The word "Liaodong" literally means "Liao region's east", referring initially to the Warring States periodYan commandery ofLiaodong, which encompassed an area from modern Liaoning-Jilin border in the north to theChongchon River on theKorean Peninsula in the south, and from just east of theQian Mountains to a now-disappeared largewetland between the western banks of middleLiao River and the base ofYiwulü Mountain, historically known as the "LiaoMire" (遼澤,Liáo zé) roughly in between the modernXinmin,Liaozhong,Tai'an,Panshan andBeizhen). The modern usage of "Liaodong", however, simply refers to the half of Liaoning province to the left/east bank of the Liao/Daliao River.
After thefall of the Yan state, the region was taken over by the short-livedQin dynasty, and then its prominent successorHan dynasty. After the Han dynasty fragmented at the turn of the 3rd century, the region changed hands between various warlord states such as the Gongsun clan, the nomadicWuhuan tribe, and finallyCao Wei, before eventually falling under the reunifiedWestern Jin dynasty.
Liaodong was the primary destination ofShandong andHebei refugees from theNorthern Chinese Famine of 1876-1879. A prior Qing prohibition on immigration toNortheast China was officially relaxed, marking the start ofChuang Guandong. In 1876, Chinese officials told the Customs commissioner at Yingkou that 600,000 people had landed on the Liaodong Peninsula. Government efforts to keep Manchu heartlands free of Chinese settlement resulted in a concentration of refugees in Liaodong.[3]
Convention of retrocession of the Liaotung Peninsula, 8 November 1895.
The peninsula was an important area of conflict during theFirst Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895). Defeat precipitated decline in theQing dynasty which was exploited bycolonial powers who extracted numerous concessions. The peninsula wasceded to Japan, along withTaiwan andPenghu, by theTreaty of Shimonoseki of 17 April 1895. However the ceding of Liaodong peninsula was rescinded after theTriple Intervention of 23 April 1895 by Russia, France and Germany. In the aftermath of this intervention, the Russian government pressured the Qing dynasty to lease Liaodong and the strategically importantLüshunkou (Port Arthur) for use by the Russian Navy.
As in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Liaodong peninsula was the scene of major fighting in theRusso-Japanese War (1904–1905), including the bloodySiege of Port Arthur. As a consequence of theTreaty of Portsmouth (5 September 1905), which ended the Russo-Japanese War, both sides agreed to evacuate Manchuria and return it to China, with the exception of the Liaodong Peninsula leased territory which was transferred to Japan,[4] which was to administer it as theKwantung Leased Territory.
After Japan lostWorld War II, and thePeople's Republic of China was established in 1949, Liaodong was again under unified Chinese rule, where it has been to this day.
^Gottschang, Thomas R.; Lary, Diana (2000).Swallows and settlers: the great migration from North China to Manchuria. Michigan monographs in Chinese studies. Ann Arbor, Mich: Center for Chinese Studies, The University of Michigan. pp. 47–48.ISBN978-0-89264-134-5.
^Article Five:The Imperial Government of Russia transfer and assign to the Imperial Government of Japan, with the consent of the Government of China, the lease of Port Arthur, Ta-Lien and the adjacent territory and territorial waters, and all rights, privileges and concessions connected with or forming part of such lease (…)
