#Qing Dynasty Old Photos #1911 Qing Dynasty is coming to an end, as early as a few years ago, although the main force of the Beiyang Marine Division was destroyed in the Sino-Japanese War, the defeat of the war did not make the Qing Dynasty abandon the construction of northern coastal defense, but continued to spend a lot of silver to buy warships from European countries, today's protagonist "Haixi Cruiser" was ordered from Britain in 1896, at this time only one year after the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War.
1908 was not very important for the Qing Dynasty, but it was an important year for the United States, because this year the American "Great White Fleet" was divided into two parts to sail around the world, and the ocean-going operation of its 16 main warships proved its growing naval strength, and at the same time spent a good time with the Qing dynasty reception officials in Xiamen, Fujian Province.
Visit the United States
Afterwards, the U.S. Admiralty invited the Qing fleet to visit the United States several times to show friendship, so on April 11, 1911, Cheng Biguang, the first officer of the Haixi, was ordered to anchor in Shanghai on April 21, and went to Britain, thousands of miles away, to attend the coronation of George V, and then crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Visit New York. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the navy has been extremely modern, the uniforms, honor guards, and training methods of the soldiers are taken from the West, and the officers and men of the Haixi have also cut their hair braids, officially in line with the modern Western navy.
This was a unique event in the Qing Dynasty at the time, similar to the day when China's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier visited the West.
When the cruiser HMS Haixi arrived in Britain and the United States, it was accorded with great courtesy and specifications, and these old photos were taken of all the activities carried out by the officers and men of the HMS Haixi after arriving in New York on August 10, 1911.
Including a group photo of Commander Cheng Biguang and the Mayor of New York, New York officials reviewing the Navy, and naval officers visiting the Grant Memorial hall, mausoleum and other visits.
Pressure on Latin American countries
After the end of the visit to the United States, the Haiji was ready to visit Latin American countries, because at this time Cuba and Mexico had just erupted anti-Chinese operations, in order to support the local expatriates, but also to put pressure on the respective governments, the Haiji first went to Cuba, this stay was 10 days, was warmly welcomed by the local Chinese, seeing the warships of the motherland is like seeing relatives from afar.
The Cuban government was also under pressure to assure Cheng Biguang that there would be no further discrimination against overseas Chinese, and the Haiji ended its visit to Cuba and went to Mexico.
However, the Mexican government did not wait for Cheng Biguang to come, and took the lead in making a formal apology to the Qing government, promising compensation to those Chinese expatriates who had been harmed in the Chinese exclusion movement, so that the Qing government issued an order to Cheng Biguang to cancel the visit to Mexico.
However, when the Haixi returned to Shanghai in May 1912, the Qing Dynasty had ceased to exist, and when it left, it still hung the dragon flag and began to fly the five-color flag when it returned. The Haixi and its officers and men also missed the naval uprising during the Xinhai Revolution because of the visit, and "also missed the opportunity to send the Qing Dynasty on its last journey." ”
But in any case, this visit is a unique event in the history of the late Qing Dynasty, a sign of the Qing Dynasty's transformation into a modern country, and the last glory of the Qing Navy.
Whether it is the specifications of the visit, the visit operation itself, and the quality of the officers and men, it is a process of progress of the Qing court from traditional conservatism to modernization. The uniforms, postures, weapons, and spirit of the officers and men, including the act of cutting off their braids, are all being cut off from the old army, but the Qing Dynasty at that time was about to collapse, and history would no longer leave the dynasty with any time to regret and improve.
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