Chinese gunboat Zhongshan

SS Zhongshan,[1] formerly romanized as Chung Shan,[2][3] was a Chinese gunboat built in Japan in 1913. It was originally known as SS Yongfeng[4] (romanized at the time as Yung Feng[5] or Wong Feng),[6] before being renamed in 1925 in honor of Sun Yat-sen. Zhongshan was sunk by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second Sino-Japanese War, but was later raised and restored as a museum ship in Wuhan.

SS Zhongshan
History
Republic of China
Ordered1910
BuilderMitsubishi Shipbuilding Nagasaki Dockyard
Laid down1910
Launched1912
Commissioned1913
Maiden voyageMarch 1913
Renamed1925
FateSunk during the Battle of Wuhan on October 24, 1938
StatusRecovered in 1997 and restored as a museum ship
General characteristics
Class and typeYongfeng-class gunboat
Displacement780 tons
Length65.873 m (216.12 ft)
Beam8.8 m (29 ft)
Draught3.048 m (10.00 ft)
Speed14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement140
Armament
SS Zhongshan
Traditional Chinese中山艦
Simplified Chinese中山舰
PostalSS Chung Shan
SS Yongfeng
Traditional Chinese永豐艦
Simplified Chinese永丰舰
PostalSS Yung Feng

Construction

SS Yongfeng was the first of fourYongfeng-class gunboats ordered from Mitsubishi by the Qing Empire in 1910.[7] Under the deal signed between the Qing naval minister Prince Rui, his deputy Admiral Sa Zhenbing, and the Japanese, the first two ships (including Yongfeng) would be built in Japan, while the second two would be built in China at Jiangnan Shipyard with Japanese technical assistance.

Service history
Model of SS Zhongshan

Yongfeng entered service as part of the Beiyang Fleet.[8] In March 1913, it sailed to Shanghai, where it was based at Yuezhou.[9]

It sailed south with Sun Yat-sen in July 1917,[8][9] subsequently forming part of the Nationalist navy at Canton (now known as Guangzhou).

Just prior to Ye Ju's attack of the presidential palace on 16 June 1922, Sun Yat-sen fled to the Guangzhou naval yard[5] and took refuge aboard the cruiser SS Haiqi (then Hai Ch'i). From there, he transferred to the SS Yongfeng,[10] where he was joined by Chiang Kai-shek around the 27th[5] or 29th.[11] Yongfeng and other ships then fought past Pearl River fortresses controlled by Chen Jiongming[12] while launching assaults and negotiating with the Guangzhou leadership for about 50 days.[8] It avoided reprisals by anchoring off Huangpu, surrounded by foreign vessels Chen could not risk firing upon.[5] Finally, Sun and Chiang left aboard a British ship to Hong Kong on 9 August,[11] whence they departed for Shanghai.[8] The Yongfeng carried Sun and his wife to Hong Kong in November 1924.[9]

On 13 April 1925, the ship was renamed in honor of Sun Yat-sen,[9] better known in China as "Sun Zhongshan", following his death the previous month.

In November 1925, the Nationalist navy was placed under the direction of the Soviet adviser Andrei S. Bubnov, who named the Communist Li Zhilong as its head.[13] The voyage of Zhongshan and Baobi from Guangzhou to Huangpu (Whampoa) on 18 March 1926 set off the Canton Coup.[13]

She patrolled the southern coasts of China against pirates after the Northern Expedition, and she rescued the steamship Xinhua in 1928.[14]

In the Second Sino-Japanese War, SS Zhongshan participated in the Battle of Wuhan. On 24 October 1938, she was bombed and sunk in the Yangtze River by the Imperial Japanese Navy with 25 casualties, including Captain Sa Shijun, a nephew of Sa Zhenbing.

Recovery
Salvaging of SS Zhongshan. (A model in the Zhongshan Warship Museum)

Hubei's provincial cultural department received permission to plan the recovery of Zhongshan in 1986,[9] and the wreck was salvaged from the Yangtze on 28 January 1997.[9] By 2001, it was restored to its appearance c. 1925, except for some of the damage which it sustained when the ship was sunk in 1938.[9] The restored Zhongshan is now located in the Zhongshan Warship Museum in Wuhan. The facility has been described as "China's first floating museum".[9]

The museum is located in Jinkou Subdistrict of Wuhan's suburban Jiangxia District,[15] some 25 km southwest of downtown Wuchang. In 2003, relics from the ship were also displayed at Hong Kong's Museum of Coastal Defense.[9]

  • Zhongshan Warship Museum (zh:中山舰博物馆) in Wuhan
    Zhongshan Warship Museum (zh:中山舰博物馆) in Wuhan
  • The restored Zhongshan inside the museum
    The restored Zhongshan inside the museum
  • Zhongshan seen from the stern
    Zhongshan seen from the stern
  • Damage the ship sustained during her sinking
    Damage the ship sustained during her sinking

See also

References

Citations
  1. Mackerras, Colin; et al. (1991), The Cambridge Handbook of Contemporary China, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 7.
  2. Li Chien-nung (1956), Teng, Ssu-yu; et al. (eds.), The Political History of China, 1840–1928, Stanford: Stanford University Press, p. 501.
  3. Hsu, Long-hsuen; et al. (1972), History of the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), Chung Wu Pub..
  4. Shaw, Raynor (2007), Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, Odyssey, p. 209.
  5. Hahn, Emily (1955), Chiang Kai-shek: An Unauthorized Biography, p. 42, ISBN 9781504016278.
  6. Wilbur, Clarence Martin; et al. (1989), Missionaries of Revolution: Soviet Advisers and Nationalist China, 1920–1927, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, p. 201, ISBN 9780674576520.
  7. Chessum (2005).
  8. Ships of China, Jingdao Chuban Youxian Gongsi, 1988, p. 115. (in Chinese) & (in English)
  9. "Cultural relics of Zhong Shan Gunboat on Display at Museum of Coastal Defence", Press Releases, Leisure and Cultural Services Dep't of the Gov't of the Hong Kong Special Admin. Region, January 2003.
  10. Dreyer (1995), p. 104.
  11. Biographical Dictionary of Republican China, Vol. III, "Chiang Kai-shek", p. 322.
  12. "Cultural Relics of Zhong Shan Gunboat on Display at Museum of Coastal Defence". Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. January 2003. Archived from the original on 2010-06-07..
  13. Elleman, Bruce (2009), Moscow and the Emergence of Communist Power in China, 1925–30: The Nanchang Uprising and the Birth of the Red Army, Abingdon: Routledge, p. 24.
  14. "Ship Sinks off Waglan". Hong Kong Telegraph. 16 January 1929..
  15. "Zhongshan Warship settled in Wuhan museum". People's Daily. May 28, 2008.

Bibliography
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