But the coming of the Chinese army had a far more important effect on the country in that it caused the Japanese to send an army also; and thus began the Japan-China War, which resulted in a complete victory for Japan, as all the world knows.
The year 1894 found Japan in possession of everything in Seoul; even the person of his Majesty fell into the hands of the Japanese, and they were in a fair way toward having everything as they wanted it. The beginning of the year had found the Korean people and the government in the same old mood of looking to China as their only friend. It is doubtful whether the people would have been willing to cut loose from China, even for the sake of their independence.
But this was a case of a nation having independence thrust upon it by another power. It must be said that the Korean government was about as corrupt as it could be, and that it was making a mighty poor out at proving to the world that it was capable of reforming itself. Japan took hold of the affairs of state with a strong hand, and made some changes that looked to the betterment of the people at large. She did not seem, however, to be able to understand the minds of the Korean people; and so, in her eagerness to do something, she undertook some silly things in the name of reform which succeeded only in driving the people farther away from her than they were at first. For instance, the style of dress and the manner in which a man wore his hair all came in for a part of the time of the reformers, while many more weighty matters were
