On May 24, 1882, after nearly half a month of verbal fighting, the Japanese delegation completely despaired of its original attempt to "surrender without a fight".

After China and Japan issued an empty statement of mutual friendship, the talks came to an abrupt end. At the farewell dinner for the Japanese delegation, the Chinese side specially presented some small gifts, including the "little golden statue" specially given by the emperor. Almost all the representatives of the Japanese side received one, and even one, which was handed over and presented to the chief minister, Minoru Sanjo, who did not come.

But these Japanese people had difficulty understanding the words on the pedestal, and they asked who was "Oscar"? But no one could answer this question, because the Chinese present were also confused.

These portraits are not only crudely made, nude, and very ugly, but also not real gold, but clearly plated with brass on the outside, and the words below are even more inexplicably wonderful. In any case, this is not a polite gift. Although the meaning of this was not clear, all the Japanese felt a kind of humiliation.

On May 26, on the steamer "Rising Sun Maru" returning to Shinagawa Port in Tokyo from the mouth of Dagu in Tianjin, there was a person who was writing with great indignation, and this person was the famous thinker and educator Yukichi Fukuzawa who accompanied the group.

He had also received an ugly "little golden statue" and was the only one to receive this "honor" as an unofficial representative, but he apparently did not feel much excitement. The line of words on the pedestal of the "Little Golden Statue" made his chest even more panicked: Royal Academy Award - Best Supporting Actress - Yukichi Fukuzawa.

So the moment you board the ship, you throw it in the trash. The figure was later picked up from the trash can, passed through countless hands, and became the collection of the American sculptor George Stanley, who plagiarized this mysterious oriental sculpture art and made an award gift for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1928, along with the Oscar three characters.

At this time, Fukuzawa Yukichi was deeply ashamed, and he angrily wrote in his pen: "Although Japan is located in the eastern part of Asia, its national spirit has been separated from the ugliness of Asia and turned to Western civilization. As long as they imitate the attitude of the Westerners towards them, if the Shina people are humble and shameless, the chivalry of the Japanese will be covered up. Therefore, it is necessary to reject the evil friends of Asia Minor, such as China and Korea. ＂

On May 29, 1882, this article, titled was published in full in Japan's (the predecessor of Sankei Shimbun), and was quickly reprinted by other newspapers and periodicals, causing a sensation in Japanese public opinion and intellectual circles.

The news of the failure of diplomacy with China has been spread everywhere, from the elderly to schoolchildren, who know that due to China's obstruction, the Japanese Empire cannot develop smoothly in Korea, and this "de-Asian" craze has filled the whole society with hatred for China for a while. Under the propaganda of the government, newspapers, and books, the suffering and poverty of the people at the bottom of Japan were blamed on the "oppression of Shina".

This hatred was also transferred to the Chinese fleet, which was visiting Japan, and under the control of resentment, a group of citizens of Nagasaki rushed to the seaside batteries in an attempt to grab artillery and bombard the Chinese fleet anchored in the harbor. Soldiers who went ashore to play were often provoked by the locals.

The fleet's visit to Japan, which began on 11 May, is estimated to last a month with some maintenance work. However, in view of the complicated situation in Japan, Commander Liu Buyun returned early on June 4 after consulting China.

During the entire visit to Japan, the strength and strict discipline displayed by the fleet gave the Japanese a great stimulus, and the also reported: "The ship has a huge hull, complete machinery, and skilled soldiers, and there are many things worth seeing." ＂

After the visit of the Beiyang Navy Division in the previous life, there was a Japanese named Ogasawara Nagasei who wrote a novel called , in which he fabricated rumors that Togo Heihachiro saw the officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Navy Division hanging their clothes on the cannon. Later, Tian Han, the author of the national anthem of the Celestial Empire, translated this novel as a history book, regardless of whether it was true or false, misleading several generations of Chinese. In fact, Heihachiro Togo had no contact with the Beiyang Navy Division at all, and at that time, it was in accordance with the regulations for the navy to dry clothes on the artillery, and the British and German navies did this.

On the same day that the Chinese fleet returned, the Japanese government once again convened an imperial council. In view of the failure of the visit to China, most of the participants agreed that a war with China was necessary to resolve the North Korean issue. Including Iwakura Gumi, who was originally cautious, he also joined the hardliners after his diplomatic visit to China. It is not that he was awarded a golden statue of "Best Actress", but from the resolute attitude of the Chinese representatives, it can be considered that China's policy in North Korea has become very difficult to change, and there is no other solution except war.

And the Minister of Imperial Affairs, Minoru Sanjo, who has always held a middle position and easily does not express his position, is also rarely murderous to "fight with China", but he was really enraged, because he was handed over a "Best Prop Award".

The only one who can remain calm is Hirobumi Ito, who is bewildered by China's unusual toughness and provocation.

In the usual sense, whether it is a person or a country, only in two cases will it be so unscrupulous and ruthless. One is ignorant, arrogant, and ignorant of shijie; The other is to have a plan and do it with a heart.

However, China had a fierce war with France before, and it was inseparable from France on the battlefield and diplomatically, and it cannot be described as ignorant in any case, so the latter is more likely.

Was that deliberately to provoke and irritate Japan? Ito was puzzled and worried.

But his opinion is in the minority, and almost no one supports his view. In particular, Secretary of Treasury Shigenobu Okuma directly presented many minutes of talks between the Military Aircraft Department, China's highest deliberative body, during the Sino-Japanese talks, and these minutes surprised everyone present, and Okuma Shigenobu was proud of this, claiming that an official of the Chinese Military Aircraft Department had the habit of writing a diary on weekdays, and often recorded what he saw and heard, and he never expected that his confidant and adopted son was a spy sent by Japan.

China's hubris, as well as its ignorance of Japan, are clear from these minutes:

One of the officials, Liu Kunyi, said: "With the land in the hands of Japan, and the land is barren and the people are poor, if you want to be embarrassed with China, you will see that it does not know how to measure!" ”

An Weijun, the governor of Fujian Province, said: "The Japanese are in foreign countries, and the country is small and vulgar and greedy. Its land could not be the size of China's first or second provinces."

The imperial history Pang Hongshu also said in the recital: "Japan, a small country, in recent years, everything is open, the national crossbow has been empty for a long time, and it will not be able to fight in Japan for a long time." ”

Waitab, vice minister of construction, said: "Japan's projectiles are cunning and enlightening, and the emperor coerces the Chinese to go all out to take the target, zero to add to the legacy, and the flying squirrels and praying mantis cannot save themselves." ”

Zhang Zhidong, Minister of Military Aircraft, said: "Japan is very poor, the Chinese market is unique, the merchants are embarrassed, and the coastal defense is strictly repaired and waited for it. After a year, Japan was poor. ”

Even the emperor of China said at a meeting of the Military Aircraft Department that Japan is a "small country" and that it is really "beyond its means" to challenge China, and it is not worth caring about, etc.

These minutes prove that Ito's concerns are unnecessary, and even Ito himself has to admit it. However, he still insisted on prudence, believing that with China's size, it could tolerate its mistakes and start over, while Japan's mistakes were likely to be lost.

At the same time, Ito Hirobumi believes that the visit to China is not for nothing, and from the talks with the Siamese minister, the two sides have a vague tendency to form an alliance. This tendency should be quickly turned into a reality, and Siam should be supported and armed so that it can contain the Chinese rear.

He even proposed a strategy to encircle China, that is, from Japan downwards, the Philippines controlled by Spain, then the states of Southeast Asia under the "protection" and control of the British, and then to Cochinchina, Zuihou Siam.

Japan, Spain, Britain, France, and Siam are all countries that have constitutions or are preparing to establish constitutions, and they are all "Western civilizations". It is possible to form an "arc of freedom and prosperity" and impose a strategic encirclement of China, creating a diplomatic posture favorable to Japan, and Zuihou can support Japan's Korean policy.

Ito's proposal was endorsed by the participants, and it was established as Japan's basic national policy in the form of an imperial decree of the Emperor as the "two ways of civil and military" alongside the plan for arms expansion.

Subsequently, a new round of expanded armaments was also released.