Sun Kaihua (died 1893) was a military student of

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...

, who joined

Bao Chao Bao Chao (; Styled Chun Ting 春霆) (1828–1886) was an eminent Han Chinese official, military Captain General, of the late Qing Dynasty in China. He raised the Xiang Army to fight effectively against the Taiping Rebellion and restored the st ...

'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 Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefect ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of 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 ...

in 1866. In 1878 he saw service against the

Taiwanese aborigines Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese peo ...

, but he is best known for his repulse of the French at the

Battle of Tamsui The Battle of Tamsui, Danshui, or Hobe (2–8 October 1884) was a significant French defeat by the Qing dynasty at Tamsui on Taiwan during the Keelung Campaign of the Sino-French War. Background The battle of Tamsui was part of the Keelu ...

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