Sun Kaihua (died 1893) was a military student of

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

, who joined Bao Chao's army and fought against the Taiping and Nien rebels, during which time he was wounded. He was rapidly promoted until he became a Brigade General at Zhangzhou in

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

in 1866. In 1878 he saw service against the

Taiwanese aborigines Taiwanese may refer to: * of or related to Taiwan **Culture of Taiwan **Geography of Taiwan ** Taiwanese cuisine *Languages of Taiwan ** Formosan languages ** Taiwanese Hokkien, also known as the Taiwanese language * Taiwanese people, residents of ...

, but he is best known for his repulse of the French at the Battle of Tamsui in 1884. For this he was made a noble of the 7th grade, and in 1886 became Commander-in-Chief in Fujian. As a military officer he was well educated, and was popular with foreigners and Chinese alike. Orders were issued that his career was to be recorded in the history of the dynasty, and memorial temples were to be erected at the scenes of his chief exploits.Herbert Allen Giles, A Chinese Biographical Dictionary, p. 689-692.

References

19th-century births 1893 deaths Chinese soldiers People of the Taiping Rebellion Generals from Hunan People of the Sino-French War {{China-bio-stub