Liu Buchan

Liu Buchan 劉步蟾
Admiral Liu Buchan
Born	Fujian Province, China
Died	Shandong Province, China
Allegiance	Qing dynasty
Service/branch	Beiyang Fleet
Rank	Admiral
Battles/wars	First Sino-Japanese War

Liu Buchan (simplified Chinese: 刘步蟾; traditional Chinese: 劉步蟾; pinyin: Liú Bùchán) (born 1852, died 10 February 1895) was a naval officer of the Beiyang Fleet, the most prominent of China's naval units in the late Qing Dynasty. He is best remembered for his actions as commander of the fleet flagship, the Dingyuan, during the First Sino-Japanese War. After his death and the ship being destroyed at the end of the war, he was raised to national hero status in modern China. At his death, Liu was commander of the fleet flagship, with the rank Admiral of the Right, and reserve Admiral of the Fleet.

Liu was born in the town of Houguan, in Fujian province in China. Liu’s father died before he was born, and he was brought up by his mother. In 1867, he passed the entry examinations and entered the Foochow Arsenal Naval School established by Shen Baozhen to study navigation. In 1871, was on the training ship Jianwei, and he visited Amoy, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Bohai Bay. In 1872, with the best results, Liu graduated in the first class of the Foochow Arsenal Naval School. In 1875, he was appointed commander of the training ship Jianwei. In 1876, he was sent to Britain for further training, but failed to enter the Royal Naval College at Greenwich. Instead, he was placed with the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet flagship HMS Hercules as a trainee first mate. He returned to China in 1878 and was given command of the Zhenbei in the Beiyang Fleet.