Ding Ruchang
Ding Ruchang ( Chinese 丁汝昌 , Pinyin Dīng Rǔchāng , W.-G. Ting Ju-ch'ang ; born November 18, 1836 , † February 12, 1895 ) was a Chinese officer.
Ding Ruchang came from northern China. He joined the Taiping Uprising in 1854 . He later joined Li Hongzhang as a cavalryman to fight the Taiping Uprising. In 1874 he protested the decision of the Qing Dynasty government to reduce the army's strength. He went back to his hometown to avoid being killed.
In 1875 he volunteered to take command of the Qing Empire's Beiyang Fleet .
In 1894, during the First Sino-Japanese War , he commanded the navy in the battle of the Yalu .
British officers seconded to the Chinese Navy described Ding as a competent commander.
He and several other officers were wounded by the first gunshots from his own ship, the Dingyuan . This happened as an act of refusal of order by his subordinates, who thereby wanted to thwart an attack maneuver by his flagship. In the incident, Ding was badly wounded in the leg and temporarily lost consciousness. In the following battle of Weihaiwei , the remnants of the Beiyang fleet were trapped in the port of the city conquered by the Japanese. In a militarily hopeless situation, Ding gave the order to scuttling. His crew responded with mutiny. Ding then committed suicide, although he had previously been offered safe conduct to Japan by the Japanese commander Ito Sukeyuki . The motivation for suicide is attributed to saving face in the face of defeat and the desire to protect one's own men from the repression of the victors. The Japanese opponent of war honored the suicide thing by showing full military honors to his corpse and the release of the captured marine personnel. Two other officers in his fleet followed Ding's example. Thing's suicide aroused deference and concern among the Japanese public.
After his death, the imperial government blamed him for the defeat. It was not until 1912, after the Qing dynasty was overthrown by the Xinhai revolution , that his family was able to bury him with dignity.
Individual evidence
- ↑ SCM Paine: The Sino Japanese War of 1894 - 1895 - Perceptions, Power and Primacy. Cambridge, 2003, p. 361
- ↑ SCM Paine: The Sino Japanese War of 1894 - 1895 - Perceptions, Power and Primacy. Cambridge, 2003, p. 156
- ↑ SCM Paine: The Sino Japanese War of 1894 - 1895 - Perceptions, Power and Primacy. Cambridge, 2003, pp. 180-184, pp. 228-232
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Thing, Ruchang |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 丁汝昌 (Chinese); Dīng Rǔchāng (Pinyin); Ting Ju-ch'ang (Wade-Giles) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | chinese officer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 18, 1836 |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 12, 1895 |