Imperial Chinese Navy
Imperial Chinese Navy
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Imperial Chinese Navy

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Imperial Chinese Navy

The Imperial Chinese Navy was the modern navy of the Qing dynasty of China established in 1875. An imperial naval force in China first came into existence in 1132 during the Southern Song dynasty and existed in some form until the end of the Qing dynasty in 1912. However, the term "Imperial Chinese Navy" usually only refers to the Qing navy that existed between 1875 and 1912, with "Imperial Chinese Navy" as its official English name. The Imperial Chinese Navy was succeeded by the Republic of China Navy.

In the 1860s, an attempt was made to establish a modern navy via the British-built Osborn or "Vampire" Fleet to combat the Taiping rebels' US-built gunboats. The so-called "Vampire Fleet", fitted out by the Chinese government for the suppression of piracy on the coast of China, was scrapped owing to the non-fulfilment of the condition that British commander Sherard Osborn should receive orders from the imperial government only.

In 1865, the Jiangnan Shipyard was established.

In 1874, a Japanese incursion into Taiwan exposed the vulnerability of China at sea. A proposal was made to establish three modern coastal fleets: the Northern Sea or Beiyang Fleet, to defend the Yellow Sea, the Southern Sea or Nanyang Fleet, to defend the East China Sea, and the Canton Sea or Yueyang Fleet, to defend the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. The Beiyang Fleet, with a remit to defend the section of coastline closest to the capital Beijing, was prioritised.

A series of warships were ordered from Britain and Germany in the late 1870s, and naval bases were built at Port Arthur and Weihaiwei. The first British-built ships were delivered in 1881, and the Beiyang Fleet was formally established in 1888. In 1894, the Beiyang Fleet was, on paper, the strongest navy in Asia at the time. However, it was largely lost during the First Sino-Japanese War in the Battle of the Yalu River. Although the Zhenyuan and Dingyuan modern battleships were impervious to Japanese fire, they were unable to sink a single ship and all eight cruisers were lost. The battle displayed once again that the modernisation efforts of China were far inferior to the Meiji Restoration. The Nanyang Fleet was also established in 1875, and grew with mostly domestically built warships and a small number of acquisitions from Britain and Germany.

The admiralty or naval board (haijun yamen) was established in 1885.

The Nanyang Fleet fought in the Sino-French War, performing somewhat poorly against the French in all engagements.

The separate Fujian and Guangdong fleets became part of the Imperial navy after 1875. The Fujian Fleet was almost annihilated during the Sino-French War, and was only able to acquire two new ships thereafter. By 1891, due to budget cuts, the Fujian Fleet was barely a viable fleet. The Guangdong Fleet was established in the late 1860s and was based at Whampoa, in Canton (now Guangzhou).

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