With the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, from July to September 2018, the Underwater Cultural Heritage Protection Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Liaoning Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and the Dalian Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology jointly formed a team to carry out underwater archaeological investigation in the waters of the Dalian Zhuang River in Liaoning Province, and searched, discovered and confirmed the sinking ship of the Beiyang Marine Division in the Sino-Japanese Naval Battle - "Jingyuan Ship". (For details, see: 124 years of sleeping under the sea!) "Jingyuan Ship" found)
124 years have passed, where is the "Jingyuan Ship" that fought heroically to the last moment in the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese Naval Battle? How well is it preserved at the bottom of the sea? As the years go by, what are the untold stories behind it? Let's open this time capsule that has been sealed for 124 years ↓
Video loading...
△ [Video] Jingyuan Ship: A Story From a Hundred Years Later
<h1>Sleep under the sea for 124 years! The "Jingyuan Ship" was found</h1>
On September 24 this year, a shipwreck that had been buried by sediment on the seabed for 124 years was displayed to the public through CCTV live broadcast. At a depth of 17 meters underwater, on the side of the hull, two 40 cm square, wooden gilded "Jingyuan" nameplates proved to the world that this shipwreck was the "Jingyuan Ship" that was sunk in the Battle of Jiawu.
△ "Jingyuan" on the nameplate
The identification of the "Jingyuan Ship" is the primary task of this underwater archaeological expedition, because before that, there were many opinions about the sinking site of the "Jingyuan Ship".
Feng Lei, deputy leader of the underwater investigation project of the "Jingyuan Ship", told reporters: "The biggest question is the location of the sinking of the 'Jingyuan Ship', there are many sayings in the people, some say that it was sunk on The Black Island, and then there is the situation of the naval battle at that time, and there is some confusion between the 'Jingyuan Ship' and the 'Laiyuan Ship', especially in the Japanese data. ”
For more than 100 years, the last moments of the "Jingyuan Ship" have been shrouded in the fog of history. At the time of the sinking of the "Jingyuan Ship", the Japanese side once took a photo, and this photo has also become an important clue for the archaeological team to confirm the location of the sinking of the "Jingyuan Ship".
<h1>What is the overall condition of the "Jingyuan Ship"? </h1>
According to historical records, the "Jingyuan Ship" is an armored cruiser, with a length of 82.4 meters, a width of 11.99 meters, and a displacement of 2900 tons, built by the German Voltaire Shipyard, launched in 1887, and subsequently incorporated into the Beiyang Marine Division of the Qing Empire. In 1894, it sank in the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese Naval Battle. After 124 years, what is the overall situation of the "Jingyuan Ship" that is buried at a depth of more than ten meters on the seabed?
The investigation showed that the bottom of the ship had been destroyed by the upside-down seabed of the "Trans-Yuan ship", but the part buried by the sediment on the seabed was relatively well preserved due to the unique armor protection layer of the armored cruiser.
Today, when we gaze through the camera into the porthole, 124 years ago, perhaps a sailor of the Beiyang Marine Division was looking through the porthole to observe the sea in the distance, and at sea level, the Japanese combined fleet with soot gradually became clear in his vision.
<h1>How exactly did the "Jingyuan Ship" sink? </h1>
On September 17, 1894, the Sino-Japanese Naval Battle of Jia-Wu broke out.
In the sea area of Dalu Island, almost all the main warships of China and Japan were concentrated, and the naval battle lasted for more than 5 hours, and in this naval battle, the Beiyang Marine Division lost four warships of "Chao Yong", "Yang Wei", "Zhiyuan" and "Jingyuan"; the four warships of "Dingyuan", "Zhenyuan", "Jingyuan" and "Laiyuan" suffered heavy losses. The Japanese Navy 'Matsushima', "Akasa", "Hiei", and "Nishikyo Maru" were also severely damaged.
The cruiser "Zhiyuan Ship", commanded by Deng Shichang, tried to hit the enemy ship, but finally sank due to the heavy injury to the hull, and almost all the officers and men on the ship died with the ship.
The "Jingyuan Ship" fought in the entire naval battle to the end, and Lin Yongsheng was killed on the ship. Looking back 124 years ago, how was the "Jingyuan Ship" fighting? At the last moment, what happened on the "Jingyuan Ship"?
It is reported that the fire caused by the "Jingyuan Ship" after being shot not only burned the wooden structure on the ship, but also brought more serious consequences. Several shells of different apertures emerging from the water became an important clue to the restoration of the naval battle of that year. In addition, during the exploration of the bow of the ship, the archaeologists also made an unexpected discovery: a lot of Mauser rifle bullets came out of the water.
In the era of naval warfare of the "Jingyuan Ship", battleships mainly attacked by firing artillery and torpedoes, and rifles were used as land melee weapons and were not suitable for naval warfare, but why would rifle casings be found in the position of the bow of the ship?
Zhou Chunshui, the leader of the underwater investigation project of the "Jingyuan Ship", introduced that this showed that there was a battle at close range. Historically, when the Japanese "Hiei" passed next to the "Jingyuan Ship", the captain of the "Jingyuan Ship" ordered a relay battle and called on all the soldiers to board, so everyone went up with a Mauser rifle.
According to historical records, after the fierce battle, the "Jingyuan Ship" suffered many heavy losses, and more than 200 officers and men of the ship, including Lin Yongsheng, the first officer of the pipe belt, Chen Rong, the second deputy, and Chen Jingying, the second deputy, were martyred, and only 16 people swam to land to survive.
<h1>"When the country has a problem, it should be loyal</h1>."
Sun Jian, a researcher at the Underwater Cultural Heritage Protection Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, introduced that Lin Yongsheng is a very famous tiger general of the Beiyang Fleet, and even as an enemy and an opponent in combat, in the Japanese records, Lin Yongsheng is also very respectful. In the Japanese literature that can be seen today, it has been mentioned that Lin Yongsheng pipe belt is a tiger general, and he must pay great attention to it in combat, and must be very careful.
On the afternoon of September 17, 1894, after the first mate of the pipe belt and the first mate of the gang belt were shot and killed one after another, the second deputy Chen Jingying took over the command of the "Jingyuan Ship" and was killed in the battle until he was killed in the middle of the battle, at the age of 32. Before leaving, Chen Jingying left a handwritten family letter.
"When there is a problem in the country, it should be loyal, and this is the duty of a solid subject, and the husband of the great husband has to die on the battlefield." Father's elderly general Gu Xi (rare), if this happens, it is particularly sad, and the child knows it in detail. But loyalty cannot fulfill filial piety, although loyalty is based on the transfer of filial piety as a word, and the sin of filial piety will always be difficult to escape! ”
Sun Jian said: "The first Modernized Fleet of China was defeated in this place for various reasons and sank here, but as these officers and men who participated in the war that year, whether they were soldiers or generals of the Beiyang Navy, they all fulfilled their duties, were loyal to the country, and deserved the honor of their own navy, and they fought until the last moment." ”