Liu Buchan (; 1852 – 1895) was a Chinese
naval
A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...
officer during the
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...
. He served in the
Beiyang Fleet
The Beiyang Fleet (Pei-yang Fleet; , alternatively Northern Seas Fleet) was one of the Imperial Chinese Navy#Fleets, four modernized Chinese navies in the late Qing dynasty. Among the four, the Beiyang Fleet was particularly sponsored by Li Hong ...
, the most prominent of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
's naval units in the late
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
, and is best remembered for his actions as commander of the fleet
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
, the ''
Dingyuan'', during the war. After his death and the ship being destroyed at the end of the war, he was raised to
national hero status in modern China. At his death, Liu was commander of the fleet flagship, with the rank Admiral of the Right, and reserve Admiral of the Fleet.
Life
Liu was born in the town of Houguan, in
Fuzhou
Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Liu's father died before he was born, and he was brought up by his mother. In 1867, he passed the entry examinations and entered the
Foochow Arsenal Naval School established by
Shen Baozhen to study navigation. In 1871, was on the training ship Jianwei, and he visited
Amoy
Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
,
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
and the
Bohai Bay
Bohai Bay () is one of the three major bays of the Bohai Sea, the northwestern and innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea. It is bounded by the coastlines of eastern Hebei province ( Tangshan and Cangzhou), Tianjin municipality and northern Sha ...
. In 1872, with the best results, Liu graduated in the first class of the Foochow Arsenal Naval School. In 1875, he was appointed commander of the training ship ''Jianwei''. In 1876, he was sent to
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
for further training. He served on the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
's
Mediterranean Fleet
The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...
flagship
HMS ''Hercules'' as a trainee
first mate
A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the shi ...
. He returned to China in 1878 and was given command of the ''Zhenbei'' in the
Beiyang Fleet
The Beiyang Fleet (Pei-yang Fleet; , alternatively Northern Seas Fleet) was one of the Imperial Chinese Navy#Fleets, four modernized Chinese navies in the late Qing dynasty. Among the four, the Beiyang Fleet was particularly sponsored by Li Hong ...
.
In 1881, Viceroy
Li Hongzhang
Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901) was a Chinese statesman, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in importan ...
, the Beiyang minister, sent a command with a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
shipyard for the construction of two
battleship
A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
s (the ''Dingyuan'' and the ''Zhenyuan''). Liu was sent to monitor construction and inspect the ships, and to assist in delivering the two warships back to China. In 1885 got back to China aboard the ''Dingyuan'', upon which he was given command of the ''Dingyuan'', with
Commodore rank. In 1888, the Beiyang Fleet was officially established. Liu participated in drawing up the Fleet's charter, and was subsequently promoted to the Right Wing command of Admiral. Viceroy Li was highly impressed with Liu, and in his secret missive to the court said Liu had "talents that could be placed to great use".
In 1890, the Beiyang Fleet visited
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. When Fleet Admiral Ding Ruchang left his ship, Liu took down the fleet admiral flag and put up his admiral flag. The fleet's chief training officer,
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
captain and Englishman William Lang raised issue with this, and complained to Li Hongzhang. In the subsequent dispute, Li supported Liu, and in response William Lang resigned from the Beiyang Fleet.
In the years leading up to the
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...
in 1894, Liu repeatedly pressed Li Hongzhang to develop the Beiyang Fleet. He pointed out that
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
was enthusiastically expanding its navy, and to keep up the Beiyang Fleet must adopt an annual program to add new ships. However, Li Hongzhang was unable to expand the Beiyang Fleet due to the realities of court politics. The First Sino-Japanese War began in 1894, and on 17 September of that year, the Beiyang Fleet encountered the Japanese Combined Fleet on the Yellow Sea, sparking the
Battle of the Yalu River.
During the
Battle of the Yalu River, Liu Buchan commanded the flagship ''Dingyuan'' - the most powerful ship of the Beiyang Fleet - in battle against the Japanese fleet. The battle lasted into the afternoon and the ''Dingyuan'' was struck multiple times. As 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 i ...
, the fleet commander, had been seriously wounded early in the battle, Liu had to assume command of the entire fleet. For his bravery during the battle, Liu was promoted to reserve Admiral of the Fleet after the battle, and acted as commander of the fleets while Ding Ruchang recovered from his injuries.
Shortly afterwards, on 4 February 1895, Japanese torpedo boats launched a surprise attack on the Beiyang Fleet's home base at
Weihai
Weihai ( zh, t=, p=Wēihǎi), formerly Weihaiwei ( zh, s=, p=Wēihǎiwèi, l=Mighty Sea Fort, first=t), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport city in the easternmost Shandong province of China. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow ...
wei, during which the ''Dingyuan'' was hit and began taking on water. Liu ordered the ship run aground and to continue firing as an artillery battery. On 9 February 1895 the Japanese army took over the shore batteries, and fired upon and hit the ''Dingyuan''. Fearing that the naval base at
Liugong Island would soon fall, and that the ''Dingyuan'' would fall into enemy hands, he ordered that the ''Dingyuan'' be scuttled. That night, Liu killed himself by swallowing opium. The Qing government, appreciating his service, ordered that benefits be given with the status of an admiral of the fleet.
Assessment
In the 20th century, Liu received both criticism and praise. The criticism was mainly from William Tyler's - an English sailor on ''Dingyuan'' - memoir. But there were also widely accepted ideas that there was a personal enmity between William Tyler and Liu Buchan and that William Tyler's words were unreliable. Liu Buchan is argued to have lacked adequate experience before he was appointed as the captain of ''Dingyuan'' and training and command were very bad under him. Second, he was addicted to opium, which was universal among his troops.
References
Sources
* "LiHongzhang (李鸿章) Complete" chief editor, GuTinglong (), YeYalian () I, II, III, printed by ShangHai RenMing press in 1986.
* "Naval historical materials in the late Qing Dynasty", edited by ZhangXia (), YangZhibeng (), LuoPengshu (), ZhangLiming (), printed in 1982 by BeiJing HaiYang press.
* "Sino-Japanese History", editor, QiQizhang (), printed in 1990 by BeiJing RenMing press.
* "The Fleet under the Flying Dragon Flag" (the revised edition), edited by Jiang Ming (姜鸣, jiāng míng), printed in December 2001 by Bei Jing Sanlian press.
* "China's Recent Navy Historical Events Log", edited by Jiang Ming (姜鸣, jiāng míng), printed in December 1994 by Bei Jing Sanlian press.
* "Fujian Ship-building Burean Historical Manuscript", edited by
Lin Qingyuan (林庆元, lín qìng yuán), printed in October 1986 by Fujian People's press.
* "Ding Ruchang Volumes", edited by Qi Junjie (戚俊杰, Qī Jùn Jíe),
Wang Jihua (王记华, Wáng Jì huá) printed in August 1997 by Shandong University press.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Buchan
Qing dynasty admirals
Suicides in the Qing dynasty
Suicides by poison
Politicians from Fuzhou
Generals from Fujian
1852 births
1895 deaths
Beiyang Fleet personnel
Chinese military personnel of the First Sino-Japanese War