preface
In the Sino-Japanese War, there were three clashes between the Chinese and Japanese navies, of which the Battle of Toshima opened the prelude to the war, the Battle of the Yellow Sea became an important turning point in the war, and the Battle of Weihaiwei foreshadowed China's defeat. The defeats in these naval battles largely directly determined the outcome of China's defeat in the war.
The key battles and time nodes of the Sino-Japanese War
In addition, as the chief admiral of the Beiyang Fleet, Ding Ruchang was also directly responsible for serious operational command mistakes in the Battle of the Yellow Sea and the Battle of Weihaiwei.
In a word, the Sino-Japanese naval battle is:
After the outbreak of war, Ding Ruchang, an incompetent admiral of the navy, led a fleet that was not strong, demoralized, and poorly guaranteed, and under the blind command of the decision-makers, passively engaged in three confrontations with the Japanese fleet, and finally ended the naval battle and even the entire war with the suicide of Ding Ruchang himself and the surrender of the remnants of the Beiyang Navy.
On September 17, 1894, the Battle of the Yellow Sea between China and Japan was drawn
Ding Ruchang's suicide and the surrender of the remnants of the fleet are facts, and here I would like to discuss the time of suicide and the relationship with the surrender of the fleet: was suicide before or after the surrender of the fleet? What is the relationship between surrender and Ding Ruchang?
Some people say that Ding Ruchang committed suicide after the fleet surrendered.
Huang Zunxian, a famous patriotic poet in modern times, once wrote a "Song of the Descending General": "... The former is a corpse behind the coffin, and one will follow the two wings and three ginseng. The two armies wept and wondered, who had descended to death for whom...."
In his poem, he ridiculed Ding Ruchang as "having surrendered to death", believing that Ding Ruchang had obviously surrendered to the Japanese and committing suicide again, which seemed meaningless.
Ding Ruchang
It is also said that Ding Ruchang committed suicide before the fleet surrendered.
Mr. Fan Wenlan, who was the same era as Huang Zunxian, recorded in his "Modern Chinese History" (volume I):
“.... The generals colluded with the foreigners to incite the soldiers and sailors to defect, claiming to "beggar the way to Ding Ti'." The foreigner took the opportunity to persuade Ding Ruchang, "Gu Xu begs to surrender, in order to reassure the hearts of the people." Ruchang said, 'I will die first, and I must not sit still and see this', and the foreigners conspired to coerce Ruchang into surrendering.... Ruchang dissuaded the mob and committed suicide by taking poison...."
Here are three key facts revealed:
1. The foreign crew first defected and coerced Ding Ruchang to surrender;
2. Ding Ruchangning died and did not follow;
3. Ding Ruchang committed suicide by taking poison (referring to opium);
In the Battle of Sino-Japanese War, the Beiyang Fleet suffered heavy losses
What is the truth of history? In this regard, there are many discussions in later generations, which can be regarded as a historical mystery. On the whole, the author believes that Ding Ruchang's suicide should be before the surrender of the Beiyang Fleet, and there are mainly the following three bases:
1. The British crew member Dellel's memoirs of China, "China Chronicles", said:
"In the early morning of the 12th (the eighteenth day of the first lunar month), Admiral Ding committed suicide..... Hewei proposed that the pseudo-Toddine Viceroy write a letter of surrender in the name of Himself, translate it into a Chinese, and stamp the Seal of the Admiral. ”
That is to say, the surrender of the fleet was after Ding Ruchang committed suicide, and then the foreigners drew up a surrender document under the guise of Ding Ruchang, stamped the Great Seal of the Admiral, and then submitted it to the Japanese combined fleet.
2. Yao Xiguang, a minister at the end of the Qing Dynasty, recorded in the "Notes on Eastern Soldiers":
“.... Ammunition will chime... Reinforcements are absolutely... Ru Chang entered the cabin to look up at the medicine, Zhang Wenxuan followed, the eighteenth day and night four more Xu, successively died, the foreigners discussed surrendering...."
Yao Xiguang served as the Chinese consul in Japan, is familiar with Sino-Japanese negotiations, and served as a staff member such as Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong during the Jia Wu and Yi Wei years, this book is informative and highly credible, and has been recognized by many professionals.
What he meant was that at that time, the ammunition on the ship was almost gone, and then the governor of Shandong did not see the letter at that time, which meant that it was impossible to wait for reinforcements to come to the rescue, so in pessimism and despair, Ding Ruchang committed suicide, and then the fleet surrendered.
In 1896, the former double main guns of the Jiyuan were salvaged from the bottom of the sea and displayed at the Sino-Japanese War Museum on Liugong Island.
3. According to the "Ding Family Tree":
"Ding Xianda, enjoy wearing a yellow coat and wearing a pair of eyes..... Zhen Ruchang, zi Yu Ting, was born in the sixteenth year of Daoguang..... Died at the beginning of the eighteenth day of the first month of the twenty-first year of Guangxu. ”
The person who gave this key time of death information was Ding Jieshi, the grandson of Ding Ruchang, why is his words more credible? Because Ding Ruchang was on the ship when he died, the exact time of his death was recorded—around 7 o'clock in the morning of the eighteenth day of the first month.
This time is consistent with the records of the previous two people, Dai Leer and Yao Xiguang, so it has good reference value.
In summary, the author believes that Ding Ruchang's suicide was indeed swallowed and died before the fleet surrendered, that is, in the early morning of the eighteenth day of the first month, so it is not credible to ridicule him for "having surrendered to death".
"Zhiyuan"
In addition, after Ding Ruchang's death, the Qing government also had a one-sided negative evaluation of his suicide.
On March 15, the twenty-first year of Guangxu (1895), the Qing government gave praise to the weihai guards in the form of an edict, namely Liu Butou, the commander-in-chief of the right wing of the navy, Zhang Wenxuan, the commander-in-chief of the left wing of the navy, and Yang Yonglin, the chief soldier of the left wing of the nursing navy, saying that they were "in danger and ordered, loyal and commendable", but only to Ding Ruchang, who had a cold attitude, saying that he "president of the navy has always been a servant ... This defeat in this war is still not worthy of sympathy."
That is to say, Liu Butou, Zhang Wenxuan, and others were martyrs, sacrificed their lives for the country, and deserved praise, while Ding Ruchang was not enough to accomplish enough and more than a failure, not a martyrdom, and did not give a pension.
Beiyang Naval Admiral's Office is located in the scenic area of Liugong Island, Huancui District, Weihai City, Shandong Province
Why did the Qing government make such an evaluation? In fact, this is not difficult to understand.
For the Qing court officials who were in charge of the battle, it was impossible to find the reason from themselves after the defeat, so they all blamed Ding Ruchang. From the perspective of those who were "on the right path," these imperial historians and doctors from the first class of the imperial historians looked down on Ding Ruchang as a "different way" from their bones. Ding Ruchang was born in the Taiping Army, and then surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, in the eyes of these traditional scholars, Ding Ruchang was a complete "remnant of the twist army", the "second minister" in the history.
As a result, Ding Ruchang became the best scapegoat for the defeat, and even after committing suicide, he was demonized by the imperial historians, saying that he was the culprit of the defeat of the Qing court.
"Zhenyuan"
For Ding Ruchang and his death, people from different cultural backgrounds have given different evaluations.
Japanese soldiers commented on Ding Ruchang: "Zhengzheng warrior" and "with haojie demeanor"
Japanese Navy Captain Ogasawara Nagasaga, in his speech "Ding Ruchang in the Sino-Japanese War", mentioned:
"I think he's a figure with an ancient hero's demeanor... After doing his best, he eventually committed suicide to save his subordinates... Shows the samurai spirit inherent in Japan...."
Ogasawara believes that Ding Ruchang committed suicide to save his subordinates after doing his best, and in the eyes of the Japanese soldiers, this kind of action is "war is fought with righteousness, and surrender is surrendered with righteousness." These are well in line with the Japanese definition of "righteousness." Therefore, Ding Ruchang is a heroic warrior with the spirit of "Bushido".
Ding Ruchang Memorial Hall is located in liugong island scenic spot in Huancui District, Weihai City, Shandong Province
European and American soldiers commented on Ding Ruchang: "Bow down to the best of your ability"
Commander of the British Far East Fleet, E. Freemantle, said of Ding Ruchang:
“..... Only Ding Ruchang, commander of the Beiyang Marine Division, was strong and patriotic... Bringing together such miscellaneous warships to form a fleet, I am afraid that even the most experienced commander could not command it except For Admiral Ding. ”
What does that mean? In the eyes of foreigners, although Ding Ruchang's knowledge of naval warfare cannot be compared with that of Liu Hu toad, Lin Taizeng, and others who studied in Britain, Liu, Lin, and others cannot look back on them when it comes to the ability to command the entire fleet.
Many European and American admirals complained about the unfair treatment of Ding Ruchang. They all gave Ding Ruchang a very high evaluation. This is because these commentators are all from the Navy, have a relatively deep understanding of the Navy, they are well aware of the difficulties of leading the Navy, and they have a personal experience of Ding Ruchang's situation.
【end】
What do you think about the above views