Travel Notes|Visiting the Shipbuilding Culture Museum and Majiang Naval Battle Memorial Hall

I forgot how I knew about the Naval Museum. This place is rarely mentioned on tourist maps and travel guides. The Mawei Naval Academy is the birthplace of China's Westernization Movement and the place of humiliation of the Majiang naval battle. I think this is an excellent place for education that does not forget history, but unfortunately, it has been lost in the waves of economy, mercilessly telling the world how forgetful and unmotivated the Chinese are.
The day before, I checked online and found out that the museum opens at 8 o'clock. We went to the Shipbuilding Museum a little after 7 o'clock, and it started to rain...
1866 Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang Zuo Zongtang He petitioned to set up a bureau to supervise the construction of steamships, and was approved for trial operation. He chose a site in Mawei, Fuzhou to build a shipyard, sent personnel abroad to purchase machinery and ship troughs, and founded the Qiushitang Art Bureau (also known as the Naval Academy) to train shipbuilding technology and naval talents. At that time, the Northwest Incident happened, so he was appointed as the Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu, and recommended Shen Baozhen, the former Governor of Jiangxi, to be the Minister of the Naval Administration. A year later, the Fuzhou Shipyard (also known as the Mawei Shipyard) officially started construction, becoming China's first modern shipyard.
Many Chinese people know the Minjiang River, but are very unfamiliar with the Majiang River. In fact, the Majiang River is a section of the Minjiang River at its estuary. It got its name because it looks like a horse from a distance.
Fujian Shipbuilding was the first attempt by the Qing government to introduce Western science and technology after the Second Opium War in order to enrich the country and strengthen the military. It was also the first attempt by Chinese schools to use Western science and technology. The beginning of educating students with modern scientific knowledge can be regarded as a milestone in China's modern history. Fujian Shipyard was the largest, most influential and most fully equipped shipbuilding base in the Far East at that time. It is the earliest and largest state-run shipyard and naval academy in China, a pioneer of China's modern shipbuilding industry, and a base for training scientific and technological teams in modern China.
The Naval Academy was the first modern higher education institution run by the Chinese themselves, and also the first scientific and technological naval school in China. It trained a large number of talents in shipbuilding, navigation and other related fields. The Naval Academy produced the early Chinese proletariat and a group of skilled technical workers. The Fujian Naval Academy was the cradle of China's modern navy. The school built a large number of military and commercial ships and formed the first fleet of modern China. The school trained many naval talents and became the supply base for the generals of the Beiyang, Nanyang, Fujian and Guangdong navies, directly promoting the creation and development of China's modern navy. The school was also the cradle of China's aviation industry. It established China's first regular aircraft manufacturing plant and designed and manufactured the first batch of aircraft that reached the international level at that time. China's first flight and diving school trained the first batch of aviation engineering talents.
The Naval Academy is divided into two schools, the front and the back. The front school is the manufacturing school, also known as the "French school". Its purpose is to cultivate talents in shipbuilding and design, and it mainly has a shipbuilding major. It offers courses such as French, basic mathematics, analytic geometry, calculus, physics, mechanics, hull manufacturing, and steam engine manufacturing. Excellent students are sent to France for further study. The back school is the driving school, also known as the "English school". It aims to train maritime navigation personnel and naval captains, and its main major is driving. Later, the engine major was added. It has courses such as English, geography, nautical astronomy, and navigation theory. Students with excellent academic performance are selected to study in the UK.

The students are called art children and the dean is called the supervisor. In the same year, a drawing institute was attached to the former school in order to cultivate engineering drawing talents. In 1868, Shen Baozhen added a technical school, the Art Garden, in the former school in order to train skilled workers. The apprentices of the Art Garden attended classes half a day and studied half a day. The study period was 3 years. After graduation, the best students were selected to go to various places in France with the students of the former school. Internships in large shipyards, and the rest are assigned to various shipyards. Under Shen Baozhen's painstaking efforts, the Shipbuilding School trained China's first batch of modern naval officers and the first batch of engineering and technical talents. Students graduating from Shipbuilding became the backbone of China's modern navy and modern industry. Fuzhou Shipbuilding School, which trained many celebrities, was the most powerful science and technology school in China at that time, and was also the first new school to adopt Western teaching systems and methods. Fuzhou Shipbuilding had a profound impact on China's modern shipbuilding industry and naval construction. . Anyone who has a little knowledge of modern Chinese history knows these illustrious names. They are all students of the Shipbuilding School: Former school: Wei Han (shipbuilding expert, director of naval shipbuilding and director of Fuzhou Shipping School during the Republic of China). Hou Xuetang: Liu Buchan; Deng Shichang; Yan Fu; Luo Fenglu; Lin Yongsheng; Lin Taizeng; Ye Zugui; Sa Zhenbing; Zhan Tianyou.
The Shipbuilding School was forced to be dismantled after the Battle of Majiang between China and France, and it has gone through a rough journey.
The China Shipbuilding Culture Museum is located at the east foot of Maxian Mountain, Zhaozhong Road, Mawei District, Fuzhou City. Within the site of the original Shipbuilding School, the museum is built on the mountain. It is a five-story building with a construction area of ​​4100 square meters. meters, the front is shaped like two warships riding the wind and waves. The China Shipbuilding Culture Museum is the first shipbuilding-themed museum in China. The exhibition in this museum uses a large number of precious cultural relics, pictures, models and various simulation scenes, and uses sound, light, electricity and other modern means to demonstrate the role of China's shipbuilding industry in modern China's advanced technology, new education, industrial manufacturing, and the translation of Western classic culture. The fruitful achievements in communication and other aspects reflect the many people with lofty ideals and their advanced ideas, and reflect the unique traditional cultural charm of the Chinese nation of being enterprising, open-minded and eager to learn, learning from others' strengths, being brave in innovation, and serving the country loyally.

The exhibition hall is divided into the Preface Hall, Ship Administration Overview Hall, Ship Administration Education Hall, Ship Administration Industry Hall, Navy Foundation Hall, and Ship Administration Hall of Fame. 2 Collection Works The first floor of the China Ship Administration Cultural Museum is the Preface Hall, which displays the overall overview of the Ship Administration with a combination of relief and round sculptures. The second floor is the "Ship Administration Overview", which creates a landscape of the Ship Administration Office and displays The board is based on the background of the rise of the Westernization Movement. Introducing Zuo Zongtang, The hardships Shen Baozhen experienced in establishing the Ship Administration reflect the best of the Ship Administration. The third floor is "Ship Administration Education", which mainly introduces the "Ship Administration School" and the Ship Administration elites it has trained. The fourth floor is Ship Administration Industry and Technology, which sets up the landscape modeling of the Ship Administration Engine Shop, makes ship models to display the shipbuilding achievements of the Ship Administration, and introduces the development process and scientific and technological achievements of the Ship Administration's shipbuilding technology. The fifth floor is "Navy Foundation", which highlights the formation of the modern navy, the scale, number and status of ships built by the Ship Administration Thirteenth Factory, and the naval generals trained by the Ship Administration School.

There are signs in the museum prohibiting taking photos and making loud noises, but unfortunately there are too many people who destroy the museum.



Next to the museum is the Zhaozhong Temple and the Majiang Naval Battle Memorial Hall. This ancient temple with red walls and green tiles was built in 1885 to commemorate the 736 naval officers and soldiers who died in the Sino-French Battle of Majiang in 1884. The two ancient cannons in front of the gate were salvaged from the bottom of the river after the battle, and they are the best witnesses of that humiliating history.
already In the late 18th century, European capitalist countries began to engage in crazy colonial plunder around the world. After the failure of the Opium War, the Qing government succumbed to foreign invaders, ceded land and paid compensation, and lost its sovereignty and humiliated the country. There were endless peasant uprisings in the country, and internal and external troubles. Foreign invaders saw the opportunity and wanted to open up Vietnam and occupy southwest China, but they were defeated by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Black Flag Army that withdrew to Vietnam, and several commanders died. This time, France was angry and sent more troops to force the Vietnamese New Army to surrender in 1883 and occupy the Vietnamese capital Hue. The Qing government also signed a treaty with the French, recognizing Vietnam as a French protectorate and withdrawing the Qing army from the front line. In June of the following year, the French army marched into Lang Son and forcibly took over the Qing army's position. The garrisoned Qing army refused to withdraw without orders, and the two sides clashed and the French army was defeated. As a result, the French army advanced by land and sea, crossed the Red River Basin on land, and approached Guangxi and Yunnan; at sea, the naval general Courbet was appointed to lead 12 warships to form the Far East Fleet and sail to Fuzhou to "claim compensation for itself."
Mawei is close to Fuzhou and Taiwan Strait, and is the location of Fujian Shipyard. The French army's goal was to occupy Fuzhou and threaten the Qing Dynasty. They occupied the Mawei Shipyard as a maintenance base for their fleet, thereby gaining control of the Taiwan Strait. The Qing government set up three lines of defense in Majiang. The first line was outside Changmen, where there were five tigers outside the gate, and two turtles and two reefs lying in front of the gate, forming a very advantageous terrain with five tigers guarding the gate and two turtles guarding the house. The second line was between Min'an Town and Xiangyu Island, where the terrain was long and narrow, the waters were narrow, and low tide was only 10 meters away from the Majiang River. 330 meters, forming a narrow and long Hukou, which is difficult for the enemy to enter. The third road is at Luoxing Tower. There are many artillery forts on both sides of the river, with the muzzles pointed at the river. The Eight Banners Army is stationed in Yangyu Village, locking the ship route like a chain, making it difficult for the enemy to fly across no matter how powerful it is. The French army coveted the Mawei military port on the Minjiang River, and attempted to occupy the Fujian Shipbuilding Bureau founded by Zuo Zongtang and Shen Baozhen in 1866, annihilate the Fujian Navy, destroy the coastal fortifications, occupy the provincial capital Fuzhou in one fell swoop, and eliminate the threat of its northerly advance to Taiwan.
Courbet led the French fleet to anchor outside the mouth of the Minjiang River and requested to enter Fuzhou Port in the name of sightseeing. The Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, He Jing, allowed two ships to enter and anchored under the Luoxing Pagoda, and gave "The most friendly reception". From then on, French ships were free to enter and leave without hindrance. Eight warships and two torpedo boats were usually kept in Majiang, and two other ships were anchored outside Changmen to monitor Chinese ships and prevent the port from being closed. After a long period of intelligence gathering, the French had a complete understanding of our naval and land forces’ deployment, weapon types, numbers, and officers’ and soldiers’ thoughts. Among the 11 warships, except for the small gunboats Fu Sheng and Jian Sheng purchased from the United States, the rest are wooden-hulled ships.

There are 50 artillery pieces on the ship and more than 900 officers and soldiers. There are no machine guns and torpedo boats, and the ship structure is very simple; while the French army has 8 warships and 2 torpedo boats, with a total displacement of more than 14,000 tons, equipped with 72 artillery pieces, and the most advanced Kazakhstan missiles at the time that fired 60-80 rounds per minute. The Chikas machine gun has a total combat strength of more than 1,800 people. Compared with the total number of personnel, firepower, tonnage, and power, the French fleet has an obvious advantage in combat effectiveness. The French army formed two echelons based on the parking locations of Fujian Navy ships: the first echelon was aimed at the Navy ships parked in the shipping area, and the second echelon was aimed at the Navy ships parked in front of Changle Camp.

The ships of the two countries are connected end to end, with the closest distance being no more than 200 meters and the farthest no more than 1,000 meters. The positions of the ship's bow and stern change with the rising and falling tide. When the tide rises, the Fujian Navy's bow is aimed at the French ship's stern, and the main guns and powerful firepower are at the bow. It is beneficial to the Fujian Navy to start a war at this time. At low tide, the opposite was true. The French ship's bow was pointed at the Fujian Navy's stern, which was quite disadvantageous to the Fujian Navy. If the Fujian Navy takes advantage of the rising tide to fire first and gain the initiative in the battle, the French army will be defeated.
At 8 a.m. on August 23, the French fleet sent the war notice to the consulates of various countries. At 10 a.m., He Jing, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, received a letter of war from France, stating that war would begin on China in 4 hours. . What is surprising is that He Jing actually blocked the information from the officers and soldiers of the Fujian Navy, did not actively prepare for war, and was not allowed to invite the officers and soldiers to "act rashly". Zhang Peilun and others were not informed until after 12 noon. Zhang Peilun and He Ruzhang were shocked after hearing the report. On the grounds that China had no time to prepare for war, they ordered Wei Han, a famous Fujian shipbuilding engineer who was proficient in French, to take a boat to France and asked for an extension to the next day. Start a war. Because the Minister of Shipping, He Ruzhang, ordered the navy to "not issue ammunition before the war is over, and are not allowed to lift anchor without orders." As a result, we were in a passive situation of being beaten.

Guba grasped the weakness that our army was ordered not to fire first, and seized the favorable opportunity. At 1:56 pm on August 23, 1884, that is, after the ship turned at low tide, he fired first, and the first shot hit our flagship. Yangwu, Yangwu was sunk. At this time, the officers and soldiers of the Fujian Navy had not yet received the order to start the war, and they were leaderless and fighting on their own. Each ship's management team sent orders to cut off the cables and go into battle. For a moment, the sound of cannons shook the ground and the sound of killing shook the sky. Gao Tengyun, the commander of Ji'an and Feiyun, had his leg blown off, but he still held on to the railing and directed the firing. The Feiyun was hit by a bullet and burst into flames, and the ship slowly sank. A soldier covered with fire risked his life and ran to the mast to raise the yellow dragon flag representing China, letting the national flag fly high. The ships "Yongbao" and "Chenhang" moored in front of the Shipyard's Tieshui Ping did not have artillery to counterattack, but the three hundred officers and soldiers on board risked their own lives and rushed towards the enemy ship at full speed. Unfortunately, they were shot and burned in the process. During the fierce battle, because the ships of both sides were too close, our ships were all within the firing range of the French, so they quickly lost their combat effectiveness. The entire army was wiped out in half an hour, and 736 people were sacrificed. At the beginning of the war, when thousands of people in Linpu and Kuiqi heard the sound of cannons, they automatically moved rocks to fill the river and erected stakes as fences. Miraculously, they built a blockade, cutting off the French waterway into the city and breaking the French occupation of Fuzhou. A dream for collateral.
In this battle, although the weapons and equipment of the Fujian Navy are much behind the French army, if we adopt a strategy of defeating the enemy, we will rely on the superior geographical situation and the fervent popular support. It was fully capable of winning the war, but in the end it was defeated in its own port due to the corruption and incompetence of the Qing government. Another reason for the defeat was that frontline military and political officials fled the battle. As soon as the battle started, some ran to the countryside to hide, and some even hid in temples, burning incense and worshiping Buddha, praying for safety. Although the Fujian Navy was defeated, there were still more than 10,000 land warriors along the river from Fuzhou to the mouth of the Minjiang River. The indignant masses were no less than hundreds of thousands. Guba saw that the landing was impossible, the food supply was cut off, and there was a shortage of coal and ammunition. Being blocked in the harbor and waiting for death, they had to order a retreat. Along the way, they destroyed the forts along the lower reaches of the Min River, and rushed into the villages, harassing the villagers and taking away the cannons.

The corrupt and incompetent Qing government, forced by popular indignation, declared war on France on August 26. After the French ships withdrew from Mawei, they turned to attack Keelung, Taiwan, and Zhenhai, Zhejiang, but were repelled by the heroic Chinese military and civilians. In 1885, the French cabinet collapsed. The French army spent huge military expenditures and only took away some cannons at the cost of several casualties and injuries. They failed to achieve the purpose of occupying Fuzhou as collateral and the shipyard for ship repairs. After the Qing army fought at Zhennanguan, Li Hongzhang Taking the opportunity to sue for peace, they signed a contract with France and gave France some privileges, creating a situation in which "China will lose without defeat, and France will win without victory."
(The above content mainly comes from the narration and picture description of the visit)
Walking out of Zhaozhong Temple, the heavy rain fell, which was heart-warming.