The Sino-Japanese War at Sea 1894 is set in the late 19th century and based on the events of the
First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), which was fought between the
Qing Empire of China and the
Empire of Japan. A young
Deng Shichang enrols in the Fujian Naval Academy, where he meets his future colleagues such as
Liu Buchan and
Fang Boqian. In 1877, Liu, Fang, and others travel to London to further their studies at the
Royal Naval College while Deng remains in China. Some years later, Deng visits his classmates in London and meets
Itō Sukeyuki, who is also studying there. The
Guangxu Emperor wants to modernise and reform China but his efforts are hindered by
Empress Dowager Cixi, who effectively controls the emperor and the Qing government. The Qing Empire's
Beiyang Fleet is formed in the 1880s and is one of the largest naval fleets in Asia at the time. In 1886, after the
Nagasaki incident breaks out, the
Meiji Emperor of Japan feels threatened by the Beiyang Fleet's prowess, so he initiates a plan to strengthen and enhance the
Imperial Japanese Navy. Meanwhile, in China, the state funds originally designated for upgrading the Beiyang Fleet are used to renovate the
Summer Palace to celebrate the empress dowager's 60th birthday. The First Sino-Japanese War breaks out in 1894. The navies of the two empires clash at the battles of
Pungdo and
the Yellow Sea. At the Yellow Sea, after an exchange of gunfire between warships from both sides over a few hours, most of the Beiyang Fleet is destroyed while not a single Japanese ship is sunk even though the Japanese ships also sustained heavy damage. Deng Shichang's ship, the
Zhiyuan, has been badly damaged. Deng gives orders for the
Zhiyuan to ram the Japanese flagship
Yoshino, but the
Zhiyuan is sunk before it makes contact with the
Yoshino. Deng stubbornly refuses to escape with the survivors and eventually drowns at sea with his pet dog. After their victory at the Yellow Sea, the Japanese follow up by launching a land invasion and win the
Battle of Lüshun, after which they
massacre the city's population. In the following year, the Japanese score another victory at the
Battle of Weihaiwei; the Qing admiral
Ding Ruchang commits suicide after his defeat. Itō Sukeyuki writes to Liu Buchan, his old classmate from the Royal Naval College, and asks him to surrender. Liu refuses and kills himself after blowing up his own warship. On 14 January 1895, the Japanese annex the
Diaoyu Islands and rename them "Senkaku Islands". The Qing Empire agrees to hold peace talks with Japan and appoints
Viceroy Li Hongzhang as its representative to negotiate with the
Japanese Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi and
Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu in
Shimonoseki. Japan demands that the Qing Empire cedes
Taiwan,
Penghu, and the
Liaodong Peninsula, and pay
war reparations amounting to 250 million silver
taels, among other things. Li rejects the terms and leaves. He is shot in the cheek by a Japanese fanatic on the way back. While recovering in hospital, he receives a telegraph from the Qing government instructing him to accept the Japanese terms. He signs the
Treaty of Shimonoseki on 17 April 1895. Before the film ends, the narrator of the film drops an old photograph of Deng Shichang and his classmates at the Fujian Naval Academy into the sea. The photograph sinks to the bottom of the sea and comes to rest in the wreckage of a warship. ==Cast==