Sa Zhenbing | |
|---|---|
薩鎮冰 | |
 | |
| ActingPremier of the Republic of China | |
| In office 14 May 1920 – 9 August 1920 | |
| President | Xu Shichang |
| Preceded by | Jin Yunpeng |
| Succeeded by | Jin Yunpeng |
| Minister of Navy of theGreat Qing | |
| In office 2 November 1911 – 12 February 1912 | |
| Monarch | Xuantong Emperor |
| Prime Minister | Yuan Shikai |
| Preceded by | Zaixun |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| In office 1 July 1917 – 12 July 1917 | |
| Monarch | Xuantong Emperor |
| Prime Minister | Zhang Xun |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Minister of Navy of the Republic of China | |
| In office June 1917 – July 1917 | |
| Preceded by | Cheng Biguang |
| Succeeded by | Liu Guanxiong |
| In office December 1919 – May 1921 | |
| Preceded by | Liu Guanxiong |
| Succeeded by | Li Dingxin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1859-03-30)March 30, 1859 Fuzhou,Qing Empire |
| Died | April 10, 1952(1952-04-10) (aged 93) Fuzhou,People's Republic of China |
| Political party | Anhui clique |
| Awards | Order of Wen-Hu Order of St Michael and St George |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Qing Empire |
| Branch/service | Imperial Chinese Navy |
| Years of service | 1869–1911 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands | Beiyang FleetNanyang FleetGuangdong FleetImperial Chinese Navy (unified by Sa Zhenbing) |
| Battles/wars | First Sino-Japanese War Xinhai Revolution |
Sa ZhenbingKCMG (simplified Chinese:萨镇冰;traditional Chinese:薩鎮冰;pinyin:Sà Zhènbīng;Wade–Giles:Sah Chen-ping) (30 March 1859 – 10 April 1952) was a prominent Chineseadmiral of the lateQing dynasty and the earlyRepublic. He lived through four governments (Qing,Beiyang,Nationalist,Communist) in China, and had been appointed to various senior naval and political offices.
Sa Zhenbing was born inFuzhou,Fujian province, to aSemu family ofQarluk origin who had lived in the area since the lateYuan dynasty. Between 1869 and 1872 he attended the Fuzhou Naval Academy;Deng Shichang was among his classmates. Between 1877 and 1880 Sa Zhenbing was among the first group of Fuzhou Naval Academy alumni sent abroad to study at theRoyal Naval College, Greenwich in Britain.[citation needed]
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After serving as aChief Mate in theNanyang Fleet, Sa Zhenbing became the youngest captain in theBeiyang Fleet. In 1895 he participated in theBattle of Weihaiwei during theFirst Sino-Japanese War, leading a group of sailors from the training shipKangji in a ten-day defence of an island coastal fortress offWeihaiwei.
At that time the Japanese AdmiralItō Sukeyuki appealed to the Beiyang Fleet AdmiralDing Ruchang to surrender, promising him political asylum in Japan; Admiral Ding chose to commit suicide by handgun in his office at the Liugong Island headquarters. His deputy, Admiral Liu, after ordering that his warship be scuttled by explosives, also committed suicide by taking poison. Command of the Chinese Forces fell to Scottish-born Vice-AdmiralJohn McClure, who completed the surrender negotiations with Admiral Ito. As the only captain still alive at the end of the battle, Sa Zhenbing was given the task of formally surrendering to Admiral Ito.
In 1905 Sa Zhenbing was appointed Admiral-in-Chief of the Beiyang, Nanyang andGuangdong Fleets (three out of four Qing's fleets), tasked with rebuilding theImperial Chinese Navy after the defeat during the First Sino-Japanese War. Under his leadership the general efficiency of the Chinese naval personnel improved considerably.[1]
In July 1909 the prince regent,Prince Chun, created a Navy Commission to prepare for the rebuilding of a naval force after its destruction in the Sino-Japanese war, and in December 1910 the commission became the Ministry of the Navy. One of its first acts was to abolish regional fleets in order to create a unified naval force for the Qing dynasty, and Sa Zhenbing was made the commander-in-chief of the navy, with his headquarters in Shanghai.[2]
During theWuchang Uprising of 1911, Sa Zhenbing was ordered to sail toWuhan to suppress the revolutionaries; upon realizing his sailors' revolutionary tendencies, he left his post on 1 November forShanghai. Nonetheless, he was appointed Minister of the Navy byYuan Shikai, who at the time was the lastPrime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet.
Sa Zhenbing briefly served as acting Prime Minister under theBeiyang government in 1920,[3] then as Governor ofFujian Province from 1922 to 1926.
In 1949, near the end of theChinese Civil War, Sa Zhenbing declined an offer byChiang Kai-shek to evacuate him toTaiwan, instead pledging his allegiance to theChinese Communist Party.[citation needed]
Sa Zhenbing died in his hometown of Fuzhou in 1952, aged 94.
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Media related toSa Zhenbing at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | ActingPremier of the Republic of China 1920 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Fujian 1922–1926 | Succeeded by Zhang Zhen (張貞) as acting director of theKMT Provincial Political Commission |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of Navy of theGreat Qing 1911–1912 | Dynasty ended |
| Preceded by | Minister of Navy of the Republic of China 1917 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Navy (nominal) of theGreat Qing (restored) 1917 | Restoration failed |
| Preceded by | Minister of Navy of the Republic of China 1919–1921 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
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