Liaodong Peninsula
Encyclopedia
The Liáodōng Peninsula is a peninsula
in the Liáoníng
province of northeastern China
, historically known in the west as southern east-Manchuria
. Liaodong (formerly spelled Liaotung) means "East of the Liáo". The Liáo River
was a river during the Warring States that divided the Yan commandries of Liáoxī (west of the Liáo) and Liaodong.
, between the Bóhăi Sea
to the west and the Korea Bay
to the east.
It forms the southern part of a mountain belt that continues northward in the Changbai Mountains
. The part of the mountain range on the peninsula is known as the Qianshan Mountains
, named after Qian Mountain in Anshan
, which includes Dahei Mountain
in Dalian.
There are two seaports: Dalian
, which lies midway along the peninsula at its narrowest point, and Port Arthur/Lushun (now part of Dalian City), which is located at its southernmost point. Lüshun/Port Arthur has a large lake-like naturally-protected harbor and semi-sheltered outer roadstead making it very attractive to imperialist powers
at the end of the nineteenth century. Dalny/Dairen/Dalian's harbor required greater investment, initially supplied by the Russians, but turned into a first class city under the Japanese period of administration (1905–1945). The two ports are about 25 miles (40 km) apart by rail, but about 40 nautical miles (74.1 km) apart by sea. Lüshun is 550 rail miles south of the Manchurian railroad hub city of Harbin
on the historic Southern Manchurian Railway (today's China Far East Railway
(CER), which construction was one of the underlying causes of the Russo-Japanese War
).
kingdom, the first kingdom of Korea. Records indicate that later, a Chinese state (the State of Yan), under the leadership of General Qin kai, conquered this region. Later on various states such as the Han Dynasty
, Goguryeo
, Balhae
, Khitan
, Jurchen, Yuan Dynasty
, Ming Dynasty
and Qing Dynasty
ruled Liaoning. The peninsula was an important area of conflict during the First Sino-Japanese War
(1894–1895), which the Japanese won.
Defeat precipitated decline in the Chinese Empire which was exploited by colonial powers who extracted numerous concessions. The peninsula was ceded to Japan by the Treaty of Maguan of 17 April 1895 but this was rescinded after the Triple Intervention
of 23 April 1895 by Russia, France and Germany. In the aftermath of this intervention, the Russian government pressured the ruling Qing dynasty
to lease Liaodong and the strategically important Lüshunkou (Port Arthur) for use by the Russian Navy. This caused resentment in Japan and was a factor leading to the Russo-Japanese War
(1904–1905) when negotiations concerning the peninsula, Manchuria
, and Korea
broke down, due to Russia's unwillingness to treat Japan seriously as another power.
As in the First Sino-Japanese War the Liaodong peninsula was the scene of major fighting in the Russo-Japanese War. As a consequence of the Treaty of Portsmouth
(5 September 1905), which ended the Russo-Japanese War
, both sides agreed to evacuate Manchuria and return its sovereignty to China, but Japan was given the lease for the Liaotung/Liaodong (Kwantung Leased Territory
).
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
in the Liáoníng
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
province of northeastern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, historically known in the west as southern east-Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
. Liaodong (formerly spelled Liaotung) means "East of the Liáo". The Liáo River
Liao River
The Liao River is the principal river in northeast China . The province of Liaoning and the Liaodong Peninsula derive their names from the river....
was a river during the Warring States that divided the Yan commandries of Liáoxī (west of the Liáo) and Liaodong.
Geography
The peninsula is situated at the north of the Yellow SeaYellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
, between the Bóhăi Sea
Bohai Sea
Bohai Sea , also known as Bohai Gulf, Bohai, or Bo Hai, is the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea on the coast of Northeastern and North China. It is approximately 78,000 km2 Bohai Sea , also known as Bohai Gulf, Bohai, or Bo Hai, is the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea on the coast of...
to the west and the Korea Bay
Korea Bay
The Korea Bay is a northern extension of the Yellow Sea, between Liaoning Province of China and North P'yŏngan Province of North Korea.It is separated from the Bohai Sea by the Liaodong Peninsula, with Dalian at its southernmost point...
to the east.
It forms the southern part of a mountain belt that continues northward in the Changbai Mountains
Changbai Mountains
The Changbai Mountain Range or Jangbaek Mountain Range are a mountain range on the border between China and North Korea...
. The part of the mountain range on the peninsula is known as the Qianshan Mountains
Qianshan Mountains
Qian Mountains , a branch of the Changbai Mountains on the China-North Korea border, start from eastern Jilin Province, China, and extend to eastern and southern Liaoning Province, down to Liaodong Peninsula.Some of the prominent mountains are:...
, named after Qian Mountain in Anshan
Anshan
Ānshān is the third largest prefecture level city in Liaoning province of China. Situated in the central area of the province, Anshan is about 92 km south of Shenyang, the province's capital. Anshan is on the boundary between the Mountains of eastern Liaoning and the plains of the west...
, which includes Dahei Mountain
Dahei Mountain
Dahei Mountain is located in Jinzhou District, Dalian City, Liaoning Province in China. It is 663 metres high above sea level and belongs to the Qianshan Mountains, named after Qian Mountain in Anshan, that extends themselves from the Changbai Mountains....
in Dalian.
There are two seaports: Dalian
Dalian
Dalian is a major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning province, Northeast China. It faces Shandong to the south, the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west and south. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Dalian is the southernmost city of Northeast China and China's...
, which lies midway along the peninsula at its narrowest point, and Port Arthur/Lushun (now part of Dalian City), which is located at its southernmost point. Lüshun/Port Arthur has a large lake-like naturally-protected harbor and semi-sheltered outer roadstead making it very attractive to imperialist powers
Power in international relations
Power in international relations is defined in several different ways. Political scientists, historians, and practitioners of international relations have used the following concepts of political power:...
at the end of the nineteenth century. Dalny/Dairen/Dalian's harbor required greater investment, initially supplied by the Russians, but turned into a first class city under the Japanese period of administration (1905–1945). The two ports are about 25 miles (40 km) apart by rail, but about 40 nautical miles (74.1 km) apart by sea. Lüshun is 550 rail miles south of the Manchurian railroad hub city of Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
on the historic Southern Manchurian Railway (today's China Far East Railway
China Far East Railway
The Chinese Eastern Railway or was a railway in northeastern China . It connected Chita and the Russian Far East. English-speakers have sometimes referred to this line as the Manchurian Railway...
(CER), which construction was one of the underlying causes of the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
).
History
The earliest records show that Liaodong was initially under the rule of the GojoseonGojoseon
Gojoseon was an ancient Korean kingdom. Go , meaning "ancient," distinguishes it from the later Joseon Dynasty; Joseon, as it is called in contemporaneous writings, is also romanized as Chosŏn....
kingdom, the first kingdom of Korea. Records indicate that later, a Chinese state (the State of Yan), under the leadership of General Qin kai, conquered this region. Later on various states such as the Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
, Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
, Balhae
Balhae
Balhae was a Manchurian kingdom established after the fall of Goguryeo. After Goguryeo's capital and southern territories fell to Unified Silla, Dae Jo-yeong, a Mohe general, whose father was Dae Jung-sang, established Jin , later called Balhae.Balhae occupied southern parts of Manchuria and...
, Khitan
Khitan people
thumb|250px|Khitans [[Eagle hunting|using eagles to hunt]], painted during the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]].The Khitan people , or Khitai, Kitan, or Kidan, were a nomadic Mongolic people, originally located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century...
, Jurchen, Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
, Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
and Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
ruled Liaoning. The peninsula was an important area of conflict during the First Sino-Japanese War
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...
(1894–1895), which the Japanese won.
Defeat precipitated decline in the Chinese Empire which was exploited by colonial powers who extracted numerous concessions. The peninsula was ceded to Japan by the Treaty of Maguan of 17 April 1895 but this was rescinded after the Triple Intervention
Triple Intervention
The was a diplomatic intervention by Russia, Germany, and France on 23 April 1895 over the terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki signed between Japan and Qing dynasty China that ended the First Sino-Japanese War.-Treaty of Shimonoseki:...
of 23 April 1895 by Russia, France and Germany. In the aftermath of this intervention, the Russian government pressured the ruling Qing dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
to lease Liaodong and the strategically important Lüshunkou (Port Arthur) for use by the Russian Navy. This caused resentment in Japan and was a factor leading to the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
(1904–1905) when negotiations concerning the peninsula, Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
, and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
broke down, due to Russia's unwillingness to treat Japan seriously as another power.
As in the First Sino-Japanese War the Liaodong peninsula was the scene of major fighting in the Russo-Japanese War. As a consequence of the Treaty of Portsmouth
Treaty of Portsmouth
The Treaty of Portsmouth formally ended the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War. It was signed on September 5, 1905 after negotiations at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine in the USA.-Negotiations:...
(5 September 1905), which ended the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
, both sides agreed to evacuate Manchuria and return its sovereignty to China, but Japan was given the lease for the Liaotung/Liaodong (Kwantung Leased Territory
Kwantung Leased Territory
The Kwantung Leased Territory was a territory in the southern part of the Liaodong Peninsula in Inner Manchuria that existed from 1898 to 1945. It was one of the numerous territorial concessions that the Empire of China was compelled to award to foreign countries at the end of the 19th century...
).