Fang Boqian was a Chinese admiral that served the

Qing dynasty 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 ...

under 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 ...

. He was a high-ranking officer of 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 trust ...

, he was the captain of the protective cruiser

Jiyuan Jiyuan () is a sub-prefecture-level city in northwestern Henan province, People's Republic of China. It borders the prefecture-level cities of Jiaozuo and Luoyang to the east and southwest respectively, as well as the province of Shanxi to the n ...

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 po ...

, but was executed after the Battle of the Yalu River for desertion.

Early life

Boqian was born on January 14, 1854, and was the eldest son of four brothers. His father was a teacher at a private school. In 1867, at the age of 15, he entered the Fujin Ship Seigakudo and studied navigation. Years after graduation, in 1871,

Liu Buchan Liu Buchan (; 1852 – 1895) was a naval officer of the Beiyang Fleet, the most prominent of China's naval units in the late Qing Dynasty. He is best remembered for his actions as commander of the fleet flagship, the '' Dingyuan'', during the ...

, Lin Taizeng,

Lin Yongsheng Lin Yongsheng, courtesy name Yisheng was a Qing-era Chinese Vice Admiral. He was the commander of the Left Fleet of the Beiyang Fleet during the First Sino-Japanese War, serving aboard the '' Jingyuan''. Education and Organization Lin Yongsheng ...

and Ye Zugui was out riding on the training ship "TateTakeshi" to the voyage of the first modern Chinese navy history together. The destinations of the voyage were

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and

Penang Island Penang Island ( ms, Pulau Pinang; zh, 檳榔嶼; ta, பினாங்கு தீவு) is part of the state of Penang, on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was named Prince of Wales Island when it was occupied by the British Ea ...

. In 1877, the Qing government sent Fang Boqian to study abroad in Europe aboard the Square HakuKen for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

at the

Old Royal Naval College The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as being of "outstanding ...

where he learned a high degree of voyage surgery enrolled in October 1877, and returned in May 1880. Meanwhile, in 1878, Captain

Nathaniel Bowden-Smith Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Sir Nathaniel Bowden-Smith (21 January 1838 – 28 April 1921) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, The Nore. Naval career Bowden-Smith joined the Royal Navy in 1852. He took part in the S ...

under the command of Bacchante-class corvette '' HMS Euryalus'' boarded the ship which was headed for the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

, from August 4, 1879. Captain Richard Edward Tracy boarded the Eclipse-class sloop and experienced a voyage in the world through the sea. After returning to China, he served as the captain of the gunboats "Zhenxizhen" and "Zhenxizhen" and the training ship "Weiyuan". In 1885, he was promoted to Deputy General of the Beiyang Fleet Zuoying and became the captain of "Jiyuan". In 1892, the deputy general's term expired. Before the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, Fang Boqian sent a letter to

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 ...

, proposing that cruisers should be deployed faster and equipped. In 1894, a rebellion broke out in Korea, and the Qing dynasty sent troops to calm the rebellion.

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 ...

, along with Captain Fang Boqian of "Jiyuan", escorted transport ships such as "Aijin" and "Flying Whale" and headed for

Asan Asan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It borders the Seoul Capital Area to the north. Asan has a population of approximately 300,000. Asan is known for its many hot springs and is a city of spas. Asan has grown into th ...

. At 4:00 am on July 25, "Jiyuan" returned after the transport ship landed all the horses and weapons. At 7:00 am, Jiyuan was attacked off the coast of Toyoshima by the Japanese Navy's protected cruisers

Yoshino Yoshino may refer to: * Yoshino cherry, another name for ''Prunus × yedoensis'', a flowering cherry tree * Japanese cruiser Yoshino, Japanese cruiser ''Yoshino'', a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy Places * Yoshino, Nara, a town ...

, Akitsushima and Naniwa. Jiyuan bombarded Yoshino and then returned to

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 popula ...

. The Battle of the Yalu River broke out at 11:00 am on September 17, and the battle situation became fierce. At around 3:30 pm, Captain Fang Boqian of Jiyuan left the battlefield and returned to Lushun, saying, "The ship was severely damaged, the bow was cracked and flooded, the gun could not be used, and it needed to be repaired." Captain Wu Keiei of Kwan Chia also fled. The withdrawal of Jiyuan and the destruction of the formation of the Beiyang Fleet was one of the causes of the Qing's defeat. In the early morning of the next day, Fang Boqian led Jiyuan and returned to Lushun. On the morning of September 19, Fang Boqian was ordered to tow the "Kwan" that had been stranded on Miyama Island. Since the grounding of "Hiroko" was so serious that it was not possible to tow with the "Jiyuan", he returned to Lushun with the crew of "Hiroko" on the morning of September 23. In the early morning of September 24, 1894, while the Beiyang Fleet soldiers were still asleep, the Qing government sentenced Fang Boqian to be beheaded for desertion when he was 40 years old. This was considered a false charge. In February 1895, Sukeyuki Ito, Commander-in-Chief of the United Fleet of Japan, met with Beiyang Fleet's special envoy,

Cheng Biguang Cheng Biguang () (1861－26 February 1918) was a Chinese Admiral from the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China. He served in the Beiyang Fleet and the Republic of China Navy. When Duan Qirui refused to valida ...

, and asked, "Fang Boqian was familiar with naval battles at the Battle of Asan, but why did he kill him?" Biguang answered, "It was Ueinochi".The original text is as follows. "Q. Fang Boqian (Hakuken) Naval Battle. Why killed. Say. Kamimeiya. Ding Gu Special disrespect." It is stated that the reason for the dispatch was that he was fluent in English, and it seems that the actual conversation was conducted in English.

References

{{reflist 1854 births 1894 deaths People from Minhou County Chinese military personnel of the First Sino-Japanese War Qing dynasty admirals Generals from Fujian