Zhang Peilun
| Zhang Peilun | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
24 November 1848 Fengrun District, Zhili Province |
| Died | 4 February 1903 (aged 54) Shanghai, Qing Empire |
| Known for | Jinshi in 1871 |
| Spouse(s) | Zhu Zhixiang 朱芷薌 Bian Cuiyu 邊粹玉 Li Juou 李菊藕 |
Zhang Peilun (張佩綸) (1848–1903) was an unsuccessful Chinese naval commander during the Sino-French War (August 1884–April 1885).
Zhang Peilun was born in Hangzhou on November 24, 1848. His father, Zhang Yintang (張印塘, 1797–1854), was a mid-level government official who died when Zhang Peilun was only a child, which left the family in genteel poverty. Zhang was, by all reports, a bright and studious child. After passing the provincial imperial examination at age 23 and the metropolitan one at 24, he came under the tutelage of Li Hongzao, the older brother of Li Hongzhang, and quickly rose to prominence.
Zhang was one of the foremost members of the so-called 'Purist Party' () led by Zhang Zhidong (), an extremist group which urged resistance to French encroachment in north Vietnam in the early 1880s, even at the cost of war with France, in opposition to the more moderate stance advocated by Li Hongzhang and his supporters.
Shortly before the outbreak of the Sino-French War Zhang was appointed imperial commissioner with responsibility for the defence of Fujian province. His Fujian Fleet was defeated and almost annihilated by the French Far East Squadron, under the command of Admiral Amédée Courbet, at the Battle of Fuzhou (23 August 1884).
Zhang had made no serious attempt to coordinate the resistance of the Fujian fleet, and was demoted by the Empress Dowager Cixi on 19 September 1884 and replaced as Fujian defence commissioner by the veteran general Zuo Zongtang (). He was then exiled to serve as a soldier in Zhangjiakou, a rural town in Northeast China.
After returning to Beijing/Tianjian in 1888, Zhang managed to find work as a secretary/scribe for his former political enemy, Li Hongzhang. Reportedly, Li was so impressed with Zhang that he encouraged Zhang to marry Li's eldest daughter, Li Juou (李菊藕, 1866–1912), despite the couple's disparate ages and opposition from Li Juou's mother.
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