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Tang Ching-sung () (1841–1903) was a Chinese general and statesman. He commanded the Yunnan Army in the Sino-French War (August 1884–April 1885), and made an important contribution to China's military effort in Tonkin (northern Vietnam) by persuading the Black Flag leader Liu Yung-fu to serve under Chinese command. His intelligent, though ultimately unsuccessful, direction of the Siege of Tuyen Quang (November 1884–March 1885) was widely praised. He later became governor of the Chinese province of Taiwan. Following China's cession of Taiwan to Japan at the end of the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) he became president of the short-lived independent country Republic of Formosa (Taiwan). ==The Sino-French War== Tang Ching-sung played an important role in the Sino-French War and during the period of undeclared hostilities that preceded it. In 1882 he was sent by the Qing government to Vietnam to assess the ability of the Vietnamese government to resist French expansion in Tonkin. During his stay he was able to persuade Liu Yung-fu to take the field against the French with the Black Flag Army. Liu's intervention resulted in the French defeat in the Battle of Paper Bridge on 19 May 1883, in which the French ''commandant supérieur'' Henri Rivière was killed. In the wake of this disaster, Jules Ferry's government committed substantial military and naval forces to Tonkin.〔Thomazi, ''Conquête'', 152–7; ''Histoire militaire'', 55–8〕 Tang was the only senior Chinese commander to take part in the Son Tay Campaign (December 1883). Although Liu Yung-fu and his Vietnamese and Chinese allies failed to hold Son Tay against the French, Tang's loyalty to Liu on that occasion was never forgotten by the Black Flag leader. In September 1884 Tang led the Yunnan Army down the Red River from Lao Cai to threaten the French post of Tuyen Quang, and Liu Yung-fu took service with him as a subordinate general. Although he ultimately failed to capture the French post, Tang's intelligent and methodical conduct of the Siege of Tuyen Quang was praised by many of his Chinese colleagues, including Chang Chih-tung, the viceroy of the two Kwangs, and Ts'en Yu-ying, the viceroy of Yunnan and Kweichow.〔Lung Chang, 331〕 Captain Jean-François-Alphonse Lecomte, one of the more discerning officers of the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, also paid tribute to the skill T'ang's army had shown in its siegecraft at Tuyen Quang: The mandarins had directed the attack on Tuyen Quang in a very intelligent manner. Owing to the Moslem insurrection in Yunnan, an insurrection that had nearly engulfed the entire province and was only put down by Marshal Ma after several sieges, they were now experts in the art of siegecraft. Their troops were excellent, and although they were unable to capture the fortress, defended as it was by a handful of heroes and relieved in the very nick of time by Giovanninelli’s brigade, this siege was nonetheless a glorious feat of arms for the Celestials and showed that when necessary they could rise to the occasion.〔Lecomte, ''Vie militaire'', 246–7〕 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「Tang Ching-sung」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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