1、1893年6月7日,直隶提督叶志超奉李鸿章命带兵赴朝鲜剿匪,日本也派兵,调节不成,致使中日交战。下面是当时清军的宣传画,叶军们水陆大胜倭寇。然而与事实相差甚远的是:叶志超率两万清兵,和一万日军对垒,却胆小如鼠,两次不战而逃,将属国朝鲜,拱手让人,为甲午战败中方之第一责任人。但是却谎报战功,饰败为胜,吹嘘牙山大捷,蒙蔽清政府,得到明令褒奖,被委派为驻平壤诸军总统帅,实在是滑天下之大稽! 高山道人画,1894 2、北洋的海军都督丁汝昌,虽然舍身取义,为国捐躯,比之上面的陆战,多少要光彩一些。可是他作为水军主帅,指挥失当,统驭无方,十年磨一剑,未战而屈兵,部下军纪松弛,主帅也争风吃醋,中饱私囊。对于洋教练,也无丝毫约束之力,甲午一役,把大清朝的家底,全部葬送干净。更为可笑的是,这一军主帅的丁大都督,临死前竟不能令行禁止,还给手下人做了垫背的,以至于是先投降后自尽抑或是先自尽后投降,众说纷纭。当年礼部右侍郎志锐称之为疲将难制。时人林纾叹曰:唯军机遥制,主将不知兵事,故至于此。 下面的鸭绿江大捷,就是朝鲜战事时歌颂北洋水师的战报,徒笑后人。
无名氏画, 1894
Drawing on imaginative representations of famous battles, the artists of the Sino-Japanese War prints were continuing a tradition of colourful dramatic battle images designed to captivate the viewer. A realistic record of actual events was not the aim. It is this strain of fantasy which distinguishes the Chinese prints. Stereotypes from Chinese military tales, including brave generals, dashing footsoldiers and cowardly enemies, populate the images. Although the course of the Sino-Japanese War did not fit this pattern, the print makers, who were usually anonymous, continued to produce scenes that appealed to their audiences and made no attempt to break with the usual conventions of composition. By the 1890s, the quality of most Chinese popular prints had declined from the fine standards of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Indistinct outlining and carelessly applied blocks of colour are common features of the Chinese prints in the Sino-Japanese War series.
3、日本的剧作和绘画:聂士成的被打败。这位聂士成,在朝鲜和日军还是很好的打了一仗,后来官至直隶总督,算是取代了主帅叶志超的位子,可是为时已晚,回天无力,最后战死疆场。日军对他也十分忌讳,不提叶主帅,只提对手为聂士成。
4、日本的版画:第一次中日战争,日本大胜全胜。
The Japanese prints depict actual events of battles which were followed with intense interest by the Japanese and international communities. For the Chinese artists, the shock of defeat by Japan was too great to absorb, and auspicious images of victory were transmitted to the court and people of China, perpetuating the myth of China's invincibility.
5、甲午海战之后,日本人眼里的中国国民形象:这幅版画的题目,叫清将丁汝昌率众来降。其实此时的丁汝昌已经服毒自尽。代表北洋舰队投降的,是道员牛昶炳、副职程璧光等人。