Hundred Days' Reform in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894–1895, not long after the First (1839–1842) and Second (1856–1860) Opium Wars; this blow came as a major shock to the Chinese, because Japan had been regarded as a tributary state, was much smaller than China, and was regarded as inferior. China also fought France in the Sino-French War from 1884 to 1885. Moreover, the defeat of China by Japan led to a scramble for "privileges" in China by other foreign powers, notably by the German Empire and Russia, further awakening the conservatives. Before the First Sino-Japanese War, China engaged in technological modernization only,
Global silver trade from the 16th to 18th centuries the Cape of Good Hope into the east, and sometimes it came over land. Major outposts for the silver trade were located in Southeast Asian countries, such as the Philippines. The city of Manilla served as a primary outpost of the exchange of goods between the Americas, Japan, and China. However, there is a large amount of silver that crossed across the Pacific Ocean directly from the Americas as well. There are not many records of the amount of silver which crossed the Pacific due to it being discouraged by the Spanish monarchy, so estimates highly vary. Silver also found