SS ''Zhongshan'', formerly

romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

as , was a Chinese gunboat built in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in 1913. It was originally known as (romanized at the time as . or ), before being renamed in 1925 in honor of

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

. ''Zhongshan'' was sunk by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second Sino-Japanese War, but was later raised and restored as a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

in Wuhan.

Construction

SS ''Yongfeng'' was the first of fours ordered from

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

by the

Qing Empire The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

in 1910. Under the deal signed between the Qing naval minister Prince Rui, his deputy Admiral Sa Zhenbing, and the Japanese, the first two ships (including ''Yongfeng'') would be built in Japan, while the second two would be built in China at Jiangnan Shipyard with Japanese technical assistance.

Service history

''Yongfeng'' entered service as part of the Beiyang Fleet.. & In March 1913, it sailed to Shanghai, where it was based at Yuezhou. It sailed south with

in July 1917, subsequently forming part of the Nationalist navy at

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

(now known as Guangzhou). Just prior to Ye Ju's attack of the presidential palace on 16 June 1922,

fled to the Guangzhou naval yard and took refuge aboard the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

(then ''Hai Ch'i''). From there, he transferred to the where he was joined by

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

around the 27th or 29th. ''Yongfeng'' and other ships then fought past Pearl River fortresses controlled by

Chen Jiongming Chen Jiongming, (; 18 January 187822 September 1933), courtesy name Jingcun (竞存/競存), nickname Ayan (阿烟/阿煙), was a Hailufeng Hokkien revolutionary figure in the early period of the Republic of China. Early life Chen Jiongming wa ...

while launching assaults and negotiating with the Guangzhou leadership for about 50 days. It avoided reprisals by anchoring off Huangpu, surrounded by foreign vessels Chen could not risk firing upon. Finally, Sun and Chiang left aboard a British ship to Hong Kong on 9 August,. whence they departed for Shanghai. The carried Sun and his wife to Hong Kong in November 1924. On 13 April 1925, the ship was renamed in honor of Sun Yat-sen, better known in China as "Sun Zhongshan", following his death the previous month. In November 1925, the Nationalist navy was placed under the direction of the Soviet adviser

Andrei S. Bubnov Andrei Sergeyevich Bubnov (russian: Андре́й Серге́евич Бу́бнов; 23 March 1883 – 1 August 1938) was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary leader, one of Bolshevik leaders in Ukraine, Soviet politician and military lea ...

, who named the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

Li Zhilong as its head.. The voyage of ''Zhongshan'' and ''Baobi'' from Guangzhou to Huangpu (Whampoa) on 18 March 1926 set off the Canton Coup. She patrolled the southern coasts of China against

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

after the Northern Expedition, and she rescued the steamship '' Xinhua'' in 1928.. In the Second Sino-Japanese War, participated in the

Battle of Wuhan The Battle of Wuhan (武漢之戰), popularly known to the Chinese as the Defense of Wuhan, and to the Japanese as the Capture of Wuhan, was a large-scale battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Engagements took place across vast areas of Anhui ...

. On 24 October 1938, she was bombed and sunk in the Yangtze River by the Imperial Japanese Navy with 25 casualties, including Captain Sa Shijun, a nephew of Sa Zhenbing.

Recovery

Hubei's provincial cultural department received permission to plan the recovery of ''Zhongshan'' in 1986, and the wreck was salvaged from the Yangtze on 28 January 1997.. By 2001, it was restored to its appearance , except for some of the damage which it sustained when the ship was sunk in 1938. The restored ''Zhongshan'' is now located in the Zhongshan Warship Museum in Wuhan. The facility has been described as "China's first floating museum". The museum is located in Jinkou Subdistrict of Wuhan's suburban Jiangxia District, some 25 km southwest of downtown Wuchang. In 2003, relics from the ship were also displayed at Hong Kong's Museum of Coastal Defense.

Gallery

File:Zhongshan Warship Museum.jpg, Zhongshan Warship Museum in Wuhan File:Zhongshan Warship 2.jpg, The restored ''Zhongshan'' inside the museum File:Zhongshan Warship 1.jpg, ''Zhongshan'' seen from the

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...

File:Zhongshan Warship Hole.jpg, Damage the ship sustained during her sinking

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhongshan 1912 ships Zhongshan Naval ships of the Republic of China Shipwrecks in rivers Gunboats of China Second Sino-Japanese War naval ships of China Maritime incidents in 1938 World War II naval ships of China Ships of the Republic of China Navy Gunboats sunk by aircraft Ships sunk by Japanese aircraft Museum ships in China National first-grade museums of China