The armored cruiser Laiyuan, which was sunk in February 1895 during the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95). [Photo/China Daily]
Archeological investigations uncover details about Battle of Weihaiwei
Key archaeological findings have been made surrounding the wrecks of three famous late 19th-century warships off the coast of Weihai, Shandong province, said the National Cultural Heritage Administration on Thursday.
The three ships — the armored cruiser Laiyuan, the ironclad battleship Dingyuan and the cruiser Jingyuan — were from the Beiyang Fleet of the modernized imperial navy of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and were sunk in February 1895 during the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95).
According to Zhou Chunshui, a researcher with the National Centre for Archaeology who has led the investigation in Weihai since 2017, the shipwrecks were buried in mud up to 3 meters deep, and were not in a good condition. The relics of the ships had been scattered across three areas.
During a recent underwater investigation of the Laiyuan beginning in August, various shells, armor and bullets were salvaged. Archaeologists found a saber, wooden identity tags inked with the names of two soldiers, one of whom was seen on the injury list of the ship, and a silver spoon carved with the characters "Lai Yuan".
Ordered by the Qing royal court to be made in Stettin, Germany (present-day Szczecin, Poland), construction of the 82-meter cruiser was completed in 1887.
Other discovered articles on the Laiyuan included Chinese chess sets, leather shoes, porcelain bowls and combs. They may gradually unveil a vivid picture of the lives of Chinese navy sailors at that time.
"The ships were so heavy and of complicated structure," Zhou said. "That makes our work different from usual underwater archaeology, which focuses on ancient shipwrecks made of wood. We need interdisciplinary studies and new technologies to carry out the research and conserve the wrecks."
Wooden identity tags from the Laiyuan. [Photo/China Daily]
The Battle of Weihaiwei was the last naval engagement of the Sino-Japanese War. The Beiyang Fleet was besieged and annihilated in the battle. Its fall accelerated China's defeat in the war, which had a lasting and deep influence on the geopolitics and history of East Asia.
After the battle, Japan dismantled and salvaged components of sunken Chinese ships as spoils of war.
"The steel was heavily twisted and broken," Zhou said. "The complete bodies of the ships no longer exist."
From the wreck of the Dingyuan archaeologists salvaged 18.7 metric tons of armor near its main artillery cannon. The 94-meter ironclad, also made in Germany, was the flag carrier of the Beiyang Fleet and was considered among the world's best equipped battleships of its time. On the cruiser Jingyuan, archaeologists found two boxes of well-sealed shells.
A part of a broken wooden gangway ladder from the Laiyuan may be a crucial record of the battle.
"We found the inner side of the wood was severely burned," Zhou said. "That indicates the steel body of the Laiyuan was on fire. You can feel how fierce that battle was."
Some findings may correct historical rumors. The general public has long suspected a major reason why the Beiyang Fleet lost the battle was that the Qing rulers refused proposals to allocate money and the ships were thus not kept up to date for a number of years.
A saber found on the Laiyuan. [Photo/China Daily]
"Historical documents show the fleet once applied to add 120-mm-caliber canons on the Laiyuan, but we didn't know whether the proposal was approved," Zhou explained. "Upon finding fuses on shells, we can confirm the ship was reinforced when preparing for the war."
Paying homage to the fallen sailors and calling for better protection of the shipwrecks in situ, Zhou said the shipwrecks would not be massively salvaged or moved onto land for exhibition.
"Remaining underwater, they can better remind us of history," he said.
China's systematic underwater research on the wrecks of the Beiyang Fleet began in 2014, mainly off the coast of Liaoning province where the Battle of the Yalu River was fought, and Weihai. Thanks to efforts over the last decade, the locations of all the fallen ships within Chinese waters have been confirmed.
"The building of the Beiyang Fleet was a crucial attempt of modernization in recent history," said Jiang Bo, a professor at the School of History and Culture at Shandong University. "The archaeological research can help clarify studies with refreshing ideas."
Zhou added that research on the wrecks will accelerate the adoption of new technologies in underwater archaeology.
The project has provided references for upcoming research involving other wrecks of modern warships within Chinese waters concerning the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), World War I and the Sino-French War (1883-85).
