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Liu Buchan () (born 1852, died 10 February 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 First Sino-Japanese War. After his death and the ship being destroyed at the end of the war, he was raised to national hero status in modern China. At his death, Liu was commander of the fleet flagship, with the rank Admiral of the Right, and reserve Admiral of the Fleet. ==Life== Liu was born in the town of Houguan, in Fujian province in China. Liu’s father died before he was born, and he was brought up by his mother. In 1867, he passed the entry examinations and entered the Foochow Arsenal Naval School established by Shen Baozhen（沈葆桢，shěn bǎo zhēn） to study navigation. In 1871, was on the training ship Jianwei, and he visited Amoy, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Bohai Bay. In 1872, with the best results, Liu graduated in the first class of the Foochow Arsenal Naval School. In 1875 he was appointed commander of the training ship ''Jianwei''. In 1876, he was sent to Britain for further training, but failed to enter the Royal Naval College at Greenwich. Instead, he was placed with the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet flagship HMS ''Hercules'' as a trainee first mate. He returned to China in 1878 and was given command of the ''Zhenbei'' in the Beiyang Fleet. In 1881, Viceroy Li Hongzhang(李鸿章，lǐ hóng zhāng), the Beiyang minister, sent a command with a German shipyard for the construction of two battleships (the ''Dingyuan'' and the ''Zhenyuan''). Liu was sent to monitor construction and inspect the ships, and to assist in delivering the two warships back to China. In 1885 got back to China aboard the ''Dingyuan'', upon which he was given command of the ''Dingyuan'', with Commodore rank. In 1888, the Beiyang Fleet was officially established. Liu participated in drawing up the Fleet's charter, and was subsequently promoted to the Right Wing command of Admiral. Viceroy Li was highly impressed with Liu, and in his secret missive to the court said Liu had "talents that could be placed to great use". In 1890, the Beiyang Fleet visited Hong Kong. When Fleet Admiral Ding Ruchang left his ship, Liu took down the fleet admiral flag and put up his admiral flag. The fleet's chief training officer, Royal Navy captain and Englishman William Lang raised issue with this, and complained to Li Hongzhang. In the subsequent dispute, Li supported Liu, and in response William Lang resigned from the Beiyang Fleet. In the years leading up to the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894, Liu repeatedly pressed Li Hongzhang to develop the Beiyang Fleet. He pointed out that Japan was enthusiastically expanding its navy, and to keep up the Beiyang Fleet must adopt an annual program to add new ships. However, Li Hongzhang was unable to expand the Beiyang Fleet due to the realities of court politics. The First Sino-Japanese War began in 1894, and on 17 September of that year, the Beiyang Fleet encountered the Japanese Combined Fleet on the Yellow Sea, sparking the Battle of the Yellow Sea. During the Battle of the Yellow Sea, Liu Buchan commanded the flagship ''Dingyuan'' - the most powerful ship of the Beiyang Fleet - in battle against the Japanese fleet. The battle lasted into the afternoon and the ''Dingyuan'' was struck multiple times. As Admiral Ding Ruchang (丁汝昌，dīng rǔ chāng), the fleet commander, had been seriously wounded early in the battle, Liu had to assume command of the entire fleet. For his bravery during the battle, Liu was promoted to reserve Admiral of the Fleet after the battle, and acted as commander of the fleets while Ding Ruchang recovered from his injuries. Shortly afterwards, on 4 February 1895, Japanese torpedo boats launched a surprise attack on the Beiyang Fleet's home base at Weihaiwei, during which the ''Dingyuan'' was hit and began taking on water. Liu ordered the ship run aground and to continue firing as an artillery battery. On 9 February 1895 the Japanese army took over the shore batteries, and fired upon and hit the ''Dingyuan''. Fearing that the naval base at Liugong Island would soon fall, and that the ''Dingyuan'' would fall into enemy hands, he ordered that the ''Dingyuan'' be scuttled. That night, Liu killed himself by swallowing opium. The Qing government, appreciating his service,ordered that benefits be given at the status of an admiral of the fleet. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Liu Buchan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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