''Zhiyuan'' () was a
cruiser built for the
Imperial Chinese Navy
The Imperial Chinese Navy was the modern navy of the Qing dynasty of China established in 1875. An Imperial naval force in China first came into existence from 1132 during the Song dynasty and existed in some form until the end of the Qing dynasty ...
. She was built by
Armstrong Whitworth
Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles an ...
in
Elswick, England. She was one of two
protected cruiser
Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers r ...
s built, alongside her
sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
. ''Zhiyuan'' was armed with a smaller number of large sized
naval guns, as opposed to later ships of this type (such as the British ) which carried a larger number of smaller guns. This was because the medium-calibre
quick-firing gun
A quick-firing or rapid-firing gun is an artillery piece, typically a gun or howitzer, which has several characteristics which taken together mean the weapon can fire at a fast rate. Quick-firing was introduced worldwide in the 1880s and 1890s an ...
had yet to be introduced, thus a warship's firepower at the time was largely a function of individual shell weight rather than volume of fire. Both ships were assigned to the
Beiyang Fleet
The Beiyang Fleet (Pei-yang Fleet; , alternatively Northern Seas Fleet) was one of the four modernized Chinese navies in the late Qing dynasty. Among the four, the Beiyang Fleet was particularly sponsored by Li Hongzhang, one of the most tru ...
, and she was captained by
Deng Shichang throughout her life.
She was part of a flotilla which toured ports during the summer of 1889. ''Zhiyuan''s sole action was at the
Battle of the Yalu River on 17 September 1894 during the
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the p ...
. During the battle, she came under heavy fire from the Japanese forces. Having been holed, Deng ordered for the ship to ram an opposing vessel. She was destroyed as she closed, either by a hit on one of her
torpedo tubes, or from a Japanese
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...
. This attack, and the subsequent story of her captain and his dog have become embedded in popular culture in the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...
. A replica of the ''Zhiyuan'' was constructed in 2014 at the
Port of Dandong
The Port of Dandong is an artificial deep-water seaport on the coast of the city of Dandong, Liaoning Province, People's Republic of China, located at the mouth of the Yalu River, right on the Chinese border with North Korea
North Korea, ...
, while the wreck was discovered in 2013 after a 16-year search.
Design and description
At the time that ''Zhiyuan'' was ordered in October 1885, there was a debate in naval circles over the differences between
armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast en ...
s and
protected cruiser
Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers r ...
s.
Viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...
of
Zhili
Zhili, alternately romanized as Chihli, was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th-century that lasted through the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty until 1911, when the region was dissolved, converted to a province, and renamed ...
province,
Li Hongzhang
Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; 15 February 1823 – 7 November 1901) was a Chinese politician, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in important ...
, was in Europe to order ships from builders in Western nations. He was unable to decide between the two types, so in an experiment, he placed orders for two vessels of each type. The order for the two protected cruisers was given to
Armstrong Whitworth
Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles an ...
in
Elswick, England, known as the leading builder of this type of vessels during this period.
''Zhiyuen'' was
long overall. She had a
beam of and a
draught of . ''Zhiyuen'' displaced , and carried a crew of 204–260 officers and enlisted men. She was equipped with an internal
protective armoured deck, which was thick on the slopes and on the flat. The superstructure was divided into watertight compartments, and had a raised
forecastle
The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " b ...
and
poop, a single
funnel, and two masts. She was powered by a
compound-expansion steam engine with four
boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centr ...
s, driving two screws. This provided for a top speed of . The ship was equipped with electrics and
hydraulics
Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid coun ...
throughout, which included the movement of the shot from the ammunition lockers to the guns.
Earlier protected cruisers, such as the had been equipped with a small number of main guns but, although larger than this ship, ''Zhiyuen'' was built with a higher freeboard to improve her seaworthiness over the smaller vessel. The resultant topweight considerations resulting from the desire to mount the main armament atop the forecastle and poop necessitated that she be armed with slightly smaller (and thus lighter) main guns than the Chaoyong. The main armament consisting of three
breech-loading
A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition ( cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle).
Modern firearms are generally b ...
Krupp
The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Krupp ...
guns, two paired on a hydraulics powered rotating platform in front of the ship and a single gun mounted on a manual rotating platform in the stern, was still a powerful armament for a cruiser of her size. Both mounts were protected by thick
gun shield
A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield
A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, ri ...
s. The secondary armament consisted of two
Armstrong guns mounted on
sponson
Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing.
Watercraft
On watercraft, a spo ...
s on either side of the deck, compared to the four limited-traverse 4.7-inch breech-loading guns carried by the Chaoyong. The ship also had eight
QF 6-pounder 6-pounder gun or 6-pdr, usually denotes a gun firing a projectile weighing approximately .
Guns of this type include:
* QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss, a 57 mm naval gun of the 1880s; a similar weapon was designed by Driggs-Schroeder for the US Nav ...
Hotchkiss gun
The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different products of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch (42 mm) light mountain gun; there were also a navy (47 mm) and a 3-inch (76&nbs ...
s on
Vavasseur mountings, two
QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and eight 1-pounder guns to supplement her main guns in attack or for close-range torpedo defence. ''Zhiyuen'' was also equipped with weapons other than
naval artillery
Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for naval gunfire support, shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firi ...
, which included six
gatling guns
The Gatling gun is a rapid-firing multiple-barrel firearm invented in 1861 by Richard Jordan Gatling. It is an early machine gun and a forerunner of the modern electric motor-driven rotary cannon.
The Gatling gun's operation centered on a ...
as well as four above water mounted
torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed abo ...
s. One pair of the torpedo tubes was mounted forward, and another pair mounted aft where they were activated using electricity from the
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
's cabin.
Service history
Following the orders for the two protected cruisers by Li Hongzhang in October 1885, ''Zhiyuan'' was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one ...
later that month on 20 October. Construction continued throughout 1886, with the ship
launched on 29 September. She was officially completed on 23 July 1887. Both ''Zhiyuan'' and her
sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
was were laid down at the same time, but despite ''Zhiyuen'' being launched six weeks earlier than ''Jingyuan'', she was completed two weeks later than her sister.
Following completion, both ships, along with the two armored cruisers and , as well as a newly built Chinese
torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of s ...
, converged in the
solent
The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay ...
near
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...
in August 1887. Imperial Chinese Admiral William M. Lang, formerly of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
, was sent back to Europe to take command of the squadron as they travelled to China. With the exception of a handful of Western advisors, the ships were manned by Chinese crews. ''Zhiyuen'' was under the command of Captain
Deng Shichang. While in the Solent, they were inspected by Hongzhang. It had been anticipated that they would immediately be underway for the passage to China, but following the loss of an
anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ...
and some urgent repairs, they left on 12 September. They arrived in Amoy (now
Xiamen
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong' ...
) in November, where they remained during the winter before joining up with the
Beiyang Fleet
The Beiyang Fleet (Pei-yang Fleet; , alternatively Northern Seas Fleet) was one of the four modernized Chinese navies in the late Qing dynasty. Among the four, the Beiyang Fleet was particularly sponsored by Li Hongzhang, one of the most tru ...
in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
in the spring.
During 1888, ''Zhiyuen'' was repainted along with the rest of the Chinese Navy, changing from the all grey scheme she had sailed from England with, to a combination of a black
hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
, white above the
waterline
The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that ind ...
and
buff coloured
funnels, typical of the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edward ...
. In May 1889, ''Zhiyuen'' and the Beiyang Fleet were moved to fortify Weihaiwei (now
Weihai
Weihai (), formerly called Weihaiwei (), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport in easternmost Shandong province. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow Sea to the east, and is the closest Chinese city to South Korea.
Weihai's popul ...
). During the summer of that year, she was part of the flotilla led by Admiral
Ding Ruchang
Admiral Ding Ruchang (; 18 November 1836 – 12 February 1895) was a Chinese military officer in the late Qing dynasty.
Early life
Ding was a native of what is now part of Chaohu City in Anhui Province, China. He joined the Taiping Rebellion ...
, which travelled to Chefoo (now
Yantai
Yantai, formerly known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of the Bohai Strait, Yantai borders Qingdao on the ...
), Chemlupo (now
Incheon, South Korea), and the
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...
base of
Vladivostok
Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...
. On the return leg of the journey, they stopped at Fusan (now
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...
, South Korea).
Battle of the Yalu River

''Zhiyuen'' first saw action during one of the opening engagements of the First Sino-Japanese War, in the Battle of the Yalu River on 17 September 1894. Each Chinese ship was paired with another in a supporting role in case of a signalling failure, with ''Zhiyuen'' and her sister ship grouped together. Shortly after the start of the battle, Admiral Ruchang's signalling mast aboard ''Dingyuan'' was disabled by its own weapons. This meant that the entire Chinese fleet operated in these pairs throughout the battle without any central organisation.
By 2:00pm, ''Zhiyuen'' was engaged with the
corvette , it having been left behind by the faster vessels of the main Japanese formation. ''Hiei'' broke from the engagement to pass directly between the two s and in an attempt to catch up with the other members of the formation, being greatly damaged in the process. A squadron of Japanese vessels consisting of the cruisers , , , and operated together throughout the battle. As mid afternoon approached, the squadron turned their attention to ''Zhiyuan'' and her sister ship; the faster Japanese vessels circled the Chinese pair, raking them with fire. She began listing to
starboard
Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front).
Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which a ...
, having started taking on water from a hole in the hull.
Captain Deng gave the order for the ship to ram a Japanese cruiser,
[ but as she closed, a hit by a shell on one of ''Zhiyuan''s torpedo tubes caused an explosion; she sank at around 3:30pm. Alternative reports have suggested that ''Zhiyuan'' was actually torpedoed.] Of the 246 officers and men on board, only seven survived.[
American Philo McGiffin, who was on board ''Zhenyuan'', reported after the battle that there had been a variety of stories about the fate of the ship, but one that the survivors agreed on was the tale of the interaction between Captain Deng and his dog. As the ship went down, the captain ended up clinging to a piece of debris. However, his dog swam to him. Deng released the debris, and unable to swim, he drowned along with the dog. Chinese sources have subsequently stated Captain Deng made the decision to go down with ''Zhiyuan''. In this retelling, the dog attempted to drag him to safety, but he refused to be moved and both died.][
]
Legacy
Popular culture
The story of Deng's order to ram the ''Yoshino'' and his subsequent refusal to leave his ship as it sank has resulted in him being placed in popular culture as a national hero, particularly following the formation of the People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...
. Deng, and the events on the ''Zhuyuan'' are repeated in school textbooks in China, where they praise his actions while also criticising Li Hongzhang. The People's Liberation Army Navy training ship ''Shichang'', was named after Deng.
As a result, ''Zhiyuan'' has received many mentions and appearances in historical reenactments, such as the 1962 Changchun Film Studio movie ''Naval Battle of 1894
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
'' which concentrated on Deng's actions in the Battle of the Yalu River. This particular film ends in a sequence wherein ''Zhiyuan'' attempts to ram the ''Yoshino'', before cutting to waves hitting rocks on a shoreline with Deng's face superimposed. Deng and the ''Zhiyuan'' appeared in the 2003 Chinese television series '' Towards the Republic'', in which he was described as a strict but honourable captain whose ship's company respects him and his authority.
Reconstruction
To commemorate this period of history, in 2014, China invested 37 million yuan to construct a replica ''Zhiyuan'' under construction at the Port of Dandong
The Port of Dandong is an artificial deep-water seaport on the coast of the city of Dandong, Liaoning Province, People's Republic of China, located at the mouth of the Yalu River, right on the Chinese border with North Korea
North Korea, ...
, near to the mouth of the Yalu River
The Yalu River, known by Koreans as the Amrok River or Amnok River, is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border betwe ...
. The construction of the replica was undertaken by Dandong Shipbuilding Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. at the same scale as the original. The new ''Zhiyuan'' will be a floating museum. Inside will be artifacts and records of ''Zhiyuan'', the Beiyang Fleet, the First Sino-Japanese War and life-at-sea exhibits.
Excavation of the wreck
From 1997 onwards, there has been attempts to locate the wreckage of the ''Zhiyuan''. During a dredging process near the mouth of the Yalu discovered hull fragments from the Chinese vessels.[ In 2013, a shipwreck was discovered near Dandong Port and subsequently code-named "Dandong No 1". After an almost two year long investigation, it was officially confirmed as the wreck of ''Zhiyuan''. Further excavation work then ensued south of the Yalu.] Over 100 items have since been salvaged from ''Zhiyuan'', including weapons, parts of the ship and items relate do the daily life of the crew.[
A broken china plate bearing the name of ''Zhiyuan'' was found, which helped to identify the vessel. Naval historian Chen Yue stressed the importance of finding common living items to those researching the Sino-Japanese War and expressed a high hope of discovering the official seal of the vessel. He said, "The ship seal was invariably made of good materials and stored in a sturdy box. It is highly possible that we can find it."] During the excavation, the bodies of seven of the crew were recovered. The idea of floating the wreck was initially discontinued due to the risk of structural collapse,[ but plans to raise the vessel have not yet been finalised. It is intended for the artifacts to be displayed at a new museum, located in nearby ]Dandong
Dandong (), formerly known as Andong, is a coastal prefecture-level city in southeastern Liaoning province, in the northeastern region of People's Republic of China.
It is the largest Chinese border city, facing Sinuiju, North Korea across the ...
.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhiyuan
Cruisers of the Beiyang Fleet
Ships built on the River Tyne
First Sino-Japanese War cruisers of China
Shipwrecks in the Yellow Sea
Maritime incidents in 1894
Naval ships of China
1886 ships
Ships built by Armstrong Whitworth