Deng Shichang (鄧世昌)

Overview

Deng Shichang was a Military Officer and Naval Commander.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Courtesy name	Zhengqing	正卿	Zhengqing
Posthumous name	Zhuangjie	壯節	Zhuangjie

Life and dates

Death

Cause killed in battle 戰死 · At Battle of the Yalu 大東溝
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 462, passage 19
AD 1894 光緒二十年八月
Died in battle · At Yalu / Dadonggou 大東溝
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 494, passage 149
AD 1894 光緒二十年
Suicide by drowning refusal of rescue · At Dadonggou / Yellow Sea 大東溝 · Ship Zhiyuan 致遠
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passages 75, 77, 153

Attested activity

AD 1894 光緒二十年八月
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 494, passages 145, 149, 154
AD 1894 光緒二十年
Dated from the passage context · Draft History of Qing 462, passages 15, 19
AD 1894 光緒二十年夏
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 59
AD 1882 光緒八年
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 49
AD 1875 光緒初
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 44
AD 1888 光緒十四年
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 54

Key source chapters

Career and standing

acting central vice commander 借補中軍副將
Appointed
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 56
thousand-man commander 千總
Appointed
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 45
brigade commander commanding the Zhiyuan 副將管帶致遠
AD 1894 光緒二十年八月 · Held
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 494, passage 145
commander of Haidongyun 管海東雲艦
Held
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 44
commander of Yangwei 管揚威快艦
Held
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 51
fleet staff over Jingyuan, Zhiyuan, Jingyuan, Jiyuan; commander of Zhiyuan 經遠、致遠、靖遠、濟遠四船營務處，兼致遠管帶
Held
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 53

Show 7 more source-backed claims

regimental commander 總兵
Held
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 462, passage 19
vice commander 副將
Held
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 54
full commander / zongbing 總兵
Promoted to
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 55
garrison commander 守備
Promoted to
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 46
guerrilla officer 游擊
Promoted to
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 50
commander of Zhenwei 管振威艦
Transferred to
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 45
Died
AD 1894 光緒二十年八月 · Martyr
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 494, passage 149

Places and affiliations

Polity Qing 清 · Relation Served
Strongly inferred · Draft History of Qing 462, passage 19
Polity Qing 清 · Relation Served
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 494, passage 145
At Panyu, Guangdong 廣東番禺
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 41
Organization Beiyang Fleet 北洋 · Relation Served in
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 47

Learning and skills

Institution naval academy 水師學堂 · Subjects surveying, navigation
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 43
Skill surveying and ship handling 測量、駕駛 · Level mastered
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 43
Skill Western bookkeeping 布算術 · Level studied
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 42

Works and attributed material

Speech · Speaker · Direct quotation
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passages 72-73

Events and relationships

Attempted to ram
Military · Commander · At Dadonggou 大東溝 · Target Yoshino 吉野
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 75
Covered
Military · Naval cover · With Wu Changqing (吳長慶) · At Incheon 仁川
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 49
Fought on Zhiyuan
Military · Commander
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 462, passage 19
Relation Transferred by · Person Li Hongzhang (李鴻章)
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 47
Relation Commander of · Person Chen Jinqiu (陳金揆)
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 494, passage 145
Relation Accompanied · Person Ding Ruchang (丁汝昌)
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passage 48

Assessments and attributes

Assessment paired with Zuo Baogui as the Two Loyal Ones · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 460, passages 82, 154
Item Zhiyuan 致遠 · Relation Commanded
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 494, passage 145

Source notes

Historicity historical
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 494, passage 145
has a separate biography 自有傳
Field separate-biography · Statement Has a separate biography in this history
Directly stated · Draft History of Qing 494, passage 154

References in the histories

Search passages

History

21 passages

Draft History of Qing, Chapter 460Volume 460 Biographies 247: Zuo Baogui Younger Brother: Bao Xian, Yong Shan, Deng Shichang, Liu Buchan, Lin Taiceng, Dai Zongqian · 16 passages

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左寶貴弟寶賢等永山鄧世昌劉步蟾林泰曾等戴宗騫 Zuo Baogui (and his younger brother Bao Xian and others), Yong Shan, Deng Shichang, Liu Buchan, Lin Taiceng and others, and Dai Zongqian

鄧世昌，字正卿，廣東番禺人。 Deng Shichang, styled Zhengqing, was a native of Panyu in Guangdong.

李鴻章治海軍，高其能，調北洋。 When Li Hongzhang built up the navy, he prized Shichang's ability and transferred him to the Beiyang Fleet.

事寧，遷游擊，賜號勃勇巴圖魯。 When the crisis passed he was promoted to guerrilla officer and granted the title Boyong Batulu.

獨世昌以粵人任管駕，非時不登岸，閩人咸嫉之。 Only Shichang, a Cantonese in command of a ship, would not leave his vessel except when he had to; the Fujian officers all resented him for it.

世昌憤欲進兵，汝昌尼其行，不果。 Shichang, furious, wanted to advance to the fight, but Ruchang held him back and nothing came of it.

世昌見帥旗沒，慮軍心搖，亟取致遠纛豎之。 Shichang saw the admiral's flag gone and feared the fleet's morale would break; he quickly raised the Zhiyuan's ensign in its place.

世昌乘致遠，最猛鷙，與日艦吉野浪速相當，吉野，日艦之中堅也。 Shichang fought from the Zhiyuan, the fiercest ship in the fleet, matched against the Japanese Yoshino and Naniwa; the Yoshino was the backbone of the enemy line.

戰既酣，致遠彈將罄，世昌誓死敵。 As the fight grew desperate the Zhiyuan's ammunition ran low, and Shichang swore to fight the enemy to the death.

將士知大勢敗，陣稍亂，世昌大呼曰：「今日有死而已！ The officers and men, seeing the battle was lost, began to lose formation; Shichang cried out: "Today there is nothing for us but death!

世昌遂鼓輪怒駛，欲猛觸吉野與同盡，中其魚雷，鍋船裂沉。 Shichang then drove the Zhiyuan at full speed, intending to ram the Yoshino and go down with her; a torpedo from the Japanese ship struck home, and the Zhiyuan broke apart and sank.