The defeat of the First Sino-Japanese War and the Eight-Nation Alliance's war of aggression against China made the Qing Dynasty determined to rebuild its navy by purchasing it. In 1910, King George V of the United Kingdom was crowned on the throne and prepared for a grand parade the following year. After hearing the news, the Qing Dynasty sent the "Haiqi" ship, one of the rebuilt sea boats, to the United Kingdom to attend the ceremony on behalf of the Qing Dynasty Navy, and then visited the United States nearby. However, shortly after the Qing Navy returned from the United States and arrived in the United Kingdom, the Wuchang Uprising broke out in China, the Qing Emperor abdicated, and China ** was born. At this time, the Qing Navy**, which is in a foreign land, where should it go?
The cruiser "Haiqi". ** The Library of Congress ship "Haiqi" set sail.
The destruction of the Beiyang Fleet by the Japanese Combined Fleet at Weihaiwei is a pain in the heart of every Chinese. At that time, China did not have the ability to build its own navy, so it could only order 43 large and small naval powers from Britain and Germany. The decaying Qing ** bears so much war reparations, how can there be money to buy so many **? After the opening of overseas ** and the control of customs by the British, the customs revenue of the Qing court increased greatly. Coupled with the liberalization of private capital restrictions, the financial situation of the late Qing Dynasty was once good, and there was money to buy these. Even if there is no money, the Qing court can exchange national interests, which has to be said to be a great irony. After learning that the date of the coronation of King George V of Great Britain was June 22, 1911, in December 1910 (lunar calendar), the Qing court issued an order to the prime minister Yamen: "May next year (lunar calendar) is the coronation period of the British monarch. At the beginning of March 1911, the Minister of the Navy, Zai Xun, said: "The British Emperor is crowned, the ship is paraded, and it is planned to send Cheng Biguang, the commander of the cruiser, to lead the cruiser 'Haiqi' to pay respect." "The performance was quickly approved, and the imperial court also wanted to show the world the results of the naval reconstruction and strengthen the country's prestige. Why did you choose to send the cruiser "Haiqi" to visit? It turned out that this was the largest and best-equipped warship in the navy rebuilt in the late Qing Dynasty. The cruiser "Haiqi" was built by the British Armstrong shipyard, started construction in 1896, launched in 1898, and shipped back from England in 1899, with a total cost of 32More than 80,000 pounds, displacement 4300 tons, captain 1323 meters, draft 5It is 11 meters, has a speed of 24 knots, and is equipped with two 8-inch guns, ten 120-mm rapid-fire guns, 12 47-mm machine guns, four Makqin machine guns, and five 18-inch torpedo tubes. During the same period, the sister ships purchased from Britain were also the cruiser "Haitian". In addition, the three 2,000-ton light cruisers ordered from Germany were named "Hairong", "Haichou" and "Haichen" respectively. The name of the "Haiqi" is also exquisite, symbolizing the vast sea area under China's jurisdiction and the majestic military appearance. It can be seen from this that sending the "Haiqi" to visit is the most decorating one. Cheng Biguang, a Cantonese who led the expedition on this trip, was a graduate of the fifth phase of the piloting class of the Mawei Ship Master School, who was wounded in the battle of the Japanese army in the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle, and served as the commander of the cruiser fleet in 1909. Originally, the "Haitian" was also going to visit together, but it accidentally ran aground and sank, and the "Haiqi" could only visit on behalf of the entire ocean-going fleet. There are about 450 officers and men on the ship, and each of them receives a monthly salary twice that of China during the business trip, and the military uniforms are also modeled on the style of the British Navy, and a set of summer civilian clothes is also issued for landing for entertainment and excursions. 
Cheng Biguang. ** At 2:30 p.m. on April 21, 1911, the ship "Haiqi" departed from the Yangshupu anchorage in Shanghai, entered the East China Sea through the mouth of the Yangtze River, crossed the Taiwan Strait and went straight to the South China Sea, crossed the Strait of Malacca into the Indian Ocean, entered the Red Sea through the Gulf of Aden, entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal, entered the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar, and went north along the east coast of the ocean to enter the English Channel. After a two-month voyage, the "Haiqi" arrived at Portsmouth Military Port just two days before the coronation ceremony, awaiting the coronation ceremony and the parade. 
World map of 1911. ** An interesting thing happened during this period. Despite receiving modern military training, Qing officers and soldiers were required by law to wear braids. Shortly after the "Haiqi" ship set sail, Cheng Biguang ordered all the ship's officers and cadets to cut off their braids on the grounds that their clothes were imitating British styles and their braids looked indecent. As soon as this news came out, the sailors on the ship also asked to cut off their braids. So, Cheng Biguang gathered all the officers and men of the ship on the deck to hold a "braid-cutting ceremony", and everyone cut the braids together, and set off lightly. 
Navy soldier in the late Qing Dynasty. ** Network from the UK to the Americas.
After learning of the arrival of the "Haiqi" ship, Liu Yulin, the Qing Dynasty ambassador to Britain, immediately rushed to Plymouth to welcome the sea ** ship from the motherland. The Mayor of Plymouth organised a grand garden party for the visitors, to which the captain of the fleet, Cheng Biguang, the officer under the rank of Commander Tang Tingguang, and the cadets of the Naval Academy, were invited to meet with the local gentry and celebrities. However, an unfriendly incident occurred: some British newspapers were angry with the Chinese visitors. The live pigs purchased by the crew on the shore fell into the sea, and the crew members were competing to arrest the ** was photographed by the newspaper reporter, and the accompanying text said: "In the past, the British mostly said that the Chinese had pig tails on the top of their heads, and one called braids. This report aroused the indignation of all the officers and men, and they asked to go ashore and negotiate with the British personnel. However, in line with the attitude that more is better than less, the Qing Embassy in Britain advised the officers and men to say that the British have freedom of speech, and although this remark is ironic, it is not a malicious insult, and it is not suitable for our ships to make a big fuss when they first arrive. ** I bought it from the United Kingdom, and I came to the United Kingdom to participate in the celebration, and I am the world's number one power, so it is naturally not good to turn my face with others because of this matter, and the crew had to hold this breath first. On June 21, the "Haiqi" ship and the fleets of the British Royal Navy, which had come to participate in the parade ceremony, were all assembled in the waters of Spithead. Cheng Biguang, Tang Tingguang and their attachés were invited to London to attend the coronation ceremony of the British king, accompanied by the special envoy Zai Zhen and the ambassador to the United Kingdom, Liu Yulin. On the 22nd, under the temperate oceanic climate of the United Kingdom, the weather was not beautiful as usual, and it was rainy and rainy. At 10:30 a.m., King George V and Queen Mary rode a four-** float pulled by eight cheese-colored horses to Westminster Abbey in the diocese of Canterbury to be crowned. Despite the implementation of a constitutional monarchy, the coronation ceremony was manned by 50,000 troops and welcomed by hundreds of thousands of people. At 11 a.m. on June 24, after the coronation ceremony, the parade officially began. The parade was the largest number of participating countries and the most intensive naval parade in the history of the United Kingdom, and it also showed the ranks of the world's first naval power. When George V saw the officers and soldiers, he shouted "Hurrah!" (Long live), I may be thinking: "I am British, invincible in the world!" ”
Cheng Biguang and New York Mayor Grant Jr.
Cheng Biguang and the Chinese envoy Zai Zhen were invited to take the first school review boat of the British king and conducted a one-hour and twenty-minute review at sea. On his return to Hong Kong, King George V and the Queen met with Cheng Biguang and presented him with a "silver medal for coronation". On 26 June, the "Haiqi" ship went to the Armstrong Elswick shipyard, where it left the ship, for maintenance, and all the officers and men also went to St. John's Cemetery on the outskirts of the city to pay respects to and rebuild the sailors' cemetery where the Beiyang Navy Division laid rest when they ordered the "Chaoyong" and "Zhiyuan" ships in Britain. After anchoring for nearly a month, the "Haiqi" crossed the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in New York on 10 August. The U.S. Navy Department specially dispatched the 10,000-ton cruiser "North Dakota" as an escort ship. The next day, the US Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Navy met with Cheng Biguang and Tang Tingguang respectively. On the third day, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Navy organized a warm reception to entertain the officers and men of the "Haiqi," and on the fourth day, Cheng Biguang and Tang Tingguang were arranged to meet with the then American ** Taft. 
Cheng Biguang and New York Mayor General Grant Jr. inspect Qing Dynasty soldiers. ** 15 years ago, the Library of Congress, Li Hongzhang, a late Qing dynasty minister in Shimono, visited the United States, which triggered a strong response from all over the United States. This is the first visit of the Chinese Navy to the United States, and the United States, as an emerging power, wants to brush up on the Chinese with a good sense of existence. Cheng Biguang made an impromptu speech in English in front of the New York City Hall, and then, General Grant Jr., the son of the late American ** Grant and then the supreme commander of the Army in the New York District, also warmly received Cheng Biguang and his party out of the personal relationship between Li Hongzhang and his father, and sent his wife to accompany the officers and men of the "Haiqi" ship to visit Grant's tomb and visit the Grant Memorial Hall. The Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the United States held a series of gatherings and receptions for relatives from the motherland, which moved the officers and men very much. 
The officers and men of the Navy presented a flower picture to the tomb of General Grant, and the second from the right is Cheng Biguang. ** During the period of "Catalogue of Cultural Relics of the Ship Administration" edited by Xie Muning and Gong Zhangnian, Cheng Biguang and his entourage were invited to visit the director of the New York Shipyard of the United States Navy, and were also invited by the director general of the American Railroad Company to visit the Bethlehem Steel Works on the pretext of visiting Niagara Falls. General Royze, the director of the factory, also presented a white Persian cat as a naval pet to Cheng Biguang, which was very popular with the crew of the "Haiqi" ship. The enthusiasm shown by these Americans was naturally due to the fact that the Qing Dynasty also ordered the "Feihong" cruiser from the United States at that time, and the Americans also wanted to get a piece of the European powers in the Chinese market, and at the same time win over China to deal with Britain and Japan. Of course, they would not have imagined that the United States would be able to replace the British Empire as the new maritime hegemon in just over thirty years. During their visit to Boston, the Chinese guests also had a good experience of "American style". Cheng Biguang and his entourage performed one of the classic American dramas "Red Widow". After the performance, the theater manager invited them backstage, but unexpectedly, all the cast and staff of the drama began with the heroine who played the role of the Red Widow, and the men and women applauded and welcomed them. Cheng Biguang was very happy and immediately said: "This drama is the most outstanding and exquisite performing arts I have seen since my visit abroad. The manager of the theater immediately beckoned: "Ladies, come and get acquainted with this admiral!" Before Cheng Biguang could react, dozens of passionate beauties came up with a wild kiss, which made Cheng Biguang, who received traditional education as a child, break the "precepts". In addition to carrying out exchanges, the "Haiqi" was ordered to visit the United States. At that time, there was an anti-Chinese exclusion in Mexico, and the overseas Chinese in Cuba were also in a miserable situation and urgently needed to be saved. After attending the coronation ceremony of the British king, the Qing Dynasty ordered the "Haiqi" to visit the United States, Cuba, and Mexico to comfort the overseas Chinese. In mid-August, the ship departed from New York and arrived in Havana, the capital of Cuba. The Cuban Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce organized several hundred people to greet the officers and soldiers at the port and invited them to attend a welcome banquet. The people present recorded the grand occasion at that time: "For a while, the guests and hosts gathered, such as meeting old friends, such as returning to their hometown, all of them drank happily, talked and laughed, and enjoyed the joy of life." "The local overseas Chinese warmly invited the officers and soldiers to their homes and presented them with various souvenirs. In the past, the living conditions of these overseas Chinese residents were very poor and they were discriminated against, but now seeing that China has sent the world's advanced ** to support the field, Cuba** said to Cheng Biguang: "The Cuban military and civilians will never discriminate against overseas Chinese, because during Cuba's war against Spain, overseas Chinese fought together with the Cuban military and civilians and made significant contributions to the independence and liberation of Cuba. This historical fact will never be forgotten by the Cuban people. Since then, the living conditions of overseas Chinese in Cuba have greatly improved. After anchoring in Cuba for 10 days, the "Haiqi" is preparing to go to Mexico to engage in "gunboat diplomacy" and support overseas Chinese and Chinese in the country. The news that the "Haiqi" ship was preparing to visit made Mexico take measures to quickly take measures and sign an agreement with Zhang Satang, the Qing ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the United States, Cuba, and Spain, on the anti-Chinese incident, formally apologizing to China and compensating the victims for the loss of life and property. As a result, the Qing court allowed the "Haiqi" to return to China, and the mission of the ocean-going fleet was successfully completed. The navy of the late Qing Dynasty, which had long harbored "different aspirations".
The "Haiqi" ship returned to China, and originally planned to pass through the Panama Canal and take the relatively close Pacific route, so that it could also complete the first naval voyage around the world in Chinese history. However, considering that there was no supply point on the Pacific route except for Hawaii, the ** of the "Haiqi" ship was afraid that the ship would run aground without fuel and food on the way, and the "Haiqi" ship still relied on burning coal as power, and the return route could borrow multiple ports of the British Navy for replenishment, which was relatively safe. As a result, after visiting Hamilton, the capital of the British Bermuda Islands, the "Haiqi" ship in early September, prepared to return by the same route. At this time, the revolutionary uprising in China had become a surging trend. Before the First Sino-Japanese War, the Qing court had successively selected three batches of naval students to study in the United Kingdom. In 1906, the first batch of 70 Chinese naval students went to Japan to study seamanship, and in the following years, dozens of students were sent to study navigation and marine engineering. However, Japan, as a country that had just defeated China, was afraid that Chinese students would become strong after learning their own skills, so they were only willing to let these students study at the Merchant Marine School and the Artillery School, and even if they could enter the Japanese Naval Academy, they could only study for one year. Since Japan is not willing to teach real skills, it will learn from the West. Beginning in 1905, the Qing court sent students from the Naval Academy and students studying in Japan to study in England and Austria-Hungary. In 1909, when preparing for the Minister of the Navy's visit to Europe, he selected 23 naval students to study in Britain. Sa Zhenbing was born in the first batch of naval students to study in the United Kingdom, with great ambitions to save the country, and very fond of talents, for these international students' requests are to do what they can, try to fight for them to study places and time, in the naval student group has a high prestige. In October 1911, the Qing court and the United States signed the "Bethlehem Contract", in which the above-mentioned Bethlehem Iron and Steel Company was the contractor, and the Qing court was provided with a low-interest loan of 25 million taels to order sea boats from the United States, and then the United States strengthened (controlled) China's naval arsenal, military port and naval education. I have to say that at this time, the upper echelons of the Qing court, who were mainly Manchurian nobles who had gone abroad to investigate, were much more visionary and progressive than those in the Cixi era. However, the Qing court's reluctance to promote a genuine constitutional process, and the country's corruption and backwardness did not improve, which made more and more people disappointed in the Qing court, and some people continued to throw themselves into the republican revolution. They successively organized anti-Qing revolutions in China, such as the Guangzhou Uprising, the Huizhou Uprising, the Qinuhu Uprising, and the Zhennanguan Uprising. The Qing court, which had originally trained the new army to maintain its rule, became a group deeply influenced by the republican revolutionary ideology because of its close contact with Western military and cultural ideas. Many young officers and soldiers who were dissatisfied with the Qing court secretly joined the revolutionary organizations represented by the League. As early as the time of the Guangzhou Uprising, Cheng Kuiguang, the pipe band of the Zhentao gunboat and a former student of the Fujian Majiang Naval Academy, was ready to lead the officers and soldiers of the Naval Division to revolt, but the incident was revealed. And Cheng Biguang is his elder brother, who also participated in the Xingzhong Society at the instigation of Sun Yat-sen at that time, and did not ** because he fled to Nanyang in time. Later, Li Hongzhang passed through Nanyang on his way to Europe and the United States, and Cheng Biguang went to visit him and proposed to participate in the reconstruction of the navy. Li Hongzhang admired this old subordinate of the Beiyang Navy Division very much, and recommended him to the imperial court as the supervisor of the "Haitian" and "Haiqi" ships. I don't know why the Qing court didn't go over his old accounts again. The fact that such high-ranking naval officers and men secretly joined the revolutionary camp shows that I don't know how many naval officers and men are already revolutionaries. On October 10, 1911, the two anti-Qing organizations of the Hubei New Army, the Communist Advancement Association and the Literary Society, launched an uprising in Wuchang, Hubei, quickly occupied Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang, established a new Hubei Army, announced the establishment of China, took the five-color flag as the national flag, and changed the political system to a five-ethnic republic. After receiving the report from the governor of Huguang, the Qing court transferred the Beiyang Army to Wuchang to quell the rebellion, and at the same time, sent the naval admiral Sa Zhenbing to lead the fleet to cooperate with the naval battle. Are you willing to stand in the revolutionary camp?
As a veteran of the navy, Sa Zhenbing had rich combat experience and led the ships to cooperate with the Beiyang Army to capture the entire territory of Hankou. Although there were many revolutionaries in this navy, Sa Zhenbing was tightly managed, and many sailors could not mutini directly, so they could only passively fire their guns and deal with the situation. And Li Yuanhong, the governor of the Hubei Army, persuaded Sa Zhenbing to support the uprising as a **, and even asked Tang Hualong, the chief of civil affairs of the army, to contact his younger brother Tang Qianming, who served as Sa Zhenbing's adjutant in the navy, to persuade him together. The Beiyang Army's act of burning, killing, and looting in Hankou aroused the indignation of many naval officers and men, and the revolutionary will became stronger and stronger. At the beginning of November, the anti-Qing revolution in Shanghai and Jiangsu and other places was also successful, and the new ** was established, which controlled many sea boats and factories in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Under such pressure, Sa Zhenbing deeply felt that the general trend of the revolution could not be violated, but he was unwilling to assume the role of a "traitor" who led the uprising, so he handed over the fleet to Huang Zhongying under the management of the "Hairong" ship on the grounds that he was sick and needed to go to Shanghai**, which was tantamount to acquiescing in the revolutionary uprising. Under Huang Zhongying's order, the "Hairong" and the "Haichen" and "Haichou" of the same team were the main ships second only to the "Haiqi"; under the order of Huang Zhongying, they sailed to Jiujiang, which was controlled by the revolutionary army, threw the Yellow Dragon Flag, which symbolized the Qing court, into the river, and raised the revolutionary flag. The domestic sea boats responded to the uprising one after another, and the news reached the "Haiqi" ships that were still overseas, and many officers and men who were interested in the revolution said that they did not participate in the republican revolution and that they really had no face. Huang Zhongying's nephew, Huang Zhongxuan, the third mate of the "Haiqi" ship, secretly participated in the alliance meeting as early as when he was studying at the Yantai Naval Academy, and had already launched revolutionary rebellion activities on the ship, secretly connecting with his colleagues in the three official halls, inspectors, chief chiefs, chief gunners, trainees, and others, and then went to the military cabin and the second official hall to carry out the mobilization and organization work. Seeing the success of the Wuchang Uprising, Huang Zhongxuan combined the backbone of the revolutionary party on the ship and openly asked Cheng Biguang and Tang Tingguang to lead the whole ship to participate in the uprising. Cheng Biguang was deeply appreciated by the Qing court, but he had a close relationship with the revolutionary party, and after determining that the revolutionary tide could not be quelled, he discussed with Liu Yulin, the ambassador to Britain, and finally decided to stand up and lead the change of banner. Cheng Biguang gathered all the officers and men of the ship to the deck and said: "I already know what everyone has discussed recently. If any of you want to return to China to take part in the revolutionary work, please stand on the starboard side, and if you disapprove of it, stand on the port side. When I sing the last word of "one, two, three", I ask you to decide what you want to do. "On the count of three, all the officers and men standing on the port side of the deck moved to starboard, and the port side was empty, and even the white Persian cat presented by General Royzer followed to the starboard side. It can be seen from this that supporting the revolution has become the consensus of all officers and men. At this time, the ship "Haiqi" was damaged by wind and waves at sea and was anchored in Barrow Harbor in England for repairs. On January 1, 1912, that is, the New Year's Day of the first year of China, all the officers and men of the "Haiqi" ship lined up on the back deck of Barrow Harbor, playing military music, and the honor guard composed of 40 sailors stood at the forefront with guns. After Cheng Biguang ordered the flag to be changed, Tang Tingguang held a newly made red, yellow, blue, white and black five-color flag to the duty officer, who lowered the yellow green dragon flag and raised the Chinese ** five-color flag under the escort of two gun-wielding flag guards. Flags fluttered over the ships, and all the officers and men cheered to celebrate the arrival of the victory of the revolution. This lonely Qing Dynasty cruiser has turned into the strongest capital ship in China. It took five months to complete repairs, and it was not until the end of March 1912 that it set sail for China, and after being replenished by several ports along the way, it arrived at the Yangshupu Wharf in Shanghai at the end of May. At this time, the Qing Emperor had announced his abdication, and Yuan Shikai was inaugurated as the Provisional Great Minister of China. Except for the four sailors who died of illness and were buried at sea, all the officers and men of the ship returned to their hometowns after more than a year of absence. After returning to China, the "Haiqi" was warmly welcomed by the military and the people, and Beijing directly gave the crew a month's leave to go home to save their relatives, and according to the original standard paid leave, they were rewarded with one month's salary (3,659.29 yuan), and the four people who died of illness were given 500 yuan in silver. **Awarded Cheng Biguang the second-class Wenhu Medal, Tang Tingguang, Liu Guannan and other pipe bands and deputy pipe bands third-class Wenhu Medals, and dozens of people have won medals. And Cheng Biguang was originally elected as the chief of the navy, but he did not return to China for a long time, and the position was given to Huang Zhongying first. After living in Shanghai for a while, he served as a senator of the Generalissimo of the Army and Navy. In May 1913, the Admiralty submitted a letter to Yuan Shikai: "In the infantile age, the navy of our country was in its infancy, and due to financial difficulties, it never sailed far to Europe and the United States. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, due to the British coronation ceremony, the "Haiqi" was sent to congratulate. Due to the civil strife in Mexico, he was sent to the United States to pacify overseas Chinese. It takes more than a year to go back and forth, and the journey is more than 10,000 miles, so that the national emblem of our country flutters in a different place, which is really from the beginning of 'Haiqi'. All the officers and men of the "Haiqi" ship preached national prestige overseas, supported the Chinese and overseas Chinese in Cuba and Mexico, and greatly boosted China's international influence. The heroic deeds of the "Haiqi" did not end there, and in the revolutionary activities that followed, the "Haiqi" basically participated in them. Until the Battle of Jiangyin in 1937, the "Haiqi" ship blocked the Japanese ** team from penetrating the Yangtze River in a tragic way of sinking the Yangtze River. Cheng Biguang was assassinated in 1918 when he was serving as the vice admiral of the Chinese Navy and participated in the ** war as the commander-in-chief of the Fujian Army-Navy Alliance. Cheng Biguang and his "Haiqi" ship have made great contributions to the country, but they all ended up in a tragic and heroic way, which is embarrassing. The deeds of these naval forefathers are all a reminder to us that it is necessary to build a powerful national defense force, including a modern navy, in order to ensure the dignity of the Chinese nation in the world.