Self-Strengthening MovementThe Self-Strengthening Movement, also known as the Westernization or Western Affairs Movement (1861–1895), was a period of radical institutional reforms initiated in China during the late Qing dynasty following the military disasters of the Opium Wars. The British and French burning of the Old Summer Palace in 1860 as Taiping rebel armies marched north, forced the imperial court to acknowledge the crisis. Prince Gong was made regent, Grand Councilor, and head of the newly formed Zongli Yamen (a de facto foreign affairs ministry).
War reparationsWar reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history. Rome imposed large indemnities on Carthage after the First (Treaty of Lutatius) and Second Punic Wars. Some war reparations induced changes in monetary policy.
JinzhouJinzhou ('dʒɪn'dʒoʊ, ), formerly Chinchow, is a coastal prefecture-level city in central-west Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the Liaoxi Corridor, which connects most of the land transports between North China and Northeast China, and is the economic center of western Liaoning. Located on the northern shore of Liaodong Bay, Jinzhou encompasses a coastline of , with the Port of Jinzhou being China's northernmost seaport.
Gabo ReformThe Gabo Reform, also known as the Kabo Reform, describes a series of sweeping reforms suggested to the government of Korea, beginning in 1894 and ending in 1896 during the reign of Gojong of Korea in response to the Donghak Peasant Revolution. Historians debate the degree of Japanese influence in this program, as well as its effect in encouraging modernization. The name Gabo (갑오, 甲午) comes from the name of the year 1894 in the traditional sexagenary cycle.
Sendaiis the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,097,563 in 539,698 households, and is one of Japan's 20 designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the daimyō Date Masamune. It is nicknamed the City of Trees; there are Japanese zelkova trees lining many of the main thoroughfares such as Jōzenji Street and Aoba Street. In the summer, the Sendai Tanabata Festival, the largest Tanabata festival in Japan, is held.
Senkaku IslandsThe Senkaku Islands are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, administered by Japan. They are located northeast of Taiwan, east of China, west of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands. They are also known as the Pinnacle Islands or the Diaoyu Islands in China and as the Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan. The islands are the focus of a territorial dispute between Japan and China and between Japan and Taiwan.
YangbanThe yangban () were part of the traditional ruling class or gentry of dynastic Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The yangban were mainly composed of highly educated civil servants and military officers—landed or unlanded aristocrats who individually exemplified the Korean Confucian form of a "scholarly official". They were largely government administrators and bureaucrats who oversaw medieval and early modern Korea's traditional agrarian bureaucracy until the end of the dynasty in 1897.
Taedong RiverThe Taedong River (Chosŏn'gŭl: 대동강; 大同江) is a large river in North Korea. The river rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north where it then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o. In between, it runs through the country's capital, Pyongyang. Along the river are landmarks such as the Juche Tower and Kim Il-sung Square. The river is 439 km or 272.7 mi in length, and is generally deep. It is the fifth-longest river on the Korean peninsula and the second-longest in North Korea.