-strengthening movement ensured poor commanders and a lack of equipment in the Beiyang Fleet. Firstly, the lack of a unified Chinese Navy under the Qing Empire proved fatal in the First Sino-Japanese War. Upon a close review of both primary and secondary sources, three key answers emerge. So what went wrong in Qing self-strengthening? What left the Chinese so vastly unprepared for naval conflict? However, at the Battle off the Yalu River the Japanese defeated the Qing Northern Fleet in a decisive battle. Qing China had undergone its period of self-strengthening and modernization for much longer than the Japanese Meiji modernization period, had invested more money in its naval programs and platforms, and the Japanese Navy was supposedly outmatched both qualitatively and quantitatively. When war broke out between Japan and China in 1894, few expected a Japanese victory.
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