NORTHEAST ASIAN HISTORY FOUNDATION 02/2023
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A Painting Commissioned by Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II: Yellow Peril
The victory of Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) threatened the Western powers that had a sense of superiority as the civilized world, with the possibility that the yellow race—including Chinese and Japanese—could eventually conquer the world. The term “yellow peril” portrays such wariness of Europeans. In 1895, German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II claimed the “yellow peril” and commissioned a court painter to execute a painting expressing the image of the idea. Copies were sent to other European countries. Newspapers conveying different versions of the image were published and distributed, causing a sense of danger of the yellow race. This painting implies that Western Europe—including Germany, Britain, and France—which is represented by St. Michael the Archangel and a cross, shall fight against China and Japan represented by the Dragon Lady and Buddha.
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