Editing Li Hongzhang (section)

===First Sino-Japanese War===
[[File:"LI HUNG CHANG" in 1909 United States Government art detail, from- HONGZHANG, Li (engraved portrait) (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|Li Hongzhang in U. S. Government engraved portrait]]
Because of his prominent role in Chinese diplomacy in Korea and strong political connections in [[Manchuria]], Li found himself directing Chinese forces during the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] of 1894–1895. In fact, it was mostly the armies that he established and controlled that did the fighting, whereas other Chinese troops led by his political rivals did not come to their aid. Rampant corruption further weakened the Chinese military. For instance, one official misappropriated ammunition funds for personal use. As a result, shells ran out during battle, forcing one navy captain, [[Deng Shichang]], to resort to ordering his ship to ram an enemy ship. The defeat of Li's modernised armed forces by the Japanese undermined his political standing, as well as the wider cause of the [[Self-Strengthening Movement]].

Li had received the privilege of wearing a [[Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty#Other honours and privileges|three-eyed peacock feather]] in his hat{{sfnb|Chisholm|1911|p=681}} – a rare exception because three-eyed peacock feathers had previously been restricted to only members of the [[Aisin Gioro|imperial clan]] – during [[Empress Dowager Cixi]]'s 60th birthday celebrations in 1894. However, after the Chinese defeat in the war, Li was disgraced and stripped of his peacock feather. The Qing imperial court initially wanted to send [[Zhang Yinhuan]] ({{lang|zh-hant|張蔭桓}}) and {{ill|Shao Youlian|zh|邵友濂|ja|邵友濂|ko|소우렴}} ({{lang|zh-hant|邵友濂}}) as their representatives to negotiate with the Japanese, but the Japanese rejected them. Li was selected to take on this mission and was given back his peacock feather.

On March 24, 1895, while negotiating with Japan's [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] [[Itō Hirobumi]] and [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Foreign Affairs Minister]] [[Mutsu Munemitsu]] in [[Shimonoseki]], Li was attacked by an assassin,<ref name="New York Times 1895-03-25 p. 5">{{cite news |title=Li Hung Chang Attacked: An Attempt to Assassinate the Chinaman by a Japanese. The Assailant is Under Arrest A Report that the Japanese Forces Occupied the Main Island of the Pescadores Last Thursday. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1895/03/25/archives/li-hung-chang-attacked-an-attempt-to-assassinate-the-chinaman-by-a.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=25 March 1895 |page=5}}</ref> {{ill|Koyama Toyotarō|ja|小山豊太郎|ko|고야마 도요타로|zh|小山豐太郎}} ({{lang|zh-hant|小山豐太郎}}), who shot him in the left cheek.<ref name="liu-he-nikkei">{{cite news |last1=Nakazawa |first1=Katsuji |title=The embattled envoy: Xi critics take aim at trade negotiator Liu He |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/China-up-close/The-embattled-envoy-Xi-critics-take-aim-at-trade-negotiator-Liu-He |access-date=23 June 2022 |work=Nikkei Asia |date=28 February 2019 |quote=During his stay in Shimonoseki, Li was shot in the left cheek by a Japanese activist with a pistol. But fortunately, the injury was not life-threatening and he continued peace treaty negotiations with Japan while wearing a bandage.}}</ref>{{sfn|Paine|2002|pp=261-262}} Koyama was arrested by Japanese police later and he claimed that he desired for the war to continue.

Due to the public embarrassment caused by the attack, the Japanese agreed to the immediate ceasefire Li had urged in the days before,{{sfn|Mutsu|1982|p=174}} though fighting would continue on Taiwan and in the Penghu Islands.{{sfn|Paine|2002|pp=260-264}} On April 17, 1895, Li signed the [[Treaty of Shimonoseki]] with the Japanese, thus ending the First Sino-Japanese War.{{sfn|Paine|2002|p=273}}