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,
Church Missionary Society in China Morrison, of the London Missionary Society established a mission in Guangzhou (Canton) in 1808, however the work of Christian missionaries was restricted by the Chinese authorities. After the First Opium War (1839–1842), Hong Kong came under the control of Great Britain and ports on the mainland, including Canton and Shanghai, become open to Europeans. in 1844 the CMS sent the Reverend George Smith (later Bishop of Victoria, H.K.) and the Revd Thomas McClatchie to establish the South China Mission at Shanghai. The South China Mission was extended to Zhejiang (Cheh-kiang) province at Ningbo (1848), Fujian (Fuh-Kien) province at Fuzhou (Fuh-Chow)